Chapter 30 – Jasper
Five Months Later
“Why the fuck did I think that this was going to be a good idea? And why didn’t you talk me out of it?” I whine over to Kimber.
“Because it’s a great idea. Everyone has said how romantic it will be,” Kimber replies.
“But I organised our whole wedding without him. I swear I’ve been coming over here so often he probably thinks that I’m seeing clients again,” I add.
“Oh, he does. He called and asked me,” Kimber confirms, which just makes me groan.
“What the hell did you tell him?” I question, as I’m going to need to get my story straight, at least for the next few days.
“I told him you were. That since all the stuff with Clive a few months ago, clients were willing to pay extreme amounts of money, and I couldn’t pass that up.”
“Kimber!” I exclaim, Otis is going to fucking kill me, and it would explain why he was so quiet last night.
“Seriously, you believe that I would tell him that? Otis knows that if you ever attempted to take clients on again while he’s around that I would kill you,” Kimber replies with a smile.
“While Otis is around? Why, is he going somewhere?” Suddenly concerned.
“Jesus, Jasper. Otis isn’t going anywhere. That man worships the ground you walk on. I was teasing.”
“Kimber don’t joke about Otis going anywhere. That is not something I want to deal with,” I tell her.
“Sorry, Jasper,” Kimber replies. “I would’ve thought that you organising your wedding would’ve made you realise that Otis is never going anywhere.”
“Yes, but remember that I decided to organise this wedding as a big romantic gesture. If we were doing it together it might be different.”
“Otis is going to love everything that you have done. How many times has Lizzie told you that what you have done is stunning?”
“But maybe I should have done the destination thing. Got married in Vegas like David and Richard,” I say.
“Lizzie would’ve killed you. Not to mention Tina, if she had to take the kids on a plane for God knows how many hours, just to attend your wedding,” Kimber replies.
“Yeah, I know. Oh, did I tell you? Tina sent me a picture of the kids’ wedding outfits. They look so cute.” And I pull out my phone to show Kimber.
“Those two.” Kimber smiles.
Since Clive’s death, all of us have gotten closer together.
Tina had a tough time after the funeral.
Clive’s parents were being awful. They had even gone to the press saying that everything we had said had been lies.
That all the reports about him being drunk and broke were wrong. That Clive was a good man.
Tina had tried to block their number, but then they started to turn up at her house.
Then a solicitor’s letter had come to say that they were going to take Tina to court for custody of the kids.
They were saying she was unfit. All of us had been furious, but Vincent?
Well, Vincent went nuts. He had gone straight to his lawyers, got the best people possible, all paid for by him. Clive’s parents hadn’t stood a chance.
After that, Tina thought that it would be best that she move. Get some distance between them, even though it meant moving away from her own parents, who did agree with Tina’s decision, telling her that a fresh start might be good for everyone.
“Is Vincent still trying to get her to join Montague Racing?” Kimber asks.
“Yep, every chance he gets. He even tried to get Mason to help. It was so funny,” I tell Kimber, “But I’m kind of proud she said no.”
“I think she’ll cave. She missed you and Otis when you were away with the races,” Kimber adds.
“Yeah, but the kids have school, so she needs to stay in the UK,” I tell her.
“Shit, I hadn’t thought of that,” Kimber replies. “But at least she’s close to me here and Lizzie pops down as often as she can. Given the chance, I think she would adopt the kids,” Kimber says with a smile.
Tina, in the end, and I think with some help from Vincent, had bought a house not too far from us, in a good school district.
Both Otis and I loved that she was close, though we would’ve stood by any decision that she made, but at least this way she was close to Kimber and the team.
She had people close to her, so she wasn’t alone.
“I think Mason and Eden adore her, too. Eden called her grandma once by accident. Lizzie had corrected her, but I think she secretly loved it,” I explain.
“When is Lizzie coming down for the wedding?” Kimber asks. “Is she staying with you?”
“Actually, that was one of the things that I wanted to talk to you about. Lizzie has asked if she can stay with you, I think she had so much fun here,” I explain with a smile.
“Hell, yes. The clients love her. How the hell she got involved I have no idea. But yeah, they love dealing with her,” Kimber smiles.
“Great, I’ll let her know. There was one other thing that I wanted to talk to you about,” I say over to her.
“About the wedding?” Kimber questions.
“Yeah.” I know what I’m about to ask Kimber is something that I should have asked her the second I started planning this wedding, but I hadn’t been able to find the words, so now was the time, “Will you be my best man or best woman?”
“What, I thought that you would’ve asked Marcus?” Kimber replies.
“I get a feeling that Otis might ask Marcus, plus I love Marcus, but the person I want standing next to me is you,” I say honestly.
“Wow, Jasper,” and I think that Kimber gets a little choked up.
“Are you crying? Wait, let me get my camera, I need to record this,” I say.
“Fuck off,” Kimber states, but I see the smile on her lips. “I would be honoured.”
“Good. You were the final arrangement. All I need to do now is get Otis to the registry office.”
“I think you’re just going to have to tell him that you both need to go into town, but he needs ID,” Kimber says.
“Won’t that give the game away?” Because that doesn’t seem to be a very simple option.
“I don’t think so. There are so many things that you could need ID for,” Kimber replies.
“True. Let’s just hope that it works,” I say.
For two days I had tried to figure out how to get Otis to the registry office without giving anything away, and couldn’t think of anything, so in the end I just went with what Kimber suggested.
So here I was, waiting for Otis to arrive.
There were a few people who recognised me but no one came up to talk to me. We should’ve come in together.
“Jasper.” The sound of Otis’s voice has me turning in his direction.
“There’s my world champion.” Pulling him into a kiss.
“Aren’t you ever going to get tired of saying that?” Otis asks.
“Nope.” Giving him a smile.
After Clive’s death, Otis had told me straight that he would need to get back to the race that was taking place in the Netherlands.
Vincent had told him that he could take off as much time as he needed, but I knew that Otis needed to be in that car, and I needed to be with Otis. It had been the right decision.
Otis’ driving seemed to have gotten better, if that was at all possible, and I think that part of it was because he was no longer worried about what the papers were going to say.
Lars had given him a fight and it had taken till the last race in Abu Dhabi, just two weeks ago, for Otis to win the title.
I had been so proud of him. Otis had achieved one of his dreams, he became world champion in his rookie year.
“Can you tell me now where we’re going?” Otis demands, bringing me out of my thoughts.
“It’s a surprise,” I tell him as I take his hand and start walking, and my nerves start coursing through me.
“You’ve been saying that for two days, and why the hell do I need my ID?”
“All will be revealed in a minute, just keep in mind that I do love you more than anything,” I say over to him.
“What the hell?” Otis responds, “That does not sound good.”
“It’s good, I promise. This way,” I tell him as I point that we need to go down another street.
“Has this got anything to do with Marcus?” Otis asks.
“No, why?” Pretending that I don’t know that Marcus has been demanding that I tell Otis what is going on because he’s struggling to keep the secret. There had been a part of me that wanted to delay this, just to make Marcus squirm.
“He’s just acting weird. Every time I’ve suggested that we meet up the last few days he’s been busy. The same with David and Lars.”
“All will be revealed,” I say, trying to sound all mysterious but failing.
“When? Because it’s going to make spending Christmas with Marcus very awkward,” Otis asks.
Spotting the registry office just up ahead, I take a look at the time and see that we have about ten minutes until our appointment. Hopefully that will be enough time to tell him everything that I have planned.
As we reach the building, I tug on Otis’s hand, pulling him to a stop and taking a deep breath. There is no going back now. It’s time for the truth to come out.
“The time is now,” I say as Otis turns to look at me. “We have an appointment in there in ten minutes.”
“An appointment for what?” Otis asks.
“An appointment to book our wedding,” I say.
“Our what?”
“Wedding. It’s why Marcus, Lars, and David have been acting strange. Also the reason that I have spent so much time with Kimber.”
“Jasper, I don’t understand?” Otis asks, looking confused.
“I have planned everything. The registry office is booked for the thirtieth of January. Everyone has been invited. Since August, I have been thinking about our wedding. I wanted it to be a surprise, but I discovered that wasn’t something I could do. We both have to register.”
“You’ve planned our wedding?” Otis asks again, as he looks over to the registry office.
“Yes,” I mumble.
“Jasper.” And I hold my breath. This is where he tells me that I shouldn’t have done that. That this is something that we should’ve done together and derails all my plans. “I just…”
“I can cancel,” I quickly say. “Sorry, I should’ve never done it without you.”
“Don’t you dare,” Otis says quickly. “You are amazing. Now, what do I need to know?”