13. Thea
Chapter 13
Thea
J asper is snoring soundly by my side. After my long, luxurious nap, he woke me to a dinner of the best baked potato of my life. There was also steak, but all I wanted was the potato. After, we watched movies together on his living room couch and cuddled for hours.
I thought when we finally crawled into bed that we would go at it again, but my big, gruff lumberjack was a total gentleman. Instead, he held me until he was snoring.
I bump him a few times, but he stays in deep sleep. Content that he won’t rouse, I slip from the bed and pad into his living room.
I’m not tired after my long nap and more than that, I want to work on a birthday gift for him. When he started talking about foxes, I had an idea.
I settle on Jasper’s couch with a few truffles nearby and reach for the remote. I start streaming a romantic comedy about Valentine’s Day then grab my project bag. I have enough supplies to create my idea. All I need is a pattern.
Fortunately, there are plenty of crochet patterns for what I want online. It only takes me about three hours to finish the tiny stuffed fox. When I do, I smile to myself and hide it beneath the yarn scraps.
Then I go back to bed, slipping underneath the covers next to him. He’s still snoring, and I pause to brush the hair from his face, feeling another rush of tenderness.
Soon enough the sun will come out and melt away the snow. I’ll have to go back to my regular life, and I’ll miss him so much. Even if all we ever share is this special weekend together, I’ll always be glad I came in person to tell him about our baby.
The next morning, I wake up to find Jasper has already left the bed. He’s in the kitchen, playing more jazz music and humming under his breath. He looks up from the frying pan and gives me a grin. “I was thinking French toast for Valentine’s Day breakfast.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. I mentioned yesterday how it’s my favorite breakfast food. Even on his birthday, he’s still focused on me. “I’d love that.”
The entire time I eat, my stomach is in knots. I keep debating on giving him the fox. It’s such a tiny thing for everything he’s done for me. Will he even like it?
Finally, I gather my courage and blurt out, “It’s not just Valentine’s Day today.”
He continues gathering the plates from the table. “It’s Sunday too.”
“And your birthday,” I point out.
His chocolate gaze drops to my belly, his eyes lighting up. “I have everything I want.”
“Well, I have something for you,” I tell him. “Sit down for a second.”
He does as I instructed, giving me a wink. “I won’t say no to anything you want to give me.”
“Good. Close your eyes for a second,” I tell him and race back to the living room to grab the project bag before I can completely lose my nerve. Maybe he’ll hate it and think it’s childish.
“OK, you can open,” I tell him when I return to the room with the gift behind my back.
He opens his eyes. “I have to admit, I kind of hoped you’d be naked.”
“That might be a better gift,” I admit. Yesterday, I thought about giving him that, but he’s always so insistent on making sure I orgasm twice before he does. It seemed like sex would be more of a present for me.
He chuckles. “You promised me a gift. I’ll love it no matter what.”
“I didn’t have a way to wrap it, but happy birthday,” I tell him, pulling the fox from behind my back and handing it to him.
He accepts it, staring down at the little animal I filled with yarn scraps since I didn’t have any of the fancy stuffing from the craft store.
“It’s not much, but I thought since you said yesterday—”
He looks up then, and I see the sheen of moisture in his gaze. He pulls me into his lap and wraps his arms around me, holding me close. “It’s the perfect gift. Thank you.”
I melt into his embrace, relieved he liked the gift. He’s done so many wonderful things for me, and I wanted to give him something to show him how much I love him. Because I do love Jasper. I’ve been in love with him since the moment I met him. That’s why it hurt my heart so much to be apart from him when I left the first time.
“I have a Valentine’s Day gift for you,” he finally whispers after a long moment of silence has passed between us.
“You already got me the tree and made French toast,” I point out. Since I’ve arrived at his cabin, he hasn’t stopped spoiling me. He makes me feel like I’m worth taking care of, like I matter to someone.
He stands from the table and carries me to the couch. He sets me down gently, reverently. “It’s your turn to close your eyes now.”
I put my hands over my eyes, fighting the urge to peek through them. He leaves the room only to return a few minutes later with a book. He settles beside me on the couch, our thighs pressing. “Open it,” he whispers.
The moment I do, my eyes fill with tears. Big, fat ones roll down my cheek as I stare at the scrapbook pictures. “How did you get these?”
“Dotty went through your things and found them when I called her,” he explains, tapping the baby picture of me in the hospital right next to my birth certificate. “Every moment of your life is special because you are special. You matter. You’re my whole world now. You make my heart whole, just by existing.”
I’m sobbing now, big tears rolling silently down my cheeks.
He pulls out the ring box from his pocket and opens it to show off a glittering princess cut diamond in a gold band. It’s exactly what I would have chosen for myself. “I’m completely in love with you. Be my valentine, Thea Madison. Be my valentine today and every year for the rest of our lives.”
I hiccup softly and blot at my face with my hand. “This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. It’s amazing. But I’m scared, Jasper. What if we’re talking about marriage because of the baby? What if our loneliness is what’s pushing both of us toward this? Then in a few years, you realize you never really liked me. You only liked the idea of a little family and—”
He puts a finger on my lips to shush me. “I need you to see something.”
Without waiting for my answer, he scoops me up into his arms again and carries me to the room across from his bedroom.
“This is my art room,” he explains and sets me on my feet. There are so many canvases covered with sheets and dozens of cardboard boxes.
He taps a pile of three sketchbooks on the big desk in the center of the room. “These were going with me in my carry-on. Glad I left them out now. Come, look at them.” He gestures me closer and opens the sketchbook on top.
I gasp at the drawing of the woman smiling back at me. It’s me. He drew a picture of me, even capturing the tiny mole on the side of my neck.
I flip to the next page and find another drawing of me. It’s a whole sketchbook filled with drawings. In some of them, I’m smiling and laughing. In others, I’m across the room at the wedding.
“You asked me if this is just loneliness. Every single day we were apart, I sketched you at least once. Usually, a few times until I felt I got it right. This is love.” He pulls out a second sketchbook.
My breath catches in my throat when I realize it’s another book filled with drawings of me. Only this one is different. He’s in all of the sketches. On the first page, it’s me and him holding a little baby. In the next one, we’re at his cabin with the baby and a dog resting on the couch. I flip through the sketchbook realizing that he’s been mapping out our whole life together, all the things he’d hoped would happen.
I snap it closed and stare up at the mountain man whose whole heart is on display in front of me. He’s been all in since the moment we met. He’s completely in love with me.
I’m still scared, but he’s so sure of us. He believes in what we have, and his faith makes me want to be brave. “Yes. Yes, to being your Valentine and your wife. I love you so much. I can’t wait to raise babies with you right here in this cozy cabin.”
He slides the engagement ring on my finger. “I promise I’ll always take care of you. You and our little babies. I’ll make sure to spoil you day and night.”
He pulls me into his arms, giving me a long, passionate kiss that has me gasping for breath and my panties growing damp. “Wait.” I put a hand on his arm. “Can we get married today, if there’s a way to get down the mountain?”
The smile he gives me lights up the whole room. “Honey, I’ll get us down the mountain if I have to build a damn snowplow using spare parts in my shed.”