Page 119 of Once Upon a Holidate
“It can be inconvenient for other people. While I appreciate you telling me what happened, it doesn’t explain why you’re here now. Oh, wait.” He nodded. “This is about Garrick.”
She covered her face with her hands. “I hate my life.”
“No, you don’t.”
She wished Renee would return from wherever she’d gone and interrupt them. She wished she’d been able to figure this out on her own so she wouldn’t have to talk about it with Jasper of all people. Yet her gut told her he would have answers she couldn’t find anywhere else.
“He knows about Chas,” she said. “He seems okay with the information.”
“Most people will be.” His voice was gentle. “Wynn, you were a kid. You made a dumb mistake and you regret doing it. You’ve learned from it, which is even more important. You need to forgive yourself and move on.”
“I have. I’ve been working on it for a while, and I’ve put it behind me. But while working through all that, I realized thatin punishing myself, I’ve kept myself away from something I really want.” She looked at him. “A family. I want more kids.”
He smiled. “You’re a great mom.”
“Thanks. The information has been slow in coming, but seeing all my friends have babies and getting to know Joylyn has made me wish I could have a couple more babies. Which I mentioned to Garrick, too.”
“What did he say?”
“Not much. I assured him I was sharing information, not hinting.”
“So you lied.”
“What? No! Why would you say that?”
His gaze was steady.
She flushed. “Fine. Maybe I was trying to find out how he felt about me and us and a future.”
He held up a hand. “I get it. No one likes to put themselves out there. It’s scary to expose your heart without knowing if it’s going to be trampled on. Which apparently is what he did. What happened?”
She leaned back against the sofa. “He offered to have children with me. Not as a couple, but as co-parents. He mentioned how convenient it would be because we lived next door to each other.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah.”
“Did you tell him you’re in love with him?”
“No. I can’t tell him that. I won’t try to trap another man. I’ve learned my lesson on that one.”
“Wynn, loving someone isn’t a trap.”
“That’s not what Chas thought.”
“There’s a big difference between getting pregnant on purpose and telling someone you love them.” He leaned toward her. “Love heals. Love makes us better than we ever thoughtwe could be. Loving someone, the act of loving, is a generous gift. True love is our greatest calling. Not just romantic love, but all love.”
She blinked at him. “Wow. Renee’s a lucky woman.”
“I’m the lucky one. Tell Garrick how you feel. It’s not trapping him, Wynn. He deserves to know what’s on the line. And you need to be able to share your feelings.”
She nodded and rose. He stood and pulled her close, then hugged her. She hung on for a second, wondering what twist of fate made one person right and another person not the one.
“You give good advice,” she said when she stepped back. “Thank you for that.”
“Anytime.”
***
