Page 10 of Jasper (Guardians of the North #5)
VANESSA
Dinner with the J-Squad is nothing like I expected. Though to be honest, I don’t really know what I expected. These six coastguardsmen have been together since bootcamp. They’re not just servicemen, they’re brothers.
“You ready for the rapid-fire introductions?” Ella Harris asks, leaning her shoulder toward me so I can hear her better. I scan the table, counting six men in uniform and four other women.
“Will there be a quiz later?” I joke.
“Most definitely.” The genuine quality of her smile is comforting, as though she’s already accepted me into this elite club.
I can’t decide if I’m flattered or terrified.
It was one thing to have Jasper all to myself in Cape Cod, only hearing about the people in his life.
But to meet them in person has leveled up the experience.
I just can’t decide if I want to fit in or sprint straight to the airport and head back to Houston. It’s all so much.
“Okay, so starting at the head of the table, we have Jaxson and his wife, Blakely. He’s a rescue swimmer, and she’s a wildlife photographer. She’s also Jordan’s sister. They just had a baby a little less than a year ago. Doesn’t she look amazing?”
“She does.”
She continues around the table, pointing out James—another pilot like Jasper—and his wife, Serenity. Apparently she’s responsible for the new lodge’s construction. Good job, Serenity.
There’s Jonas—a flight mechanic—and his wife Mara. She manages the gift shop at the lodge. “Maybe you’ve seen her?” Ella asks.
I shake my head. I haven’t exactly had time to shop for souvenirs.
“They’re expecting a baby early fall. We just had a shower for Mara last week. Her parents were up to visit. It was a great time. Too bad you missed it.”
“Too bad,” I say, almost meaning it. As tempting as it is to want to be a part of this group, I accept this for what it is.
Another special weekend that’ll forever live on in my memory.
Like Cape Cod, but somehow better. Or maybe I’m just really enjoying the distraction since Dad’s comment about me not being able to run a successful event planning business out of this small, remote town.
I wanted to tell him about my Vanessa Sterling children’s books, but he was summoned away as per usual.
“Then there’s my husband, Jordan.” Ella nods toward the bar where her husband stands with Jasper, ordering drinks.
My gaze drags up and down Jasper’s body, undressing him with my eyes.
It’s the distraction I need to forget all about tomorrow and what the future actually holds for me. “He’s also a flight mechanic.”
“And him?” I nod to the only single man at the table, sitting on the side opposite Jaxson’s wife.
“Joel. Rescue swimmer.”
“He’s not married?”
“No, but I think he wants to be.”
“Probably hard to find a wife in a remote town like this,” I say.
“It’s true,” Ella agrees. “All of us wives are transplants.”
“Really?”
“You’d be joining an exclusive club,” she says with a wink.
“I’m not?—”
“Is Ella telling you all our secrets?” Jasper asks, falling into the empty chair beside me with a mug of beer in hand.
He offered to get me a drink when he headed to the bar a few moments ago, but I settled for ice water.
I stare at his mug, wondering what he’s having.
No doubt some local brew, like he was the night we met.
He was always particular about his beer.
Knowing this about him is oddly comforting.
“I’m just scratching the surface,” Ella says as Jordan drapes an arm around his wife.
“I thought we weren’t doing secrets anymore.” I reach for Jasper’s mug and take a sip, making eye contact over the rim.
“That’s Caribou Creek Stout,” he says.
“Local?”
“Local to Alaska.” He takes the mug from me, our fingers grazing.
An electric current ripples throughout my body at the simple contact.
A flashback from last night on his childhood bed plays in my mind, and I feel my entire body heat.
It would be so nice if we could skip to the part where neither of us has any clothing on it.
“Speaking of secrets,” James pipes up from across the table, flashing Jasper a shit-eating grin before he shifts his focus to me. “Did you know your boy here gets motion sick in the air?”
“But you’re a pilot,” I say, looking at Jasper with understandable confusion.
I vaguely remember him telling me he drove all the way to Cape Cod because he hated flying.
It was one of the reasons I was so livid to find out he was a coastguard pilot.
I thought he outright lied, but maybe it was more of a half truth.
“I’m fine if I’m the one flying,” he says.
“You’re lucky Ms. Passenger Princess didn’t lose his lunch in your lap,” James adds to me. The table conversation turns animated as the J-Squad recounts several examples of Jasper’s motion sickness.
“Why did you sign us up for a training flight?” I ask him, my voice low. Our conversation is our own now as the group stories grow more enthusiastic.
“Because I wanted you to see North Haven from my favorite viewpoint,” he explains, as though the answer is so simple. He lifts his wrapped wrist. “And I’m obviously grounded at the moment.”
“What happened?”
“Stupidity,” he says with a nonchalant shrug.
I’m sure there’s a story there, but I’m more interested in another detail. “My dad knew, didn’t he?”
Jasper nods, reaching for his stout again.
“You didn’t have to do that, Jasper,” I say, dropping a hand to his thigh.
Is it dangerously high? Maybe. But dammit I want this man.
I want to skip whatever sightseeing event he has planned after this dinner and spend the rest of the day in his bed, tangled in his sheets.
And I don’t want to leave until my flight boards Sunday.
“I know,” he says. “But I wanted to.”
If only Jasper weren’t military, I might allow myself to fall for him without abandon. I reach for Mom’s necklace and hug the heart charm against my chest wishing things were different. Wishing there was a way not to break my most important promise to her.
Why was the perfect man for me the one I can’t allow myself to have?
And the only one I want?