But hearing his voice again, I realized I had merely been punishing myself.
“Thanks,” I practically whispered, allowing him to take my hand and guide me toward the middle of the dance floor. “Um, happy birthday. I know you asked for charitable donations instead of gifts, but I got you this.” I practically shoved the small box into his hands. “It’s a tie,” I blurted before he could even begin to open it. “It’s for your first day at the office since you’re going to be doing more work for King Industries, and… sorry. I should’ve let you open it yourself. I’m sorry.”
The smile on his face refused to leave as he pulled me closer to him and pressed a kiss to my cheek as we began to sway to the music. “Thank you, Quinn. I love it.”
“You haven’t seen it yet.”
“You gave it to me. Why wouldn’t I love it?”
My breath caught in my throat. I tried to move one of my arms off from around his neck in order to fan myself, but he caught my wrist and put it right back where it was.
I looked around the lavishly decorated ballroom to avoid his heated gaze. There were gold and black balloons all around, and just a few red ones here and there. Huge food tables were set up around the room, all decorated beautifully and lined with what souvlaki skewers, beef kebabs, chicken gyros, baby potatoes and roasted lamb.
“Jasper.” I looked at him again, only to see him still staring at me. “We need to talk.”
“I know. We will.”
The two of us were silent for a few moments before I cleared my throat, shrugging my shoulders. “It feels odd to be the only one in red.”
“You’re the most beautiful woman in the room,” he stated seriously. “Of course you stand out.”
“Jasper–”
The slow song came to an end and Jasper brought a hand up to squeeze my own, removing it from his neck and intertwining our fingers before turning to walk toward the podium that had been set up in the room. I allowed myself to be pulled along, not sure what he was up to, but not quite caring as he brought our hands up in order to kiss mine.
When the two of us had climbed on stage, he stood before the podium and the crowd of people immediately grew quiet and all eyes were on us. I attempted to hide behind him, although I didn’t think it was working.
“Good evening! I hope everyone’s having fun tonight! I wanted to take the time to thank everyone for coming out to celebrate with me,” Jasper started. “I appreciate all of your donations and contributions toward tonight’s cause. I also wanted to take this time to thank the woman who happens to be the reason I’m standing here tonight. Without her, I wouldn’t have made as much progress as I’ve managed to make. It is because of Quinn’s kindness, understanding, and constant support that I’m able to host this celebration tonight. I owe my miraculous recovery completely to her. Thank you, Quinn.”
My eyes widened as he turned to me, and I was just about to argue that he owed only himself for his progress when he slowly brought a hand up to cup my cheek, his thumb caressing it for a moment as he leaned forward, eyes flitting between mine and my lips a few times before finally, he closed the distance between us.
I could no longer feel the spotlight that had been on us heating my skin, nor could I hear people’s murmurs, applause or clicking of cameras as I melted into the kiss. The only thing I could focus on was the feeling of his lips pressing fervently against my own, his warm mouth exploring mine, the palm of his hand pressed against my lower back. My head was spinning as all the tension flowed out of me, my body turning into goo. My skin was unbearably hot, and yet I couldn’t stop shivering, overwhelmed by the relief of having his lips on mine again.
Jasper
It felt good to show my face at a public event that was being held at the manor for the first time in years, but that didn’t make it any less exhausting. It would take a long time for me to get used to speaking to hundreds of people in a single night again, but I wasn’t in any rush. None of them were remotely interesting to me anyway, and I preferred spending my time with Quinn.
The two of us ducked out of the ballroom after we shared a few slow dances and I’d cut the cake.
“That’s an elevator,” I pointed out before pointing beside it. “That’s a table with a plant on it… That’s an ugly carpet–”
“When you said you were going to give me a tour of the manor, this is not what I expected it to be like.” Quinn swatted my shoulder, and I chuckled as I grabbed her hand, entangling our fingers.
“Fine.” I heaved a heavy sigh. “If you’resurethat you’re more interested in seeing the chapel or the conservatory than the elevator and carpets…”
“You have a chapel here?!” Her eyes widened.
“My father was very Catholic.”
“A whole chapel, though?” she whispered. “And a conservatory? Like, with plants?”
“Yes, it was my mom’s. There are all kinds of greenery growing there.”
“Take me to the plants!” She grinned. “Please.”
I turned on my heel to head back in the opposite direction, holding my arm out for her to grab. I smiled as we began walking. “How’s Gran doing? I’ve been meaning to ask.”
“She’s getting stronger.” Quinn sighed quietly. “It’s hard seeing her like this–she needs more help around the house than she used to, obviously, but she’s making progress. I wanted to thank you for all your help. Having a 24-hour nurse and a physical therapist who comes around daily has been a huge help, and I appreciate you for hiring them.”
