I swallowed the toast which felt tasteless now. "I kissed him," I whispered, avoiding her eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't expect to see him after so long and...I lost control."
Skye was quiet for so long that I started to get worried.
"It's okay," she replied at last in a tiny voice. "You love him. I know it's hard for you. To keep your distance from him because of me." She sniffed a little. "He let you have me when he could have said no. He let me love you when it hurt him so much at first. And here I am, just standing in the way."
"Skye, please don't think like that," I urged her and grabbed her free hand. "Baby, I love you so much. He screwed up. He hurt you. This isn't about me and Jasper okay. This is about you and your feelings."
She puffed out her cheeks in a breath. "I can't accept this thing he has with Jasmine. Even if he is sorry about what he did and insists they're just friends now. How am I supposed to trust him, Cole? How am I supposed to just forgive her too and see her around him and not lose my goddamned mind?" she hissed. "He'd crucify me if I asked him of the same thing."
I rubbed my hands over my face and looked over at Jacob who was now climbing on a couch and trying to reach the other one without setting his foot on the floor. I smiled absently.
"I understand," I murmured because I didn't know what else to say. This wasn't my decision. It was Skye's. And if she didn't want to accept their friendship and had a hard time with it, I wasn't going to convince her otherwise.
Maybe it didn't affect me because I was used to seeing Jasper with Jasmine for so long and I believed him when he said their attraction had faded. He'd told me everything she had done for him, all the times she had talked him out of drinking himself into oblivion and saved him from having another stroke, how she had done her best to cheer him up when he was sinking into depression, even tried to convince him to return home so many times.
Maybe if Jasmine had been a guy, I would've had a harder time dealing with it. But she wasn't a guy. I was okay with it and I couldn't change that about myself. Just like Skye couldn't change what she felt.
"Let's go somewhere today," she said suddenly and got off the stool. "I just want us to spend time together and have lots of fun, just us three. Take pictures. Make memories." She smiled brightly. "And tonight, I want to go out with you. We can get someone to watch Jacob and go clubbing or something."
I frowned at her slightly. She never said things like that. If family outings or dates happened, it was mostly due to me taking the initiative. But she probably needed cheering up so I just nodded and agreed, hoping everything would be okay.
****
Chapter Seventeen
Jasper
We were having breakfast on Jasmine's hotel room balcony in Milan which consisted of simple things like cheesecake and coffee with some fruits and cereal. Noise from the city erupted around us but the two of us stayed quiet. There wasn't much to say after last night. It felt as if someone had taken us and stuffed us inside a mixer to whirl us around and when we finally got out, we couldn't gain a proper footing. So many things had just happened in one evening and we were both processing.
Or at least, I was processing. I didn't know what she was doing because she appeared pretty relaxed, reclining on a lounger with her sunglasses on and coffee in hand.
My mind drifted towards thoughts of Cole and Skye. When my anger had cooled down and I'd put the angst aside, I admitted to myself just how good it had felt to have been able to see them. God...so long had I denied myself the pleasure because I feared the pain. But still, I was glad I'd gotten a chance to hold him and Skye had been able to release her anger. As much as it hurt to bore it, I knew I deserved it.
She should have slapped my face too while she was at it so as not to leave any loose ends.
Despite the gravity of the situation, I smiled to myself a little. She used to be so feisty when we first met. Used to get under my skin so bad. Make me feel horny and pissed off at the same time. She never minced her words with me no matter how much I tried to intimidate her behind Cole's back. I'd seen some of that fire last night and...it just made me glad that Skye hadn't let it die out. She hadn't let what happened between us defeat her or crush her completely.
I was fucking proud of her.
Not so proud of myself though.
"Can I ask you something, Jasper?" my friend spoke up from the lounger and I gave a grunt, still not in the mood for conversation.
Jasmine lifted her sunglasses to her forehead and watched me intently. "What was it that made Skye fall for you?"
Her question was totally unexpected. But then, that was to be expected with Jasmine.
"I really don't want to talk about it," I muttered and stared at my hands.
"Please, Jasper." She got up from the lounger and came to join me at the table,
