The Crush Ward Penelope (best novels to read for beginners .txt) 📖

“Okay, so…some of the old feelings for him came back…or rather, they just never went away?”

I slurped the last of my drink and shook around the ice. “When he was living in North Carolina, it was easier not to think about him, but now that he’s here again, I can’t help how I feel. It’s like my emotions just picked up where they left off. And, now that he’s living with us, I’m getting to know him on a different level. We never talked much when I was a kid. Back then it was just me admiring him from afar. We’re both more mature now, so it’s different.”

Her eyes brimmed with excitement. “Do you think there’s a chance something could happen?”

“No. I really don’t. He treats me the same way Nathan does—like a sister. Which sucks.”

“Well, you never know. Keep dressing like you did tonight, and that might change.”

“I don’t know. He cares about me. I do know that. I think that’s exactly why he’d never try anything.” I tipped some of the ice into my mouth. “Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do if he returned the attraction. Nathan would kill us both.”

“Okay, so hypothetically, if an opportunity arose…you wouldn’t go there?”

“I don’t know.” I sighed. “Anyway, that’s a fantasy, not reality.”

“It’s weird to know the person you’re obsessed with cares about you, just not in the way you want. Sort of a unique situation.”

Her use of the word obsessed weirded me out. I thought I’d downplayed my feelings toward Jace, but apparently she could see through me.

Fiddling with my straw, I looked down into my empty glass. “He does care about me. I care about him, too. It’s not just lust. For so many years, he was a big part of my life. He spent a lot of time with our family. When his team lost a football game, he’d lament to us at the dinner table. I had a front-row seat to a lot of important times in his life, like when he and Nathan went to prom and graduated from high school. I watched him grow up.” I closed my eyes. “And of course, as I’ve told you before, he was there when my parents died. He was with them, because he was working for my dad that summer.”

Kellianne shook her head. “That’s so crazy.”

“Yeah. He won’t talk about it. And I don’t blame him.” I blew out a long breath. “I can’t imagine how traumatic that was. It hurts me to even think about it.” Wiping a tear, I said, “Okay, we need to move on to another subject, stat.”

Kellianne clapped her hands. “Okay then. I know what we can talk about. What do I have to do to get you to go up there tonight and confess your secret crush on your brother’s best friend?”

That wasn’t the change of subject I was hoping for.

“Figure out how to make pigs fly?”

Chapter 2

Farrah

In our house, everyone did their own laundry. We kept our washer and dryer in a corner of the garage, since we didn’t have a separate laundry room. About once a week, I’d wash my clothes after I got back from work, which was before Nathan or Jace got home.

One such afternoon, I carried my items in a basket to the garage and noticed a pile of Jace’s clothes sitting in a canvas bag next to the washing machine. I recognized the red shirt on top as the one he’d worn yesterday. He’d smelled amazing in it while sitting across from me at the table. It had to smell just as good today.

On impulse, I picked up the shirt and lifted it to my nose, keeping it over my face as I breathed in deeply for several seconds. Inhaling the earthy cologne mixed with a delicious scent that was all Jace was sweet torture. This made it easy to imagine what it would be like to have him up against me. Closing my eyes, I rubbed my face against the soft material, pretending he was inside of it. This was as close as I was going to get, so I let myself enjoy it.

“What the hell are you doing?” a gruff voice demanded.

My heart nearly stopped. The shirt fell to the ground as I lifted my chin to meet Jace’s incendiary stare. He’d apparently entered the garage through the side door while I was immersed in my olfactory fantasy.

Feigning calm, I said, “Oh…hi. You’re home.”

“Yeah. I had to take my dad to an appointment, so I left work early. Is…this what you do when we’re not here? Sniff the dirty laundry?”

His confused expression held a mix of anger and amusement.

I pulled the most insane excuse out of my butt. “I have this…strange habit of smelling things that aren’t mine. Sort of like…a compulsion.”

My heart thumped out the word liar…liar…liar repeatedly.

“So you decided to smell my shirt out of everything in here?”

I gulped. “Yeah, I guess. It was bright red—caught my attention. Not to mention, your cologne is…nice.”

He chuckled. “You’re weird, Farrah.”

“Never claimed not to be.”

His brow lifted. “How did it smell otherwise?”

Letting out a shaky breath, I nodded. “Good. No strange odors or anything—unlike Nathan’s shirts. His smell like tacos.”

Jace chuckled. “I guess if I’m on the fence about throwing something in the wash, I should consult you from now on?”

“Could’ve been worse, right? I could have been, like, smelling your underwear or something. I’m not that weird.” I snorted and closed my eyes in shame.

“Well, thank fuck for that.” After an awkward pause, he said, “I’ll…let you get back to what you were doing—whatever it was.”

Saluting him, I smiled. “Thanks.”

After he left, I turned around and let out a silent scream of horror.

Once I put my load in the washer, I decided to take a walk around the block to burn off some nervous energy and avoid having to face him inside so soon. The more time that passed the better.

After I circled the block, I headed toward