Players, Bumps and Cocktail Sausages (Silence #3)(59)

His mouth parted, and he sucked in a deep breath.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said, running his fingers over the skin between my breasts.

He got off the bed and took off his jeans, keeping his lust-filled eyes on me. He slipped on a condom I handed him and crawled back on the bed slowly. I squirmed under his gaze, my body on fire for him.

“Jasper,” I whispered.

His body covered mine, and he lowered his lips to my jaw.

“I know. I’ve got you.”

He entered me at a maddeningly slow pace.

“Holly,” he groaned and kissed me.



“Li!” I shouted, running out of the door to greet my friend. I’d missed her. We hadn’t seen each other since we were eighteen, but we wrote all the time.

“Holly!” she replied with the same enthusiasm and ran at me. We collided, hugging like long lost sisters.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Break it up, you’ll squish my kid!” Jasper shouted from behind us.

Pulling back, I rolled my eyes. “Li, this is Jasper. Jasper, Li.”

“So you’re the one that got my friend pregnant,” Li said, shoving her hands on her hips.

Jasper did a bow. “That’s me.”

I felt the floor whip away beneath me. Li was beautiful, smart, confident and outgoing. How could I not have seen before that she was his type? I swallowed my jealously. She wasn’t here long, and I wanted us both to enjoy seeing each other again.

“Come inside! We’ve got so much to catch up on,” I said, pulling her towards the door.

She made a quiet squeal and bound into the house behind me.

“I missed you. And we do have a lot to catch up on, mum!”

“I know,” I said as we sat down on the sofa. “Crazy, isn’t it?”

“Super crazy! That was the last thing I ever thought would come out of your mouth.”



Li and I spent the next two hours gossiping and catching up. Jasper joined in the conversation when needed and kept us supplied with drinks and chocolate. He’d won Li over immediately and had her laughing at some of the things he got up to as a teenager. When the doorbell rang he went to answer it.

“He’s very cute,” she whispered.

I grinned. “I know! I hope the baby gets those good-looking genes.”

“Please, with you as its mum and hottie out there as its dad, there’s no doubt!”

Jasper walked back in the living room with Amy trailing behind.

“I approve,” Amy announced, nodding to Jasper.

He frowned. “Of course you do.”

“She said you were cocky.”

“Charmingly cocky,” he corrected, making her laugh.

The uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach again. I knew Amy would never let anything happen with Jasper, but the thought of him wanting her hurt.

“Anyway,” Amy said. “You need to leave. This is girl talk time.”

Japer turned to me. “I know when I’m not wanted.” Beside him, Amy raised her eyebrows at me, and I tried to not react. “Call if you need anything,” he said, leaning down and kissing the top of my head. “Keep that baby safe. And you two ladies, keep that one safe.” He nodded to me and then walked out.

“Bye, Jasper,” Amy shouted in a singsong voice. I threw a cushion at her.

“Are you joining us for dinner?” I asked Amy.

She sat down and gave Li a hug. “No, unfortunately I have plans, so I thought I’d come over now and catch up. I won’t be around much this weekend.”

“Oh?” Li said.

“Me and Liam have a make-or-break weekend planned.”

“What? Things are really that bad? Why didn’t you tell me when we went out, or the other hundred times we’ve spoken on the phone?” I asked.

She grimaced. “We’ll you’ve got a lot going on and-”

“I don’t care what I have going on, I want to help you too.”

Amy smiled and sat back.

“Right, no baby or Jasper talk. I want to know everything that’s going on with you and Liam.”

“Okay,” she said. “But quickly before we start, I think he likes you too.”

“Definitely,” Li agreed.

“Sure, we’re friends, and I’m carrying his child.” I deliberately left out the part where we’d had sex in my bedroom only three hours ago. They both opened their mouth to say something else. I held my hand up. “No more. We’re moving on. What’s going on, Amy?”

She sighed, shoulders slumping.

“Things have been strained for a while. I’m ambitious and working towards my degree, I know the career I want and what I have to do to get there. He’s the opposite. He’s bored at work, hates being shut inside a warehouse all day but does nothing about it. I hate people that complain about a situation but don’t change it. It’s like he’s waiting for his dream job to miraculously land in his lap.”

“What is his dream job?”

“Spray painting cars. Custom stuff, not accident touch-ups. When I suggested he changed jobs and worked for a mechanics while doing a course, he looked at me like I was crazy. Now surely if you’re advertising for a job and someone has experience working with cars and the other one has been working in a factory you’re going to go with the mechanic.”