Page 25 of Glass & Groundwork
Yahir: Hell yeah! Way to go, Papa!
Frankie: Aww. Cute!
Me: (Eyeroll emoji) Please plan to be at dinner tonight.
Frankie: Ooh! Can I make something special? This feels like it needs a special meal.
Me: Sure thing, sweetheart. Let me know if you need me to pick anything up on the way home.
Yahir: Eddie, you owe me ten bucks.
Me: For what?
Eduardo: Yahir said you’d have him in your bed by the end of the week. I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt and said next week.
Me: I’m not sure how to feel about that.
Frankie: What’s Jasper’s favorite food? He’ll be there tonight, right?
Me: I think so. I’ll get back to you on that.
Nicky: I like Jasper, you should definitely keep him around.
Oh, he’d be around all right. For how long, though? We hadn’t really discussed a timeline for this other than starting. Strangely, the idea of it ending wasn’t something I was ready to think about yet.
Me: Thanks, Nicky. See you all later.
Eduardo: Good luck at Heartcraft today.
Me: Thanks, kiddo. I’ll see you all tonight.
Sliding my phone back into my pocket, I ran a hand through my hair. Well, this was happening. We would talk to my family, though I suppose they would be Jasper’s family soon, too. One side of my lips tugged up at the idea. Married or not, that would be true. Legal documentation didn’t make a family, neither did blood. I’d learned that a long time ago.
I found my own family and vowed to keep my arms open with room to grow.
Now that I’d notified the kids, I felt a mix of excitement and anxiety over telling them. I hoped they wouldn’t look at me differently, or think anything less of me. Deep down, it wasn’t arealconcern, but I couldn’t stop the thought anyway. Luckily, with the weather starting to cool, it brought a lot of shoppers to Heartcraft, and I stayed busy enough not to think about it too much. Jasper returned to my booth after a while, chattering about some of the different artists. He seemed to be in much better spirits, with the light in his golden-brown eyes returning. It made me happy to see, especially after seeing them so dark and hollow yesterday.
If I could do one thing as his husband, it would be to help keep his light shining as much as possible. Of course, I knew I couldn’t control everything, no one could make another person happy every second of the day, it was impossible. At least I could be there with him in the dark and help guide him back when he was ready.
“Are you sure you want to do this tonight? It can wait,” Jasper said, as we pulled up to the house.
I huffed out a laugh. “With five days until our wedding, I don’t think it can. They deserve to know, and Iwantto tell them, well, mostly. What we say is up to you, though. I’ll follow your lead as long as I don’t have to lie to them. Trust is important and something I’ve had to work to build.”
Jasper nodded. “Right. Okay.”
His hand found my free hand, slotting our fingers together, and I gave it a squeeze. Attached, I led the way into the house. My heart was racing wildly and I felt a bead of sweat on my forehead. I wanted to tell my kids because I would hate for them to find out later and feel betrayed, but at the same time… I didn’t.
There was no way they hadn’t heard my truck pull up, but they were all trying to act nonchalant. Trying but failing with the glimpses they kept throwing my way. Glimpses that landed on our clasped hands.
“Frankie, here’s the groceries you asked for.” I handed them the bag I’d been holding in my other hand.
They rubbed their hands together and hurried over to take it. Before they disappeared into the kitchen, they stopped and gave Jasper a wink.
Eduardo leaned against the wall with a dusting cloth in his hand, as if he’d been busy cleaning. He assessed Jasper and I with a raised brow. There wasn’t any hint of disapproval, but a sort of fascinated amusement. “Papa, Jasper, don’t you two look cozy?”
Jasper released his hand from mine and stood ramrod straight. “We’re getting married!” Jasper blurted out, then gasped, and clapped a hand over his mouth with his eyes blown wide in shock at what he’d said.
Although not as much shock as the rest of the family was experiencing. Eduardo pushed off the wall, dropping the cloth. Yahir, who’d been sitting not-so-casually with one leg hooked over the arm of the couch, put his legs down and his mouth fell open. Nicky’s eyes lit up and a grin was stretching her lips. Noah put a book mark in his book and set it down, not taking his eyes off us. A bowl rattled in the kitchen and Frankie came running back out.
