Yay! Love you, Vivi.
Vivian
Love you, too, Lottie.
Putting my phone away, I glance at Jasper for a moment. The way he makes me feel is so much bigger than I expected or realized before now. But Lottie’s right, I deserve the happiness and to just enjoy this.
Smiling at how beautiful this man is and how he’s mine for now, I lean in and ask him what’s happening in the video. Jasper takes off his headphones, turns those gorgeous eyes on me, and explains the different plays.
“And right there you see offside,” Jasper explains, pausing the game.
“What’s that?”
“A team is offside when an attacking player’s skates completely cross the defending team’s blue line—” he points on the screen “—before the puck does.”
“What happens when they’re offside?”
He smiles. “Want to guess before I press play?”
“It doesn’t seem like a big enough reason to enter the sin bin.” I use the hockey lingo I have heard my dad use before.
“It normally isn’t. Any other guesses?” I shake my head, so he continues. “It’s time for another faceoff.”
“That sounds dramatic.”
Jasper laughs. “It’s nothing like that—faceoff is when the ref starts or resumes play by dropping the puck between two opposing players.”
“Oh, that’s what they call it?”
Jasper nods and presses play again, and the game continues seamlessly, the puck passing back and forth between the two teams dressed in red and white jerseys. Suddenly, there’s a whistle, and the game comes to a stop. Jasper pauses the tape and turns to look at me, his blue eyes showing his excitement.
“That’s a penalty,” he says, pointing to the screen. “Did you catch why?” I shake my head, transfixed by his gaze. “That player—” he points to one of the players in a white jersey “— tripped our player with his stick. That’s a big no-no in hockey and usually means a two-minute minor penalty on the player who did that.”
I nod, trying to focus on the game and not the way Jasper’s muscles flex under his white t-shirt as he leans forward to restart the video.
As the game goes on, he explains more rules to me, but my mind wanders to how good this moment feels. I can’t help but notice the warmth of Jasper’s body next to mine. I place my book on the nightstand and snuggle into his side. He wraps his arm around me, pulling me closer to him. I bury my face in his chest, inhaling the clean, masculine scent that I’ll always link to him in the future.
When he’s done with game tape, we spend the rest of the night wrapped up in each other. Jasper’s voice as we exchange fun stories fades into the background as I fall asleep in his arms. The sound of his voice is soothing, like my own lullaby. I dream of his touch, the way his hands feel on my skin, and the things he whispers in my ear.
18
HE’S LIKE A DOG IN THE BODY OF A REINDEER
JASPER
The next morning, I wake up early, eager to find new ways to surprise Vivian and bring joy to her face. She's sleeping soundly next to me, her chest rising and falling gently. I watch her for a moment, feeling a surge of something deep for her.
When Vivian fell asleep snuggled up to me last night, I grabbed my iPad and started googling, planning a Lapland experience to cheer her up.
After another hour, I gently shake her awake, and she stretches lazily, blinking her eyes open.
"Good morning," she murmurs sleepily.
"Good morning, honey," I say, smiling. "I'm sorry to wake you up, but I've got a surprise for you. And our first activity starts in an hour and a half."
Her eyes light up instantly. "What is it?"
"I have planned a fun day full of activities that will make you fall in love with Lapland."
