Page 64 of Jasper
Jasper nods, but doesn’t speak. He keeps glancing up. It takes me a minute to realize he’s really emotional.
I pull my shirt down, get up, and give him a hug, never loosening my grip on our prized sonogram images. That’s when I realize that I’m emotional as well. I feel the full weight of our situation. We’re going to have a son, a little mini Jasper with any luck. Like I’ve been carrying this baby, thinking it was a girl, and just when I thought the surprises were over, we got this one.
When we pull apart, Jasper states quietly, “Thank you. None of this would have been possible if you hadn’t fought the Whitmores to keep our child.” His words are a not-so-gentle reminder that things could have very easily gone very differently if we both hadn’t been so diligent about wanting him to be born.
“You’re welcome. Terminating was never in the cards. If we hadn’t gotten together, I would have done my best to raise him myself.”
He wraps one arm around my waist and says, “Now, you don’t have to worry about going it alone. You have me to take care of you.”
“That’s true,” I say, smiling up at him. “Bet your parents will be thrilled to find out the gender.”
“They would have been more than happy with a daughter, but him being the first son in the club is going to make me the envy of all my brothers,” he boasts.
I give him a gentle nudge with my elbow. “And knowing you, you’ll gloat shamelessly.”
He chuckles and nods. “You know that I will, darlin’. Just like I brag about how wonderful my old lady is.”
I wrap my arms around his middle and press my cheek against his chest. He calls me his old lady, but I haven’t gotten a property cut, so I don’t know what that means.
We walk out of the building, with his arm still wrapped around me. Jasper asks, “Do you want to shop for the baby, now that we know we’re having a boy?”
I jump at the chance, “That would be amazing.”
We’re on his bike today, so we can’t buy anything big, but I still want to pick out some boy things. I stall out putting on my helmet, and Jasper flicks it with two fingers.
“What’s up? You’re zoning out on me?”
Gazing up at him, I tell him, “I just realized that I’m going to be a boy mom. Do you know what that means?”
“That you’re at high risk for becoming one of those moms who raises her son to think he can do no wrong?”
I nod, “Yeah, that worries me because they don’t even see it.”
He begins fitting the helmet on my head. “There ain’t gonna be no mama’s boys in our family.”
I can’t help but giggle like a schoolgirl. “What do you mean? Your whole family is nothing but mama’s boys.”
He touches the end of my nose with one finger and complains, “That ain’t a very nice thing to say to a big mean biker, even if he is your baby daddy.”
When he climbs on and starts his bike, I wrap both arms around his waist, wondering how I got to be so lucky. Jasper is amazingly easygoing and fun to spend time with.
Chapter 23
Tessa
We end up in a baby boutique that’s all pastels. The entire store and most of the merchandise is baby blue, light pink, and mint green. I was hoping for something with a pop of color. Still, everything is adorable.
Jasper walks in behind me and immediately gets stared at by a woman holding a gigantic giraffe as we walk by a display. He carefully reaches out and over her shoulder to grab a huge teddy bear.
I remind him quietly, “That won’t fit on your bike.”
“Wanna bet,” he shoots back. The woman edges around us and makes her way to the register as we both watch from behind.
“People are weird,” I tell him nonchalantly, as I fluff the teddy’s ears.
“I already told you that women are scared of me.”
I gesture to his face, “It’s the weird smile you make when you’re trying to be nonthreatening. It’s kind of creepy, to be honest.”
