Marisol is saying goodbye to a customer when I approach. She sidles up next to me the moment I round the counter. Instead of asking how it went, as I assume she’ll do, she says, “I think you should go for it with Jasper.”
“Gwen loved—wait, what? Why are you so hung up on this?”
“Because I have eyes and I see how you look at Jasper,” she says in a voice that heavily implies a ‘duh’. At my scoff, she tilts her head, eyeing me shrewdly. “And howhelooks atyou.”
Something stirs in my stomach. “How does he look at me?”
“Like…like you’re a puzzle he’s trying to figure out. Something different and new that he’s excited to tackle, even as he knows it’ll be challenging. Jasper looks like the type of man who loves a good puzzle, don’t you think?”
Her words leave me speechless. I’ve caught Jasper looking at me a few times, but he’s intense and he truly listens when people speak, so I haven’t given it much thought…even though I get a strange little thrill every time our eyes lock unexpectedly.
I sense someone approaching a second before Gwen leans against the counter across from Marisol and me. “I was watching you two and it feels like you’re having a secret meeting, so I thought I should insert myself.”
Marisol mirrors Gwen’s movement and leans in close across the counter. “Don’t you think Willow and Jasper would make a great couple?”
My mouth drops open. I don’t have time to say anything before Gwen nods enthusiastically. “I do! I think they’d be perfect together. They’re so different and yet similar enough that they’d complement each other nicely.”
Rather than pointing out the obvious—that I’m standing right here while they talk about me—I decide to redirect the subject. “Did you make any progress with the dessert menu?”
Gwen’s gaze flicks to me. “Yes, actually. We’ll talk about that after, though. This is much more important.” She waves a dismissive hand that has my mouth dropping open and a laugh sputtering out. She returns her attention to Marisol. “During the tasting, I kept getting that song fromAladdinstuck in my head. You know, ‘A Whole New World’? Except in this case, Willow would be Aladdin showing Jasper as Jasmine a whole new world.”
“I love it!” Marisol whisper-yells, clasping her hands in front of her and practically swooning.
The two of them chat away and giggle, talking about my imaginary love life. Letting out an exaggerated huff, I take a step away. Without even looking at me, Marisol grips my wrist, holding me in place. I glance over to where poor Jasper has been abandoned, and our eyes lock. I expect him to look away, embarrassed to be caught looking at me—because itisme he’s looking at, not his soon-to-be sister-in-law or our chatty, meddling friend—but his gaze remains connected to mine.
After a few beats, his mouth softens and the corners of his eyes crinkle. I feel myself smiling in response. Smiling with my whole body—cheeks flushing, butterflies taking flight in my stomach, champagne bubbles fizzing in my chest.
And now, god help me,I’mthe one who has ‘A Whole New World’ stuck in my head.
Someone knocks a napkin holder over across the café and Jasper startles, averting his gaze. I jump too; it’s like the whole world had faded away for a moment and narrowed down to the connection between Jasper and me. I turn back to my friends and bulldoze my way into the conversation, cutting Marisol off mid-sentence.
“Okay, you both win. How do I go about getting Jasper Perry to see me as more than a friend?”
