Chapter 9 #3
Without another word, he was gone, hurrying to the Bearclaw Blossoms booth further down on Grower’s Row.
My honey booth sat at the corner between Grower’s Row and Food Alley, which was apt since it was sort of both.
I let a smile stretch wide as I watched him embrace Marley at his booth.
There goes my future husband. I let out a laugh, startling a woman who was walking by.
I offered her an apologetic smile, before pulling out my phone and hitting a group chat that had all my kids in it.
Me: Family meeting tonight. I have something to discuss with you all. It’s not bad, but it is important.
Normally, it was casual, anyone who showed up was welcome. With this kind of news, I wanted to do it with everyone at one time, and not have any of them find out later. It was going to be awkward enough as it was.
Nicky: Does this have anything to do with a certain guy coming out of your room, wearing YOUR pants?
Eduardo: What?! And I missed it!
Yahir: Hell yeah! Way to go, Papa!
Frankie: Aww. Cute!
Me: (Eyeroll emoji) Please plan to be at dinner tonight.
Frankie: Ooh! Can I make something special? This feels like it needs a special meal.
Me: Sure thing, sweetheart. Let me know if you need me to pick anything up on the way home.
Yahir: Eddie, you owe me ten bucks.
Me: For what?
Eduardo: Yahir said you’d have him in your bed by the end of the week. I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt and said next week.
Me: I’m not sure how to feel about that.
Frankie: What’s Jasper’s favorite food? He’ll be there tonight, right?
Me: I think so. I’ll get back to you on that.
Nicky: I like Jasper, you should definitely keep him around.
Oh, he’d be around all right. For how long, though? We hadn’t really discussed a timeline for this other than starting. Strangely, the idea of it ending wasn’t something I was ready to think about yet.
Me: Thanks, Nicky. See you all later.
Eduardo: Good luck at Heartcraft today.
Me: Thanks, kiddo. I’ll see you all tonight.
Sliding my phone back into my pocket, I ran a hand through my hair.
Well, this was happening. We would talk to my family, though I suppose they would be Jasper’s family soon, too.
One side of my lips tugged up at the idea.
Married or not, that would be true. Legal documentation didn’t make a family, neither did blood. I’d learned that a long time ago.
I found my own family and vowed to keep my arms open with room to grow.
Now that I’d notified the kids, I felt a mix of excitement and anxiety over telling them.
I hoped they wouldn’t look at me differently, or think anything less of me.
Deep down, it wasn’t a real concern, but I couldn’t stop the thought anyway.
Luckily, with the weather starting to cool, it brought a lot of shoppers to Heartcraft, and I stayed busy enough not to think about it too much.
Jasper returned to my booth after a while, chattering about some of the different artists.
He seemed to be in much better spirits, with the light in his golden-brown eyes returning.
It made me happy to see, especially after seeing them so dark and hollow yesterday.
If I could do one thing as his husband, it would be to help keep his light shining as much as possible.
Of course, I knew I couldn’t control everything, no one could make another person happy every second of the day, it was impossible.
At least I could be there with him in the dark and help guide him back when he was ready.
“Are you sure you want to do this tonight? It can wait,” Jasper said, as we pulled up to the house.
I huffed out a laugh. “With five days until our wedding, I don’t think it can. They deserve to know, and I want to tell them, well, mostly. What we say is up to you, though. I’ll follow your lead as long as I don’t have to lie to them. Trust is important and something I’ve had to work to build.”
Jasper nodded. “Right. Okay.”
His hand found my free hand, slotting our fingers together, and I gave it a squeeze.
Attached, I led the way into the house. My heart was racing wildly and I felt a bead of sweat on my forehead.
I wanted to tell my kids because I would hate for them to find out later and feel betrayed, but at the same time… I didn’t.
There was no way they hadn’t heard my truck pull up, but they were all trying to act nonchalant. Trying but failing with the glimpses they kept throwing my way. Glimpses that landed on our clasped hands.
“Frankie, here’s the groceries you asked for.” I handed them the bag I’d been holding in my other hand.
They rubbed their hands together and hurried over to take it. Before they disappeared into the kitchen, they stopped and gave Jasper a wink.
Eduardo leaned against the wall with a dusting cloth in his hand, as if he’d been busy cleaning. He assessed Jasper and I with a raised brow. There wasn’t any hint of disapproval, but a sort of fascinated amusement. “Papa, Jasper, don’t you two look cozy?”
Jasper released his hand from mine and stood ramrod straight. “We’re getting married!” Jasper blurted out, then gasped, and clapped a hand over his mouth with his eyes blown wide in shock at what he’d said.
Although not as much shock as the rest of the family was experiencing.
Eduardo pushed off the wall, dropping the cloth.
Yahir, who’d been sitting not-so-casually with one leg hooked over the arm of the couch, put his legs down and his mouth fell open.
Nicky’s eyes lit up and a grin was stretching her lips.
Noah put a book mark in his book and set it down, not taking his eyes off us.
A bowl rattled in the kitchen and Frankie came running back out.
“What?” Frankie was the first to ask. “Did I hear what I think I heard, because I was in the other room, so I need to be sure.”
I laughed awkwardly and pushed my glasses up my nose. “Uh, yeah. That’s the big news. Surprise.”
Jazz hands came out. I didn’t think I’d ever jazz-handed before, but the awkwardness of the situation brought it out of me.
Those that were standing, sat, and those that were sitting, stood. Everyone shifted as the words settled around them. Eduardo whispered, “Holy shit!” Nicky squealed and did a little clap.
Jasper looked up at me with a panicked expression. “Shit, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to just say it like that. It just popped out.”
“Maybe not exactly what I planned, but it’s okay.
” My protective instinct flared up, putting my arm over his shoulder, and pulling him closer to me.
Not that I thought he needed protection from my family, but that I wanted him to know he didn’t screw it up.
The way he so naturally tucked himself into my body, made my heart do a little flip.
Scanning the room as my family all reacted to the abrupt news, I simply asked, “Soo… any questions?”
Yahir looked between us. “Is this like a shotgun wedding? Did you knock him up?”
I shot him a pointed look. “Inappropriate.”
He shrugged with a mischievous look. “We were all thinking it.”
Eduardo took a step toward us. He studied us carefully. It was his approval I wanted the most. We’d been together the longest and had seen each other through a lot. I drew in a breath and held it, waiting to hear what he had to say.
“This is fast.” They had all seen the state Jasper was in the day before. To go from that to this big news was bound to raise some hackles.
I nodded. “It is.”
“I think you misunderstood when we suggested you start dating. You seemed to have skipped over that part.”
Another awkward laugh came out of me. “I suppose so. I never was very good at the dating thing.”
Eduardo turned his attention to Jasper. “You’re not going to hurt him, are you?”
Jasper stepped away from me, closing the distance between him and Eduardo. He looked down at the floor for a moment, before lifting his chin and meeting his gaze. “I’m going to try really hard not to. I care a lot about Gio, and that’s the last thing I want.”
I felt my throat tighten at the exchange between these two men as everyone in the room watched with intense interest. Eddie’s eyes flicked past Jasper to meet mine. “You’re sure about this, Papa?”
A genuine smile stretched my lips. A week ago, I wouldn’t have thought I would be standing here, having this conversation. Hell, even yesterday morning. But now that we were, I felt really good about it. “I am, Eddie.”
With his attention returned to Jasper, he said, “I’m assuming there’s a reason this is happening so quickly.”
Jasper opened his mouth to say something, but Eduardo held up a hand, interrupting him.
“You don’t have to say what that is, it’s your business.
Listen, we're all here because we've had to make choices in our lives that weren't always easy, but any decision that brought us to Gio was the right one. Jasper, I hope you know how lucky you are to have found him, don’t forget that.”
Jasper shook his head and reached out to Eduardo, holding his hand. “I am, I know I am. And I won’t forget, I swear.”
Eduardo’s lips stretched into a smile. “All right, we’re with you. Now, what do we need to do to make this happen and how much time do we have?”
My heart felt like it would burst out of my chest as cheers erupted around the room. Soon Jasper and I were both being hugged, and the outpouring of love and acceptance from my kids made me feel so proud. I loved them all more than words could express.
Jasper met my gaze with tear-filled eyes, looking overwhelmed in the best way. I grabbed him and pulled him toward me, hugging him to my chest. Leaning down, I whispered into his ear. “It’s going to be okay.”
His head bobbed against my chest as he sniffled. “I think I’m starting to believe that.”