CHAPTER 58
“When I asked you out, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind,” Jasper muttered, tugging a pair of work gloves onto his hands.
Nina stood beside a trash bag, struggling with the tangled handles. Ocean water lapped at her sneakers, the wind played with the hem of her long skirt, and the sun seemed determined to fry them alive before it even reached ten a.m.
“Sorry,” she exhaled at last, finally undoing the knot. “Lynn suddenly suggested joining the volunteer cleanup. I couldn’t say no to her. You understand what that means to me, right?”
He shot her a quick look. Said nothing. Then he bent down, picked up a plastic bottle, tossed it into the bag, and only then answered:
“I do.”
Nina knew he truly did. It just felt important to say it out loud—to make sure he knew how much it meant to her to be near Lynn.
Lynn was somewhere up ahead, in a bright orange volunteer shirt, a bucket in one hand and a trash grabber in the other. Energetic, cheerful, glowing. Nina doubted she realized just how meaningful this invitation was.
“Strange she didn’t mention that you’d be here too,” Nina added more quietly, watching Jasper gather trash from between the rocks.
He straightened, wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
“That’s very much her style.”
Jasper looked at her. Too openly. Nina was the first to look away.
Every time he looked at her like that, something inside her shifted. Jasper grabbed a couple more bottles and tossed them into the bag.
Nina stole another glance at him. He really was handsome. Especially today. In a simple gray T-shirt, hair slightly messy, gloves on his hands, sun beating down on him. Who would’ve thought manual labor could look this… so damn sexy? And why, for God’s sake, did he pull her in like a magnet?
She lowered her gaze, as if it could silence the thoughts in her head. It didn’t.
He was tense too. She felt it.
Every now and then his glance brushed her—quick, sideways. But she caught it. And then he pretended nothing was happening. They both pretended. Neither of them knew what they were supposed to do anymore.
Nina turned away so he wouldn’t notice how her fingers trembled while she twisted the neck of the trash bag.
“Since that night,” he said suddenly, “I haven’t known how to act. But honestly… I just wanted to be near you, Nina.”
She stayed silent. There was nothing she could say. Everything she felt was too tangled to fit into a sentence—maybe even into a single page.
He stepped closer, stopped in front of her. Nina lifted her head to meet his eyes.
“Let’s make a deal,” he said quietly. “Let’s not overthink anything. No huge expectations, no dissecting the situation. And then… we’ll see where it goes.”
Nina nodded. He was right. She didn’t need to rush anything. Didn’t need to complicate it. She just needed to drift forward, enjoy the day, and breathe.
She glanced at Lynn again. The girl was laughing with another volunteer, hair dancing in the salty breeze. Happy. And for the first time in a very long time Nina felt almost happy too.
She didn’t know how long that feeling would last. But it was real.
They both behaved perfectly normal in front of her. Pretended nothing had happened between them. Pretended there hadn’t been a kiss, or a spark, or that aching pull every time they looked at each other.
They made excellent actors. Almost flawless.
But every time their hands brushed—passing a trash bag, reaching for the grabber—something inside Nina lit up.
And he… he kept looking at her like he might kiss her again.
Lynn jogged over and handed them another trash bag.
They finally finished their section of the beach. The wind cooled a little. Nina felt her clothes clinging to her skin, her hair hopelessly tangled, her arms heavy from the work. Jasper walked beside her in silence—crumpled gloves in one hand, an empty bag in the other.
“One more hour of this and my legs would’ve staged a walkout,” she joked, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
“Next time, turn down her bright ideas. Lynn always had… unusual methods of having fun,” he said, and his hand brushed lightly across her back.
The touch sent heat shooting through her.
They reached his car. Jasper opened the trunk, pulled out a clean pair of sneakers, and started changing his shoes. Nina leaned against the door of her own car, trying to catch her breath. Lynn appeared a minute later—flushed, radiant.
“You’re way too energetic for someone who’s been up since six,” Jasper said as he finished tying his laces. “Next time you can go to these things without me.”
Lynn flashed a sly grin, eyes sparkling.
“Physical labor is a great way to clear your head, find some balance, and relax before delivering important news.”
“I’m already relaxed. Nina probably is too,” he added, giving Nina a quick glance.
“Then I guess I should tell you both something wonderful. You’re going to be grandparents.”
Silence hit them so hard even the seagulls seemed to freeze midair. Nina’s head snapped up; she stared at Jasper, and he stared at Lynn.
“I’m sorry, what?” he asked, blinking.
“I’m pregnant, Dad,” she said, smiling, though Nina saw how nervous Lynn was beneath that smile.
Jasper stared at her, stunned. Then at Nina. Then back at Lynn.
“So that’s why you dragged Nina here? Thought I’d strangle you for news like this unless there were witnesses?” Jasper’s voice was ice as he stared at his daughter. “Do you even understand what you’re doing? What about your residency? Your surgical career?”
Lynn shrugged and stepped back, as if putting even a foot of distance could save her from the storm coming her way. Nina stood beside them, unable to decide whether she had the right to say anything at all. Everything felt too sudden, too raw.
“Is it…” Jasper drew in a sharp breath. “Is it Nolan’s?”
Lynn rolled her eyes.
“No, Dad, it’s the pizza delivery guy’s. Yes, it’s Nolan’s. And I’m an adult. I know how birth control works. Sometimes… things just don’t go according to plan.”
Nina noticed Jasper’s knuckles go white. He looked away, as if trying to swallow the urge to curse out the entire world—Nolan included.
“I’m going to kill him,” he whispered.
“A little late for that,” Lynn replied calmly. “I’d like to become a wife, not a widow.”
A laugh broke out of Nina before she could stop it. Jasper shot her a sharp look—first razor-edged, then weakening into something else entirely. Confusion. Vulnerability.
“What’s funny?” he demanded, still shaken.
“We’re talking about serious things here.
I haven’t even wrapped my head around the fact that my best friend’s sleeping with my daughter, and now this—” he jabbed a finger in Lynn’s direction.
He looked furious, but Nina knew he’d cool down fast. His love for Lynn always outweighed his temper.
“Sorry, it’s just…” Nina managed between breaths, “I was just recently thinking about having another child... and I guess instead of that, I’m going to end up with a grandchild.”
Lynn snorted; Jasper’s lips twitched. The tension thinned, just a little.
“I knew you wouldn’t let Dad tear me apart,” Lynn said. Nina looked at her—really looked. And she saw how fragile the girl was beneath her bravado. The girl who never had a mother’s love was about to become a mother herself. So young and yet already so strong.
The realization burned through Nina so sharply her eyes filled with tears. She tried to blink them away but failed.
“Sorry…” she whispered, brushing her cheeks.
Lynn looked at her. Nina looked back. And suddenly Lynn sniffed, and in the next heartbeat they both burst into tears—loud, messy, unstoppable.
Nina stepped forward, but Lynn was already moving fast, impulsive and wrapped her arms around her.
The ground seemed to vanish under Nina’s feet. Her arms closed around Lynn on their own, trembling.
She buried her face in Lynn’s hair, breathing her in—the scent of her daughter. Grown. Unknown. And somehow still hers.
Lynn held her tightly. As if trying to make up for all the years they had lost.
Nina couldn’t remember the last time she had cried like that—openly, helplessly, without shame.
“What’s going on with you two…?” Jasper murmured helplessly.
Lynn laughed through her tears, stepped back a little but kept Nina’s hand in hers.
“It’s fine, Dad,” she said, wiping her cheeks. “It’s just hormones. You’ll have to get used to them.”
“For starters,” Jasper said, “I want to see the father of this child and hear his plans. I’ll book us a table somewhere; you call him. And you’re too pale, Lynn. How do you feel? You shouldn’t have pushed yourself today.”
Lynn snorted.
“Don’t you dare start lecturing me about prenatal vitamins. Reminder: your specialty is cardiothoracic surgery, not OB-GYN.”
All three of them laughed. Exhausted. Bruised. A little broken. But together.
Later, at the restaurant, they sat around a large table, though the atmosphere felt more like a funeral.
On one side—Nina and Jasper. On the other—Lynn and Nolan. The silence pressed like weight on their shoulders.
Nina glanced at Jasper from the corner of her eye. He sat perfectly still, carved out of stone. Lips tight. Hands clenched under the table. His icy stare locked onto Nolan. Had Jasper possessed the power to incinerate someone with a thought, Nolan would’ve turned to ash on the spot.
Lynn shifted nervously in her seat. But whenever Nolan touched her hand, something soft flickered across her face—warmth, fragility. Tenderness mixed with embarrassment.
Lynn kept sighing, she couldn’t force a single bite down. She was here in name only; no one intended to actually ask for her opinion.
Nolan cleared his throat suddenly, trying to break the tension.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect my mother- and father-in-law to be barely older than me…”
He laughed. Lynn squeezed his hand under the table in a clear warning.
The joke landed with the grace of a brick.
Jasper slowly turned his head. His face stayed motionless, carved from stone but his eyes…
“I didn’t expect,” he said quietly, “that someone your age could forget how condoms work.”
Lynn’s head snapped up, her cheeks bright red.
“Dad, you promised!”
Nina felt the air tighten between them like stretched wire. Instinct told her to intervene—but she didn’t get the chance.
“Anyway,” Nolan continued, straightening up, “Lynn and I are getting married. The wedding’s in two months. I hope you understand, Jasper. We both love her more than anything, and we both want what’s best for her, so I don’t see any reason for us to be at each other’s throats.”
“Funny,” Jasper murmured, “because I’m not seeing a ring on my daughter’s finger.”
“I have it, I just took it off this morning so you wouldn’t see it too early,” Lynn said with a shy smile as she dug through her purse.
After a few seconds of rummaging, she pulled out the ring box, opened it, and slipped the ring back where it belonged—on the ring finger of her left hand.
“Isn’t it gorgeous?” Her eyes were shining with happiness as she turned her hand toward Nina, proudly showing off her diamond ring.
“It’s stunning. Nolan has good taste. In jewelry… and beyond,” Nina said, taking a sip of water to soothe her dry throat.
The rest of lunch passed in clipped phrases and half-hearted attempts at conversation.
Then Nolan’s phone rang. He apologized, said he had to rush to work, and Lynn left with him.
In the end, Nina and Jasper were left alone at the table, staring at plates they hadn’t touched.
“Are you angry?” she asked, watching through the window as Nolan held the car door open for Lynn.
Jasper let out a short breath that might’ve been a laugh.
“I’m just… trying to let go.”
She smiled faintly. She understood him more than he knew.
He sprinkled salt onto his pasta and said:
“I don’t think he’ll be a bad husband.”
Her brows lifted.
“Really?”
“Yeah.” He exhaled. “Nolan’s a solid guy. Stubborn. Reliable. Careful with people. He really does love her. It’s obvious. And Lynn… she’s different with him.”
He paused, reached for a napkin.
“It’s just… he knew. From the very beginning, he knew who she was to me. He watched her grow up. He was supposed to see her as a sister. Not as a woman you—” his voice faltered, “you ache for.”
Nina stayed quiet. His voice didn’t carry anger now—just pain. And jealousy. A feeling she understood a little too well.
“We can’t always control what we feel,” she said softly, stirring the ice in her drink. Most of it had melted, but the flavor stayed cool and refreshing.
“Sometimes the feelings control us.”
Jasper froze. Then turned toward her.
Something shifted in his eyes—slowly, deliberately. His gaze dropped to her lips, lingered there, then lifted again.
The air thickened.
That same tension—liquid, electric, hungry—rose between them again.
He leaned in. Stopped mere millimeters from her mouth.
“May I?” he whispered. His breath brushed across her skin.
He waited. Patient. Unhurried. Not demanding—just asking.
She didn’t answer with words.
She closed the last inch herself, brushing her lips against his—slowly, gently, but with the same longing she’d seen in his eyes moments earlier.
The kiss ignited instantly, like a spark catching on dry grass.
He pulled her closer, slid his hand to the back of her neck, the other wrapping around her waist. He held her tightly as if he were afraid to lose her.
And she… she didn’t want him to let go.
She stopped caring that they were in a restaurant. That people might see. None of it mattered.
For the first time in years, everything felt right.
Exactly as it should.
“Now this,” Jasper murmured against her lips, barely pulling away, “actually feels like a date.”