Jasper Vale (The Edens)

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.

“You don’t have to.”

He shrugged. “I’m not doing anything else.”

“You never told me what you decided with that fighter in Vegas. What did you decide?”

For weeks, I’d been terrified to ask him about that interview. So I’d just blocked it out and let my hectic schedule overshadow my fears. But so much had changed this past week. And after this morning, asking wasn’t so terrifying anymore, not when I had a fairly good idea of his answer.

“I told him that I’d train him.”

Wait. What? Well, that wasn’t the answer I’d expected. He’d really taken that job? Did that mean he’d be spending part of his time in Nevada? “Oh.”

“But he’d have to move to Montana.”

The air rushed from my lungs as he smirked.

“Jerk.” I poked his rib with a finger.

Jasper grinned. “I’ll have to find something to do eventually. For now, I’ll help around here. You good with that?”

“Very.” I nodded. “Thank you.”

“Welcome.” He kissed my cheek, then rounded the desk, going to straighten up the lobby.

My computer chimed with an incoming email, but I ignored it, content to watch Jasper for a minute.

The lobby door opened, forcing my gaze away from Jasper’s ass.

Winn walked inside, waving to Jasper before she came around the desk for a hug. “Hi.”

“Hey. What are you up to?”

“Lunch with Pops.”

Her grandfather, Covie, was the former mayor of Quincy and a regular at Knuckles.

“Working today?” I asked, taking in the badge and gun holstered on her hip.

“Yes. Catch-up from the Fourth.”

“Same,” I said as the elevator doors slid open and two guests made their way over.

“I’ll let you get back to work,” Winn said, shifting out of the way.

The guests needed a recommendation for a hiking trail, so I plucked one of the area maps from the drawer where I kept them, spreading it out on the counter and circling a few of my most recommended spots.

With the map in hand, they headed outside into the summer sunshine.

Covie had come in while I’d been talking with the guests. He and Winn were chatting with a local man who’d also probably come in for lunch too.

A woman in a floppy hat was talking on the phone on the opposite end of the room. This was her first stay at The Eloise, but she’d already booked a room for next summer.

My fingertips skimmed the desk as I took it all in, breathing in the scent of the lobby. Of the sunshine and fresh air that wafted inside every time the door opened.

No matter whose name was on the deed, this hotel would always be mine. Like the man tossing an empty to-go coffee cup in the trash.

Maybe the reason I’d stayed married to Jasper hadn’t been because of this hotel. It hadn’t been to go to that wedding in Italy. Maybe I’d stayed with Jasper because, deep down, I’d glimpsed something in him in Vegas.

Something that had resonated in my heart, and even though I hadn’t been able to see it yet, I also hadn’t been able to let him go.

Winn and Covie walked toward Jasper, Winn making introductions.

The doors opened and Frannie Jones and Clarissa Fitzgerald walked inside, two local girls I’d known for ages. They were a year younger than Mateo and both had crushed on him endlessly in high school.

Other than in passing, I hadn’t seen them much these past couple years. But now that news of Mateo’s return had spread, they’d probably be stopping by The Eloise more often, hoping to snag his notice, just like in high school.

Clarissa scanned the lobby, searching for my brother, but when her eyes landed on Jasper, she did a double take. Her cheeks flushed and she leaned in to whisper something in Fran’s ear.

Then Fran’s gaze shot straight to Jasper too.

I rolled my eyes and rounded the counter as they neared.

“Hey, Eloise.” Fran pulled me into a hug.

Clarissa was still staring at Jasper as he talked to Winn and Covie.

“Hey,” I said. “What are you guys up to today?”

“Lunch at Knuckles.”

“Fun. Hey, Clarissa.”

She tore her eyes from Jasper’s face. “Hi. Um, who is that?”

“My husband.”

She blinked, and as my statement settled in, her eyes widened. “Oh. I heard you got married. I just . . . I haven’t seen you guys around town.”

“Yep, that’s him.”

Clarissa gave me an exaggerated frown. “Busted. Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” I laughed, waving it off. “I check him out all the time too.”

“Well, before I embarrass myself even more, we’re going to lunch.” Clarissa looped her arm with Fran’s and together, they headed for the restaurant.

I shifted past the desk, about to go and say hello to Covie myself, but when I looked over, Jasper was shoving past Winn.

His face was hard, his eyes . . . frantic.

I froze.

Time slowed.

Jasper ran, his body an explosion as he sprinted across the lobby.

Behind him, Winn was reaching for her gun.

Why was she reaching for her gun?

My heart jumped, my eyes tracking in the same direction as hers.

And there, by the front door, was Blaze.

Everything clicked at once.

Jasper’s fear.

Winn’s shout to drop it.

The pistol Blaze had lifted and aimed my way.

One moment, I was standing on my own two feet.

The next, chaos.

My body slammed into the floor, the wind knocked entirely out of my lungs.

Gunfire filled the lobby, the noise so loud it drowned out the screams and shouts.

Then . . . quiet.

A silence so eerie it chilled me to the core.

Jasper’s body covered mine. He’d slammed into me so hard that we’d flown behind the counter, skidding to a stop.

Warmth spread against my shoulder. Wet warmth.

Blood.

“Jasper,” I whispered, ice flooding my veins.

He didn’t move. His body was hard and so heavy against mine it was hard to breathe.

Beyond the counter, people were crying. Footsteps pounded on the floor. But I blocked it all out, shifting back and forth, trying to dislodge Jasper. Why wasn’t he moving?

“Jasper.” My voice was panicked. I leaned up as far as my neck would stretch, trying to see where he was hurt. Red spread through the white cotton of his shirt, all across his shoulder. “Jasper.”

He didn’t move. He didn’t breathe.

My gaze caught on his hand, pressed against the floor at our sides.

His left hand.

And on his finger, the wedding band I’d given him weeks ago.