‘Grandma and Grandpa?’
‘Yes.’
‘Sara and Matt?’
‘Yes. All of us,’ Jasper emphasised. ‘Now, if you could just sit in the car for a few more minutes, Jen and I are going to check with Grandpa that everything else is under control. Can you both sit quietly?’
‘Yes, Daddy,’ they said in unison.
‘Excellent. We’ll head home soon.’
‘There’s no party?’ Lola wasn’t happy about that.
‘Aunty Megan said there would be a party afterwards.’ Lilly nodded her head enthusiastically, trying to convince her father.
Jasper shook his head sadly. ‘Sorry, girls. No party. We’ll be back in a moment.’ He put the window down a bit, then shut the car door, waiting for Jen to follow suit before they walked over to where his father was standing outside of the church, talking to Sara.
‘How’s Megan?’ Jasper asked his father.
‘Not crying.’ Ian shook his head. ‘Stubborn as a mule, that one. That’s the Irish in the family coming out, I’m afraid.’
‘I still can’t believe Calvin stood her up.’ Jasper ground his teeth together and clenched his fists. A moment later he felt Jennifer’s hand cover his, gently prising his fingers open so she could hold his hand. Jasper looked down at her as his father agreed with the sentiment, generally berating his ex-son-in-law-to-be, but Jasper didn’t hear. When he’d looked down at Jennifer, to see such calm reassurance in her eyes, he somehow knew things were going to be all right. It was a strange sensation and one he’d never felt before. This woman simply exuded strength and power and he knew it was because she had gone through so much herself. His love for her increased even more and he gave her a little smile of thanks.
Jennifer gazed up at him, so happy she could be there to help him out. In fact, she wanted to keep helping him out for the rest of his life. She wanted to be there for him, for the girls. She wanted to be a part of them for ever and she looked away, starting to tremble inside. The thought of another woman helping Jasper and the girls through such a deeply personal time like this made her feel sick to her stomach.
The last time she’d had these sorts of symptoms, she’d diagnosed herself to be in love. This time was no different. She was completely and utterly in love with Jasper Edwards.
CHAPTER TEN
‘WHAT a horrible day for Megan.’ Jasper kept his voice low as they drove along. The girls had some of their favourite music playing in the back and were happily singing along so there was no way they could overhear the conversation in the front.
‘Mmm.’ Jennifer looked down at her clenched hands, still trying to come to terms with her most recent discovery. She was in love with Jasper? How on earth had that happened? She was desperately trying to rake through the memories from the time they’d met until now to see if she could pinpoint the exact moment it had happened, but she couldn’t. It was simply that the more she saw of Jasper and his daughters, the more she wanted to be with all of them. She wanted to go to work in the morning and know they would be waiting when she got home. She wanted to cut down on her shifts to spend more time with the girls. She wanted to take the girls to the park with Jasper on a day off where they would all walk hand in hand, where she would push the girls on the swing, where she would catch them at the bottom of the slippery-dip, where she would be able to look up into Jasper’s smiling face and see the love in his eyes…the love he would have for her.
Jennifer swallowed over the sudden dryness in her throat. Was it possible that Jasper would ever risk his heart again? Ever marry again? He seemed more than content with his sectioned-off life of family and work, throwing in the occasional date with a pretty colleague so he didn’t get bored. Was that how he wanted things to continue? Was that what he wanted for them? For her to be the person he took to functions, who he spent time with but who he wasn’t ready to really commit to?
‘Are you all right?’ Jasper asked softly, and Jennifer quickly looked up to reassure him. That was a mistake in itself. His eyes were so rich, so deep, so unbelievably sexy that she couldn’t hide the tremor of excitement that coursed through her.
‘Jen?’ His voice dropped lower when he said her name like that and she could read his instant desire for her. It was utterly amazing how they seemed to be able to set each other off with just a look and she was glad that at least that part of the relationship was intensely reciprocated. ‘What is it?’ He glanced at her, trying to decipher her expression before looking back at the road.