Trust in Me

She smoothed back a few strands of hair that had escaped her twist. “Well, I’m sure a certain someone will be thrilled to see that you’ve brought him along with you.”


My brows lifted and then I groaned. “Please tell me she is not still infatuated with Jase.”

Mom laughed softly as she shrugged off her oversized sweater, draping it along the back of her chair. “I think ‘infatuated’ would be the wrong word to use.”

Rolling my eyes, I groaned. When I’d been on home confinement, Jase had spent almost every free moment up here, pulling my head out of my ass. And Teresa had spent every spare second spying on us and stalking Jase.

Mom drifted over to the coffeemaker, pulling out the empty pot. “Jase is a really nice boy. I think—”

“Do not even think about going there,” I warned, folding my arms. Jase was a good guy—a good guy, with a shit ton of baggage and a long list of broken hearts, who wouldn’t come within ten feet of my little sister. “Where’s Dad?” I asked, deftly changing the subject.

“He’s still at the office, but he’ll be home shortly.” She filled the pot with water. “I was thinking we all could do dinner at Joe’s. I think both you and Jase like that place, and as long as it serves red meat—”

“Dad will be happy.” I smiled, pushing off the counter. “That works for me.”

“Want a cup?”

“Sure.” I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her shoulders, squeezing her. “Have I told you lately that you’re the best mom ever?”

She laughed as she patted my arms. “I’m the only mom you got, boy.”

“Still,” I replied. “Best mom.”

I let go as she shook her head and was in the process of heading upstairs to wake up Jase’s lazy ass when Teresa came in the front door.

“Cam!” She let out a high-pitched squeal when she saw me in the foyer and dropped her book bag. The pint-sized terror took one step and launched herself at me.

Laughing, I caught her before she knocked me down. “Well, hello to you.”

“When did you get here?” she asked once I sat her down.

“This morning.”

She smacked my arm. “You should’ve texted me! I would’ve skipped my afternoon classes and come home early.”

“I heard that!” yelled Mom from the kitchen.

Teresa rolled her eyes, and I laughed. Somewhere in the last two years or so, she’d grown up from a gangly child into a stunning young woman. And every time I saw her, I wanted to pull a paper sack over her head. Everywhere she went, guys looked, and they really looked.

She had inherited the dark hair and blue eyes from Dad, but she had Mom’s delicate features. Her beauty and small frame were really misleading, because she had also developed mom’s snappy, quick wit. When she and Mom got going, no one was safe.

“I’m going to skip dance tonight,” she said, tugging the tie from her hair. It seemed to have grown overnight, falling well past her shoulders.

“You don’t have to do that,” I told her. “I’ll be here all weekend.”

“Yeah, but I never get to see you!” She pouted, giving me the look that probably got her a lot of things. “You’re too busy and too cool to hang out with your sister anymore.”

“Exactly,” I said, grinning.

She smacked my arm hard. “Jerk.”

Facing the stairs, I saw Jase come down before Teresa did. He was as quiet as a freaking ninja and he came to a stop at the bottom, his hair damp and clothing unwrinkled. He hadn’t made a sound, but Teresa stiffened in front of me. Her eyes, so like mine, widened a fraction of an inch.

My gaze narrowed on her.

Teresa whipped around with the elegance of a dancer, and I cringed when she shrieked, “Jase!”

The pensive look that had been on Jase’s face from the moment I picked him up vanished like a bad nightmare. He came down on the landing a second before my sister threw herself at the guy, greeting him in the same way she’d done with me. His eyes were only on her, and while I completely trusted Jase, even he wasn’t immune to her.

I also didn’t like it when he wrapped his arms around her, keeping them both from tumbling backward.

“Cam didn’t tell me you were here!” she cried, clinging to him like a little monkey. “You’re staying here the whole weekend, too?”

Jase smiled down at the top of Teresa’s head—the head that was currently plastered against his chest. “Yeah, I’m here until Cam heads back.”

I knew in that exact moment, Teresa would be bowing out on dance not only tonight, but also the rest of the weekend. I sighed.

Teresa said something that only Jase could hear and his smile spread in a way that had me taking deep, even breaths. Then he looked up, his gaze meeting mine. He shot me a helpless look, and I rolled my eyes, strolling forward.

“Okay.” I grabbed her arms, physically lifting her away from Jase. “I think you can let him go now. He probably wants to breathe at some point.”