Jasper Vale (The Edens)

Eloise popped the lid on her to-go cup of coffee and swept her purse from the counter. Then, like she did most mornings, she turned in a full circle. Two circles, actually. One spin to the right. One spin to the left.

“I’m forgetting something,” she said.

“Whatever it is, I’ll bring it to you later.”

“Okay.” She gave me a soft smile, her gaze trailing down my naked chest.

While she’d taken a shower and dressed for the day, I’d climbed out of bed and made coffee, only bothering to pull on a pair of sweats.

Her gaze lingered on my abs for a moment before her eyes shifted to my hands splayed on the island, those blues locking on my left. Her smile dimmed.

She was searching for the ring, wasn’t she?

Eloise had been paying my ring finger more attention this past week, ever since that day in the hotel lobby a week ago when she’d fired Blaze. The day I’d told her the divorce papers had landed in the trash. When she’d mentioned the ring in the heat of the moment.

Had she been searching for it all this time? I hadn’t noticed her staring at my hand, but maybe she’d hidden it better before Italy. Or maybe I’d just been oblivious.

But it was out there now, plaguing us both.

“You’re going to the gym?” she asked, her gaze dropping to her coffee cup. When she looked up again, her smile was back in its beautiful glory.

“Yeah. Foster and I are meeting in half an hour.”

“See you after?”

I nodded. “Want me to bring you lunch?”

“Yes, please.” She rounded the corner, rising up on her toes for a kiss.

I bent, sweeping her into my arms and sealing my mouth over hers. Our tongues tangled in a lazy, slow dance, kissing until she had a pretty flush to her cheeks and my cock stretched my sweats.

Another morning, I’d peel away those black slacks and fuck her while she was bent over the counter. But she’d had a hectic week, and I knew she wanted to get to work. So I eased away, holding her for just another minute to bury my face in her hair and draw in my favorite scent.

She clung to me with her arms banded around my ribs and locked behind my back. “I’d better go.”

“Yeah,” I murmured, loosening my hold. With a kiss on her forehead, I followed her outside, standing on the porch to watch as she climbed in her car and waved before driving down the lane.

The morning air was warm and the forecast was calling for another hot July day. The scent of pinesap filled my nose. The river rushed in the distance and birds chirped as they swept through the trees. Sunbeams streamed through branches, casting everything in a yellow morning glow.

It should have snared my focus. This little corner of Montana, my little corner, had become a source of peace. Instead, I looked to my hand and sighed.

If Eloise had refused to wear the ring I’d bought her, it would have bothered me. Especially now, after all we’d gone through together.

The ring she’d given me was simple. Classic. A titanium band with polished edges and a matte center.

What the fuck were the odds that she’d pick the exact style ring that Sam had given me years ago?

When she’d given it to me, I’d almost thought it was a joke. Not that Eloise would ever know that it was the same, but they were identical.

The ring Eloise had bought had spent some time in my drawer upstairs, buried beneath my socks. I just hadn’t been ready to wear a ring again. Especially when it had been so damn familiar.

I’d worn Samantha’s ring.

And it had meant fuck all.

Didn’t it mean more to Eloise that I was here? That she had me wrapped around her own ring finger?

Eloise Eden owned me.

I loved that woman.

I loved her in a way I hadn’t even known existed. A soul-deep, undying love.

Wasn’t it more important that I showed her how I felt? Every day. Every night. From the food I cooked, to the way I worshiped her body.

For fuck’s sake, I cuddled. I let her sleep on top of me every goddamn night, didn’t I?

It was just a ring.

With or without it, I was hers.

But she needed the ring, didn’t she? She needed that symbol. So today, I’d drop it at the jewelry store to get resized. It was a little too tight.

Leaving the porch, I went inside to swap out my sweats for shorts and a clean T-shirt. Then I drove across town to Foster’s gym.

“Hey.” Foster sat in the center of the ring, stretching his hamstrings.

“Hi.” I jerked up my chin, toeing off my shoes before joining him.

Stepping through the ropes always centered me. MMA fights were held in a cage but Foster had always preferred his daily training in a boxing ring, even when we’d lived in Vegas. I felt the same.

Something about the ring, the four corners, the smaller size, grounded me. It allowed me to shut out everything and everyone beyond these imaginary walls.

“How’s it going?” he asked as I took a seat across from him, beginning the regular stretch routine.

“Good. You?”

“It’s good. But I got an interesting call this morning. From that new kid making a name for himself in Vegas.” Foster didn’t need to clarify. We both knew it was the kid who’d tried to hire me. “He told me he approached you about a job. That you turned him down. I think he thought you were staying because of me. He must not know about Eloise.”

When I’d gone to Vegas for that interview, I’d let Foster believe that I’d talked to the kid before Eloise and I had gotten married. That my trip to Vegas was more a courtesy than a serious inquiry.

“I told him I’d train him. He just had to relocate.”

Foster grinned. “I’m glad you’re staying. If you and Eloise had decided to move to Vegas, the Edens might have set up a roadblock on the highway.”

I chuckled.

Maybe someday, if Eloise was all right with it, I’d tell him the whole story. I’d tell him about Vegas. About how Eloise and I had agreed to fake it.

Or maybe not.

Part of me liked that this secret was just ours.

“I need a job,” I told Foster. Not for the money. I could live comfortably off my inheritance for the rest of my life. But I needed something to keep myself occupied.

“You have a job.”

I gave him a flat look. “You’re retired.”

“So?” He shrugged, shoving up to his feet. Then he smacked his stomach. “Talia likes my abs. You can help me keep them.”

I hopped up, reaching out a hand. “How about we just train as friends?”

“Not friends.” He clasped my hand. “Brothers.”

“Brothers.” We were brothers, weren’t we? Foster and I had been brothers long before I’d married Eloise. But damn, I liked that it was official. “All right. Let’s get to work. Keep your woman happy.” And mine too. Eloise liked the definition at my hips.

We spent the next two hours in the ring, sparring and doing drills. Neither of us needed an event, a championship fight, to push ourselves. We trained because it was the outlet we’d both come to rely upon. And when sweat drenched my shirt, when my legs were warm and my muscles loose, Foster and I returned to the mats to stretch and cool down.

“So what kind of job do you want?” he asked.

“Hell if I know.” I wasn’t even sure what kind of opportunities there were in Quincy. “For now, Eloise needs some help at the hotel.”

The Fourth of July had been hectic this past week. The rodeo last weekend had been a unique experience, something I hadn’t thought I’d enjoy. But we’d ended up having a great time. Eloise’s excitement had been contagious. Even with her family there, I’d had fun—probably because I’d sat toward the end of our row with Foster on one side and Eloise on the other.

Even after the celebrations, Quincy was crawling with tourists. The hotel was swamped and that six-hour window between check-out and check-in was pure insanity.

Eloise had given me a crash course in housekeeping and running their industrial washers and dryers so I could contribute. It had been the right decision for her to fire Blaze, especially since she’d told me he caused more work than he actually accomplished. But she still had a part-time hole in her staff, which I had tried to help fill.

“It’s good of you to help her,” Foster said. “Talia said this was the busiest she’s ever seen Quincy or the hotel.”

“Happy to.” It was the truth. I’d never been a man who needed the spotlight. At the moment, I was content to do whatever it took for Eloise to shine.

Was that my calling? I’d never felt like I had some grand purpose in life. I was a man content to help someone else achieve their dreams. First Foster. Then Eloise.

That sounded like a good plan for now.

“Speaking of the hotel,” I said, shoving up to my feet. “I’d better head home and take a shower. Then get downtown to see what’s happening.”

“I think we’re heading that way later.” Foster stood too, following me out of the ring. “Talia wants to eat at Knuckles tonight. You guys want to join us?”

My first reaction was to say no. Cooking Eloise dinner before stealing her away to bed had become the highlight of my day. But maybe she’d like a date. “Yeah. Maybe. Let me talk to Eloise.”

Foster nodded and lifted a hand, waving as I headed outside.

I drove home, hurried through a shower and threw on a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt. Then I snagged the ring from the drawer, shoving it in a pocket before I headed to the kitchen to pack a lunch for Eloise and me.

I was about to leave but something stopped me. I turned around in the space, taking in the counters. Had I forgotten something too?

“Huh.” Strange. There was an odd twist in my gut, almost like a sense of dread.

I let the still house sink in. I listened for anything amiss—running water or an uncommon electrical buzz. But the A-frame was quiet. Normal.

Eloise’s forgetfulness must have rubbed off. So I shook away the feeling and headed into town.

The only open parking spaces downtown were two in the alley behind The Eloise. I parked the Yukon and instead of going inside the hotel, I crossed the street, swinging by the jewelry store before heading next door to get in line at Eden Coffee.

Lyla looked as swamped as she had been all week, but her smile never wavered. Eloise did that too. If a visitor had a bad experience at the hotel, it wouldn’t be because of my wife.

“Hey.” Lyla let out a deep breath when it was my turn in line. “Oh my God, this day has been nonstop.”

“Need anything?”

“No.” She shook her head. “But thanks for asking. What can I get for you?”

“An iced coffee for Eloise.”

“Coming right up.” She smiled, then got to work. The moment Lyla slid the plastic to-go cup across the counter, she greeted her next customer.

I made my way across Main, glancing down the busy sidewalks.

Twenty feet from the hotel, that same strange feeling I’d felt at home hit. A niggle. A pit forming in my gut. I glanced around, feeling eyes on me, but there were people everywhere. And not a familiar face in the bunch.

It was that goddamn kid. Blaze. It wasn’t only Eloise’s busy workload that had kept me close to the hotel. It was that kid.

No one had seen him since the day Eloise had fired him last week. According to Anne, Blaze’s mother had been mortified that he’d gotten fired and had grounded him for life.

Still, I didn’t trust Blaze. I didn’t like his obsession with Taylor. And I sure as fuck didn’t like the look he’d given my wife.

Eloise was sitting at the desk when I walked into the lobby. Her fingers flew across her keyboard, her eyes narrowed in concentration. But when she looked up and saw me, that smile she gave me chased away any of the worry.

One look and I was instantly okay.

“You got me a coffee.” She pressed her hand to her heart. “Best husband ever.”

I chuckled, setting it and lunch beside the empty cup on her desk. Then I leaned in to drop a kiss to her cheek. “How was your morning?”

“Fine. How was Foster?”

“Good.”

She looked me up and down. “No blood? No bruises?”

“Not today.”

“Then Foster gets to live.”

Only Eloise would take on Foster Madden, the Iron Fist, because he’d dared punch her husband.

Fuck, but I loved her. More and more each day.

“How about dinner tonight?” I asked.

“Don’t we eat dinner every night?”

“Smart ass.” I tickled her ribs, earning a yelp. “How about we go out to dinner?”

Eloise’s jaw dropped. “Jasper Vale, are you asking me out on a date?”

“Well, you are my wife. Maybe it’s time we went on a date.”

Her eyes softened. “Say it again.”

“Will you go out to dinner with me?”

“Not that. Call me your wife again.”

“Wife.”

Eloise put her hand on my cheek, leaning in for another kiss. “About this dinner.”

“Knuckles?”

“Or . . . my parents invited us to the ranch.” She tensed, probably expecting an instant rejection.

It was there, on the tip of my tongue, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so I held it back.

“We haven’t talked about . . . you know,” she said. The fight. “I’ve been thinking about everything you said. You made a lot of valid points. And I heard you. But, babe, your parents suck. Mine don’t.”

I arched an eyebrow. She was right about my parents. Her own?

“They aren’t perfect.” Eloise held up her hands, probably because she knew exactly what I was thinking. “They don’t claim to be. But they love me.”

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.”