The Edens and I had that in common.
Son of a bitch. I was going to have to figure out how to live with them, wasn’t I? No way I’d make her choose between us.
“Would it be so hard?” She placed her hand on my chest. “Unlocking your heart for my family?”
This woman.
She really didn’t understand, did she?
This imaginary lock to my heart? I didn’t have the key.
I’d handed it to her weeks ago.
“Okay. We’ll go to dinner at the ra—”
Eloise launched herself into my arms, moving so fast I almost didn’t catch her.
Almost.
“Thank you,” she murmured against my neck.
“Say it like you mean it, El.”
She giggled, catching my drift. Her lips found mine, and I got the thank you I wanted.
I was sucking on her lower lip when some outside awareness made me pull away. That same feeling crept beneath my skin, raising the hair on the back of my neck.
“What?” she asked, following my gaze toward the windows.
There was nothing but sunshine and smiles beyond the glass.
“Nothing.” I shook the feeling away, then kissed the corner of her mouth. “Put me to work.”
She gave me that adorable mock salute. “Sir, yes, sir.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
ELOISE
Jasper was asleep on his stomach, one knee raised as he hugged his pillow. Exactly how he’d looked when I’d slipped out of bed this morning to take a shower. The covers barely covered his ass, revealing those dimples above his cheeks and the rippled muscles of his back.
Warmth spread through my chest as I watched him sleep. It was still hard to believe this was really happening. That he was mine.
As much as I wanted to strip off my clothes and curl up against his naked body, work was waiting. So I padded across the bedroom, my feet sinking into the rug beneath the bed. Then I brushed the hair from his forehead.
“Bye, babe,” I whispered.
His eyes stayed closed but he stretched out an arm, blindly reaching for me. When his hand skimmed my shirt, he fisted it, drawing me closer. A silent request for a kiss.
I was learning to read Jasper. To hear him even when he didn’t speak.
So I kissed his stubbled cheek.
I love you.
Every day it got harder and harder not to say it aloud. Last night, after dinner at the ranch, I’d been so proud of how hard he’d tried that I’d almost said it on the way home.
Why hadn’t I? Why was I holding back? Because I wanted Jasper to say it first? Because he still wouldn’t wear a stupid wedding ring?
How many people had told Jasper they loved him?
Not enough. Shame on me for waiting.
“I love you.”
Jasper’s eyes popped open. A myriad of emotions flew through those dark irises. Happiness. Hesitation. Regret.
He wasn’t ready to say it back. If the only person he’d said I love you to had been Samantha, then I didn’t blame him for being scared.
That was okay. I’d wait.
For Jasper Vale, I’d wait until the end of my days.
I brushed that hair off his forehead again, then kissed his temple. “I gotta go. See you later.”
“El, I . . .” He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. His fist in my shirt tightened.
“I know, Jas.”
I knew his parents had never taught him about love. I knew that Samantha’s version of love had come with conditions and manipulations and limits.
Mine did not. He’d realize that. If I told him enough, he’d learn what true love looked like.
So I stood, crossing the bedroom, giving him the time to let those words sink in. To feel them. If I said them enough, he’d realize they weren’t all that terrifying.
A lightness settled into my bones as I left the A-frame. My mental to-do list reshuffled as I drove into town, making room for a new item at the top.
Change my last name.
“Eloise Vale.”
Yeah, I liked the sound of that.
As I eased into a parking space behind the hotel, Knox pulled up beside me.
“Morning,” he said, climbing out of his truck.
“Hi.” I fell in step beside my brother, following him inside. Normally, Knox was in before dawn to start on kitchen prep. “Late start today?”
“The boys had a bad night.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m not.” He threw his arm around my shoulders. Knox would skip sleep for a decade if it meant time with Memphis and his sons. “Dinner was fun last night.”
“Yeah.” Fun might be a stretch, but it had been exponentially better than Jasper’s first trip to the ranch.
Not everyone had been able to come to Mom and Dad’s last night. Griffin and Winn had stayed home because Emma hadn’t been feeling well. Lyla had been exhausted from a slog of long hours and hadn’t wanted to drive out. And Foster and Talia had gone on a date together, so it had just been my parents, Mateo and Knox’s family.
It had been quieter, but Jasper had engaged in the conversation. He’d talked to Memphis mostly, both of them trading stories about growing up on the East Coast. When Dad had asked how he’d met Foster, he’d shared their whole story, including how he’d gotten into martial arts in high school. To my mother, he’d been polite, even though I knew he was still irritated about the Blaze situation.
Jasper had mostly spoken when spoken to. But that was just who he was. Different than any of the guys I’d brought home or dated before. My family would learn that about him. Like me, they’d learn to read his silent cues.
Knox and I walked inside the hotel, and when we reached the doors for Knuckles, he retreated to his kitchen while I headed for the desk to relieve my night clerk.
The morning went by in a blur of check-outs and housekeeping assignments. By eleven o’clock, I felt like I’d run three miles.
I’d just finished checking out a couple from California when the lobby doors opened and Jasper strode inside.
My mouth watered.
He was wearing that baseball hat again along with a white T-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts. The ends of his hair beneath the cap were curled and damp because he’d probably gone to the gym before heading home for a shower.
“Wow,” I whispered. Seriously, my husband was freaking hot.
The corner of his mouth turned up as he rounded the desk. “Hi, angel.”
“I really like you in that hat.”
He bent, brushing his lips to my forehead. “I’ll wear it for you later.” And nothing else.
The unspoken promise caused a shiver to roll down my spine. “Yes, please.”
Jasper leaned against the desk, glancing around the lobby.
Maybe it should have been awkward after this morning, but it wasn’t. Probably because I didn’t regret telling him how I felt.
“How’s the morning going?” he asked.
“Busy.” I slumped in my seat. “But everyone is checked out, so I can catch my breath.”
“What can I help with?”
“The lobby is a mess.” There was a crumpled napkin on the table by the fireplace. The magazines were scattered everywhere and the chairs were askew because a couple this morning had repositioned them while they’d been visiting.
“I’ll take care of it,” he said.