Page 56 of Finding Peace
Oooo. My full name this time.
“What if they think this”—I gesture wildly around me—“is weird. What if they think I’m corrupting their precious boys? What if they think I’m—I don’t know—some-some kind ofhussy?”
Jasper is fighting a smile. “Jasper Jenkins,” I snap, slamming my brush down on the counter. “This is not funny!”
He laughs.
Actually laughs.
Then he rolls off the bed and stalks toward the bathroom.
He’s wearing worn-in jeans that sit low on his slender hips and a dark Henley that stretches just enough across his chest to sendbutterflies to my stomach every time I look at it. His sleeves are pushed up, revealing strong forearms dusted with hair and his beautiful floral tattoo.
He’s stupidly handsome.
And right now it’s actually kind of annoying.
Stepping behind me, he wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me back against him. Our eyes meet in the mirror. “You’re spiraling,” he murmurs, kissing just below my ear.
“I am not.”
“You are.” He kisses my jaw. “If Chris and Billie can love me, Josephine, and Beau—three shithead kids who absolutely were not their responsibility but who they took in anyway—they can love you.”
His lips brush my temple.
“It’s who they are.”
I watch him in the mirror. The sincerity. The quiet certainty.
“They didn’t have to take us in,” he continues softly. “They didn’t have to give us a home. Or stability. Or… love.” His hand tightens at my waist. “But they did.”
He presses a kiss to my shoulder.
“And they’ll love you.” He pauses for a moment. “Because we love you.”
“We?”
His gaze flicks back to mine in the mirror. “I.Ilove you.”
The world stills, and he turns me in his arms so I’m facing him fully before saying it again. “I love you, Abigail.”
There’s no teasing in his voice now. No arrogance. No swagger. Just him.
Raw and open.
“I used to think love was a liability,” he says slowly. “Something people could use against you. Something that made you weak. I watchedit wreck people. Watched it make my parents small.” His jaw tightens briefly. “I swore I’d never let it do that to me. And then… You showed up.”
A small, shaky laugh leaves him.
“You fight like hell. You don’t run when things get hard. You don’t make me feel small. You don’t make me feel like I have to be anything other than exactly who I am.” His voice lowers. “You challenge me. You calm me. You make this place brighter just by existing in it. I was always meant to love you. Even before I knew your name.”
A tear slips down my cheek as I whisper, “I love you too.”
His forehead drops down to mine. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
His eyes search mine for a second. “Plus, it helps that you’re a super hot cougar.”
