Chapter One
Janine Bradley sat with her head pressed against the window of the bus, wondering if she was insane.
Jess Rossini had moved to New York City the week he turned eighteen, and Janine hadn't seen or heard from him since. After all, she was just his best friend's dorky little sister. Why would he talk to her? She still thought about Jess a few times a week, and had dreams about him that she'd be too embarrassed to ever tell anyone about. He had been her first love, even if he didn't know it. When she found out about her little problem, he had been one of the first people she wanted to talk to.
Janine imagined Jess would be quite shocked when he saw her. She didn't care. She needed to talk to someone and he was the only person she could imagine telling, despite her close relationship with her brother. John was, after all, her brother, and he wouldn't take it well. He would fly off the handle and nobody would be any better off, just more upset.
Janine had no idea what she was going to do and she was completely freaked out. So after having spent days thinking about Jess and how he had always been there when her brother wasn't, she was on a bus to New York City. She had a backpack, thirty-four dollars, and an address. She hoped she wasn't making a mistake. She hoped Jess was still the sweet, concerned guy he had been three years earlier.
From the bus station, Janine took a taxi to Jess's building—big and brick, just like many of the buildings she had seen on the drive there. The August heat made her sweat in the short minute she stood outside his building on the sidewalk, working up the courage to go in. Hands shaking as she checked her phone's GPS one more time to make sure she was in the right place, she entered the building. It wasn't the nicest apartment building she'd ever seen, that was for sure. Her stomach rolled with more than just nerves, and she decided the baby must be nervous, too. Or maybe it was just trying to make her miserable. She took a few gulps of air and smoothed her red shirt. Once she was sure she looked presentable, she knocked on the door.
A few seconds went by with no answer. As she was about to knock again, she heard stumbling, and a muttered curse. The door opened slightly and the guy behind it straightened. Janine's heart fluttered a bit. Jess looked older than he had at eighteen, and even more handsome. He wore a white T-shirt and black faded jeans with a black watch on his left arm. He glanced at her face for a few seconds, then allowed his gaze to travel over the rest of her. Finally, after lingering briefly on her bare shoulders, his eyes found her face again.
"You here to see Todd?"
She raised her eyebrows slightly. "Excuse me?"
He raised his eyebrows right back. "Do you have the right apartment?"
Her eyes widened. "You don't remember me?"
He frowned and looked her over again, narrowing his eyes slightly. She folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head to the side.
"Done?" she asked when he had made it back to her face.
"I don't think I remember you. If you wanna give me something more to go on maybe you'll refresh my memory, but on sight I'm not remembering you."
"You really don't remember me?" she said in amazement.
"Well, you know where I live, so I'm assuming I've brought you here, but I'm sorry, I'm not...maybe a name?"
"Janine," she said, barely stifling a giggle.
"Janine." He nodded and looked at her again.
She watched as realization hit him in the face.
"Janie?"
She smiled. "You look surprised."
His jaw fell open a bit and he struggled not to look her over again. He leaned against the frame of the door.
"What are you doing here?"
Her smile weakened and she looked down, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.
"I needed to...talk to someone."
He blinked. "And I'm the first person to come to mind?"
"No, actually you were the second, but John was...I didn't want to talk to John. I know this is really strange, me showing up on your doorstep after three years. But I...I don't know, it seemed like a...good idea."
"Does John know you're here?"
"No."
"Your parents?"
"No."
He nodded and looked at a spot over her head then back at her. "Does anybody know you're here?"
"No."
He rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess you want to come in."
He backed up, letting her in. As she walked by, he allowed himself a quick glance to see what she looked like from behind. He quickly jerked his gaze back up to eye level. This was his best friend's little sister, for Pete's sake.
"You've changed a lot since I last saw you. How old are you now, eighteen?"
"Yeah," she said with a nod.
"You look..." He briefly looked her over again. "Different."