Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
They hit their first major bump in the road a week later. Veronica should have known that it was too easy.
She didn’t get out of the office until late on Friday night. Dominique had finally put out an ad for an administrative assistant. Once they’d hired and trained someone, quite a bit of Veronica’s time would be freed up because she wouldn’t be handling basic paperwork and bookkeeping tasks.
Until then, she and Dominique were both working ten- and twelve-hour days just trying to keep up with everything.
It was her night to go to Jasper’s. The rotation suited her for now, but it was early days still. Veronica wasn’t sure how she would feel in a month or two. Right now, she was just enjoying her time with him.
When she pulled into his driveway, there was a strange car parked in front of the house. For a second, Veronica thought about going to the front door and ringing the bell. If he had company, she hated the idea of waltzing right into his house.
Then again, if he was dealing with business, she didn’t want to interrupt that by ringing the doorbell.
After vacillating for a few moments, Veronica finally drove around to the garage. She used the opener that Jasper had given her and opened the garage door. Her car slotted in neatly between Jasper’s Range Rover and a low-slung black sports car that he occasionally drove. Once the car was off, she took a slow breath. The day had been stressful and now she wasn’t sure what she was walking into. Surely, if it was something important, Jasper would have texted her. A quick check of her phone revealed that he hadn’t. Maybe it was just a friend, then.
She gathered her purse and her laptop bag and walked over to the door leading into the mudroom. Once the garage door was down, she opened the door to the mudroom and kicked off her shoes. Her purse was hung on a hook, and she stooped down to pick up her heels. As comfortable as they were, no shoes felt good after twelve hours wearing them.
Her footsteps were almost silent as she padded through the mudroom and laundry room and into the kitchen. As soon as she stepped inside, she froze.
Jasper stood across the kitchen, his back against the countertop of the coffee station, and a woman with long, dark hair was practically climbing him as though she wanted to devour him.
At first, the sight was like a punch to the gut. A sound escaped her, half groan and half sob. Jasper and the woman broke apart, turning toward her. With her brain still stuck on what she’d just seen, Veronica felt nothing from either of them. Only her own pain.
Especially when she saw the woman’s face. It was Jasmine Shah, Prema’s younger sister. And she wore a smug smile.
It was that smile that broke through the haze of pain and disappointment that clouded her mind. Veronica suddenly focused on the woman and sensed her triumph and her loathing. That, coupled with the satisfied smirk on the woman’s face, told Veronica all she needed to know about what she walked in on.
Jasper’s mental shields were completely down. His emotions careened wildly from anger to sadness, to absolutely fury. None of it was directed at her. No, it was all for Jasmine.
“Veronica—”
She lifted her hand, stopping his words. Jasper fell silent. Veronica tried to give him a reassuring look, but he didn’t seem to notice. So, she focused on Jasmine, whose smug smile was now a wide, wicked grin. Though she was no telepath, Veronica could still almost hear the other woman’s thoughts. She’d planned this. She wanted to drive a wedge between Veronica and Jasper. Whether it was so she could truly have Jasper to herself or to “teach” Veronica some sort of lesson, it was unclear.
Either way, all she wanted to do was insert herself between the couple and drive them apart.
Well, that wouldn’t be happening.
Putting her hands on her hips, Veronica stared the other woman down. She hated confrontation, but it was clear that Jasmine’s machinations weren’t going to end until it happened. If that was what the younger woman wanted, that was what she would get.
“You need to grow up,” Veronica said.
“Excuse me?” Jasmine said, the picture of affront.
“Your jealousy and bitterness aren’t hurting anyone but you.”
“That wasn’t what you were saying when you walked into the kitchen and saw Jasper kissing me.”
Before Veronica could reply, Jasper interrupted. “No. She walked in and saw you crawling all over me. The only time I touched you was to push you away, but you came right back at me before I could even tell you no.”
The temperature in the room ratcheted up a few notches and Jasmine’s confident demeanor took a hit.
“You should tell her the truth, Jasper,” she said, trying to salvage the drama she seemed intent on having. “You should tell her that you’ve been seeing me behind her back every chance you get.”
This time it was Veronica who scoffed. Jasmine glared at her, her eyes narrow and her fists clenched. “Denial isn’t a good look, halfling.”
Jasper’s body went rigid at the slur that Jasmine threw at Veronica, but she didn’t give him a chance to intervene.
“It would be difficult for you two to be carrying on behind my back considering we’ve spent every night together since we returned from the wedding.”
“You’re not with him at his office,” Jasmine shot back, once again smug.
“No, but his mother is, and she’s been calling and texting me off and on all week. I doubt very much she would be doing that if you were holing up in Jasper’s office with him for a nooner.”
Jasmine blinked at her, but Veronica saw Jasper’s lip twitch.
“You also don’t realize that I’m an empath, Jasmine. I can feel everything you’re feeling. Mostly because you don’t even bother trying to shield yourself. Your thoughts are so loud that I can hear some of them. I know you’re lying. It’s leaking off you with every breath you take.” Veronica paused to take a calming breath. “And I can feel Jasper’s emotions. He wasn’t happy with you at the wedding, but now? He’s repulsed by you. I can feel it. Even if you succeeded in separating us, he would still loathe you for what you’ve done today.”
Jasmine whirled toward Jasper. “Is that true?” she asked.
“It is. What you did today is cruel and cold. Even if I didn’t have Veronica any longer, I wouldn’t want anything to do with you.”
Those words finally seemed to pierce the thick hide of denial that Jasmine had wrapped around herself.
“What a horrible thing to say,” she whispered.
Jasper released a harsh bark of laughter. “A horrible thing to say? You came into my home and forced yourself on me because you’re jealous and spoiled. You want your way no matter the cost or the pain it causes anyone else. Yet I’m the horrible one?”
Jasmine’s face paled and then hardened. Veronica knew before the woman spoke that she was going to make it even worse.
“I wish you would break things off with her and never see her again,” Jasmine said.
Veronica couldn’t believe that she had the gall to try and use Jasper’s magic against him, knowing it would push him to grant her wish.
An evil gleam entered Jasmine’s eyes as magic swelled around them. The kitchen heated up even more, as though the room itself were in a large oven. Veronica watched in awe as Jasper seemed to grow in height and breadth, his skin taking on a darker red hue and his black hair and eyes shifting and shimmering with the ghostly trace of fire.
“You dare?” he asked, his voice deep and resonant, filled to the brim with magic and anger. “You dare try to use my own magic against me?”
Veronica knew from their conversation a couple of weeks ago that Jasper’s magic would encourage him to fulfill the wish, but that he would ultimately get to choose whether he did. She assumed Jasmine was a powerful djinn based on the tension running through Jasper’s body. The scent of wood smoke entered the kitchen, and a small flame raced along the edge of the countertop behind Jasper.
After a few tense moments, he released a long breath, and his body seemed to relax. His skin returned to the normal olive tone, and his body no longer seemed as large. The fire behind him snuffed out with a puff of smoke, leaving a small scorch mark on the countertop.
“You are no longer welcome in my home, Jasmine. Ever. And I will be speaking to my mother about what you tried to do here today so she understands when I refuse to ever be in your presence again. If I see you on the street, you will be a stranger to me. If you call me or speak to me, I won’t hear your voice. You no longer exist in my world.”
“I’m your sister-in-law!” she cried, gesturing wildly. “You’re going to have to see me sometimes.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do, and I no longer want to deal with you.” He went in for the kill after that. “And my mother will not be happy when she hears about what happened here tonight.”
“Your mother is the one who picked me for you!” she hissed.
“No, she thought we could attend the wedding together. She wasn’t choosing you as my bride.” With those words, his eyes moved to Veronica, making it clear who he was choosing.
Jasmine tossed her hair. “I expect an apology the next time I see you,” she said to Jasper. She pretended Veronica wasn’t even in the room. Apparently, that was her answer to the situation—more denial.
“The next time you see me, I won’t see you.”
With a huff, Jasmine turned and stomped out of the kitchen. Her angry footsteps clacked against the hardwood floor. Neither Jasper nor Veronica followed her. A few moments later, the front door opened and then slammed shut, the crack echoing throughout the house.
“Well, that was fun,” Jasper said, leaning back against the counter and crossing his arms over his chest. His tone was wary when he asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” Veronica answered, wondering why he was maintaining distance between them.
He pushed off the counter and came toward her. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I don’t like confrontations, but it was clear that was necessary.”
“You understand she was lying through her teeth about us seeing each other behind your back, right?”
Veronica nodded. “I knew. Even before she spoke.”
“It still hurt you to see her all over me like that, though.”
She nodded again, hugging her waist. “More than I thought it would. More than it probably should since we’ve been dating less than a month.”
“Don’t talk like that,” Jasper insisted, coming even closer. “We both know what this is and where it’s going. That’s all that matters.”
“Do you think she’ll make things difficult between you and your mother?”
Jasper shook his head. “No. Maybe between Milo and Prema and I, but I doubt it’ll last long. They both know what she’s like.”
“What’s that?”
“Spoiled rotten and unable to understand the word no.”
Veronica nodded. That seemed accurate.
“My mother really likes you, you know. Even if Jasmine went running to her, telling tales, Leila would be on your side.”
“I don’t know, Jasper. She did try to arrange for you to take Jasmine to the wedding as your date.”
He came even closer, stopping just in front of her. Jasper leaned forward, resting his hands on the counter on each side of her body. “Only because she knew I’d come alone otherwise, and she didn’t want to deal with all the questions and gossip flying around the wedding. The day was about Milo and Prema, as it should have been. My single status would have been a distraction.”
“Are you sure she doesn’t care that I’m an empath?” Veronica asked.
He shook his head. “I told her Thursday after we arrived that you were an empath, and I didn’t want her scaring you off. That was all it took, really. She might be tough and a meddler, but she wants me to be happy, first and foremost. You make me happy, which means she automatically approves of you. Oh, and you didn’t fall at my feet immediately when I asked you out, which makes her like you even more. She said I would appreciate you the way you deserved if I had to work for you.”
Veronica had no response to that.
Jasper continued, “I just hope you won’t make me work too hard to get you to marry me. Even though I screwed up and told my parents about your abilities before you had a chance.”
She gaped at him. She heard his admission that he messed up, but her brain was still stuck on his first statement. It took a few seconds before she managed to squeak, “Marry you?”
“I’ve already explained to Leila that we won’t be having a three-ring circus for a wedding. That it will be very small, just immediate family, because you shouldn’t have to endure the same kind of huge event that Milo and Prema had. She didn’t argue. Probably because I mentioned that I wanted to try and talk you into starting our family in the next year or two. The woman is rabid for grandchildren.”
Veronica blinked at him, her mouth opening and closing, but no sound emerging.
Finally, Jasper asked, “Any thoughts on the matter or are you going to stare at me all night?”
“I-I-I’m not sure what to say,” she stammered. Her brain seemed to be stuck on the words “married” and “starting a family.”
“Say you’ll marry me,” Jasper supplied.
“Now?” Her voice cracked as she asked the question.
He laughed. “Maybe not now. In a few months.”
“A few months?” she repeated, still blinking over and over.
He laughed again, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I’ll give you as much time as you need, but you should know that I’m going to try and change your mind every chance I get.”
Finally, Veronica regained control of her brain and mouth. She sighed. The man was always throwing her off balance. “Ask me again in a couple of months.”
He kissed her lightly. “I will.” Another kiss. “But I still want you to move in with me before then.”
Oh, that wasn’t fair. She wanted so badly to say yes, but it was too much, too soon.
“I’ll ask you again next week.” When she opened her mouth, he continued talking, “And the next week. And the week after that. And however many weeks it takes until you’re comfortable with the idea.” He paused. “To be clear, I can accept a no. I just want you to understand that this is what I want. I don’t ever want you to feel like you have to guess anything with me. So, when I ask you every week, it’s not to pressure you. It’s so you know you’re welcome…when you’re ready.”
“I understand.”
He smiled. “Good. Now, I’m starving. We should order in tonight. I don’t feel like cooking.”
Just like that, the awkward conversations were over. No sulking, no pouting, no negative emotions pouring off him. Jasper rolled with the punches, got up and kept right on going. He wasn’t stewing or brooding. Just…living his life.
“Sounds good,” Veronica said. “I want pizza.”
“Then, I guess we’re having pizza.”
“Are you always going to give me my way?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Probably. Is that going to be an issue?”
Veronica shook her head. He could spoil her whenever he wanted.