Page 110 of The Edge Of Us

The morning we dropped her off for her first day, it was a full-blown operation. She had refused to let go of my hand the entire ride there, even as Jasper tried to lighten the mood with stories about his first day at school.

"Did you cry?" Astrid had asked, peeking up at him with those huge eyes of hers, curled up in my lap in the backseat.

"Cry? Me? Absolutely," Jasper said, turning in the front seat to look at her. "Your granddad had to carry me in while I clung to the doorframe. I was a wreck."

She giggled, but I could still feel the tremble in her tiny fingers.

When we got to the school, Kyle was already bouncing with excitement. He ran ahead, eager to get to his friends, while I tried to unglue Astrid from my side.

"You'll make new friends too," I whispered, brushing her curls behind her ear.

"But I already have friends. Mommy, you, Kyle, Daddy... Uncle Jasper. I don't want new ones."

"I'll be back before you even finish your juice box," I promised.

Jasper crouched down beside her, his voice soft. "How about I give you my lucky bracelet?"

She frowned. "But you always wear that."

"Exactly. That's why it's lucky. If you wear it today, I'll be the luckiest guy in the world. And you'll be okay."

Astrid stared at him like she was deciding if she could believe him. Then she reached out with her small hand, and he slipped the leather bracelet off his wrist and onto hers.

"Okay," she mumbled.

We managed to get her through the classroom door, but just as we turned to leave, she bolted out and wrapped herself around Jasper's leg.

"Don't go!"

Jasper bent and lifted her easily, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I'm not going far, I promise. You'll tell me all about your day later, okay?"

She sniffled. "Can you come pick me up?"

He looked at me and then nodded. "Absolutely. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

It took another five minutes and a patient teacher, but eventually, we left. I cried the entire ride home. Jasper held my hand the whole way.

---

It's strange how relationships grow in the shadows of pain. Jasper and I-somehow-we'd bloomed.

We were in love. Not the reckless, consuming kind I'd experienced before, but something steadier. Something real. We moved like we'd been made to fit together, and he loved my children like they were his own. He never said it out loud, but I saw it-in the way he watched over Kyle during swim class, the way he braided Astrid's hair because she insisted it be "just like Mommy's."

And Allen, surprisingly, had taken to Jasper too. I think he saw something in him-a man who had been broken and built himself back up again. They played golf together now. Drank whiskey on our porch while I watched them through the kitchen window. It was the weirdest, most comforting thing.

Then there was Brit. Sweet, secretive Brit. She was always texting lately, hiding her smile behind her hand. And I knew. Of course, I knew. Ace. I hadn't told Jasper. Mostly because it wasn't my story to tell. But watching her light up over someone... it was a beautiful thing.

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One Saturday night, everything changed.

The kids were at Allen's for the weekend, which felt foreign and a little too quiet. Jasper insisted we have a "grown-up night," so I threw on one of my nicer dresses, curled my hair, and pretended not to be suspicious about how nervous he looked.

"You're fidgeting," I told him as he poured me a glass of wine.

"I'm always fidgeting."

"No," I said, stepping closer. "You only do that when something's on your mind."

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