Chapter 26
When I step out from behind the screen, wearing nothing but my bikini, Jasper is already in the water, chest-deep, his body illuminated by a diffuse sequence of sunlight.
Besides the little corner with the table and candles, the stone platform also has a kind of walkway that slopes gradually down into the cenote. I begin to descend it slowly, watching my steps carefully so I don’t slip and land on my ass.
You know me, I’m easily capable of that.
I feel the hair on the back of my neck prickle when I catch him staring at me. Jasper tilts his head to the side; his small almond-shaped eyes now almost round, focused. He stays still, and for a moment, he seems to forget to breathe.
“What are you doing?” I ask, my cheeks warming, even though I’ve stood in front of him countless times wearing far less than this.
Still, I’ve never felt so naked.
He curves his lips just slightly to the side, a discreet smile forming before he says, “I’m taking my photo.”
And how am I supposed to respond to that? I don’t even know where to start. So I just keep moving, one foot in front of the other, until they touch the water, and I shiver.
Damn, it’s freezing!
I make a motion to retreat immediately, but Jasper just laughs, amused, and reassures me, “Come here, I’ll warm you up!”
Ah, that explains why he went searching for the first sunbeam he could find.
I wade toward him with effort, every inch my body sinks, it sends a sharp jolt straight to my soul.
Even though the water reaches my chest, Jasper is still further out in the platform, which means this is far deeper than it looks.
And with all the jagged, limestone around us, you can only imagine the number of tunnels and caves someone could explore down here with the right diving equipment. Well, equipment and a lot of courage.
Something I don’t have.
I don’t know if Roberto or the workers who built this place ever did.
Because that’s what cenotes are: a network of water-filled caves that can reach up to a thousand feet deep, carved by the erosion of the soil.
I stop where the water reaches my chest, still three feet away from where he is, but at least the sunlight reaches here, letting a little warmth circulate through my body.
Then I look around.
Just the two of us, in an enormous cave, the ceiling like thirty feet above, the bottom God knows how far below. Just the two of us, in pure silence, inside a place that feels like another universe.
A universe where Jasper and Julie exist together.
And nothing, anywhere, can get in between. Right now, in this universe, there’s just the two of us and no one else.
I could get used to this.
“I never imagined any of this,” I say, still taking in the enormity around us. He squints, confused. “When I kissed you on the beach that night, there’s no way I would have imagined this.”
“What did you imagine would happen?”
I shrug.
“No idea. I was drunk out of my mind, but it certainly wasn’t this. Not secret cenotes, not candlelit lunches between two people who hate each other.”
“There’s a difference between hate and having the power to drive someone crazy,” he says. “I think we just need a little anger-management therapy.”
“That’s where you should’ve taken me before taking me on any date,” I tease back.
“It’s not a date,” we say at the same time.
“But if it were,” Jasper continues, stepping closer, close enough to reach my shoulder, his large, warm hand still wet, touching me with all the care in the world, “just remember all the thought and care I put into this, in case you feel tempted to say you hate me again.”
I press my lips together, pretending to be annoyed. As if it were so hard to admit he’s doing something right.
“I’ll remember your thoughtfulness.”
“Besides, I think we’ve already found another activity that helps us settle all our differences, right?” He takes the chance to move even closer. “We should’ve started a long time ago.”
“Oh, in your dreams, I would’ve given you any chance if I weren’t drunk and needy, Jasper!”
“I hate to break it to you, but being drunk and needy isn’t exactly a rare occurrence in your life,” he says, laughing at his own joke, though the laugh doesn’t reach his eyes.
His lips are curved in amusement, but his gaze is calm and peaceful, like the water around us.
I reach out to him, my fingertips sliding from his collarbone down to the small dip in the middle of his chest. I hold my breath for a moment, just to feel his heartbeat beneath my fingers. Steady, strong. Just like everything about him.
Jasper moves slowly, as if any sudden motion might shatter the moment, one hand moving to my waist, the other rising from my shoulder to trace my jawline in absolute silence and in complete calm like he had all the time in the world.
I feel his breath brush my skin lightly, dizzying me for a moment. It’s hard, so hard, to breathe normally with the way things are going right now.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask softly, praying the sarcasm and teasing phase has passed, only for a moment, so he might answer honestly. “Is it because you felt sorry for me after yesterday? You know… me being unemployed and everything else.”
He shakes his head once. To the left. Then to the right.
“Then why?”
“Because I wanted to give you a break from that circus people call wedding,” he says quietly. “And I wanted to give you the chance to forget everything waiting for you in New York and just enjoy the time we have left here.”
His hand moves from my jaw up through my hair, brushing my bangs aside to glide his thumb over my eyebrow, then along the side of my eye, then tucking a loose strand behind my ear.
“Because I wanted to be alone with you in a place that didn’t involve us being naked.”
“And left me in a bikini?” I murmur.
“I did. But I’m not going to do anything with you here.” His other hand slides from my waist to the curve of my hips. “You’re driving me crazy, and all I want is to take it off with my mouth, but I won’t do anything now.”
“Of course not! Not in a sacred Mayan cenote,” I tease.
He responds with a laugh, and this time his finger slips from my hair to my mouth less delicately, his thumb pressing between my teeth.
I bite the tip of his finger, lifting my eyes to meet his.
“Maybe I just don’t want to do anything here. Maybe I’ve decided I don’t wanna have rushed, uncomfortable sex in strange places anymore. Maybe I’ve decided that the next time we do it, it’ll be something more.”
Instead of smiling like a fool, which I desperately want to, I just roll my eyes.
“Don’t try to trick me with your manipulative lawyer talk, Jasper.”
He shakes his head several times in short movements, accompanied by a frustrated little laugh. The moment has passed, and we’re back to our usual dynamic.
“Why do you always think what I say is lawyer talk?”
“Because you always manage to twist everything in your favor,” I answer without thinking.
“Not always.”
“Not always? What about today with Mila?”
“Well, I was going to pick you up at the wedding venue and get you out while I still could. But since you didn’t leave the house, I had to improvise.”
And now I can only get angry because while I’m buried in wedding tasks and personal problems, Jasper has all the time he wants to hatch wild plans, find secret cenotes, and just… run off whenever he pleases.
“When did you even have time to plan all this?”
“Last night. You were stuck in the room with Mila for hours, and I missed you,” he says softly, and I’m already prepping my impatient face as he raises his voice to drown out my protests. “I started thinking maybe you were tired and deserved a little break, so I did my thing.”
“You did your thing?”
“Google, Julie. I went on google. Called Roberto as soon as I woke up this morning.”
“And he just said yes? Just like that, at the last minute?”
“Well, I had to tell him I was going to propose, but…”
“You what?” I interrupt, in pure shock.
“It was a harmless little lie. It won’t hurt anyone,” he justifies.
“And what do you think he’ll say when I leave here without any ring on my finger?”
Jasper tilts his head to the side, frowning like a little boy caught red-handed.
Oh no! He didn’t!
I blink, and it takes forever to open my eyes again.
“Please tell me you didn’t steal Mila and Robbie’s wedding ring for this!”
“Of course not. I brought Tony’s, I’m…” he stops abruptly.
My eyes go wide.
Tony’s?
“Tony’s going to propose to Cordelia?” I ask, in a mix of surprise, shock, and desperate for gossip.
Jasper takes a deep breath. He knows he said too much. Probably torturing himself over it. He never messes up, but this time he did. Just like that other night when I was trying to uncover Robbie’s secrets.
“Not yet,” he finally says, conceding. “He’s taking her to Tulum after the wedding to do it. I’m hiding the ring until the end of the trip so she won’t find it.”
“Robbie is going to freak!” I exclaim. I have no one else to gossip with, so Jasper it is. “They’ve only been dating for like three months.”
“Yeah, but they’ve known each other for twelve years.”
“So? We’ve known each other for ten. Would you marry me after three months?”
“I’d marry you today, apparently,” Jasper replies, emotionless. So I know he’s not serious, he’s just talking, once again, about one of his made-up stories.
“When were you planning on telling me about this, anyway?”
“Probably five seconds before the proposal to keep the surprise.” I make an angry grimace. He gives me a crooked smile. “You wouldn’t say yes?”
“To Tony, maybe. He’s a sweetheart, everyone knows that. Now, you?” My face scrunches as I pretend to think. “I’ve known you ten years, and yet, people have no idea who you really are, Jasper. God knows what I’d uncover after the wedding.”
“I couldn’t maintain the same facade for ten years, Jules. If you don’t know who I am by now, maybe you should start accepting that this is who I really am.”
“Completely bitter, deceitful, and unpredictable?” I suggest.
“Completely sharp, meticulous, and very patient,” he corrects.