Page 106 of Horn in My Side
It’s all right, she told herself.You and Mal agreed to act like adults.
Then why didn’t he say anything?And why was he acting this way?Was it something she’d said or done?
Her mind wanted to dissect and examine all the events that led to this before coming to any conclusion.If Mal really wanted to break up, he would have just done it.He wouldn’t act like nothing was wrong on the outside, keep sleeping with her and spending time with her if he didn’t want to be with her anymore.What could she have done?
I did corner him about the girlfriend thing, she realized.But heseemed to have taken that in his stride and that was weeks ago.What else—
She slapped her hand on her forehead.
The argument about her father.
That had to have been it, where it all started.But that was such a small thing, not even a real fight.More like a minor tiff, really.She hadn’t meant to snap at him, but she hadn’t wanted to ruin their getaway by talking about it.Lashing out at him for simply offering to help had been unwarranted and unnecessarily harsh.
That’s why he’d been acting weird.
I never said sorry, either.
It was her fault.Was it too late?Did she push him away because of one careless act?
Biting her lip, Jasmine put the Clawdia figurine down, pushed off the counter, then began to pace and plan how she could bring up the topic and apologize to Mal.
How could she make it better?Mal had always been a man of few words.Heacted.From the beginning, he spoke with his actions.He fixed the sign.He made her that carcinos hatching tank.He gave her Clawdia and kept her safe.
How could I possibly top that?
Her gaze drew back to the wooden figurine and an idea popped into her head.Her hands shook with excitement as she grabbed the computer mouse.Opening up a browser window, she did a search for “apology gifts.”
Jasmine scrolled through the options.What kind of gift could possibly convey how she felt?That she was sorry about snapping at him, and she didn’t mean to push him away.The gift would have to be something thoughtful and personalized, like how he customized the tank to reflect the shop.
Clicking on the back arrow of the browser, she typed in a new query—“Personalized gifts.”
The results were much better, plus she had a lot more choices.However, one caught her eye.She clicked on the photo excitedly.
Perfect.
It had tons of customization options too.After a few minutes, she was done, except for that she needed an inscription on the base.What could she write?“I’m sorry” didn’t quite sound right.“I’m sorry for blowing my top when you brought up my father” had far too many characters.
There were so many things she wanted to say to him.Like, how she liked spending time with him.And that he made her feel safe and protected.And that she liked that even though he could be a grump, he was never mean and she thought his grunts were adorable.He was so kind too, especially when he dealt with kids.And so dependable.He made her happy just by being around.She loved the way his eyebrows drew together when he frowned, loved how he remembered her favorite dish at each restaurant.She loved his laugh and his frown and ...
Him.
Oh Mother Goddess.
She loved Mal.
Jasmine gasped out loud, then covered her mouth with her hands.Why hadn’t she realized it before?She’d been keeping that wall up between them to prevent this exact thing from happening, but it was about as effective as trying to keep a baby basilisk from eating a vormynd egg.No matter how many times she told herself that she wouldn’t, she’d fallen in love with him anyway.
A laugh bubbled in her chest.
I love him.
And Jasmine couldn’t wait to tell him.
But first, she had to finish this order.And now fully aware of her own feelings, she knew what she wanted to say.
After a few taps on the keyboard and a couple of mouseclicks, she finished ordering Mal’s gift.It would take around two weeks to get here.Maybe she could wait to tell him then, when she presented it to him.If she could manage to control herself.
Ring!Ring!Ring!
