Jasper Vale (The Edens #4)(58)

“You have a vindictive side.” I giggled. “I like it.”

“So do I.” His eyes crinkled, that ghost of a smile. It dimmed too soon. “Sam is rather spiteful herself.”

“Uh-oh. What did she do?”

“Threw a tantrum. Told her parents and my parents that we were going through a rough patch, and that I refused to work on our marriage.”

“Did they know she was cheating?” It was cheating. If Jasper hadn’t wanted an open marriage, then everything she’d done was cheating.

He blew out a long breath. “I could have told them, I just . . . didn’t.”

“Why?” This woman had used him, betrayed him, but he hadn’t put the blame on her. Why? The answer came to me before he could say it. “Because you loved her.”

“Something like that.”

Goddamn that stung, knowing a woman who hadn’t deserved him was the one who’d earned his love.

Did he still love her? My heart couldn’t take that answer, so I didn’t ask the question. “Obviously, you got the divorce.”

“It took six months,” he said. “I didn’t want to be anywhere near her, and with Dan gone, it was easier to walk away. A friend of a friend had just moved to Vegas. Had met some UFC fighters. He knew of some gyms looking for trainers and instructors. It seemed like a hell of a good idea to move across the country. So I did and let my lawyer deal with Sam.”

“What about your parents?” I asked.

He shrugged. “They reacted as expected. Meaning they didn’t really give a flying fuck that their son was going through hell.”

My nostrils flared. “Tell me why we’re going to this wedding.”

At this point, I’d rather shove bamboo shoots up my fingernails than meet Samantha or his parents.

Jasper’s gaze dropped to the sheet and he plucked at the cotton. “For a long, long time, I was Samantha’s. She’s a very possessive person.”

“Yet she was okay with you screwing other women? How does that make sense?”

“Her game. Her rules.”

“That still doesn’t make any sense but whatever.” I’d already expended more energy toward that woman than she deserved for breaking his heart. I wasn’t going to attempt to understand her motivations.

“Sam has rarely had people tell her no. Not her parents. Not even me. She’s . . . stubborn. She’ll push and push and push until she gets her way. I learned a long time ago, it was just easier to let her have it than fight.”

Was that part of why he’d taken that woman into their guest bedroom? Probably. I shuddered, using every ounce of mental strength to shove the images of Jasper with any other woman out of my head. Sam included.

“When I walked away from her, she lost. The battle is over. But she’s still fighting.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sam and I still talk.” He swallowed hard. “She calls me.”

“And you answer? Even though she’s getting remarried. Even though you’re divorced. Why?”

“It’s, um, toxic.”

No shit. “What exactly do you mean, toxic?”

It was probably foolish for me to ask. This was probably opening the door for him to tell me he would always be in love with her. But if they spoke, if I was going to this wedding, I had to know.

“Sam would call and ask about the women I was fucking. And I’d tell her. I’d tell her every detail, my own revenge. She’d ask me if I pictured her face while I was inside another woman.”

I gasped. “That’s—”

“Fucked up. It’s fucked up.”

“Wait. Did you tell her about us?” Oh God. If he’d told her, I’d never recover from the humiliation.

Jasper met my gaze, and my chest cracked.

“You did,” I whispered.

He nodded.

“How dare you, Jasper Vale.” I swept up the only weapon within reach. A pillow. And slammed it into his head.

“I’m sorry.”

I hit him with the pillow again. He didn’t even try to block it. “What did you tell her?”

“That you were the best I’ve ever had.”

My teeth clenched. My hands gripped the sheets. “What else?”

“That’s it.”

I hit him with the pillow again. “You had no right. That’s private, Jasper.”

“I know, angel. I know.” He leaned in, his hands coming to frame my face as his eyes searched mine. “I’m sorry.”

“Did you mean it?” That seemed like such a silly question in the face of a betrayal. But I needed to know.

“Without question.”

Well, at least that was something. “And do you see her? When you’re with me?” Please say no.

“No, El. I see you. I’ve only ever seen you.”

So why didn’t that make me feel better?

“Why do you answer her calls?”

He gave me a sad smile. “For a long, long time, she was all I had.”

Understanding dawned. While I had my parents, sisters, and brothers to lean on, Jasper had only had Samantha. She’d been his person. And he answered her calls because he wasn’t ready to let that go.