Jasper #3
I nodded but inside, my chest pinched tight.
I’d spent my whole life in some sort of spotlight.
But today I’d forgotten about that. Let the emotion of the moment flood over me and hadn’t thought about who might be watching.
I’d have to be more careful, not only for my own sake, but for Jasper’s as well.
If the contest committee thought I was getting involved on a personal level with the town, they’d probably remove me as a judge and maybe even disqualify Ido from the running. I couldn’t be the cause of that.
“Maybe we ought to put a halt to this”—I gestured to the space between us—“at least while I’m in town. I don’t want people to think my judgment will be compromised or anything.”
“I said I’d resign as the host.”
“But I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.” A tiny sliver cracked my heart at the thought of shutting things down with Jasper. But I couldn’t risk the fate of his hometown on a few kisses or a night of pleasure.
“If that’s what you want to do . . .”
That’s not what I wanted to do. What I wanted was to lose myself in Jasper’s arms, forget who I was for as long as I could, and give the connection between us freedom to see where it might lead.
But for his sake, for the town’s sake, for my own sake, I didn’t say that.
Instead, I nodded. “I think it’s for the best.”
“Okay then.” Jasper shifted into gear and moved back onto the road, his jaw tight, his shoulders tense.
I could feel the shift in his energy, like he’d constructed an invisible wall between us.
As much as I ached to reach out to him, to tear it down, I didn’t.
Sometimes I had to put others first. That was a lesson that had been ingrained in me through my entire life.
I was about to tell Jasper just that when movement caught my eye.
I leaned forward, trying to convince myself what I was seeing wasn’t what I thought.
That the whirlwind on heels heading directly toward us wasn’t who I feared.
“You okay?” Jasper’s hand landed on my arm. “Delilah?”
“Delilah Francine Stone. What on God’s green earth have you gotten yourself into?” Stella, in all of her designer-clad glory, approached. Storm clouds of fury gathered in her eyes as her gaze swept over the mud-spattered truck.
My stomach twisted itself into a giant knot. “Stella. What are you doing here?”
My mother stopped when she reached the passenger window. “I wanted to surprise you and hand deliver those samples myself.” The clipped, tense tone of Stella’s voice sliced through me like a hot knife passing through a stick of butter.
Trying to defuse the situation, I gestured toward Jasper. “Stella, meet the hospitality host, Jasper Taylor. Jasper, this is my mother and manager, Stella Stone.”
“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” Jasper tilted his chin toward my mother.
Stella’s lips curled, her disgust for the entire situation so thinly veiled that Jasper would have to be blind not to see it. “I wish I could say the same, Mr. Taylor. Are you the reason my daughter’s been shirking her duties as Miss Lovin’ Texas?”
“I’m sorry?” Jasper’s brow crinkled. “Your daughter’s been doing a fine job while she’s been in town.”
I met his smile with a tentative one of my own. I wanted to reach up and caress his cheek for trying to stick up for me in front of my mother. But I knew Stella better than anyone, and Jasper had no idea what he was up against.
“A fine job?” Stella took a step closer, not daring to get close enough to risk her designer suit brushing up against the dirty truck. “I don’t know what the hell’s been going on down here for the past week, but you need to get my daughter out of here. Now.”
“Stella!” I appreciated where my mother was coming from. Reputation and public persona meant everything. But what I’d been experiencing in Ido was bigger than that.
Stella turned her steely gaze on me next. “If you want to see this contest through, you’d better get yourself cleaned up. Now. I’ll catch up to you after I’ve had a chance to finish my talk with the mayor.”
Jasper gave my hand a squeeze. “Actually, I think Stella’s right.”
I opened my mouth to try to talk some sense into both of them. “But—”
“I’m glad we can agree. At least on my daughter’s well-being.” The look Stella gave Jasper could have taken down a weaker man.
But Jasper held my gaze. “Delilah’s happiness and safety have always been my top concern.”
“Then get her the hell out of here before someone sees her like this,” Stella muttered, her jaw clenched tight.
Jasper started the truck and backed out of the parking spot.
“Don’t I get a say in this?” I asked. Since when did Jasper and Stella have enough in common that they’d gang up against me? “What are you doing?”
“I’m getting you out of here before someone takes advantage of the situation and snaps a picture of you that will haunt you forever.”
As much as I wanted to argue with that, it was the best thing to do. And now it looked like I had my mother on my hands. Any chance of seeing where things might go with Jasper disappeared.