Wounded (In My Dreams) Read Online Free PDF Page A

neighbors who were playing in the front yard with their kids.
    Except they weren’t looking at me.
    I followed their line of sight and jumped when I saw Jasper standing in the garage, arms up as his hands rested on the doorframe, one foot stepping on the other—in nothing but those candy cane pajama pants. Yeah, couldn’t imagine why my neighbors were more focused on him. He looked like he had just walked out of an Abercrombie ad and was smiling at me, not even noticing other people were twenty feet away or so.
    “I didn’t get much sleep so I heard you come back.”
    “Oh, sorry. Is the bed not okay?”
    “No, it’s great. I thought some wild animals were running around eating each other.” He gave a quick nod to next door.
    “Yeah, Lucifer and Beelzebub make a lot of noise, especially since it’s so quiet out here. They just echo off the houses and open air.”
    “That can’t be their real names,” he chuckled as he let go of the top of the doorframe and walked over to me.
    “No, it’s what I call them.”
    “That’s not very nice,” he teased, smiling widely.
    “Hey, I say it to their faces,” I defended. “They should learn not to scream like they’ve been hit by a car when playing. The kids next door to them are younger and don’t scream like that.”
    “Fair enough. Maybe we can exorcise them.”
    “Ohh, I like it. You have a dark side too.”
    “I do,” he snickered as I popped the trunk. “I can bring all this in. You’ve been running around all day.”
    “Kinda love you right now. I hate carrying all this crap in.” Still, I took a few bags because it wasn’t like I was going to walk in empty-handed. I’d been so distracted I hadn’t noticed my neighbors walk over.
    “So you’re finally dating someone?” Berna asked as she gaped at Jasper.
    My face flushed as I shook my head. Not in a million years could I land someone as hot as Jasper. “No, Jasper’s just a friend staying with me. Berna, Craig, this is Jasper. Jasper, Berna and Craig.”
    “Nice to meet you,” he greeted, shaking Berna’s hand first.
    “You too,” Craig replied. “Sorry about that. We’ve just never seen a man at Lily’s house before.”
    Jasper glanced at me. “Oh?”
    “I don’t have time to date,” I mumbled as I picked up another bag.
    “Lucky for me,” Jasper chuckled, shooting me a wink. “It would be really weird if you had a boyfriend when we met and decided to let me crash here.”
    “You guys haven’t known each other long?” Berna inquired, realizing there was some gossip here.
    “A while.” I shrugged but shot Jasper a look they couldn’t see.
    “Yeah, we met and just now she said I could stay and help her out.”
    “That’s good,” Craig replied, realizing I was uncomfortable talking about this. “Lily could use help with a big house like this. She has too much to worry about all by herself.”
    “Well, anything she needs, I’m her man.”
    I couldn’t even look at him. That was a loaded comment if I’d ever heard one.
    “Well if you’re staying through the summer, you should come out with us on our boat. We could make a day of it,” Berna offered.
    “We’ll have to see what Lily’s schedule’s like. She’s got some crazy work stuff coming up, but maybe. Nice meeting you.”
    “You too,” they replied, taking the hint.
    “Thank you,” I mouthed as he lifted one of the trays from the trunk.
    “I’m sorry. I guess I thought you were friends with them considering how they were acting,” he whispered.
    “It’s not that I’m not friends with them,” I hedged, glancing over my shoulder to make sure they weren’t in ear shot. “It’s just, she likes to talk and to everyone about everything . Her mom has stopped over when she was housesitting and knew stuff I would never tell most people, and that was just what she said while standing on my doorstep. Berna doesn’t have much of a life and likes to act like she’s so important by knowing lots. Just not