Page 1 of Jasper

1

VANESSA

“Has it hit you yet?”my loyal and endearing assistant Erin asks as I adjust my mom’s necklace in the mirror. She’s been gone eight years, but the heart-shaped pendant adorned in tiny diamonds always makes me feel closer to her. As if she’s holding my hand and encouraging me forward, even when things are hard. Tonight, I need all the help I can get.

“Not yet,” I admit.

“You’re not changing your mind, are you?”

I turn to Erin who’s sitting cross-legged on the bed, surrounded by a sea of notes, maps, and lists. The entirety of the North Haven festival covers her queen-sized bed. Every last detail we’ve meticulously planned and organized since I agreed to take on the project as a favor to my dad several weeks ago.

“No, I’m not changing my mind. I’m closing Luxe Elevated.” Saying it out loud makes me tremble a bit. Though I know in my heart I’m making the right decision, I worry I’ll disappoint Dad when I tell him that this festival is the last event I’ll ever professionally plan. For years, I followed in my mom’s footsteps. I’ve planned exquisite events all over the country, hoping thateach one lives up to even half the potential of the events she once planned.

But my true passion lies elsewhere.Another bomb to drop on Dad tonight.

“Good. Because I’m taking that job in Hawaii,” Erin says firmly, though a smile graces her lips. She couldn’t hide her excitement if she tried. When I decided to give up event planning to pursue my passion to write children’s books full time, I didn’t want a single employee to worry about their future. When I heard about the opening in Hawaii, I put in a good word for Erin. But it wasn’t necessary as she crushed that interview all on her own.

“And I’m going to come visit the resort after you’ve infused the place with your magic touch,” I promise. “Now get dressed. We have to meet my dad and the Coastguard liaison for dinner in twenty minutes.”

Erin hops off the bed, managing not to disturb a single document. “I’ll be quick!” She rushes into the bathroom and tugs the door closed.

As usual, I’m ready early.

Leaving me with too much time on my hands to think.

Not only do I have to tell Dad that I’m giving up the event business to pursue a secret writing career he knows nothing about, but I have to break the news that I’m not marrying David. Even if he hadn’t cheated on me, something was off before that. Something in my gut told me he wasn’tthe one.

I move to the window, admiring the coastal view with the mountain back drop. I’ve always wanted to visit Alaska. Ever since…I let out a sigh. One that’s both a mixture of happy and forlorn.Ever since Jasper. That weekend whirlwind romance now four years ago has ruined me. No matter how hard I triednotto compare David to Jasper, I did anyway. Just like I have with any man I’ve dated since.

Jasper grew up in Alaska. He talked about it with such reverie that I practically felt I could travel there simply in his stories.

But that weekend was only ever meant to beoneweekend. We were both recovering from back breakups. Both in Cape Cod only for a quick trip. We lived in opposite parts of the country. It had no chance of working out. But boy had it been fun. And the sex…It was off-the-damn-charts hot.

“Want me to turn up the AC?” Erin teases, pulling me from my trance.

I didn’t realize I was fanning myself with a brochure, but now that I’ve been caught, I set it down.

“You were thinking about him again, weren’t you?”

Erin and I are close. When I first hired her, we were strangers. Over the years, she’s proven to be a valuable and loyal assistant. The best I could ever hope for. But she’s also become my closest and dearest friend. She’s the only one I’ve ever told about Jasper. A man whose last name I never learned. One of the many rules I set for that weekend in hopes we wouldn’t spoil it with reality.

“How did you know?”

“Your neck gets all tomato-red when you think about him.” She steps up to the vanity to apply her makeup. “I have to admit, I’m jealous. I’ve never had a roll in sheets that left an impression on mefouryears later.”

“It’s crazy to think he might show up to the festival, right? Alaska’s a big place.” I’ve searched my memory a thousand times since Dad asked me to head the planning of the North Haven festival, but I can’t for the life of me remember the name of Jasper’s hometown. The one with the restaurant his parents own. I wish I could recall it, because I’d make the trip to try that clam chowder. To see if his time in Cape Cod was well-spent or a bust.

“I don’t want to be Debbie Downer here, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up. North Haven is a small town in the biggest state in the country. He could be hundreds of miles away.”

It’s too much to hope that he’ll make the trip for a small-town festival, no matter how well-advertised. It’s not as if my name is on any poster. He has no way of knowing I’m here. And I have no way of knowing whether he’s married with two sets of twins. I can’t imagine a man of his charm and ambition stayed single long.Too bad…

After the most amazing weekend of my entire life, we made each other delete our contact information out of our phones. We agreed it was for the best. Why spoil something so good? If we’d tried to make the long-distance thing work, it would not only have failed. But all the cloud-nine memories would’ve been drowned out by the future suffering and resentment.

It was better this way.

“Ready to go?” Erin asks.

“You never cease to amaze me with how fast you get ready. You sure you aren’t secretly a ninja?”

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