“Isn’t it?” I scoffed. “We stayed married because you were terrified they’d take it away from you. That they’d think less of you. Because deep down, they have made you afraid that they’ll give that hotel to someone else.”
Eloise shook her head. “You’re twisting this around. They support me.”
“They have a strange fucking way of showing it,” I muttered. “Have they ever said congratulations after we got married?”
“Is this why you were acting so strange at the ranch? Why you avoid them? Because you think they don’t support me or that they aren’t happy for me?”
“I’m not going to pretend I like your parents.”
“Jasper.” Her mouth parted. “Don’t say that.”
I shot her a flat look. “So you can say you hate my parents but I can’t take issue with yours?”
Eloise winced. Then her eyes flooded with tears.
Fuck. Too far. I’d taken it too far.
She had every right to dislike my parents. Hell, I disliked my parents. But she loved hers. And I’d just put her in the position to choose.
Her family. Or me.
Tension settled thick and sweltering in the cab. The whirl of the tires on pavement was the only sound for miles. Eloise kept her gaze pointed out the passenger window as I focused on the road.
It should have been a relief to see the A-frame. It wasn’t.
“You’re right,” she whispered as I parked. “All of it. But I love my parents anyway.”
That was who she was.
Eloise loved.
Without conditions. Without hesitation. Even when some people might not deserve it. Like me. Did I deserve it?
“Their hearts are in the right place,” she said.
“Are they?” Fuck, I was being a dick. Why couldn’t I just drop this subject?
“You said it was okay if my family hated you.” Her chin quivered. “That it would be easier that way. But what you really meant was it was okay if you hated them. That it would be easier for you.”
The nail drove straight through my chest.
Yes, it would be easier.
To walk away. To cut ties.
Eloise sniffled, wiping under her eyes before a tear could fall. “That, right there, is the reason I hate your parents. Why I hate Samantha, despite how much you claim to love her. You don’t get to tell me I’m scared, Jasper. Not when you’re just as afraid. You’ve built a fortress around yourself because you’re so scared that you’ll love someone and they’ll leave you. You push everyone away before they even have the chance to get close.”
My chest twisted.
“El—”
She shoved out of the car, then hauled out her bags, taking them inside before I could help.
I dragged a hand through my hair, tipping my head to the Yukon’s roof. “Fuck.”
She was right. So damn right. But between the wedding, seeing Sam, the trip to Paris, I was coming apart at the seams. Eloise and I needed to talk, except at the moment, I didn’t trust myself to articulate my feelings. To say it right. So I shut it all down, focusing on a single task.
Getting the mail.
I shoved out of the Yukon and walked down the driveway. The clean, mountain air didn’t do a damn thing to loosen the pressure in my chest. Every step felt heavier and heavier. But I kept on walking. By the time I returned to the cabin, maybe I’d have a clue about what to say.
To fix this.
Yesterday in Paris had been incredible. A day I’d never forget. I didn’t want to ruin this trip with a fight.
Inside the mailbox were two magazines, both for Eloise, and a white envelope so large it had been curled in half to fit. I tucked the magazines under an arm, then inspected the envelope.
It was addressed to Eloise from Misner Family Law. Her attorney.
My stomach dropped.
I slid my finger beneath the envelope’s seal, prying it open. Eloise was already mad. She could add invasion of privacy to her list.
With a careful tug, I eased the documents from the envelope enough to read the top page.
Not that I needed to. I already knew what I’d find inside.
Divorce papers.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
ELOISE
Jasper stood on the deck, coffee cup in hand. He was in jeans and a T-shirt, his feet bare. He stared at the trees.
I stared at him.
In the past two days, I’d seen more of his back than I had in all of our time together.
Whenever I came into the room, he left. At night, he’d sleep facing one wall while I stared at the other.
My entire body felt heavy. My muscles were nearly as weary as my heart. Never in my life had I felt this tired. Two sleepless nights. Two days spent fighting tears, and the battle had drained me entirely.
Jasper lifted his mug, taking a sip of coffee. He didn’t so much as glance into the house.
Was this how it would end? In silence?
The lump in my throat was as hard as a rock, but I swallowed it down. It landed in my empty stomach like a sledgehammer. With my purse slung over a shoulder, I swiped my keys from the kitchen counter and walked out of the A-frame.
My fake marriage was falling apart.
But at least I had The Eloise. My marriage to that hotel was as real as the morning sun, and for yet another day, she’d be my salvation. So I climbed in my car and drove into town.
My mental to-do list had exploded the past two days with nothing but yuck.
Search for a new rental.
Call my lawyer.
And at the top of the list, Fire Blaze.
I hated my to-do list. Couldn’t I rewind time a couple days?
On Sunday, Jasper and I had been exploring Paris. It had been, without contest, the best day of my life. As we’d walked, hand in hand, I’d actually convinced myself he cared. That he might love me.
Maybe he did. At least, maybe he loved a part of me.
Except, for better or worse, my family was the other part. My parents, my brothers and sisters, were a piece of my heart. The Edens came as a packaged deal.
Jasper couldn’t care for me and despise them.
He’d made his point on the drive home. It wasn’t fair for me to voice my dislike for his parents and expect him to keep quiet. And he’d made another point about Mom and Dad supporting me.
Yes, I was scared to lose the hotel.
But at the end of the day, I trusted them. I had faith that they loved me, that they wanted the best for my life. If they decided that I didn’t have what it took to own The Eloise Inn, I knew that decision would be painful for them to make. They’d only do it because it was the best decision. Because they knew, if that hotel failed under my control, it would be devastating.
It wasn’t a black-and-white situation. But I didn’t know how to explain that to Jasper. Not when his parents had been so . . . cold.
The only way Jasper was going to see the beauty of my family was by living it. By putting up with my brothers. By getting to know my sisters. By seeing the love my parents gave us unconditionally.
How was I ever going to show him what a family should look like when he locked them out? When he walked away?
It was over, wasn’t it?
We’d end on this horrible, heart-wrenching fight. And I hadn’t even had the chance to show Jasper why he was so wonderful. Why he deserved love.
My eyes flooded. I brushed the skin beneath my lashes. It was practically raw from how many tears I’d swept away in the past two days. Then I pulled into the alley behind The Eloise, parking beside Knox’s truck, and headed inside.