“Greene, Kai says that moment was the perfect ending to his life.” I continue to gaze into her eyes. She lets out a quiet laugh as tears cascade down her cheek. “Baby, I’m proud of you for embracing and releasing your emotions. You can hold onto your memories with Kai forever and still let this weight go when you’re ready. You deserve to feel joy—true joy.” We sit in silence for a moment. Instead of fidgeting, Iris stands up straight and smiles at me.
“Thank you, Jasper,” she says. “For everything.” I glance over at Kai, telling him to get lost with my eyes, to which he shrugs and folds his arms.
Seriously, Kai. Unless you want to watch your sister and me make out, it’s best you move along.
What? I thought you guys had an event you’re both hosting to tend to. I’m here to remind you.
Why are you mind speaking to me? She can’t hear you anyway.
Mind speaking is fun. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to do it.
I sigh, rubbing my forehead.
“Everything okay?” she asks.
“Yes, everything is just fine, I’m just getting a headache from dealing with your brother, that’s all.” I smirk at Kai, who’scurrently rolling his eyes harder than ever. “In all seriousness, he did remind me that we’re hosting the event inside. Do you care? If not, I’m happy to take you home for some real fun.”
“What? Of course, I care! Don’t you?” She gawks.
“Well, I care about the cause, sure. But truthfully? I want nothing more than to have you all to myself for the rest of the night.” I gaze at her, taking note of the sudden pinkness of her cheeks.
“For Heaven’s sake, Jasper,” Kai gags obnoxiously. “I’m still here!”
And whose fault is that?
“Here, I’ve got an idea,” Iris unknowingly interrupts our conversation, putting her lacy black mask back on. “Let’s go back inside and dance together one more time—to make up for our last two dances together, of course. Then, we’ll head home.”
“I’m in, Greene.”
Forty-Two
Iris
As we follow the rocky path back to the roaring ballroom hand in hand, I sneak a quick glance at Jasper. Moonlight beams directly on his chiseled face, illuminating his bright eyes and sharp jawline. The moon suits Jasper, similar to the way the sun suited Kai. Upon thinking of Kai, a dozen memories come to mind all at once: hiding Halloween candy from our parents, sneaking out for midnight fast food runs, cheering him on from the sidelines of his baseball games… and for once, I don’t push the memories aside. Instead, I embrace them and crack the slightest of smiles in his memory. The pain remains, but now, a sliver of joy lingers along with it, too.
“What are you smiling about over there?” Jasper nudges me coyly.
“I’m just feeling… light.” I smile even brighter, causing his grin to stretch. I catch his arm and turn around to peer at the pond behind us. Now, confusion crosses his features. “The only thing that would make this moment better is catching some ducks in action.”
Jasper lets out an exasperated breath and smirks, wrapping his arm around my neck tightly and kissing my ear. “Those damn ducks ruined our first date.” I laugh mischievously while leaning into him.
“Oh, please, those ducks couldn’t have ruined our first date even if they actually tried.” I bite my lip. He loves me. Jasperlovesme. And I love him. I never would have imagined this would be the outcome of our business partnership. He straightens his matte black suit jacket and then holds the door to the ballroom open for me. We slip inside, unnoticed, save for two people who happen to matter very much.
“Where have you been?” Jasper’s mom approaches us, gazing at us knowingly while standing behind his dad’s wheelchair. She motions for me to wipe my lips.Thank you,I mouth in response while fixing my lipstick.
“Admiring the moon,” Jasper says nonchalantly, stepping behind me and tightening his arms around my waist, causing several guests to gawk at us in curiosity.
“I see,” she grins, her eyes twinkling beneath her burgundy mask. “Well, we just wanted to thank you, Iris. You’ve changed our lives in more ways than one.” She pulls me in for a warm hug.
“It was no problem at all, Mrs. Alcott,” I say. She waves her hand.
“Please, call me Irene.” She winks.
“You two have fun.” His dad nods at us, smirking. As they stroll away, our audience still sneaks glances at us. My eyes search the crowd for Joy, but instead, I find Lena sitting with Tina at a round table in the corner. Our eyes meet, and her face softens as she gazes between Jasper and I.Proud of you,she mouths from afar, causing my eyes to water in response. It’s ridiculous; two months ago, I hadn’t cried in ages, and now I cry over just about everything. I smile and nod at her just once, then quickly glance away to avoid bursting into even more tears. I continue my search for Joy, finally finding her nearby, next to the F&B (food and beverage) table. I trudge through the crowd toward her, tugging him right behind me.
“I think this has been a huge success.” Her smile glows. “Is there anything else I can do to help? I’ve been keeping an eye on the F&B table while you stepped away, we were running low on cream puffs, so I went ahead and asked Maurice to refill that tray, but other than that, we are good.” I peer behind her at the refreshments table, taking note of how perfectly placed every single porcelain tray is. I glance around the room to see an endless amount of beaming faces, some familiar, some strange, but all filled with light.
“I’m so proud of you, Joy! This is one of the most successful fundraisers we’ve ever hosted, and it all started with you. I can’t thank you enough. Would you be up for taking the reins for the rest of the evening?” Her jaw drops, and then she breaks out into a huge, outrageously contagious smile.
