Page 46 of Jasper

She smiled, and it lit up her entire face.

“Now, let’s finish eating. I’ll clean up since you cooked.”

He settled back, but he did notice she didn’t move away from him. She continued to sit with her knees plastered against his. Probably because she felt like he needed the support.

And truthfully, he did.

The things she said made sense, but he wasn’t ready to hear it yet. She was right in that he had to work through it himself, but he heard what she was saying.

Guilt was a bitch to live with.

He just didn’t know if he could let it go.

Sloane pulled up the town’s website to see if they still had the festival of lights that started on Thanksgiving night. It was a favorite tradition of hers from when she was little. When it was listed on the town’s website as the kickoff to Christmas, she squealed. Yes, she let out a squeal of delight. She couldn’t wait to show Jasper. She was still determined to change his mind on Christmas.

Especially now that she knew about his brother. Sloane had a feeling Henry had a lot to do with Jasper’s indifference toward Christmas. She’d lost both her parents, so she understood his loss better than most.

She was still shocked with herself for that heart-to-heart she’d all but demanded he have with her yesterday. It wasn’t like her. At all. But once the idea took root, she couldn’t let it go.

Her father’s death weighed heavily on her, and the more she thought about the things Jasper had told her, the more she felt like she’d needed to do whatever she could to help him. He’d grown on her.

“Sloane!”

“What?”

“Did you see where I put that large pot?”

Large pot? Almost every pot he’d pulled out last night was on the large side. She put the laptop down and went to find him. He was bent over the island, sorting through the pots and pans in the storage underneath it.

His behind snagged her attention, and she remembered the kiss from yesterday. It was still right there in flashing neon lights in her memory.

“Which one? They’re all huge.”

“The tall one. I need it to brine the turkey.”

“To what the turkey?” This was why she didn’t attempt to learn to cook. It was all too complicated.

“Brining. It’s a water mixture the turkey soaks in to make it juicy and tender.”

“Isn’t it too soon? I thought you did that tomorrow. I remember watching a Food Network show with my mom once, and they said to do it the day before.”

“Novice.” Jasper stood and caught her ogling his ass. He grinned, totally enjoying her reaction. She knew her face was flaming. “You brine it between eight and eighteen hours. I’ll put it in tonight, let it brine until tomorrow afternoon, and then take it out and put in the fridge until I’m ready to put it in the oven. Keeping it uncovered in the fridge makes the skin brown nicely.”

“TMI, Jasper, TMI.”

He laughed, the usual twinkle in his eyes. He’d gone to bed last night with shadows hanging over him, but he seemed better today. More his usual overly-confident, flirty self.

“Where are the kittens?”

“Sound asleep. I got them fed, and they passed out hard.” They’d gone and picked the little rascals up first thing this morning, and she still couldn’t figure out how something so small could make a grown man hop to. They cried, and he was right there to see what was wrong.

Sloane had been grateful to get him out from underfoot when he went out to do his afternoon chores around the farm. He’d even told her to stay inside with the babies, as he called them, and he’d feed all the animals. It was adorable how they bossed him without even trying.

She grinned. He was not who she thought he was when she met him at the airport. He was still an insufferable flirt with an inflated image of himself, but he was more than that too.

He was a very good cook. He was kind. He showed a gentleness that stunned her. His heart was haunted by things out of his control, but at the same time, he didn’t let that detract from how he cared for people and animals. The kittens were a case in point.

And the man could kiss. She’d been dreaming about that kiss all night, which led to other dreams, which led to a very uncomfortable night for her.

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