subject.
Sara’s breath caught. “Never mind, it’s none of my business – it’s not important – you don’t have to tell me.” She turned to face him, studying his eyes. “I don’t need to know your past,” she whispered, shocked at how brave she was becoming around Jared. But, being with him felt natural, as if she’d already been this close to him, if not closer .
He smiled at her. “It’s not that. It’s just – well – complex , I guess you could say.” Jared responded slowly, choosing his words wisely, he laughed. “It’s either that, or incredibly stupid. I’m not sure which. Anyway,” he scoffed. “At first, I was running away, but when I settled here, and bought Wisteria Hall, I realized I’d come for other reasons too.”
“While I was at a park in Phoenix, I met a girl from Australia named Eve, she was walking her dog,” he continued without prompting. “Due to her father’s job, Eve and her family had been living in Phoenix for over a year. Her father was an investment banker and had been sent to Phoenix, to start up a new branch. The job was supposed to last another year, but in August, they let him know they were sending him back to Sidney, in January. I was heartbroken. I was nowhere near ready to get married, but I couldn’t bear the thought of being away from Eve. So, I bit the bullet and prepared for the worse. If she had to leave, I was going to propose. I figured being married to her couldn’t be worse, than being without her.”
Jared paused briefly, giving Sara an opportunity to respond. When she didn’t, he continued his story. “I really did try. I wined and dined her, and then I popped the question. I told Eve I would go back to Australia with her, if she didn’t want to live in the United States.”
Sara was intrigued. “How did she react?”
Jared sighed. “She didn’t give me quite the response I expected. You see, I’d got it all wrong. Eve wasn’t in love with me. She said she was flattered, and considered me a really good friend , but she didn’t want a serious relationship. I realized then, my moving to Sidney would have been a mistake.”
“Did you tell her that you were in love with her, I mean before you proposed?”
Jared started kissing the side of Sara’s neck. “No. I guess that was my first mistake.”
“But you were in love with her, weren’t you?” Sara closed her eyes, leaning her head to the side, surrendering to the sensations Jared was creating in her.
Jared scoffed. “Yeah, I guess I was – in some form – but not like this. What I feel for you is different. It goes far beyond anything I’ve ever experienced.” He kissed the top of her head. Sara reached up, gently massaging the back of his neck, softly grazing her fingernails over his skin. Jared quickly drew in his breath. Sara’s touch was trying his control again. He sighed deeply, closing his eyes before continuing, desperate for a distraction.
“To make a long story short, Eve went back to Australia, and I ran . I got on my bike, left Arizona, and headed back for El Dorado, home. When I got to our drive, instead of pulling in, I just kept going. The next thing I knew, I was passing Shreveport city limits sign. I got into a pool game with Steve and Carl and started hanging out with them. When they found out I didn’t have anywhere to stay, they put me up at their place. After a while, they tried to fix me up with a girl across the street – Lucy. She was sweet and nice and pretty, but I had my heart set on finding you.”
So they did have something going. Lucy lied to me . “Jared,” she said, dubiously. “Up until about five years ago, I’d spent every summer with Lucy. I can’t understand why our paths never crossed.”
Jared paused in thought for a while. “It does seem a little odd. Maybe it has something to do with the master plan you were talking about earlier. Regardless, we’re together now.” He paused again, reading her eyes. “Are you sure
Sara’s breath caught. “Never mind, it’s none of my business – it’s not important – you don’t have to tell me.” She turned to face him, studying his eyes. “I don’t need to know your past,” she whispered, shocked at how brave she was becoming around Jared. But, being with him felt natural, as if she’d already been this close to him, if not closer .
He smiled at her. “It’s not that. It’s just – well – complex , I guess you could say.” Jared responded slowly, choosing his words wisely, he laughed. “It’s either that, or incredibly stupid. I’m not sure which. Anyway,” he scoffed. “At first, I was running away, but when I settled here, and bought Wisteria Hall, I realized I’d come for other reasons too.”
“While I was at a park in Phoenix, I met a girl from Australia named Eve, she was walking her dog,” he continued without prompting. “Due to her father’s job, Eve and her family had been living in Phoenix for over a year. Her father was an investment banker and had been sent to Phoenix, to start up a new branch. The job was supposed to last another year, but in August, they let him know they were sending him back to Sidney, in January. I was heartbroken. I was nowhere near ready to get married, but I couldn’t bear the thought of being away from Eve. So, I bit the bullet and prepared for the worse. If she had to leave, I was going to propose. I figured being married to her couldn’t be worse, than being without her.”
Jared paused briefly, giving Sara an opportunity to respond. When she didn’t, he continued his story. “I really did try. I wined and dined her, and then I popped the question. I told Eve I would go back to Australia with her, if she didn’t want to live in the United States.”
Sara was intrigued. “How did she react?”
Jared sighed. “She didn’t give me quite the response I expected. You see, I’d got it all wrong. Eve wasn’t in love with me. She said she was flattered, and considered me a really good friend , but she didn’t want a serious relationship. I realized then, my moving to Sidney would have been a mistake.”
“Did you tell her that you were in love with her, I mean before you proposed?”
Jared started kissing the side of Sara’s neck. “No. I guess that was my first mistake.”
“But you were in love with her, weren’t you?” Sara closed her eyes, leaning her head to the side, surrendering to the sensations Jared was creating in her.
Jared scoffed. “Yeah, I guess I was – in some form – but not like this. What I feel for you is different. It goes far beyond anything I’ve ever experienced.” He kissed the top of her head. Sara reached up, gently massaging the back of his neck, softly grazing her fingernails over his skin. Jared quickly drew in his breath. Sara’s touch was trying his control again. He sighed deeply, closing his eyes before continuing, desperate for a distraction.
“To make a long story short, Eve went back to Australia, and I ran . I got on my bike, left Arizona, and headed back for El Dorado, home. When I got to our drive, instead of pulling in, I just kept going. The next thing I knew, I was passing Shreveport city limits sign. I got into a pool game with Steve and Carl and started hanging out with them. When they found out I didn’t have anywhere to stay, they put me up at their place. After a while, they tried to fix me up with a girl across the street – Lucy. She was sweet and nice and pretty, but I had my heart set on finding you.”
So they did have something going. Lucy lied to me . “Jared,” she said, dubiously. “Up until about five years ago, I’d spent every summer with Lucy. I can’t understand why our paths never crossed.”
Jared paused in thought for a while. “It does seem a little odd. Maybe it has something to do with the master plan you were talking about earlier. Regardless, we’re together now.” He paused again, reading her eyes. “Are you sure
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