He’s a coastguard pilot.
Military.
I’m so damn mad I could scream, but making a scene in the ladies’ room seems unwise with all this stupid tile. The echo would carry to every diner in the hotel restaurant. As I’m not willing to humiliate myself any more than I already have, I settle instead for beating my palms against the marble counter.
Jasperliedto me. When I told him theonething I don’t do is date anyone military, he looked me in the eyes and lied to me. And now I’m supposed to spend the long festival weekend with himwithoutworking. Without killing him and hiding the body.
“Maybe he joined the coastguard after you met?” Erin suggests.
“You don’t become a captain—or a pilot—in that amount of time.” Even if that were possible, the way my dad spoke of him and his impressive career, made it very clear that Jasper is a lifer. “I can’t do this,” I tell Erin. “I can’t spend the next four days with him. You have to take my place.”
“I don’tknowyour dad, but…”
“I know, I know.Ugh!” My dad doesn’t use his pull as a high-ranking military official often, but when he does, it’s because he has a message to send. Considering Erin’s future job is at a military resort, he could mess things up for her if he wanted. Though the odds of that are incredibly small, I’d never risk it.
“Maybe this is a good thing.”
I let out an incredulous laugh. “How do you figure that?”
“You two obviously have some things to straighten out. Start there.”
I don’t want to straighten out anything. I want my carefully preserved memories of Cape Cod to remain intact. On the worst days, I’ve been able to escape reality and sit awhile in a hazy daydream. Tangled in silk sheets and Jasper’s hard body. But innoneof those fantasies was he military.
Years ago, as my mother was dying, she made me promise to steer clear of military men. I know she loved my dad with all her heart, but it wasn’t easy. Dad was gone a lot and she didn’t handle it well. She didn’t want me to endure the same pain and suffering. The constant worrying and sleepless nights.
It was the only thing she asked of me on her death bed.
“We better go back out there,” Erin says gently.
I squeeze the heart-shaped pendant and nod.
As I follow her back to our table, I stare at the pattern on the floor to avoid Jasper’s intense gaze. I can feel it burning into me. Though I’m livid with the man for lying, it hasn’t done much to dull the chemistry between us. A sizzle of electricity that could power the entire state of Alaska at its worst. At its best…
“Your dad had to run,” Jasper says, drawing my attention to the table. “He asked me to wait for you.”
“Of course he did,” I mutter.
I could take the out. Run back to my room and flip the deadbolt. Deal with Jasper tomorrow. My brain hurts. My heart hurts. I need space. Time to regain my equilibrium. Which iswhy I have no idea why I slip into my chair and reach for the dessert menu.
“I need to make a couple calls,” Erin says, pushing in her chair before she sits down.
“But you love chocolate cake?—”
She pats me on the shoulder. “I’ll try it tomorrow.”
I think it’s the devilish male smirk across the intimate table that sets me off. With a deep inhale, I close the menu and set it down despite the urge to chuck it across the table at the smug coastguard pilot. “Start talking,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Vanessa, it’s really good to see you.”
I narrow my eyes at him, pretending my traitorous nipples aren’t responding to the silky smoothness of his voice. “Cut the bullshit, Jasper. You’re in the military?”
“Yes.”
“Youlied.”
“Yes, I did.”
I wait for the inevitable apology to follow, but instead the lug picks up the same dessert menu I discarded and starts perusing the selections. “That chocolate cakedoessound good.”
