Jasper Vale (The Edens #4)(91)

Jasper clasped my hand tighter, leaning down to kiss my hair. “I’m good, angel.”

“Then I’ll be good too.”

We walked for a while, holding hands, staring into windows and smiling at the people we passed. When we reached the end of the block, Jasper turned us around and we meandered back toward Eden Coffee.

“Will you marry me?”

Wait. What? I stopped, forcing him to stop too. No way I’d heard that right. “Say that again.”

“Will you marry me?”

I reached up and felt his forehead with the back of my hand. “Are you sick?”

Jasper chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the sides. “Are you going to answer me?”

“I already married you.”

“But do you want a wedding? A real wedding. Have a party. Invite your family. Have your dad walk you down the aisle. All that?”

Oh. Would I marry him? Did I want the fancy ceremony and lavish party?

I’d thought so. Once. But if we had a wedding, it would overshadow our night at the Clover Chapel. A night that was as imperfect as it was beautiful. The idea of erasing it made my heart sink.

“Do you?” I asked Jasper.

Maybe he wanted a wedding. A new memory to conceal the old. A wedding not tainted by his ugly ex-wife.

“No.” He shook his head. “I don’t want a wedding. But if you want to wear a white gown, if you want me in a tux, just say the word.”

We didn’t need a gown or a tux.

Our love story wasn’t typical. It certainly wasn’t what I’d imagined as a little girl. But it was ours.

“No wedding. But I’d take a honeymoon.”

“Deal.” Jasper clasped my hand again, holding it tight. Holding it the way Dad held Mom’s. Then he started us down the sidewalk again. “Where do you want to go?”

A thousand places came to mind. They were all from that list I’d created as a kid with Mom, places that our hotel guests called home.

Where did I want to go? Anywhere. I’d go anywhere with Jasper.

I lifted our clasped hands, bringing his knuckles to my mouth for a kiss. “Surprise me.”