Page 8 of Embrace
The cashier flashed a toothy grin. “Don’t worry, though. New Orleans ain’t concerned about what happens outside of New Orleans.”
Without saying a word or looking at me, Jake turned and walked out of the store, leaving me standing there. I’d never seen him that flustered before. Even when the woman outed him three nights ago, he’d kept his cool. I had no idea what to do as I looked from the exit to the cashier. I felt as if I had to beg him to please keep his word and never mention that he’d seen Jake or Asher Christmas around. I was afraid that now that someone in the general public had recognized him, Jake would run, and I would never see him again.
“Um…” I said.
The guy smiled weakly and went back to doing whatever work he had been doing before we came to the register. It was the weirdest thing. It was as if he’d said what he wanted to say, and since Jake was gone, Jake was now the furthest thing from the man’s mind.
“Have a nice day,” I finally said to the cashier.
“You, too, darling,” the man said as if I were just any old customer he was being nice to.
Chapter Four
Penina Ross
At first, I thought Jake had left me behind, and quite frankly, I would’ve been okay if he had. He needed time to process what had just happened. And perhaps that jarring experience injected him with common sense.Get away from your possible sister, whom you’re attracted to. Get far away.But as I walked back the way we’d come, I heard him call my name from behind. When I turned, he was standing right there.
“Are you okay?” I asked as he closed the gap between us.
“No. What the fuck was that?” he asked with an uncomfortable laugh.
I shook my head. “I’ve never seen you that rattled.”
He seemed unable to look me in the eyes when he shrugged.
“And you’re a triplet?”
He scratched the back of his head. “I don’t want to talk about it, Penina. It’s in the book.”
I glanced down at the title in my hand, respecting the fact that it contained all the answers I needed. “Well, what are you going to do now that you’ve been recognized?”
He checked over his shoulder then up the street. His energy felt erratic. After narrowing his eyes at whatever he had spied, he pointed his chin in that direction. “Look at where the crowd’s going. There’s a music festival. You want to go?” He was smiling again.
I shook my head as I jerked it back. “Are you serious, Jake?”
His sexy smirk was back and more seductive than ever. “I’m very serious.”
“But…” I moved closer to him. “He just said you murdered your father,” I whispered.
Jake’s smirk faded as he garnered steady eye contact with me. “The man in the bookstore doesn’t know what he’s talking about. My father was on his deathbed for many months before he died. It was kept secret, which is why people have come up with their harebrained theories of how he passed. I did not kill my father. He was sick, and he died.”
I didn’t know what to believe when it came to Jake anymore. However, I had to go with my gut, and it told me that I should believe he was telling me the truth until I learned different.
I heaved a sigh, letting what had just happened in the bookstore drop. “You want to go to a music festival together?”
“I’m not asking anyone else to go with me,” he said.
I nibbled anxiously on my bottom lip.
“We can eat, dance, have some fun…” he said.
I squished one side of my face. “Are you sure?”
“Penina, if the nature of our relationship has to change, then we’d better work on being friends only. Don’t you think?”
I turned to watch a horse and buggy carting tourists gallop by. It sounded as if he was certain we were family.
“Did you give me the book because you know for certain we’re related?” I asked, staring at the cover.
