Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“To Tabitha,” Jasper said that evening, raising his glass for a toast.
Jasper’s surprise sibling dipped her head.
I studied Tabitha again, thinking of all the times she’d served us on the private jet.
Now that I knew she was Jasper’s half sister, I had so many questions.
Had she known she was their half sibling all along?
When had Jasper and the others found out? And how? Gah!
Now wasn’t the time. It was a time for celebration. For family.
After the board meeting, we’d all come up to Jasper’s penthouse to celebrate. Everyone was there—Graham and his wife, Lily. Nate, Emerson, and Brooklyn. Knox, Kendall, and Leo. Jackson, Sloan, and Evie. Jasper, Kai, Rosie, and me.
Jasper held up his champagne flute again. “And to Pierce, of course. Thank you both for saving the day.”
Pierce seemed unfazed. But Tabitha was clearly still adjusting to her new role within the family.
I could relate. Like Tabitha, I’d been employed by their family.
Well, fortunately, I was still their employee.
But now, I was also part of the family. They’d welcomed me with open arms, even Graham, which had surprised me.
He’d always come off as so…brooding and grumpy.
But he was actually quite warm once you got to know him.
Sloan came over to me, knocking her shoulder against mine. “I just wanted to say how happy I am everything worked out like it should’ve.”
I nodded, unable to hold back my smile. “Thank you. And thank you for believing in me.”
“I always knew you were meant for bigger things. I’m excited we’ll get to work together as SVPs.”
“Me too,” I said, though I knew we’d still have some logistics to sort out. Like who would be my supervisor—not Jasper, obviously. But also, what specifically I’d oversee. “I just hope you won’t get sick of me now that we’ll not only be working together, but I’m also dating your brother.”
She laughed, giving me a side hug. “I’m pretty sure that’ll never happen. And I’m thrilled you and Jasper are together. I’ve never seen him as happy as he is now.”
I glanced over to where Jasper was standing with Knox and Graham. Sloan was right. Jasper seemed lighter than he had in months. He was exactly where he was meant to be.
Nate and Tabitha headed over to join them, Sloan going by some unspoken agreement. I hung back, letting them have their moment. I couldn’t imagine what it was like to suddenly discover you had a sibling. I assumed everyone had a lot of questions, a lot of catching up to do.
They talked for a while, and when Jackson walked over to Sloan with Evie for a feeding, I went to stand with Jasper.
“Good job today,” Graham said, hugging Jasper. I knew Graham didn’t say those words lightly, and it meant a lot to Jasper.
“Good job making enemies on the board?” Jasper joked.
“You did what you had to for the company,” Graham said. “Sometimes that means doing the wrong thing for the right reasons.” He and Lily shared a secret smile. “And sometimes, making enemies is part of the job.”
“Like Moretti,” Lily said in a teasing tone.
Graham gnashed his teeth at the mention of the industry rival. And then he wrapped his arm around Lily and whispered something in her ear. She blushed, and I wondered what that was about.
“You did what needed to be done,” Knox said, clinking his glass against Jasper’s. “And you showed them you won’t back down from a fight.”
“Brilliant idea with the sweepstakes,” Nate said, joining us.
“Thanks,” Jasper said, and I could tell he wasn’t used to receiving praise for his accomplishments instead of attention for his alleged escapades. It was nice to see that his family was recognizing his hard work and the fact that he’d changed.
After that, conversation turned to other matters. We celebrated until long after the sun had set. It didn’t matter that we had work tomorrow; it wasn’t often that Jasper’s family was all together these days. And we all had a lot to be grateful for.
I’d been named as SVP permanently. With Tabitha acting as Jasper’s proxy, the family had been able to secure the necessary majority to force a vote on the matter.
A number of the non-family board members had admitted that they were more concerned about the perception of bias based on my relationship with Jasper rather than an actual belief that my SVP promotion was unwarranted.
Ultimately, most of them had voted in favor.
And we were moving forward with the sweepstakes.
But most importantly, Jasper and I no longer had to hide our relationship.
“Well, that was wild,” I said to Jasper when we climbed into bed later that night.
Kai had been so wound up that it had been hard to get him to go to sleep. It was late, and I didn’t want to think about how tired he was going to be in the morning when I had to get him up for school.
Jasper slid between the sheets. “All’s well that ends well.”
“I suppose so,” I said, joining him.
He immediately pulled me into his arms. “I hope you’re okay with how things went down. I’d never want you to question whether you deserve to be SVP.”
“Honestly…” I smoothed my hand over his chest, his warmth soaking into me. “I don’t. I know I earned that role, and I’m pretty sure everyone knows it. Not just the board, but the employees too.”
“They do.” Jasper brushed my hair away from my face, smoothing it down over my shoulder.
“The board wanted to punish us, punish me, and what they tried to do by putting you on leave was wrong.” His body was tense, so I snuggled in closer.
“There might be some drama in the short-term, but everyone will forget about it.”
“I’m not sure the board will so easily forget about it,” I said. “Pretty sure no one saw the secret sister coming. Even me.”
A low chuckle rumbled through his chest. “I’m sorry for not warning you about Tabitha. I’m still reeling from the fact that she’s my half sister.”
“How long have you known?”
“I found out yesterday when Pierce mentioned the idea of using her as my proxy as a sort of Hail Mary. But I wasn’t sure if we could even pull it off. Honestly, I was hoping we wouldn’t have to.”
“Wait.” I pushed up so I could see his face. “You didn’t know you had a half sister until yesterday?” Jasper shook his head. “Did anyone know?”
“Pierce.”
“None of your siblings, though?”
He shook his head. “Pretty unbelievable, right? We’ve had this secret half sibling all along, and none of us had any idea.”
“She’s younger than you, right?” I asked.
“Younger than Sloan too.”
I shook my head, still trying to make sense of it all. “So how did Pierce know Tabitha was related to you? And how long has Tabitha known?”
“Apparently, Tabitha’s dad needed a kidney transplant last year.
She didn’t know that he wasn’t her biological dad, so when she offered to be tested for a match, the truth came out.
Tabitha’s mom told her that she’d had an affair with my dad before she’d met the man who’d raised Tabitha.
And eventually, Tabitha confessed the truth to Pierce. ”
“Why Pierce?” I asked.
“That part wasn’t clear to me, but I guess maybe because she knew he was our lawyer?”
“Wow. So she’s probably just as surprised as all of you were.” After he nodded, I asked, “What about you? How do you feel about it?”
“I think we’re all a bit stunned. I’m definitely still processing everything, but on the whole, I’m happy. I could be upset that my dad had an affair, but he’s been gone for so long. And when you’ve lost so many people you love, it seems like a blessing to find out that there are more of us.”
I smiled, brushing my lips against his. “You are incredible.”
He slid his hand around the back of my neck so he was cupping my skin. “So are you.”
And then he kissed me again, deeply and full of passion. When he pulled me on top of him, I groaned. He felt so good, and as we writhed against each other, shedding clothes and whispering promises of love, the future had never seemed brighter.
Several Months Later
Jasper and I grabbed some drinks and headed out to enjoy a quiet evening on our back patio as we so often did. It was one of my favorite things about our new home. A tiled patio, large grassy lawn, and a pool that had already been the source of so many fun memories.
Jasper settled on the lounge chair first, then I sat in front of him, leaning back so I was resting against his chest. My birthday was coming up, but I already had everything I could ever want.
We chatted about recent events, about life. It was one of my favorite parts of my day—this ritual we’d developed in the evening. It was nice to wind down and reconnect.
I heard a buzzing noise, and I frowned. “Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Jasper whispered against the shell of my ear. I shivered.
I sat up, straightening. “It sounds like…” I looked to the sky, but I couldn’t see anything. “It sounds like a bunch of bees.”
The sound was faint but distinctive. I stood, trying to determine the source. But then the sky lit up with colorful dots, and I realized it was a flock of drones.
They hovered above us and moved into a series of elaborate formations that were both impressive and beautiful. What on earth?
I glanced back at Jasper, but he didn’t seem surprised. If anything, he was watching me intently. What was he up to?
The drones moved again, spelling out my name. Halle.
They were choreographed to transform into a heart that cycled through a number of colors. It was beautiful and mesmerizing, like looking into a kaleidoscope. And then in a scripty font, the words, “Will you marry me?” appeared. This time when I turned to Jasper, he was kneeling. My eyes widened.
“Halle.” He could barely speak, his voice was clogged with emotion. “I love you and Kai, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know we don’t need a ring or a certificate to make us a family, but I want to be your husband. Please say yes. Say you’ll marry me.”