Too Hot to Handle (Romancing the Clarksons #1)(60)

Those facts occurred to Jasper before she confessed to burning down her mother’s restaurant. So maybe he was crazy, as everyone used to say, because he toppled over, straight into love with Rita when she said the words, releasing them into the night like tiny torpedoes. With her gripping his hand, the wind blowing her hair in a constantly shifting dark halo around her face, she was the most incredible sight he’d ever beheld. Perhaps because he’d finally gotten to the bottom of her and finally understood. Oh, yes. I see where the pain comes from. I want it to be my pain, too. Want you to give me half, so we can bear it together.

“I could have saved it,” Rita wheezed, prompting Jasper to tighten his hold. “I had the extinguisher in my hand.” She stared into the distance, as if remembering. “It was only in one corner of the kitchen…someone had left one of the burners on and it lit on a greasy apron someone had thrown over the expediting rack. I think…I think? It would only have taken me spraying it down with foam. But I didn’t. I just grabbed a whisk and I left. I let Mom’s restaurant burn down.”

Her fear caused a change in Jasper. Made him want to lift a giant shield to keep her hidden while he defended her actions. And he would defend her. Without question. He had zero questions about Rita. Just the love expanding and strengthening and lifting all the parts of his insides that were myths until tonight.

Jasper moved diagonally on the log, bringing his side flush with Rita’s. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulled her close, and planted a lingering kiss in her hair. “Everything is going to be okay now,” he murmured. “Brave, beautiful Rita.”

She turned her face into Jasper’s, hiccupping against the side of his jaw. “If I was brave, I would have put out the fire. I wouldn’t have been so scared to show up the next day for work that I let it burn to ashes.”

Aaron’s voice sliced through the silence, making Rita flinch. “Why were you scared to go to work?”

Rita tugged away and heaved a shaky breath up at the sky. “You don’t know what it was like. Being the one she chose. The one expected to learn the talent she was just born with. I couldn’t live up. Every day was try, fail, try, fail. After the television show, it got to the point where I couldn’t handle failing one more time. I couldn’t.” Jasper was now hanging on to Rita for dear life, the more she revealed about her struggle to live up. Couldn’t she see how worthy she was of their pride? Simply by being the kind of person who did try that hard? “I’m sorry for what I did. I’m so sorry.”

Belmont moved first. He stood, rounding the fire to plant himself behind Rita, laying a hand on her shoulder. Rita went still, those big, golden-brown eyes going wide. She’d expected them to condemn her yet still told them everything? She was twice as brave as Jasper had given her credit for.

One by one, the Clarksons—and the smaller woman who couldn’t seem to take her attention off Belmont—clustered around Jasper and Rita. Everyone but Aaron, who watched the scene play out across the bonfire.

“I didn’t know,” Peggy whispered, giving Rita a kiss on the cheek. “Mom seemed so impressed with you. I-I was even jealous.”

Rita laughed tearfully into Jasper’s neck. “No, you weren’t.”

“Sure I was.” Peggy gave a dainty shrug, but she was fighting a grin. “For at least a full minute.”

Based on the way Rita was trying to crawl inside his body, hiding her face from the light, Jasper reckoned she wasn’t comfortable with the shows of affection, even though her relief and shock were palpable things. Emotions he could feel just by holding her—and wasn’t that something? Christ, he wanted to take her home. Wanted to reward her for the courage she’d shown, wanted to apologize until his face turned blue over the way he’d overreacted that afternoon. But it was clear the siblings were waiting for Aaron to join them. Belmont, for his part, looked about ready to start a second bonfire with the glare leveled in his brother’s direction.

Finally, Aaron found his feet, joining his family to ruffle Rita’s hair. “All right, already. It was a good soufflé, Rita.” He adjusted the collar of his shirt. “You didn’t have to burn down the fucking restaurant just to make me admit it.”

Rita shook with laughter and was joined almost immediately by Peggy and Sage, Belmont’s rumble rounding out the sound. When the laughter died down, Rita lifted her face to Jasper’s, and he could read her expression. It said, Holy shit, that just happened…but please get me out of here, plain and simple. Whether or not she would like his methods? Now that remained to be seen.

“I haven’t given my confession yet,” Jasper said, drawing several pairs of eyes to himself. He cleared his throat and braced for the fallout. “The Suburban has been fixed since Wednesday. You could have left two days ago.”

Rita’s mouth fell open. “Wait. What?”

Aaron’s good nature was gone in a flash. He released a blue streak of curses that had Sage covering her ears and Peggy giggling. And Jasper wouldn’t swear to it in a courtroom, but he thought Belmont might have started growling. “I couldn’t let Rita up and leave me so fast. You understand.” In a move that felt perfectly natural, Jasper pulled a still-agape Rita onto his lap. “I’m not sorry about bribing the mechanic,” he murmured against her temple, not caring whether the rest of the group was still listening or not. “Hell no, I’m not sorry. But, God, I’ll be sorry to watch you go.”