I would have died happily today knowing that I had been fortunate enough to experience this moment right here.
****
Chapter Thirty
One Week Later.
...
Cole
"You know what? As much as I hated these movies, it sure feels good to have them playing on my TV again," I said lazily, stifling a yawn.
It was six in the evening and Jasper and I were relaxing on the couch, watching one of his Batman movies. This one was called Batman: Hush or something like that. Thank God Jacob was taking a nap upstairs because I was now pretty sure that I didn't want my two year old to be watching this.
"I'm going to Rome this weekend for work," Jasper told me, not taking his eyes off the screen. "Wanna come with me?"
I frowned at him. "Er..."
"We can all go," he added with a smile.
I breathed out a sigh of relief because leaving my responsibilities to go off on a weekend trip as soon as Jasper stepped back into my life didn't seem fair on Skye. "That sounds like fun. We haven't been out of the city in ages."
We watched the rest of the movie silently for twenty minutes until the credits started rolling in.
I gave Jasper a sidelong glance.
"Now I get why Skye always likened you to Batman," I murmured cheekily.
His mouth curved up into a smile. "Yeah. Why?"
"Because you're stubborn as fuck and would rather stick to your principles instead of bowing to someone else's will."
He grimaced at my words. "Ouch."
I shrugged. "Truth hurts, Wells."
Jasper's expression grew serious then. "I'm going upstairs. Be right back."
I nodded and watched his retreating figure as he climbed the stairs before I turned to face the TV again.
He'd been here a week and it was driving me crazy. He hadn't made one move to touch me. Didn't even respond to my flirting or slightly suggestive compliments. Just two days ago, I had almost bumped into him while he had been coming out of the shower, nothing but a tiny towel wrapped around his hips and water glistening on his perfectly muscled body. I had openly stared, feeling hopelessly attracted but Jasper had noticed me standing there and just smiled and nodded politely before heading into his room.
I didn't understand what the problem was. It had been more than obvious at Armaan's party that the spark was still there. Even if we had been communicating regularly for two years, he had been so formal with me the entire time that now I wasn't sure how to navigate this new scenario. He didn't seem inclined to explore any kind of intimate relationship with me at all.
Skye tried to give us space but of course I still slept with her every night since nothing was happening with Jasper. I had been so happy that he had returned home but sometimes, it felt like he had come back as a stranger.
****
Jasper
I watched Jacob sleeping soundly in his bed and smiled to myself. This week had been so wonderful. Getting to know him personally and building a bond with my son was unlike anything I had ever felt before. Jacob loved me. At first he had been a little cautious and difficult to amuse but then he had started to look forward to me playing with him every day while Cole worked on his designs.
I had urged Cole to start thinking of taking up projects again. It made me sad to know he had given up something which he had loved doing so much and had worked so hard for. He had done it for Jacob but I was here now and I offered to be with him at home while Cole looked for projects. I could work from home just fine since I had already established my career as a photographer and reached the pinnacle of success in these past two years which included globe-trotting at its finest. I could take an extended break and live on my savings for a while.
I was only planning to take a few gigs every now and then to shake off my boredom because inactivity for long periods of time made me feel depressed. Taking out my phone, I snapped a picture of my sleeping son and sent it to Jasmine. She texted me straight away.
- God, why do you do this to me? What did I do to deserve this torture? (Groan).
I grinned at her response. I knew she wasn't into kids and so it was fun to tease her with such pictures. But mostly I did it because I was so damned happy and wanted to share that with my friend. Despite her protests, I knew she understood my reasons for doing it.
So much had happened in the week I had been here. I had gone to see Jasmine the day after I'd moved in with Cole and Skye only to find out that she had left Milan without even saying goodbye to me. When I'd tried to message her or call, she'd ignored me for days.
I'd been so worried that I'd even resorted to calling Armaan just to ask him if he knew of her whereabouts or had heard from her. What followed had been the strangest conversation I had ever expected to have with that annoying guy. He had told me he had been to see Jasmine before she left and she had informed him about my reconciliation with Cole and Skye and Jacob’s paternity.
Armaan offered to terminate the NDA so I could finally tell Cole and Skye the reason I had started to see Jasmine in the first place in case it helped with my situation. I'd been surprised at his gesture but I had let him know that it didn't matter anymore because it may have been the reason I started seeing Jasmine but
