Nolan chuckled.
“I just wanted to see how you two would handle this. Since you can’t, I’ll step in.”
He looked at her, tilting his head.
“Come on. I’ll give you a ride home.”
Jasper tensed instantly.
“No,” he said sharply, stepping forward and blocking her from view.“Nina shouldn’t be seen with you.”
She peeked around his shoulder, her gaze moving between them. Jasper stood rigid, arms crossed, focused. Nolan, by contrast, looked amused and perfectly relaxed.
“If you need anything, call me,” Nolan said, suddenly serious. He studied them for a moment longer, as if deciding whether it was safe to leave them alone, then shrugged and walked away.
She exhaled, tension easing slightly. Jasper watched Nolan go, then turned back to her, waiting.
And she gave in.
“So,” she asked tiredly, exhaustion finally winning over irritation,“where’s your car?”
“Come on.”
He turned toward the parking lot, and she followed.
CHAPTER 34
Nina let out a sharp sigh but got into the car anyway.
Jasper closed the door behind her and walked around the hood. She stared through the dark windshield, trying to figure out how her life had suddenly turned into this.
There was no answer. Just a low thrum of anxiety and a subtle tension that settled over her the second Jasper slid into the driver’s seat and tapped his fingers once against the leather steering wheel.
The car pulled away smoothly, and Nina reached for her seat belt.
Silence filled the cabin. He seemed deliberately focused on the road, never once looking over. She, on the other hand, studied his profile out of the corner of her eye—the sharp line of his jaw, the straight nose. Everything about him felt familiar and, damn it, infuriatingly, calm.
She wanted to say something. Anything, just to break the tension. But her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth. The argument outside the restaurant had left her too raw, and if she spoke now, it would be acid instead of words.
She only started to relax when she noticed the car turning onto a familiar street.
Her street.
“How is Lynn?” Nina asked quietly, unable to hold the question back. Her voice was barely a whisper.
Jasper’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel, his gaze sharpening.
“We had an agreement,” he said coldly.“You don’t ask about her.”
Nina flinched.
“I don’t wish her any harm,” she shot back.“It’s just…curiosity. I do care.”
He turned his head sharply toward her. His look was razor-sharp.
“You should’ve cared earlier. Before you left her at an orphanage.”
The words felt like a physical blow.
