Page 33 of Djinn in Love

That was all he said as he lifted his chin in the direction of his brother and then followed that with a nod to his parents. Then, he snaked his way through the crowd of people and right out of the lounge.

“Um, what are we doing?” she asked.

“You’re tired. We’re going back to the cabin.”

Veronica was at a loss for words again and started stammering. “I, um, but…Jasper?—”

He didn’t stop moving until they reached the lobby. “Wait here for just a second,” he said.

Before Veronica could utter another incoherent syllable, he walked toward the counter and spoke with one of the resort employees. The woman he spoke to nodded along and began writing down whatever he was saying. After a few moments, she smiled at him, still nodding. Jasper took a folded bill out of his pocket and handed it to the employee. What was he doing?

Veronica realized that she was more exhausted than she’d thought because she couldn’t even form the question when Jasper returned to her side and began walking toward the front doors of the lodge. She shivered as the cool night air hit her arms and pulled the soft shawl closer around her upper body.

It wasn’t until she was seated in the golf cart, and they were on their way back to their cabin that she was able to speak again.

“What were you talking to the desk clerk about?” she asked.

Jasper zipped down the gravel path beside the main lodge, making Veronica’s breath back up in her throat and her heart pound in her chest. She reached out and grabbed the bar that ran across the front of the golf cart’s dashboard.

“Just ordering us some food. It’ll be to our cabin shortly.”

The chilly night air was breaking through the fog of fatigue. Veronica finally said, “We didn’t have to leave, Jasper. I was still doing fine.”

He shot her a sideways glance. “Your knuckles were turning white around the stem of your wineglass, and you were getting quieter and quieter. I could tell you were getting tired.”

Warmth grew in her chest. He’d noticed all that? Still, it made her uncomfortable. “I don’t want your family to be upset with you because of me,” she argued.

“I warned my parents and Milo that we would probably leave early, so this was no surprise to any of them. They were fine with it.”

“What about the rest of your family? They’re going to think I’m rude.”

“They won’t know we left because of you. They’re used to me disappearing in the middle of family gatherings. They know that big groups of people and small talk aren’t my thing. If anything, they’ll think I’m being rude.”

Veronica took a deep breath. She understood that he was trying to be considerate of her, but she also didn’t want him to unilaterally make decisions for her. “How about next time, you ask me if I’m getting tired or if I’d like to leave? As opposed to dragging me out of the room like a toddler in need of a nap.”

He chuckled at her words, which made her shoot him a narrow-eyed stare.

“Okay, okay, no need to bring out the death glare,” he said.

Veronica rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, trying not to shiver. In the moving golf cart, there was no protection from the January night. In this part of Texas, it rarely got below freezing, but it did get much cooler when the sun went down.

“You’re right. Next time, I’ll ask you if you’re ready to leave. Or flat out tell you that I’m the one who wants to go,” he agreed.

Veronica cocked her head as she studied him. “You wanted to leave, didn’t you?” she said.

Jasper smirked at her as he pulled beneath the small carport that housed the golf cart at the cabin. “Yes, I did. I could see you were beginning to get tired and decided that was more than enough reason to step out early.”

She rolled her eyes as she climbed out of the golf cart. “Why didn’t you just tell me you wanted to leave? I wouldn’t have argued.”

“I’m telling you now.”

Veronica sighed and decided to stop bickering with him. It was a useless endeavor. Plus, they were already back at the cabin. He unlocked the door and opened it for her, allowing her to enter first.

“Why don’t you change first?” he asked. “I’m going to get the pull out situated while we wait for our dinner.”

She nodded, ready to be out of her dress. When she emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later, her face freshly washed, hair wound up in a messy bun, and dressed in comfy lounge pants and a t-shirt, she found Jasper smoothing a blanket over the mattress of the pull-out couch.

“I thought we could sit on this and watch a movie or something while we eat,” he said. “That way we could put our feet up.”

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