Page 2 of Jasper (Guardians of the North #5)

JASPER

When the admiral gave me the festival liaison assignment last week, the panic didn’t immediately set in.

As the only pilot with a sprained wrist and grounded until further notice, I practically had a target on my back for this type of bitch-work.

It was predictable, and I had accepted my shitty fate.

Then he mentioned I’d be glued to the hip of the woman running the show—his daughter.

The panic hit me like a fucking Mack truck after that.

The admiral has no idea that his precious Vanessa and I once shared a very intimate weekend in Cape Cod.

If he did, he’d probably have sent me out on a boat until this whole festival was over just to keep me away from her.

Instead, he introduced us like we were strangers and insisted we all take a seat at a very intimate corner table.

All throughout dinner, I keep waiting for Vanessa to blow my cover. To throw her napkin down and announce that she can’t work with me. She was never what I’d call the shy or reserved type. Her boldness and take-charge personality were what drew me to her in the first place.

But each time she seems close to losing her cool, she reins it in.

It might be the way her dad praises me up and down—something he certainly would regret if he knew just how much of that long-ago weekend I spent naked with his daughter.

Or maybe she’s waiting to rip me a new one in private to prevent a public scene.

“Color me impressed,” the admiral says, folding his cloth napkin and dropping it on top of an empty plate. “If the food vendors don’t hit the spot for the festival, at least the hotel guests have this place. My only regret is waiting so long to dine here.”

“I haven’t had a steak that good in months,” Erin, Vanessa’s personal assistant, says.

She’s been eyeing me off and on the entire meal, but the interest I sense doesn’t appear to be her own.

Not with the way she keeps looking at Vanessa each time.

It might be too much to hope I have an ally in the Vanessa Wheeler department, but I’ll take all the help I can get.

I haven’t stopped thinking about the curvy beauty in the four years since I’ve met her. I’ve tried to move on, but every date has been cut short when the realization dawns on me: no one compares to Vanessa.

“The food vendors at the festival will hit it out of the park,” Vanessa reassures, sounding all business.

Tucking her dark, wavy hair behind her ear.

Exposing a neck I have fond memories of nibbling on.

I can practically hear the sexy little coo she makes when I hit the hollow spot that drives her wild. “They’re all carefully vetted.”

Food vendors. Safe topic. Focus, Jasper.

I wonder if Vanessa had a chance to vet Rocco’s Tacos .

That local food truck has gone in and out of business for the past couple of years now.

Though the rumors as of late are that they’ve made a decent comeback, I can’t help but forget the horrid food poisoning my buddy Jordan suffered a couple years back.

I’m about to ask when the admiral cuts in.

“Say, Vanessa. Where’s David?”

The jealousy is a sharp blade to the chest. I don’t have to ask who this David is to know I don’t like him.

Because in the four years Vanessa and I have been apart, she has never once not felt like mine.

Irrational, I know. Yet the thought of another man near her makes me crazy with jealousy.

An emotion I didn’t even realize I possessed until this moment. Apparently, I have it in spades.

Vanessa empties her cocktail glass, as if using the time to poise herself. With a subtle inhale, she lifts her gaze to her dad. If I’m not mistaken, her hand trembles slightly. “He’s not coming.”

“Business commitment? He’s certainly a busy man?—”

“We broke things off.”

I can’t help but notice Erin’s bouncing gaze between Vanessa and me.

She has to know who I am. Meaning I made a bigger impression than I thought if Vanessa told someone about our weekend.

Do I have a shot at turning this whole thing around?

I have a few stretched truths to sort out.

That alone promises I have my work cut out for me.

But what if this chance meeting is really a second chance for us?

“I’m sorry to hear that, sweet pea.”

“Don’t be,” Vanessa says. “It wasn’t meant to be.”

“Good.” The admiral’s tone is firm enough to lift everyone’s gaze from the table to him. “I didn’t like him.”

“What?” Vanessa’s shock appears genuine.

“He was wound too tight. Spent too much time on his phone. That and pretending he had a damn clue about the stock market.” He glances at Vanessa’s hand but doesn’t take it.

A subtle gesture only someone paying very close attention would even catch.

Though Vanessa was never forthcoming about her dad being an admiral—that surprise was quite the shock all those years ago—she was open about how unaffectionate he’d been since her mom passed.

“But you told me you liked him. I thought you wanted me to marry him,” Vanessa insists.

“I want you to be happy, sweet pea.”

Vanessa’s shock isn’t as well-masked as she probably thinks. I recognize the surprise dancing in her light blue eyes.

“I think I can speak for all of us when I say we’re happy David isn’t the one,” Erin says with a lighthearted chuckle that breaks the gentle tension. She lifts a glass in toast, and the admiral is the first to join.

“I’ll toast to that,” I join in.

The admiral turns me to me, and for a beat, I fear I’ve overstepped. Just because he’s been talking up my skills and honors all throughout this meal does not mean he’s suggesting I date his daughter. I’m not that stupid.

“Looks like you’ll have your hands full this weekend, Captain Steele.”

“I will?”

“I want you to ensure my little girl enjoys herself. She’s a workaholic, even if she’s in denial about that. I have no doubt that every detail is meticulously planned—” He looks to Erin.

“It is,” she confirms.

“—So I know she’ll have free time on her hands. Show her North Haven before she rushes back to Houston. I want her to at least consider visiting again before I relocate. Think you can handle that assignment, Jasper?” That the admiral is speaking to me so informally is a sign of his trust.

If I fuck that up, it might mean more than my next promotion. It might mean the end of my career. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. Then it’s all settled.”

“Dad, this is really unnecessary?—”

“If I could, I’d show you around myself. But you know how it is. We’ll catch up before you fly out,” the admiral says, waving the server down for a check. “I want to hear all about your time in North Haven.”

His words feel like a stern warning to behave myself.

To be the respectable chaperone who keeps his hands to himself.

If I was a smart man, I’d give up any notion I might have about second chances.

Because pursuing Vanessa Wheeler might cost me the career I’ve worked so hard to achieve.

The career that has defined who I am to the core.

That I’m willing to run the risk should rattle me.

For once in my life, I don’t want to play it smart.