Page 50 of Jasper

She couldn’t wait forlater.

Jasper dropped Melody off at the gift shop to hang out with Sarah and her mate Requiem. He told her there were things that a male had to do to prep for the mating ceremony that his female wasn’t supposed to be part of, and unknown to her that included him leaving the park and going to a jewelry store to find a ring so he could propose.

He’d spoken to her father earlier that morning while Melody was grabbing breakfast in the market cafeteria for them, and Finn had been thrilled, asking only that they be allowed to host a celebration for them in Northbelle since they wouldn’t be able to join them for the actual wedding.

“I’m still on the fence,” Jasper said.

“About what?” Indio asked as he flipped the turn signal to exit the parkway.

“Whether I should just ask her to marry me tonight or if I should ask her to marry me and thenalsohave the wedding ceremony. Joss is ordained and offered to do the wedding right after the mating ceremony, but I don’t know if she’d be happy about that.”

“Why wouldn’t she?” Benjamin piped up from the backseat.

Even though the threat to Melody and Jasper was gone with Ludo dead and Finn in place as alpha, the park rules still stood: no one went anywhere alone.

After asking for company in his friends’ group chat, Benjamin and Indio had been the only two who were free for a trip to the jewelry store the park used for just such a moment.

“I don’t know,” Jasper said. He twisted in his seat and looked at Benjamin. “I don’t know if she’d be happy to be married right away or if she’d like to have time to plan an actual wedding.”

“You could just ask her, you know,” Indio said. He pulled into the parking lot of a strip mall and stopped near the entrance to Oscar’s Jewelry.

“You mean after I propose? Is that even a thing?”

“Yeah, why not?” Indio said.

The three got out of the park’s unmarked SUV and headed toward the store. Jasper let that roll around in his head for a moment. “That seems like a good idea. At least if she wants to get married right then, we can, but if she wants to wait a bit, we can do that too.”

Once inside, Jasper was blown away by the sheer number of sparkling rings. He’d just been thinking in general about a ring and wasn’t sure what to get for Melody now that he was staring at the options.

“Damn,” he said as he stared through the glass counter. “I’m entirely doubting myself right now.”

Indio chuckled. “About what? You and Melody grew up together. You probably know her better than anyone, so there’s no reason you can’t pick out the perfect ring.”

“Tell me about her,” Oscar said as he leaned an elbow on the glass and smiled.

“Well, she’s gorgeous,” Jasper said. “So freaking sweet. She’s gracious and kind, and she’s got a feisty spirit. She’s the only girl I’ve ever loved.”

Oscar smiled widely, his thick mustache twitching. “I think I have just what you’re looking for.”

He moved around the showroom slowly and looked into the glass cases, and then he stopped and unlocked one, removing a small velvet tray, which he carried over to where Jasper and his friends stood. Oscar rolled out a black cloth and set the tray on it, then removed one of the rings.

“This is what I like to call the Sweetheart Forever,” he said. “I designed it for my wife for our twenty-fifth anniversary, and she still wears the original twenty-five years later.”

“Wow, fifty years together?” Jasper asked, taking the ring. “That’s amazing.”

“It’s a good luck ring,” Oscar said with a wink.

The ring had a large center diamond nestled in swirls of white gold studded with tiny diamonds. It was delicate and beautiful, just like Melody.

“I can replace the diamond with any size you like, that one’s a half carat. I also have pink and yellow diamonds and could put in any sort of other gemstone too.”

“I like this one as it is,” Jasper said. “Can I have it?”

“You bet,” Oscar said. “Let me polish it. Do you know her ring size?”

“I brought this from her jewelry box,” Jasper said, handing over a ring. He’d tested it on her ring finger while she slept last night to make sure it fit.

“Perfect. Give me ten minutes.”

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