Since he already has me pulled close, I wind my arms around his neck. The contrast of his hard body pressed against all my softness makes my tummy flutter.
He won’t stop staring at me, his gaze steady but unreadable.
I don’t know if he actually intends to kiss me or not, but when his handsome face seems to move toward mine, all my bravery promptly dissipates.
I drop my arms and break away, flashing him a quick smile as I walk over to grab the gray bag he brought in for me.
“We’ll have to go over all the gifts I bought and your family members to see if this stuff will work.”
Jasper watches me for a moment—I feel his eyes boring into my back—before he finally grabs the small stuffed animal off the table and walks it over to me.
Tossing it into the bag, he says, “I’m sure we’ll be able to make it work.”
“Should we do that now?” I glance up at him, hoping he doesn’t notice my telltale flush even though this room is an ice box.
He shakes his head. “I won’t be sure who’s there until we get there. If we need anything else, we can always run out and grab some stuff. I’m not planning to hold you prisoner at the house. We’ll have to go over some ground rules, but I want you to enjoy the trip as much as possible.”
“Ground rules,” I mutter. “Sounds like I’m not going to be allowed my cell phone.”
“We can cover all that on the drive up. It won’t take long, less than a couple of hours and we should be there.”
I can’t believe I have to meet a second set of “boyfriend’s parents” in the same week. That’s stressful. I guess it doesn’t matter as much if Jasper’s family likes me, but with the poor experience of meeting Brady’s still so recent…
Brady.
I’ve tried not to think about the phone call I have to make this morning. I have no idea how to explain, and I feel terrible that Jasper made me wait until today.
“Can I call Brady now? I’d like to get this over with.”
Jasper checks his phone. “Not yet.” He looks back at me. “You’re probably hungry, huh? I know I am. There’s not much in the way of food on this exit, but I saw a little Norwegian restaurant and bakery not too far from the post office. We could stop there and get some breakfast.”
My stomach rumbles, reminding me how long it’s been since I’ve had anything to eat. “I guess that’s a good idea…”
Ignoring my reluctance and nodding confidently as if my agreement was whole-hearted, Jasper dumps out the coffee he just bought—claiming it tasted like shit anyway—tucks a few things away like he doesn’t trust the locks on the motel door, and then we head out to his car.
I’m actually excited when a few minutes later we pass through a historic district dusted with snow and pull up in front a place called Norske Nook Bakery & Restaurant. The building doesn’t look like the other storefronts. It looks more like a home in a picturesque European village than a business.
There’s street side parking, and we luck out. A car parked right out front is leaving as we drive up, so Jasper easily maneuvers into it.
“I’m terrible at parallel parking,” I tell him. “I’d rather park a mile away and walk.”
Jasper cracks a smile. “I’m pretty good at squeezing into tight spaces. I can park just about anywhere.”
“I’m envious of this skill,” I tell him as he kills the engine and unlocks the doors.
By the time I close my car door, Jasper is already by my side. I’m still looking around as we slowly approach the entrance to the restaurant. “I love doing things like this,” I tell him.
“Eating?” he questions.
I chuckle. “Well, yes. But that’s not what I meant.” I thank him absently as he opens the door for me and I step inside. “I meant traveling to places I’ve never been and finding local restaurants and shops to visit. It’s my favorite part of traveling. It always takes me forever to get anywhere because I want to make a bunch of stops along the way, but I can’t help it. Why pass up the chance to explore a place I may never be again?”
Jasper cracks a smile, gazing down at me with something like affection. “I’ll keep that in mind. Whenever we go anywhere, I’ll add an extra day onto our anticipated travel time so you can be a small town voyager.”
I cock an eyebrow since he says that like we’ll be traveling together often, but before I can say anything, a waitress approaches with an armful of menus to seat us.
The restaurant is very homey with a mix of tables and booths. It’s pretty busy, lots of friendly-looking locals scattered around the dining room.