Page 84 of Beautiful Chaos

‘Could it be Miami’s most eligible bachelor is off the Market? Jasper Whitlock escorted Harper Williams a local journalist to the event of the season was this for publicity or had she stolen his heart?…’

It went on from there, it was our first photo together, so I kept it. Jasper laughed at me when I got excited that my name was mentioned. For him, this was an everyday occurrence but for me, not so much. I’ve always blended into the crowd, never letting myself become the center of attention. I never imagined the two of us would be hotter news than the guests of honor.

With everything that happened that night, I didn’t get that exclusive interview. Jasper showed me we were the hot topic and oddly enough I was okay with that. And the best part was that Aster was so jealous.

Jasper didn’t have any photos of family or friends, except one from an event—it was a picture of him and Max from high school. I made fun of Max when I found it but in all honesty, age has done him well.

There was one other photo, it was of a beautiful woman with blonde hair. She stood beside a tree with her arms stretched over her swollen belly. Her smile was intoxicating. I found that photo in a drawer one day when Jasper went into the office for work, I assumed it was his mother given the worn and fragile state of the photograph. I was curious about who it was, but I didn’t want to make it obvious that I was being nosy.

Jasper shared a bit about his mother and father. As he talked about his mother, there was a deep pain in his eyes, but his expression became stern when talking about his father.

From what I gather he and his father didn’t see eye to eye. His father wanted to try to groom him into a leader of mayhem, and Jasper never wanted that for himself. I feel like there was more to it than Jasper let on, but I didn’t pry.

Jasper left home soon after he turned eighteen, later to be accepted into Harvard Law with a full scholarship. He used his mother’s death as motivation to push himself to do better, and he did just that, being the youngest lawyer to pass the bar exams on the first attempt. He then established his practice, which grew into one of the most prestigious firms in Miami.

I glanced over to the nearly empty bookshelf. Jasper brought an armful of books and set them up on the top shelf. I went through them and saw that they were all the books he got from the bookstore when he was basically stalking me.

I call it stalking, he calls it persistence.

I stood from my oversized leather desk chair and walked straight to those books. I picked up ‘Into the Water.’ by Paula Hawkins. I flipped through the pages I’d read countless times, catching the scent of paper, ink, and age. Taking a deep breath, I inhaled the enchanting aroma, with my eyes closed.

I think the smell, with the freedom to read as I please, was an incentive for working at the bookstore at first. Later it became the friendship I developed with Old Man Frank and some regular patrons. Most of them were elderly or widowed. I loved sitting and chatting with them. Their tales were much greater than any I could read in a romance novel.

Maybe that’s what I should write, a book of short love stories.

I used to watch others, come and go at the bookstore, and thought I could never be in their shoes. I couldn’t fathom loving someone so deeply that I’d spend my entire life with them, only to one day face their absence and continue alone. Being a loner seemed like a blessing for that very reason.

But now, loneliness envelops my heart in a darkness I know too well, yet the thought of being someone’s forever is equally terrifying, stirring panic and anxiety within me.

I settled in front of my computer, the blank page open and ready for me to spill my thoughts onto it. With a deep breath, I touched the keyboard, ready to begin.

“Here goes nothing,” I whispered.

Chapter 60

JASPER

The only sound breaking the night’s stillness was the echo of my footsteps in the lobby. I ended up working later than planned, buried in the piles of files waiting for my review.

Harper texted a bit ago, telling me she was ordering out for dinner. She cooks most nights, and I couldn’t help but smile thinking she must have gotten caught up in her writing, and lost track of time.

My grin grew wider as I remembered how easily she agreed to the office makeover, all it took was a subtle mention of her moving in. She believed I was oblivious to her clear attempts to delay the inevitable, but she was sorely mistaken.

“Good night, sir,” one of the night guards called out as I headed towards the exit. I gave him and the other two guards a brief nod in acknowledgment, noticing they were engrossed in their computer monitors, feigning busyness.

From the wall of windows, I could see Hector waiting for me on the curb. Even though it was a no-parking zone, the parking enforcement officers knew better than to mess with him there.

“Evening, sir,” Hector nodded, opening the back door. I slid into the SUV with a smile.

“Yes, and a good one it is.” I retorted. Hector’s face twisted at my response, he quickly recovered and smirked before closing the door.

“Straight home tonight, sir.” He asked, from the driver seat, adjusting the mirror and looking back at me before pulling onto the road.

“Yes, home. The only place I wanna be right now,” I said resting my head on the seat and letting out a deep sigh. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the key with the green ribbon tied to it. The ribbon was the same color as Harper’s eyes, the shade of green that had recently become my favorite color. I turned the key in my palm imagining what Harper would say to my proposal for her moving in officially. I knew she would likely say no, I had no doubt, and I looked forward to convincing her otherwise.

I’d enjoy the pink flushing over her face, and the quick scrambling she would likely do to avoid answering. She’d done a decent job of avoiding it this far, but this time I was determined.

Hector intentionally cleared his throat pulling me from my distracting thoughts.

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