Page 12 of Claim Her

Zara can never be seen with me. It’s too dangerous. I can fight him. Of course, I can. I am no longer the little boy he can throw around easily. He’ll be about sixty by now, so I will be the one throwing him around.

Still, I can’t risk Zara. I can’t put her in his sights just because I can’t keep my hands to myself. I owe her that much.

She probably hates me right now. I can’t even really blame her if she regrets kissing me at all.

6

ZARA

Okay, part of me feels like shit because of the way he ran away like I pounced on him. I kind of did, so maybe I shocked him? I want to regret making a move, but I can’t bring myself to feel anything other than … happiness.

For a moment there, he seemed at war with himself and let his walls down. He kissed me back. That much I’m sure of.

It makes me wonder what’s wrong with me. I’m pretty convinced he’s attracted to me, and I don’t really look that bad. So why?

The whole day I try to scrub him off my mind. I don’t have work, so I have plenty of time on my hands. But even after deep-cleaning the whole apartment from top to bottom, I realize it’s only 5 PM.

Fine, I’m destressing in the best way I know how—by baking cupcakes. I do a quick check of my pantry and decide on strawberry shortcake cupcakes. It’s a good distraction, but after realizing I made enough to feed at least seven people, I sigh and think about what to do with the extras.

I’ll keep a dozen, of course, but I don’t know the other people on this floor yet, so it might be weird to knock on their door and offer these sweet treats after more than a week since moving in.

Then, it hits me.

I almost laugh out loud when I realize I’ve been thinking of bringing some to Alec all along. It’s a good excuse, isn’t it? I made too many, so why not share? I can hear Mom yelling, ‘Go girl!’ at me.

Alec munched on a cinnamon bun during our breakfast date—yes, I’m calling it a date from here on out—so I figured he had a sweet tooth. Then again, gifting him these cupcakes could also be a way of apology for how I behaved last night.

I don’t regret the kiss, but stumbling and slamming on his door? Yep. That memory deserves to be buried so far in the back of my mind.

I continue to debate with myself if I should do this. Will he think I’m starting to get incredibly clingy to him? After the way he ran like the devil was on his heels, I’m not sure what he thinks about seeing me.

Oh, well. I’ll never know unless I try.

When he opens the door, Alec pins with a look that confuses me. Is he guilty? Angry that I’m here? Or exasperated that I won’t stop badgering him?

Or wait…

What if he actually has a girlfriend and she’s visiting him? Jealousy eats at me, coiling hot in my stomach. I never really asked him, right? I just assumed.

Oh God. Maybe that’s why he’s been distancing himself, and I’m essentially forcing myself on him.

Then, a male voice calls out from inside, “Who’s at the door, Alec?”

Hmm. Maybe not a girlfriend, then. A boyfriend?

Another guy drapes an arm over Alec’s shoulders. He’s about two inches shorter, with curly brown hair that reaches his eyebrows. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that they’re related, especially with how similar their eyes look.

The guy beams at me, and it’s so genuinely warm that I can’t help but smile back. “Hello. I’m Jasper, Alec’s brother. I don’t believe we’ve met.”

My cheeks burn, and my words stumble over one another as I shift my weight from one foot to the other. “H-hi. Oh, uh. Uhm, my name’s Zara from downstairs. I, uh, accidentally baked too many cupcakes. I’ve never been good at making just enough sweets for me. I always overbake. Not sure if that’s even a word, but I thought Alec might like some.”

Jasper’s smile only broadens at how flustered I look and sound. But he squeezes Alec’s shoulder and raises one bushy eyebrow at him. “Cupcakes, huh? I didn’t know you liked sweets, brother.”

Alec rolls his eyes and opens his mouth to say something, but another guy breaks them apart and flicks his eyes from one to the other. “She brings cupcakes, and yet none of you had the manners to let her in.”

Oh my God. As if two hot brothers aren’t enough, I’m seeing another exact duplicate of their eyes. This time, it belongs to someone with light brown hair, neatly styled —the longer hair on top swept forward and the short hair tapered on the sides—and a five o’clock shadow.

He presses his lips into a thin line as he stares at Jasper and Alec, but he cracks a smile when he finds my gaze. “I’m Jameson. I apologize on behalf of these rude idiots, Zara. I promise you, our mother taught us better than that. Please come in.”