Chapter Twenty-Five Jasmine #2
There was no driver waiting for us this time, so I hailed one of the taxis idling at the airport.
The last time I made this drive, I’d become a reluctant newlywed with a fifty-pound dog’s head in my lap.
I absentmindedly rubbed at my bare left hand as I watched the trees speed past my window.
The three weeks I’d spent in Miller’s Cove had been short, but they’d felt like a lifetime, a life I desperately missed.
I agreed to meet Eleanor for dinner, but I wanted to drop my things off at The Derry House, freshen up, and mentally prepare myself.
When I went to check in, I didn’t recognize the person working at the front desk.
Despite the original plumbing problem being fixed long ago, the only rental available was the honeymoon suite.
I didn’t have the time or energy to try to find another accommodation, and maybe the universe didn’t think I’d been punished enough.
My heart hammered in my chest as I slipped the key into the lock, turned the knob, and slowly pushed the door open. I closed my eyes and was barely able to take a breath before I was knocked off my feet and flat on my ass.
I squealed and opened my eyes to find Tora standing over me, panting his doggy breath in my face before licking my cheek.
I was still reeling from the shock of seeing Tora when I felt a pair of strong hands wrapping around my biceps. Derek’s hands.
He helped me to my feet and once I found my footing, I couldn’t do anything but stare at him.
I studied every line and curve in his face.
There was no trace of the anger that had been carved in his expression that last time I saw him, only concern.
His lips were moving but I couldn’t hear anything he was saying until I could focus.
“Jasmine?” He said my name, and it sounded like it wasn’t the first time. “Jasmine, are you okay?”
It took me a few seconds to catch my breath before I could nod. It was a few more seconds before I could gain some mental clarity and realize what was happening.
I pushed Derek away and took a step back.
“Yes, I’m fine. What are you doing here?”
“I will explain everything if you come in.”
“Derek, I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” I shook my head and took another step back from his outstretched hands. “The things you said to me… the way we left things…”
“I know.” He sighed and dropped his hands. “I understand why you wouldn’t want to talk to me, and I deserve all of it, but all I’m asking for is a chance. If I don’t tell you how I feel…” He looked away briefly before returning his gaze to me. “I’m afraid I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
“So I’m doing this for you?” I crossed my arms over my chest. Despite my anger, the hopeless expression on Derek’s face was breaking my heart.
“No, I’m doing this for us.”
“There is no us, remember?” I glared at him.
“Yes, there is,” he responded without hesitation. “There will always be an us. No matter how much we try to fight. We are meant to be in each other’s lives, and we always will be.”
“That’s not what you said the last time we were in this apartment.”
“I know, Jasmine. I was angry and stupid. I should have listened to you. I’m sorry. I will always be sorry.”
He reached for me, and I didn’t recoil this time.
I allowed him to take my hand and lead me into the apartment.
He brought in the rest of my bags as I watched from a chair at the kitchen table.
Tora placed his head in my lap, and I absentmindedly stroked his head.
After a few minutes, Derek joined me at the table.
“Okay, I’ll listen. You only have an hour, because I have to meet Eleanor at seven for dinner, and I need to get ready.” I was working hard to make my voice as even and calm as possible, though I felt tears stinging my eyes. I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear what Derek was going to tell me.
“I might need a little more time, but,” he added at my annoyed expression, “I will take whatever I can get. Would you like something to drink?”
“No, I’m fine.” I let out a sigh. “Let’s just get this over with.”
I could immediately tell my words hurt him, and I felt the tiniest pang of guilt at causing him any pain. But it was nothing compared to the last six weeks of agony I’d experienced.
“Okay,” he began. “You were right about everything. I know that you had nothing to do with MasonCorp moving forward with your project.” I simply pursed my lips in response, the biggest I told you so in the world dancing on the tip of my tongue. I contained myself.
“You were right about us needing to trust each other and talk things through. I’ve spent the past six weeks wishing I could take back everything I said and did that day.
Even if I didn’t know then what I know now, it wouldn’t matter.
” I wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but I didn’t want to interrupt him.
“For the past thirteen years, I’ve been shutting myself off…
emotionally. I couldn’t admit how much my parents’ divorce affected every aspect of my life, how it affected my relationships with people, with you.
I… I like things to be organized and predictable.
I always have. I like knowing what to expect.
I thought I knew what my life would be like, looking to my parents and even your parents as examples.
The four people who raised me turned into people I couldn’t count on.
I thought I was handling that, but clearly, I wasn’t.
My parents were so in love, our lives were perfect, and then everything exploded.
I thought keeping myself away from the people I thought could hurt me, from people I loved…
from you, would keep me safe.” He reached for my hand, engulfing it with warmth and triggering a flood of tears.
“Then this project happened, and we were forced back into each other’s lives.
I realized that I couldn’t cut myself off from you.
I hated it and I loved it. It made me happier than I could ever remember.
It was like I’d finally regained a piece of myself that had been missing.
It also scared me, because I felt like at any moment, that piece could be ripped away again.
I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop.
When I thought that it had, I…” His voice drifted away, and he shook his head. “You didn’t deserve that.”
My tears continued to flow, and I could only nod in response.
“I spoke to my father.” My head jerked up to meet his gaze. There were also tears in his eyes. “He told me the truth about the divorce and the company. He told me—”
“He was in love with my mother,” I whispered. If he was shocked by my declaration, he didn’t show it.
“Yeah,” he responded. “He’d been in love with her for almost his entire adult life and didn’t have the courage to tell her when it would have made a difference. It ruined his life, and it was also his biggest regret.”
“So what are you saying, Derek?”
“I meant it when I said that I don’t want to be like our parents. I didn’t understand fully what that meant then, but now I do.” He sighed and gripped my hand harder. “I’m not going to be my father. I love you. I’m gonna fight for you, for us. Whatever I need to do, for as long as it takes.”
“You hurt me, Derek,” I choked out on a sob. “You kept hurting me.”
“I know. I know, and I’m so sorry. I’m not gonna make any excuses. I’m not gonna blame our past or our parents. I’m a grown-ass man, and my choices are my own. I know I can’t just snap my fingers and earn your trust again, but I’m gonna try.”
“We can’t be an us until you resolve your differences with your past.”
“I know, and I’ve already started working on that.” He gave me a terse smile. “I’ve started seeing a therapist.” My eyes widened in shock. “I’m not going for you—well, not just for you. I’m going for me. My mother has been suggesting it for years, and I’m finally listening.”
“Derek, that’s… that’s great, but I don’t know if I can…” My voice shook.
“You don’t have to give me an answer, not now. I just wanted you to hear me.”
“I heard you.” I nodded. “I’m not sure if I’m ready to forgive you yet.” He nodded and hung his head in response. “But I’m willing to try.”
I felt a smile slowly spread over my face as he picked up his head to look at me. The look of pure elation on his face made my heart swell.
“You are?” A tear streaked down his cheek.
“I am.” I grinned at him.
“Come here, kitten.” He stood from the table, pulled me into his arms, and kissed me like his life depended on it. After a few long moments, he released me. He cupped my cheeks in his hands and stared at me like he was staring at a long-lost treasure.
“I love you, too, Derek,” I whispered, and he kissed me again.
“My hour’s almost up,” he whispered, and I huffed out a small chuckle, “but there’s one last thing I need to tell you.
” He released me from his arms and retrieved a large black leather messenger bag from the kitchen counter.
I was still reeling from the shock of seeing him here, not to mention his words.
I wasn’t sure I could handle any more news.
“What is this?” I asked when Derek placed a small stack of papers in my hand.
I leafed through them and recognized them as the papers I’d photocopied at the library.
I couldn’t find them when I unpacked in New York, and I assumed I’d left them here when I was in a rush to leave.
However, that didn’t explain what Derek was doing with them.
“This, my love, is how you saved Miller’s Cove.” He smiled down at me. I was still confused.
“What?”
“Come sit down, and I’ll explain everything, but—” He raised an eyebrow.
“But what?”
“I’m gonna need an extension on my hour.”
“Boy, shut up.”
He slipped the papers from my hands and set them on the table, pulling me into another long slow kiss before we sat at the table.
“Did you get a chance to read any of these papers?”
“No. I tried, but a hundred-year-old legalese was way above my pay grade. I was planning to call in some favors, but things happened and…” I shrugged.
“This one”—he flipped through the stack before pulling one out that was marked with a yellow sticky note—“is a contract stating that no Miller’s Cove land can be sold without first consulting the leader of the other two families and offering the other two families first right of refusal to purchase the land before it can be offered to a third party, so—” My heart was racing, and I let out a gasp.
“The sale was illegal,” I squealed, my eyes stinging with tears.
“The sale was illegal.”
“Guess what else?” He quirked an eyebrow.
“What?”
“The reason MasonCorp didn’t move on the property was because they knew.”
“Edward Mason knew?”
“No, not directly. One of his executives did a handshake deal with Dennis Walker before doing his due diligence. By the time he realized his mistake, Dennis Walker was in the wind, so he buried the sale and hoped it would stay undiscovered.”
“Until we found it.”
“Until we found it.” He nodded.
“So what happens now?”
“Nothing.” He smiled again. “Armed with my most trusted attorney—”
“CJ?” I interjected with a grin, and he nodded.
“—I set up a meeting with Edward Mason and negotiated a fair sale price for Eleanor and David.”
“Wait, sale?” I asked, confused. “But the sale was never valid.”
“True,” he conceded, “but if Edward Mason decided to take this to the courts, it could cost David and Eleanor years and millions of dollars to prove it. A guy like Edward Mason isn’t gonna take something like this on the chin. This way, everyone gets what they want. No muss, no fuss. No bad press.”
“Wow. You did all this on your own?”
“I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“How are David and Eleanor?”
“Well, if you get ready for dinner, you can ask them yourself.”
I smiled, planted a kiss on his lips, and stood from the table, cradling his cheeks in my palms.
“You’re amazing.” I smiled down at him. “How did you even get these?” I placed my fingertips on the stack of papers.
“Cynthia mailed them to me”—he reached into his messenger bag again—“along with some other things that were left behind.” He pulled out a ring box, and I knew exactly what was inside.
“I wasn’t sure I’d ever speak to you again, and it didn’t feel right to keep them.” I shrugged.
“Jasmine”—Derek looked up at me—“I will never stop apologizing for the way I treated you that last night we spent in this apartment, but I will also never stop loving you. I will never stop needing you. There has been a Jasmine Morgan–shaped hole in my heart for the last thirteen years, and now that you’re back in my life, I never want to let you go.
I know you said you needed time, so I’m gonna hold on to these and I’m gonna ask you again when the time is right. ”
Not even a full minute later, he slid off the chair and onto one knee, holding the ring box in one hand and my bare left hand in the other.
“Derek.” I giggled.
“I know I’ve asked you this question before—” A sly smile was curling at the edge of his lips.
“Twice before,” I corrected him with a smile. “Although the first one wasn’t really a proposal and more of an invitation to commit fraud. But it still counts.”
“Yes, twice,” he conceded. “The last two times were built on a foundation of deceit, lies, and secrets. Now that everything is out in the open, I want to ask you again, for the very last time—”
“It better be the last time,” I quipped.
“Jasmine Naomi Morgan, will you do me the supreme honor of becoming my wife, for real this time?”
“Well, we’ve already done the ‘through sickness and health’ thing.”
“And ‘through good times and bad.’”
“Yes, we have.” I nodded and sniffled.
“We can also do ‘for richer or poorer,’ because I walked away from my job at MasonCorp.”
“Me too.”
“So, is that a yes?”
“For the last time, yes, Derek Benjamin Carter. I’ll marry you.”
A grin lit up Derek’s face before he pulled me down into his arms and slipped the emerald ring on my finger. I grabbed his face and kissed him again, where we were joined by Tora, not wanting to miss out the celebration.