And then, they’re followed by one more boy. One I don’t recognize. One that immediately has my attention. One with long, lanky limbs, caramel-colored hair and the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen.
The saddest eyes I’ve ever seen.
When that boy slides his gaze over to me, there’s nothing but curiosity on his face. I jerk my head away all the same, feeling hot splotches pop up on my cheeks.
My mom moves beside me, patting me on the head. “Sloane, you need to remember your sunscreen. You already look too hot, and you spend so much time in the dance studio, your skin isn’t used to this kind of exposure.”
Her fussing on me only makes me blush harder. I’m almost eleven and she’s making me feel like a little kid in front of everyone.
I give my eyes a petulant roll and mumble, “I know. I will,” before taking Violet’s hand and storming off.
We go inside and up to my guest room, looking for some privacy while everyone else stands around outside and makes small talk.
Violet flops on the mattress and announces, “Tell me everything.”
I giggle and push my hair behind my ears, drawn to the window that overlooks the driveway. “About what?”
“School? The city? What you wanna do this summer? Just . . . everything. I’m so happy there’s a girl here. This place stinks like boys all the time.”
Out the window, I see the mystery boy shaking hands with my parents. I note the distaste on my father’s face. The pity on my mother’s.
“Who’s the other guy?” I ask, unable to look away.
“Oh.” Violet’s voice gets a little quiet. “That’s Jasper. He’s one of us now.”
I turn to her, eyebrow quirked, hands on my hips, trying to play it cool, like I’m not too interested, but not really knowing how to achieve that either. “What do you mean?”
She rolls up to sit cross-legged on the bed and shrugs. “He needed a family, so we took him in. I don’t know all the details. There was an accident. Beau brought him here one day last fall. I like to think of him as one more stinky brother. You can just think of him like a new cousin.”
My head cants as my heart battles with my brain. My heart wants to stare out the window again, because Jasper is so cute and looking at him makes it do this weird little skipping thing in my chest.
My brain knows it’s stupid, because if he’s friends with Beau, he must be at least fifteen.
But I can’t stop myself.
I look anyway.
What I don’t realize is that I’ll be fighting the urge to stare at Jasper Gervais for years to come.
Chapter One -Jasper
Sloane Winthrop’s fiancé is a royal douchebag.
I’m familiar with the type. You don’t work your way into the NHL without encountering your fair share.
And this guy has the act down pat.
As if the name Sterling Woodcock wasn’t enough of a giveaway, he’s now bragging about the hunting trip he and his dad spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on to kill lions born and bred in captivity, like that will somehow make their dicks bigger.
From the Rolex on his wrist to his manicured nails, he’s practically dripping wealth, and I guess it only makes sense that Sloane might end up with a man like him. After all, the Winthrops are one of the most powerful families in the country with what is damn near a monopoly on the telecommunications industry.
As he rambles, I glance at Sloane across the table. Her sky-blue eyes are downcast, and she’s clearly fiddling with the napkin in her lap. She looks like she’d rather be anywhere but here in this dimly lit, ornate steakhouse.
And I feel about the same.
Listening to her small-dicked future husband boast to a table full of family and friends I’ve never met about something that is honestly embarrassing—and sad—isn’t how I’d choose to spend a night off.
But I’m here for Sloane, and that’s what I keep telling myself.
Because seeing her right now, looking downtrodden mere nights before her wedding . . . it feels like she needs someone here who actually knows her.
I expected her to be smiling. Glowing. I expected to feel happy for her—but I don’t.
“You hunt, Jasper?” Sterling asks, looking all poised and pretentious.
The collar of my checkered dress shirt immediately feels like it’s strangling me, even though the top buttons are undone. I clear my throat and roll my shoulders back. “I do.”
Sterling picks up the crystal tumbler before him and leans back to assess me with a smug smirk on his perfectly shaved face. “Any big game? You’d enjoy a trip like this.” People who don’t know me nod and murmur their assent.