“I’m ready to put an offer on the house. Think we can get it for a bit less? I mean, I know it has the pool and a covered outdoor kitchen, but I’m worried about the can of worms that might open up when we start to renovate that bathroom. And refinishing all of the wood is going to cost more than I think we assumed. I’d like to say we could do it ourselves, but that’s not very feasible,” I’m rambling while walking around the foyer, the woodwork surrounding us.
“Wildflower, baby, come here.” Jasper stops me in my tirade.
“What?” I spin around. He’s sitting on the stairs. Jasper is in need of a haircut, but I have to admit I’m loving the longer locks. The white shirt he struggled to put on this morning shows off his upper body and those arms I love to have wrapped around me. Don’t even get me started on his jeans, worn in all the right places, and he’s wearing a pair of slip-on boots.
“You’re gorgeous when you’re in a tizzy,” he tells me. My eyes are still roving over him.
“And you’re the most devastatingly beautiful man I have ever laid eyes on.” I walk towards him. Jasper’s good arm reaches out, bringing me into the comfort of his body.
“Men aren’t beautiful, wildflower. But I love it just the same. I didn’t formally ask you to be my wife. I think you know me well enough by now to know that when I want something, there will be nothing stopping me. Not our age difference, not the fact that you’re class, and well, I’m not. I’m a dirty oil rigger. Our life isn’t going to be easy. You’ll feel like you’re pulling the weight when it comes to our children and the house. I promise you this though, there won’t ever be a day when I won’t love you or our children. I’ll bust my ass to make sure you know just how worthy I am of both of you.” His hand moves to my lower belly, where our baby is growing.
“Jasper, don’t say shit like that. You’re worth so much more than you give yourself credit for. It’s you and me against the world. I’m sure it’ll be hard, but we’ll always be in it together.”
“Thank fuck.” He moves his hand away from me. I watch as he tries not to jostle his other side while he gets something out of his pocket.
“Do you want help?” I hate seeing him struggle.
“I’ve got it.” He comes out with a ring, and not just any ring. It’s freaking everything I would have picked out for myself—rose gold in color, pear-shaped diamond, but instead of it being vertical it’s turned horizontal. “It’s so beautiful,” I murmur as he takes my hand and slides it on my ring finger.
“Not as beautiful as you are. Wait till you see the wedding band,” he replies.
“I love you.” Tears are streaming down my face. I’m sure my face is a splotchy mess. The way Jasper is looking at me, though, you would think I’m the only person in the world, which is another thing that makes me love him even more. I’m his as much as he’s mine.
“I love you too, soon-to-be Mrs. Knight.” His lips seek mine, and not for the first time am I cursing the fact that he’s injured and we can’t have our way with one another’s body right here in our future home.
“As much as I want to stay here all day and kiss the hell out of you, we need to get back to the realtor, and it pains me to admit this, but I think it’s time for me to rest.” Our kiss ends with that. I’m up and backing away.
“Let’s go. You can call him from the road.” I hold my hand out for him. Jasper shakes his head but allows me to help just the same. I’m so ready to see what our life has in store for us.
Sixteen
Jasper
Berkley finally made it two days after I proposed to Aspen and we put in an offer on our dream house. Now we’re waiting on our final inspection. Not only that, we got to hear our baby’s heartbeat yesterday. I didn’t think anyone besides Aspen could bring me to my knees, but hearing that rhythmic staccato of our child’s heart made me wipe a tear from mine and Aspen’s eyes.
“Hey, baby,” I say, walking into Vintage Threads. Berkley started the same day she drove into town. She wanted to start right away, something about being tired of sitting on her ass. Though, this will probably just be short term until she finds her footing in town and gets the dream job she’s been after all along.
“Hey.” Her voice is soft and a melody to my ears. I just had her not even hours ago; that doesn’t stop me from needing her again. Her hips sway as she walks towards me. Watching her get dressed today was foreplay in itself—it took all I had to let her walk out the door. Her white dress is loose, not showing off the curves I know are hidden beneath, its arms long and flowing. It’s her legs that had me wanting to keep her in bed this morning.
“This is a pleasant surprise.” She kisses me lightly on the lips as my hand squeezes her hip.
“Do you have a few minutes?” I look around and see Berkley is hanging clothes. My mom isn’t here, so it must be her day off, and Stella is behind the counter.
“I always have time for you.” She takes my hand, leading me to the office, knowing full well I’ll follow her wherever she goes.
“Hey, Berk, Stella.”
“Hi, Jas,” Stella replies.
“Long time, no see,” Berkley retorts. That firecracker, she lives with Aspen and me right now. But not for too much longer. I was leasing my place month to month, so Aspen and I decided we’d just stay in her apartment even before we started looking for a house, not that I had a whole lot at my place besides my clothes. Though in the back of my mind I knew we’d be looking soon. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to raise your child in an apartment; it just isn’t what I want for our child.
“Yeah, yeah, funny girl,” I say over my shoulder.
“She’s got jokes. It’s who she’s always been.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. I guess it’s a good thing the realtor called me today.” Aspen stands near the desk. I get close to her. She understands what I want, sliding back so she’s now sitting on it. My legs are between her now spread thighs. I’m already wondering how fast I can get inside her by sliding that dress up, seeing what she has on underneath, and teasing her like she did me while getting dressed this morning.
“What did the realtor have to say? Did they accept our offer? Did we get the house?” She’s excited, and hell, so am I.
“It’s ours. The only thing we’re waiting on is to see if they’ll add money to the new roof it needs. Not saying even if they don’t help, we won’t get it, but I’d like to see what they come back with. Other than that, it’s ours.” Aspen wraps her hands around my neck, her fingers playing with the ends of my hair. I thought about getting a haircut but decided against it. There’s something about her fingers playing with it or holding on to it as I fuck her.
“I can’t wait to live out there, build a life with you, and be your wife.”
“Fuck, what those words do to me. Think we have time for a quickie?” I cock my eyebrow, but I see the blush on her cheeks, and I know one thing for sure, I’m going to see it travel the length of her body.