“No, I’d miss the hell out of you. I’m just afraid you’ll miss out on opportunities being out here.”
He laughs. “I’m moving to the east coast, not the North Pole. And one of the developers I worked with last time lives just outside the city, so it’s not like I’ll be alone. Plus, it would be really awkward to have to tell my new landlord I won’t be moving in, especially since I just paid him this morning.”
Wait, what? “You already found a place?”
“Yeah, and it’s about five minutes from campus.” He says this so casually that it takes a moment for me to process it. And the fact he could knock me over with a feather only has his smile widening. “I meant what I said, Birdie. I’m not walking away from this. I’ve wasted enough time being away from you due to my idiocy, and that’s what I’ll be if I go back to Los Angeles. An idiot. I want to be happy.”
“But it’s expensive here.”
“And it’s not in L.A.?”
“And the traffic’s horrible.”
“And?” he repeats.
“The winters are even worse, and it snows. And it’s not the kind of snow that you can enjoy, because it’s so damn cold.”
“I’ve missed the snow,” he chuckles, kissing the tip of my nose. “And I’ll especially enjoy itandthe cold, from inside, with you wrapped around me.”
I give him a playful shove but quickly find myself pulled back in. Since we have an audience not too far off in the distance, we keep the PDA to a minimum and continue walking. I intertwine my fingers with his, letting Jase lead us down the length of the beach. When we reach the end, I expect him to turn around,but he doesn’t. Keeping hold of my hand, he heads up the grassy slope where “Private Property” and “Trespassing” signs are abound.
I point out the obvious, trying to steer him back towards the side of the beach thatwon’tget us arrested, but Jase steps behind me as silky fabric falls over my eyes.
“You trust me?” he asks.
“At the moment?” I shouldn’t be reassured, but I can’t stop smiling as he secures what I realize is his tie over my eyes by knotting it behind my head. “Is this so I can’t testify as an eyewitness to your crimes?”
Sweeping me up into a bridal carry, Jase continues up the hill, only for the terrain to eventually even out and then drop back down. “Relax, Birdie. I got permission earlier from the owner to be on the property.”
We obviously reach the beach again on the other side, because when Jase sets me down, my feet are met with the familiar texture of sand.
The fabric slips away from my eyes to reveal the sprawling backyard of a mansion—although that may be an understatement. It has to be ten thousand square feet at minimum. The geometric motif, high ceilings, soaring walls of windows, and modern architecture also make it unlike the other properties along the coast.
“And not only are we allowed here,” Jase says, holding up a set of keys in front of my face, “but he’s out of town and letting us stay for the weekend. There’s an indoor-outdoor pool, jacuzzi, home theater, and pretty much anything else you could think of.”
Even from down here on the beach, I can see the pool backing the mansion. The waterfall running off the rock formation makes it look like the source is coming from inside the home.
“That may be brought to you in part by a certain someone whose name rhymes with Hash,” he purrs, taking hold of my waist and carrying me a good ten feet backward. “Butthisis entirely mine.”
The second he sets me back down, Spencer Kane’s acoustic cover of “Never Gonna Give You Up” begins playing, making me smile even wider, but I outright gasp when I’m turned around to see the setup.
In the sand sits a lace teepee tent adorned with decorative lights and lanterns. The inside is stocked with blankets and pillows galore, and outside is a low-sitting wooden picnic table loaded with all kinds of food. The servings of fresh fruit, marshmallows, and chocolates all look delicious, but the takeout boxes with Slippery Pete’s logo on them sitting front and center have my mouth watering.
“And to top it all off—” Jase pulls a small cooler out from the other side of the tent, revealing two frozen yogurts from Elsa’s Ice Cream Parlor.
One mint chocolate chip, the other with cookies and cream.
The first dessert we ever shared.
I can’t fathom when he had the time to do all of this, and it honestly makes me feel like an asshole for not doing anything myself. I don’t even have a present to give him. I say as much, but Jase simply closes the lid to the cooler and makes his way back over, taking my hand to spin me around.
He sways us along with the melody, skimming his lips along the length of my neck until they reach my ear. “Lovely, you gave me a better present just showing up to the wedding in that dress.”
If not for the arm braced around me, I may very well melt into a puddle on the sand.
I expect an innuendo or for him to make a move, so I’m a little taken aback when he says, “You never told me what you got the lucky couple for a wedding gift. What was it?”
I can’t help but wince. Not only did all of the chaos involving me blow up right before my brother’s big day, but Derek also made sure to procure me the best lawyer he knew to assist me. Trent and Sienna may be facing criminal charges, but they’ll also get to look forward to some civil lawsuits in the near future. “I kind of, maybe, sort of felt really, really, really guilty about the stress of everything that’s been going on, so I dipped into my savings…and bought the entire kitchen set Lauren’s had her eye on. What about you?”
