Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 95471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
I like him immediately. I’m relieved he’s the first new person I’m meeting. “Hi, Nora’s boyfriend,” I reply.
He’s still got that big smile on his handsome face as he pulls back and returns to her side. “Nora said you guys don’t usually make it. I’m glad you could come this year.”
“Me too,” I volunteer, falling right into my role as Jasper’s not-at-all-fake, totally-real girlfriend. I slide an arm around his waist, naturally mirroring the position of the other couple in the room.
Jasper’s grip on my waist tightens naturally. “Is Vanessa here yet?”
Nora shakes her head, but before she can answer, a new voice joins the fray.
“She isn’t coming. You know how she can be,” the new woman says, waving it off.
Nora looks back at her. “Mom, you know she couldn’t get enough time off work. She wouldn’t have been able to fly in until Christmas Eve, and what’s the point of only coming for one day?”
“I know that’s what she claims,” the woman says, making her disbelief as plain as possible.
Jasper’s mom doesn’t look a thing like him, and Jasper doesn’t look a thing like Nora. I make a guess they might have different dads, and his father’s genes ran much stronger.
Jasper’s mom and sister both have blonde hair and fair complexions. Nora’s eyes are blue, but not the same piercing shade as Jasper’s.
Their mom has brown eyes and a measured smile. She’s focused on me when I look over at her, her gaze sweeping over me in clear appraisal.
Even though she’s not truly my boyfriend’s mom, I find my spine straightening in a subtle attempt to make a good impression.
“Hello, dear, I’m Audra. You must be Jasper’s magical girlfriend who convinced him to come home for the holidays,” she says, her gaze meeting mine. “Welcome.”
Her greeting seems mildly passive aggressive, and I’m completely thrown by the second person in as many minutes suggesting I had anything to do with Jasper’s presence here. Jasper may not have wanted to come, but he was willing to risk making himself uncomfortable to do it anyway, and it wasn’t for me.
It was for Nora. He told me on the way up here that he was coming to meet her new boyfriend, to make sure he was a good guy. I don’t know why Nora—at the very least—isn’t giving him the credit he’s due.
I keep my tone as friendly as possible as I lean into Jasper, since he’s just letting them pretend I dragged him here. “Oh, no, I had nothing to do with it. It was all this guy.”
“Sure it was,” his mother says a touch knowingly.
I can’t keep a small frown off my face. I cast a curious glance at Jasper, wondering about the strange energy coming off his mom. I can’t really explain why, but it feels like it offends her that he would get any credit, even if he deserves it.
Sensing my confusion, Jasper casually reaches over, grabs me around the back of the neck, and pulls me into him so he can kiss my forehead.
“Don’t bother,” he murmurs, pressing his lips to my skin.
I look up at him uncertainly when he pulls back, but I let it go for the moment.
The spotlight falls away from me, anyway. As soon as his mother finishes her greetings, she walks back to the kitchen.
Her absence instantly dissolves most of the tension in the air, though a trace of awkwardness remains.
Jasper talks to his sister and her boyfriend, catching up a bit. I have no place in the conversation, but I don’t feel left out like I did at Brady’s when his family excluded me. Here, it feels natural—I’m just not relevant to this particular conversation. There, it felt deliberate—I wasn’t worth including in any of their conversations.
Maybe it’s because Jasper never brings women home, so my presence here leads them to conclude we’re serious. Brady brought home different girlfriends every year, so I guess there was no reason for his family to think I was anything special.
While they chat amongst themselves, I take the opportunity to look around.
We haven’t moved from the foyer yet, but it’s a mostly open floorplan. There’s a great room ahead of us, a dining area to our right. Behind the table is a window that faces the road. Like the beautiful house we passed on the way here, Jasper’s mom chose to put a Christmas tree there.
The tree is thinner than I imagined for such a big house, but beautiful nonetheless, all decked out with gold ornaments and white lights. There’s a red and gold tree skirt beneath it, but no presents under the tree.
The house looks professionally decorated, but not lived in. From outside, I thought it was a rambler ranch house, but now that we’re inside, I can see a set of stairs to a lower level off to the left.