Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
QUINN
“Quinn.”
A shiver racks my body at his voice saying my name. His warm, smoky voice feels like whiskey going down.
Finding an open door to my left, I dart inside. The ballroom is void of people, set up for an event. Pink curtains hang from the walls as tables are set with place settings and flowers.
I should be going back and getting ready to finish my performance, but right now, I need a minute.
The door closes behind me as the air shifts.
A minute I won’t be getting.
I can’t bring myself to turn around and look at the man that consumes my every thought, not just tonight but for the last few months.
“Quinn?”
This time, it comes out as a question.
Sucking in a deep breath, I try to quell the raging nerves as I turn around. I’ve never been more nervous in my life.
Not the first time I took the stage. Not the first time I played before a sold-out crowd.
Turning around and looking Jasper in the eyes for the first time—knowing that he knows who I am—has my stomach swooping down near my feet.
Those beautiful brown eyes are staring at me like they know every bit of my soul.
“Quinn.”
It’s just my name again as he closes the distance between us. Our toes touch. In my heels, I’m almost at eye level with him.
I drink my fill of this sexy man standing before me. In a tux, he looks even more handsome than I thought possible. Jasper in his hockey uniform? Sexy.
In a tux?
I bite my lip to keep my groan from escaping.
It’s the biggest turn-on that has my panties going up in flames.
“Jasper.”
He smiles, resting a hand on my waist. His thumb brushes over the exposed skin on my side.
“Say it again,” he whispers.
“Jasper.”
“Fuck, Quinn.” His breath ghosts my lips. “Do you know how long I’ve waited to hear you say my name?”
I smile. “A while, I’m guessing.”
Jasper’s strong hand cups my cheek. “Yeah. A while.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Are you mad at me?”
“For not telling me who you are?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“I mean, would I have believed you if you said you were Genevieve?”
Grabbing the lapels of his jacket, I tug him close. His hard, muscly chest melds against mine.
“You would’ve thought I was lying.”
“Probably.” He nods.
“We had a good thing going. I didn’t want to ruin it,” I confess.
“Had? Do you think this thing is over?”
“I hope not…” I trail off.
Fire burns hot in Jasper’s eyes. It jumps between us, simmering in my veins. One look from this man and I’m a puddle.
The sweet smell of bergamot overwhelms me. It’s so Jasper that I’ll never be able to smell it and not think of this man.
This strong and sexy man who finally knows who I am.
Jasper brushes a lock of hair out of my face before dropping his lips to my ear. “Are you a cat?”
I burst out laughing. “Are you feline a connection?”
“I think it broke the ice.”
“It definitely did.”
Jasper stares down at me, his eyes moving all over my face. “It’s hard to believe it’s you. That you’re in my arms. I’ve dreamt about this.”
“Really?” My heart pitter-patters in my chest.
He nods. “I never thought the day was going to happen. I wanted it more than anything.”
“Even more than a Stanley Cup?”
His mouth quirks up in a smile. “I mean…”
“I see where I fall in the grand scheme of things.”
“If it helps, it’s basically a tie.”
I wrap my arms around him. “Anything I can do to break the tie?”
“Tell me a bad joke.”
“That’s what you want?” Laughter laces my voice.
This is what I love about being with Jasper. How easy things are with him.
“It’s either that or you force feed me Brussels sprouts. And if yours aren’t—”
“Inspired, I believe was the word you used,” I cut him off.
“Which is why I went with a joke.”
“Fine.” I tap my finger against my chin, trying to come up with something on the fly. “What do you call a cat prom?”
“I don’t know. What?”
I swat at his chest. “You’re not even going to guess?”
“I just want to hear you talk,” he says.
“A fur ball.”
“That was terrible.” He laughs. “You know a lot of cat jokes.”
“I figured I’d need them to impress you. And Zucchini.”
“You know, she’s not going to believe I met you. She might be jealous.”
“Your cat is going to be jealous of me?” I ask.
He nods. “Yes. I might have divulged a lot of our relationship to her. She’s a very good listener. Not judgmental at all.”
“I’m excited to meet her.”
He pulls out his phone and passes it over. “Does this mean I can finally get your real number and have you over?”
I smile, punching it in and texting myself. “Yes.”
“I feel like I can’t stop smiling,” Jasper says. “It’s weird that tonight of all nights we met.”
His hand closes over mine as I pass his phone back. There’s that spark again. It’s an innocent touch, but charged and full of tension.
It’s what has the words escaping my lips before I can stop them.
“I’m so glad you finally know.”
His brows furrow.
“Wait, finally? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit. How am I going to get myself out of this?
“Did you know who I was?”
Jasper pulls out of my hold, an arctic chill filling the space.
“Not at first.”
“At first? Are you serious?”
I’m fidgeting again, twirling the ends of my hair. Is there any way I can backtrack out of this?
“When you said you played hockey, and then told me your name, it wasn’t a leap to put two and two together.”
He starts to pace in front of me, a frenetic energy pulsing off him.
“Instead of telling me that you knew who I was, you just led me on.”
“No,” I say, louder than necessary. “That wasn’t it at all.”
“So, what? Just seeing if you could bag a hockey player?”
“Jasper,” I scoff. “I didn’t know it was you at first. But everything I told you was the truth. I never lied.”
He stops, resting his hands on his hips. The same hands that were just on me. Ones that I wish were still there.
“Except for the fact that you knew who I was while I was just swinging my dick around not knowing who you were.”
“Really?” I roll my eyes. “You said it yourself; you wouldn’t have believed me if I told you who I was.”
“God, I feel so stupid.” Jasper pushes a hand through his hair.
“Jasper, please,” I beg, grabbing his arm to try and stop him.
That jolts him out of his stupor.
“I can’t be here.”
Dread slides through my veins like ice. “You’re leaving?”
“And here I thought I’d found the real thing.”
Jasper is out the door before I can say anything else.
“Shit!” I yell into the empty room.
Before the door can shut, a group of people starts walking in. Not wanting to get sucked into any conversation, I find a side exit to leave.
I still have to finish my performance. How in the world am I supposed to go up on stage and sing about love when all I want to do is find Jasper and apologize to him?
It’s not like I was lying. More of a lie by omission.
But really, is it my fault that he gave me just enough to figure out who he was and I played it closer to the vest? Would he have still wanted to talk to me if I told him I knew who he was?
Would he have been that open and honest with me?
Fuck. Everything is a mess.
Meeting Jasper was supposed to be the easy part. It was supposed to be on our terms. Not thrown together by coincidence. I thought that acting like I don’t remember meeting him at the game might throw him off. Because if I showed how much it meant to me, would he know that CatsRCool was me?
That way, when we finally got to meet—for real—he wouldn’t be angry.
Way to go, Quinn.
You might have just scared off the most perfect man you’ve ever met because you were too chicken to meet him in person.
Finding the door to the makeshift stage in the ballroom, I push all these thoughts from my head.
Jasper. His face when he left. The fact that he might never want to talk to me again.
Performance face on.
Because that’s what I have to do.
Time for Quinn to take a back seat… Genevieve has a job to do.