Secret Words(24)

As everyone started heading off to the dining room, he stood at the threshold and waited for Jasmine. She was still engrossed in a conversation with Dylan, and they were walking ever so slowly.

"Dylan! Dinner!" he called to them. "Jasmine's ears are gonna fall off if you don't stop yapping."

Dylan grinned at him and walked faster. Jasmine gave him a smile that made his heart dance in his chest.

"Jasmine, would you sit next to me?" Linda asked. "I'd love to talk to you about a dish Jessa mentioned you cook really well."

"Oh, I want to know about that, too," Faye said as she chose the seat on the other side of Jasmine.

Great. He couldn't even sit next to his girlfriend. Worse, Dylan beat him to the chair right opposite her.

Grudgingly, he sat next to Dylan. He glanced at his dad, who appeared engrossed with discussing the state of the economy with Ray and the twins. With his mum and Faye busy chatting about food with Jasmine, he could have a serious talk with Dylan without being too conspicuous.

"Dyl, what were you and Jaz talking about?" he whispered.

"Oh, you know. The usual," Dylan said with an enigmatic smile.

"What usual?"

"We were exchanging notes, talking about things we like and don't like. Turns out we both enjoy similar things," Dylan said as he dug into his food enthusiastically.

Kane glanced at Jasmine. Surely she wouldn't have led his brother on? Or was she so concerned about hiding their relationship from his family that she was using Dylan's interest in her to cover it up?

"You do know she has a boyfriend," he said with a frown.

"Yeah, I heard her say she was afraid so."

"That's not what she meant," he bristled.

"Oh? What do you think she meant?"

"Dylan, don't be obtuse."

"Kane," his dad called.

He turned his head to his father who wanted his opinion on how the current level of demand for new housing was affecting the economy. He sighed and reluctantly dropped his conversation with Dylan. They'd have to continue it later.





~~~~~~~





"Make sure you join us again for dinner before you go back to Melbourne, Jasmine."

"Thank you, Linda. I'll do that. I really enjoyed tonight. Thank you for having me."

"It was a pleasure. Kane, are you heading off, too?"

Kane nodded. "I'm driving Jasmine home."

"Oh, I thought she drove here," his mum replied.

"No. I picked her up," he responded.

"Maybe Dylan can drive Jasmine home and you can sleep here tonight. You can start staying at Faye's tomorrow. Your dad hasn't had the chance to talk to you, and I know he wants to."

He tried to keep an impassive expression. "You can tell Dad what we talked about, Mum. I'm kind of tired of the topic. I want to give it a rest for tonight."

"Oh, okay, darling. No problem."

They said their goodbyes to everyone. To Dylan, he said, "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Sure. What about?" Dylan asked innocently.

"Tomorrow," he replied.

Kane's eyes narrowed as Dylan hugged Jasmine goodbye. It was, again, far too long for his liking.





CHAPTER NINE





Jasmine peeked at Kane's profile as he drove them back to Jessa and Rob's. He seemed introspective – cranky, even.

"Kane, is everything okay?" she asked, placing a hand on his thigh.

He glanced at her. "You seemed to enjoy tonight," he commented.

"I did," she said with a smile. "Your whole family's great."

"Dylan really enjoyed your company, too."

She frowned at the tone of his voice. "Why did that come out sarcastically?" she asked.

"Did it? I didn't notice," Kane replied, still full of sarcasm.

"Don't tell me you're jealous, Kane," she said, horrified.

"My brother was obviously keen on you. Didn't you think how messy it would be if he thought you were interested in him, too? I know you didn't want my family knowing about us yet, but did you have to flirt with Dylan to hide what's going on between us?"

"Oh my God! Kane! You can't seriously think I was leading Dylan on! How could you even think I'd do something like that?" she asked in disbelief.

Kane's expression changed from stony to uncertain as he took in her outburst. "The two of you seemed to hit it off," he said defensively.

She gasped in shocked disgust, then crossed her arms tightly across her chest and stared straight at the road ahead. Did he think she was an insensitive bimbo? How could he accuse her of flirting with his own brother at his parents' place? He mustn't think much of her at all!

Kane remained silent. Well, she was fine with that. She didn't have anything to say to him.

She worked to hold off the tears that threatened to spill. She had been understanding of his situation and had trusted him even when he still chose to attend to his ex-fiancée's needs. All she did was relax in his brother's company and he had the hide to accuse her of flirting with Dylan when all she wanted was to be close to him and feel his touch.