Plain Jayne Read Online Free Page B

every girl wanted to be. Every girl except Jayne. All that attention would have made her crazy, but Abby welcomed it, offering everyone a dazzling smile or a kind word whenever they passed.
    The only thing they had in common was Nick; Jayne had grown up with him and Abby had planned to grow old with him.
    Nick cleared his throat behind her. “You can take the master suite.”
    “What
?
” Jayne set the picture back on the desk, shaking her head the whole while. “Oh no. No no no no no.”
    “Why not? It’s there, it’s furnished, and no one uses it.”
    “But it’s …” If she widened her eyes as big as she could, would he understand without her having to say it out loud?
    “It’s what?” A few seconds passed, then a light seemed to go on in his thick head and he laughed quietly. “We’d only started building before her accident, remember? That room’s never been used, and no, neither has the bed.”
    “Then why is it furnished?”
    “Mom’s idea.” He shrugged and headed back through to the kitchen. “I thought about selling a few years ago and she figured it’d look better if at least one bedroom was furnished properly.”
    “So you take it and I’ll take your room.”
    “Nah. I’m good where I am. Besides …” He wagged his brow and grinned. “Now that Iknow you’re a girl, we need to keep you as far away from Carter as possible.”
    “Yeah, right,” she laughed. “Like he’d ever come horning up on me.”
    “He better not.” He pulled the cranberry juice and a lime out of the fridge, then reached into the cupboard above and pulled out the Grey Goose and Grand Marnier.
    “Beer’s fine, Nick.”
    “You hate beer.” He measured everything into a shaker of ice, grinned as he made a production of shaking the concoction to perfection, then filled a martini glass and slid it toward her.
    After he’d opened himself a beer, she clinked her glass against his bottle and took a slow sip of her drink. A good Cosmo trumped a nasty old beer any day.
    “This isn’t even a little bit weird to you?” She picked the sticker off the side of the lime, then rolled it up in her palm until Nick held his hand out, fingers wiggling.
    “Nope.” He took the sticker from her, then snapped up the lime before she could reach for it. A second later, everything was put away, leaving her with nothing to do with her hands.
    “I gotta go walk Duke,” he said. “So why don’t you take your girl drink and … I don’t know … have a bath or something. I won’t be long.”
    “A bath? Is that your tactful way of telling me I stink?”
    “What? No.” He tried to shrug it off, but Jayne didn’t miss the way his eyes widened or the way his nose twitched a little. “But I don’t have any John Hughes movies and I’m out of Ben & Jerry’s, so I figured a bath was the next best thing.”
    How did he remember stuff like that?
    He led her back through the master suite and pointed to the double-doored closet in the bathroom. “Mom loaded the place up with towels, different soaps, whatever you need. Toothbrushes are on the top shelf.”
    “Extra toothbrushes? Really?”
    “Compliments of Pop.” He smiled wide enough to show off his dad’s handiwork. “Straight teeth and toothbrushes. Lots and lots of toothbrushes.”
    “Nice,” she chuckled. “Thanks.”
    “No sweat. We’ll be back in a bit.” With a quick nod, he whistled for the dog. Long mournful howls answered back before Duke waddled his way outside.
    As the claw-footed tub filled, Jayne brushed her teeth, pulled a giant white fluffy towelfrom the cupboard, then climbed into the deep hot water. Leaning back, she closed her eyes and exhaled a long slow breath. Nick could say what he liked, but she wasn’t fooled; this was weird. Comforting to know she wouldn’t have to stay in that filthy apartment or a skuzzy hotel room, sure, but weird nonetheless.
    There was so much to think about, so much to sort out, but for now she was going to lie