Jasper Vale (The Edens #4)(72)

“It’s not easy to see Jasper with another woman.”

My gaze whipped to John’s, but I bit my tongue, holding back a snarky retort. Or an education about his cheating daughter.

“They have an unbreakable bond,” he said.

“Yet it broke.” About the time she’d taken another man’s cock. I smiled sweetly. “So I’ll have to disagree with your opinion.”

“It’s a fact, my dear. One known by every person in this room.”

“Even your new son-in-law? Yikes. Poor guy. He must feel very welcome in your home.”

John’s nostrils flared. “He, unlike you, isn’t blind to reality.”

My gaze drifted around us, and for the first time tonight, I saw a pointed stare. A woman turned away too fast when she met my gaze. Had people been staring at me all night? Pitying me?

Did they see me as some pathetic standin? The woman who could never compete for Jasper’s heart? Not when it had belonged to the woman in a white gown.

The woman he’d loved his entire life.

“There’s a reason you’re in Italy.” John bent lower to speak directly in my ear. “Jasper will never let go of Samantha. He might pretend to care. He might even be fooling himself. But at some point, he’ll realize it’s fake. And then you’ll disappear. I have no delusions Samantha’s marriage will last. And once it fizzles, they’ll find their way back to each other.”

Fake. Jasper and I were fake. And oh, how I hated that word.

It took everything I had to hide a reaction. To keep it hidden that he’d fired a shot and hit me straight in the heart. Be tough. “Like I said, I’ll have to disagree with your opinions.”

“You’re a stupid girl to believe you’re anything other than a fleeting distraction,” he whispered.

A stupid girl Jasper had married on a drunken whim.

A mistake.

“Thanks for the dance.” With one purposeful step, I pulled away.

Jasper’s arms were waiting.

He swept me away from John and Ashley, the pair exchanging a look like they’d planned that interruption all night.

“What did he say?” Jasper asked.

“Nothing nice,” I admitted, struggling to breathe.

“I’m sorry.”

I shrugged, swallowing the lump in my throat. Don’t cry. “It was bound to happen. You warned me about it, right?”

My mistake had been thinking we’d get that attitude from his own parents, not Samantha’s. No bathroom run-in tonight. Just an ambush on the dance floor.

As Jasper led us around, I scanned the room again. People were staring. Whispering.

Damn, I was an idiot. How could I have let myself believe this was real?

Stupid Eloise.

Maybe Samantha had broken his heart, had betrayed his trust, but he’d loved her for years. We were at her wedding, weren’t we? Maybe John was right.

Maybe Jasper wouldn’t ever really let her go.

My chest ached, and the swelling of emotions made it hard to breathe. Goddamn it. Don’t cry. I would not cry tonight.

“Ask me another question, El.”

“I’m all out of questions.” My voice cracked.

“Ask me.” His lips caressed my forehead as he spoke. “Please.”

It was the please that made tears flood my eyes. But I blinked them away, refusing to let the assholes in this room win. “What’s your favorite city in the world?”

“Paris.”

It was on my bucket list.

“Have you been?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Someday.”

Someday I’d visit all the pretty cities. I’d add more stamps to my passport. Maybe, if I was lucky, the man who came with me on those trips would be free to love me too.

“Come on.” Jasper broke the dance, clasped my hand and led me from the ballroom. His strides were so long that I had to skip every couple steps to keep up.

He walked straight for the elevator and hit the button for our floor, digging a key card from his pocket the moment we reached level three. As he headed down the hallway, he pulled out his phone from his jacket, quickly typing in something before pressing it to his ear.

“Who are you calling?” I asked, rushing to keep up.

He kept moving, unlocking our room’s door. “Yes, I need a chartered flight from Naples to Paris. Tonight. Departing in two hours.”

I gasped.

Jasper looked down at me, something serious in his gaze. Then the crinkles appeared. His hand cupped my cheek, his thumb stroking my skin, before he waved me into the room. “Go pack. Hurry.”

Pack. For Paris.

At the moment, being anywhere other than Italy, than this hotel, seemed like a brilliant idea.

I flew into action, racing around the room to sweep up everything I’d scattered around in the past couple of days.

Jasper did the same as he talked on the phone, giving our details to whoever was on the other end of that call.

How much did it cost to fly from Naples to Paris on a whim?

At the moment, I really didn’t care. France sounded like the perfect escape.

Jasper ended the call, his suitcase and carry-on bag both packed and zipped shut on the bed. He came to the bathroom, standing at my side to help collect my toiletries from the counter where we’d scattered them earlier, shoving them into my travel case.