“I’m with Shane on this one. I believe you all thought the same thing about me at some point, but I’m nothing like Carter,” said Ethan, referring to his father.
Byron said jokingly, “I wouldn’t say that....”
Ethan glared at his father-in-law. “All I’m saying is we should give the guy a chance before you crucify him.”
“I would agree,” Courtney said from behind Ethan.
Ethan stepped aside so she could walk into the center of the family room where everyone was gathered discussing her love life.
“In heaven’s name, child, what possessed you to get involved with Andrew’s son?” her mother asked. She wanted to be the voice of reason, but even she couldn’t understand why Courtney would knowingly cause this kind of friction in the family.
“I didn’t know who he was.”
“Courtney...” Kayla sighed. “So you just got involved with some strange man without finding out who he was.”
When her sister put it like that, it made Courtney look like a hussy in front of her father and brother. Courtney lowered her head, completely embarrassed.
Kayla apologized immediately. “I’m sorry, that sounded harsh. Where did you meet him?”
“In Punta Cana.”
“So he followed you down there?” her father asked. “I wouldn’t put it past Andrew to keep tails on all of us.”
“It wasn’t like that, Daddy,” Courtney replied. “Jasper owns Sea Breeze Resorts.”
“The Sea Breeze Resorts where Gabby and I stayed?” Shane asked.
“The one and the same.” Courtney nodded. “Jasper is estranged from Andrew. He’s had no dealings with him since he was fifteen years old because Andrew kept him from his mother.”
Byron snorted. “Why am I not surprised?”
Courtney continued, “After he was fifteen he stayed with his mother on a farm in Marietta and then built a hotel empire on his own without a dime from his father. Daddy—” Courtney walked over to her father and searched his face “—even you must respect that. He’s tried to distance himself from Andrew’s underhanded business.”
“He’s still a Jackson,” Byron stated.
Courtney swallowed. She knew it wasn’t going to be easy convincing her family of Jasper’s sincerity. It was going to be an uphill battle.
“If Courtney isn’t serious about this young man,” her mother said, “this could be a moot point. I mean, I know you like your freedom, my dear. But I can’t imagine you continuing this dalliance.”
All eyes in the room turned to stare at Courtney and she stiffened, momentarily abashed. She felt as if she were onstage with a gigantic spotlight on her. She hadn’t had time to analyze her feelings for Jasper and digest all the information he’d given her, much less share her feelings for him with her family.
So she answered as honestly as she could. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Her father glared at her. A warning cloud settled on his features. “Are you telling me you’re in love with this young man?”
Courtney’s cheeks burned and her breath quickened. “It means I don’t know, Daddy. It’s too soon for me to know what my feelings are after a couple of weeks, but I can tell you that I intend to explore them.”
“Excuse me?”
Courtney hated going up against her father, but this was one of those defining moments in her life where she knew she had to make a stand whether he liked what she had to say or not. “I have feelings for Jasper,” she stated very clearly so there was no misunderstanding of her intent. “And I know he’s Andrew Jackson’s son, but I don’t care. Just because he was raised under his roof doesn’t mean he’s like his father. C’mon, Kayla.”
She looked to her sister with imploring eyes. They’d always shared a bond; surely she would understand. “You’ve been in my shoes. Everyone thought Ethan—” she pointed to her brother-in-law “—was like his father, but he wasn’t.”
“That’s different,” Kayla said, coming toward her sister and grasping her by the shoulders. “We all grew up with Ethan. We know nothing about this Jasper. How can we be sure we can trust him? How do we know this isn’t an elaborate ruse that he and Andrew have concocted to annihilate our family? That’s been his goal for decades.”
“We don’t know,” Courtney replied, disengaging Kayla’s hands from her shoulders and turning to face the family. “I guess for once you’re all just going to have to trust my judgment.” Here is their opportunity to show that they believe in and respect me and don’t think that I’m some flighty airhead they have to watch over.
“This doesn’t just affect you, baby girl,” their father replied stiffly. “This affects the entire family. Because it’s personal. Andrew has made it personal.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way, Daddy,” Courtney said. “You can choose to give Jasper the benefit of the doubt. This is about me and Jasper and nothing more. You’re turning it into business.”
“Courtney...” Her father towered over her and said firmly, “You need to do what’s right and end this affair, right now.”
“I’m not eighteen years old, Daddy,” she said, looking up at him. “You can’t just tell me what to do anymore and think I’m going to roll over like a good little puppy dog. I’m a grown woman and I know what I want and I want Jasper.”
“He comes from a clan of liars and thieves, and I forbid you to see him!”
“I’m warning you, Daddy,” Courtney said loudly. The words sounded strange on her tongue, but she said them anyway. “Don’t make me choose. You may not like my choice.”
Her father frowned with cold fury. “Don’t you speak to me in that tone!”
Kayla could see their father’s blood pressure rising. “Daddy, I think it’s best if we table this discussion.” She came and stood between the two of them. The tension emanating from them both was coming off in droves.
“Kayla’s right,” their mother said. “I think it’s best we all go our separate ways for the evening. Byron.” She rose and walked over to grasp her husband’s hand. “I would like to speak with you privately, please.”
After her parents had gone, Kayla and Ethan weren’t far behind. “We’ll talk later.” She stiffly kissed Courtney’s cheek before departing, leaving Courtney and Shane alone in the room.
“Wow!” Shane clapped loudly.
“What’s that for?” Courtney asked.
“I didn’t think you had it in you, little sis,” Shane replied, walking over to the wet bar to pour himself a glass of vodka on the rocks and another for Courtney, but adding cranberry juice for her. When he was done, he handed her a glass.
“Thanks.” Courtney took a generous gulp.
“Easy, now.” Shane smiled as he watched her.
Reluctantly, Courtney smiled as well. “I needed that. Now, what didn’t you think I could do?”
“Stand up to Dad. He can be pretty intimidating.”
“Trust me, it wasn’t easy. I almost peed in my pants.” Courtney laughed nervously. “But I can’t let him walk all over me. He may have been right when I was eighteen about my quickie marriage to Chaise, but he’s not right about Jasper. Jasper’s different from any other man I’ve been with. He makes me feel safe.”
Shane nodded quietly and sipped on his drink.
“You surprised me too,” Courtney said. “Given your animosity toward Andrew Jackson, I just knew you would be against this relationship.”
“I don’t trust the guy,” Shane said. After everything Andrew had done to Gabby, he was concerned. “But I trust you and if you say Jasper’s worth it, then I’ll try and get along with him, the same as I did with Ethan. But he’ll have to earn my trust.”
Courtney smiled at her older brother. “Thank you, Shane. That means a lot.”
C
hapter 11
Jasper was anxious as he waited for Courtney at the Hyatt Regency hotel, where he’d reserved a suite. He’d driven up the night before from the farm because he was determined to make Courtney listen to him. He’d hoped that once he got her alone, she would listen to him and he could tell her his past. She had. She’d kept an open mind and one thing had led to another, and they’d shared another kiss. A kiss that had transported him back to Punta Cana when he’d been lying wrapped up in her arms. It was the closest to heaven he’d ever gotten.
And now he hoped that Courtney would give him a chance to make things right. He’d asked her to come to his hotel so they could talk, and he hoped she would. He knew it was a lot to ask given that he’d deceived her, but he was hoping that her feelings for him outweighed her anger. It was funny that he’d come back to the States intent on making Courtney pay for a perceived wrong, and instead he’d realized that he didn’t want to let her go.
Courtney drove her Porsche Boxster to the Hyatt Regency, even got out of the car and handed her keys to the valet, but then she chickened out of going upstairs to Jasper’s room and instead headed to the bar for a drink.
It had been a tough night. She’d never spoken that way to her father. She’d always just done as he told her. Although Jasper had lied to her about who he was and what he did for a living, for some reason she just wasn’t ready for what they shared to end. And she certainly was going to allow her father to bully her. She was capable of making her own decisions.
She’d been hurt that Kayla hadn’t backed her up on her decision to continue seeing Jasper. Courtney hadn’t been happy when Kayla had married Ethan, but she’d stood by her when she too had encountered their father’s wrath. Where was the sisterly unity? She was going to have a few words with her older sister.
Yet she was afraid to go forward with Jasper. If she went upstairs to his suite, Jasper would think he’d won and try to take her to bed, and with his lips on hers, Courtney’s defenses might weaken and she would let him. Then he would think it was okay for him to lie to her and get away with it. And that she couldn’t abide.
As she sipped her scotch, Courtney thought about what to do. The problem was she wanted to give Jasper the benefit of the doubt and believe that he’d made a bad judgment call that had spiraled out of control. Given the weeks they’d spent together, Courtney couldn’t believe the absolute worst about him. There was some good in Jasper. She’d seen it for herself in how he cared for those orphan children or how he wanted the best for his workers. She just had to reconcile the two together.
After an hour, Jasper became nervous. Courtney had called him after she’d left her family’s estate and told him she would be there within the hour. Had she changed her mind and decided not to come?
He checked his cell phone, and there was no voice mail or text message, so he checked with the front desk just in case she had called the hotel. He rushed over to the nightstand and picked up the receiver. “Are there any messages for me?” he inquired. “From Courtney Adams.”
“Ms. Adams?” the front desk clerk asked. “There are no messages, but she arrived about half an hour ago.”
“She did?” Where was she?
“Yes, she’s in the bar, I believe.”
“Thank you.” Jasper quickly replaced the receiver and, grabbing the hotel key card, left the room. He knew that she hadn’t come all this way for nothing. Clearly, she was conflicted about seeing him, but at least she hadn’t left. Jasper took that as a good sign. A short elevator ride later, he was walking through the lobby. He could hear the mellow croons of a chanteuse at the piano bar.
The bar was partially crowded, with several people in business attire sitting at smaller tables surrounding the piano and a long, circular bar where various liquors hung from the rafters.
Jasper found Courtney at the bar, nursing a glass of scotch. She’d changed out of the suit she was wearing earlier and was wearing jeans and a sweater with boots. “Care if I join you?” he asked.
Courtney hazarded a glance in his direction. “Don’t mind if you do.” She returned her gaze to the bottom of the glass.
“It went that bad?” Jasper asked, sliding his barstool closer to her. “I’ll have the same thing she’s having,” he told the bartender who’d come up. He knew that Courtney’s family wouldn’t be too happy after her sister had walked in on them making out in her office.
“Worse!” Courtney downed the rest of her drink and slid the glass down the bar. “Bartender, another please.”
“Hmm...how many of those have you had?” Jasper asked. When she didn’t respond, he motioned to the bartender to cut her off after that drink. “So, what happened?”
“If you can believe it, my father forbade me, a twenty-seven-year-old woman, to see you. Thank you.” She accepted the drink from the bartender and took a quick sip.
“He forbade you?”
“Yes. Can you believe that?” She chuckled, clearly amused by the word. “You would think we were back in ancient times or something.”
“What did you tell him?” Jasper asked.
“I told him not to make me choose because he may not like my decision.”
“Wow!” Jasper whirled around on the barstool to stare at Courtney. The woman had chutzpah. “And how did he take that?”
“Not well.”
“I’m sorry,” Jasper said. “I don’t want to cause discord between you and your family.”
“Well, perhaps you should have thought of that before you lied to me about who you were,” she said crisply.
“You’re right. I should have told you.” He took a swig of scotch. “But instead I was focused on what I wanted, which is you.”
Courtney eyed him suspiciously.
“If you knew who I was related to, would you have stayed with me in Punta Cana?” Jasper asked.
Courtney paused to think about his question. She finally answered, “No, I wouldn’t have. Had I known you were Andrew Jackson’s son, I would not have given you a second glance.”
“Even though I have no relationship with the man?”
“Even then.”
“I appreciate your honesty,” Jasper said, “but I am who I am and I can’t change who my father is. Though I wish I could. So I guess you have to decide if that’s a deal breaker or not. You’ve indicated to your family that they wouldn’t like your decision, but I’m still in the dark. Will my bloodline exclude me from being your man?”
“Is that what you want to be?” Courtney asked. He noticed that she seemed to be holding her breath as she waited for his response.
“If you’ll let me.”
From the expression on her face, Jasper could tell that a war of emotions raged inside Courtney. He knew that she didn’t relish being at odds with her family, but she also couldn’t deny that Jasper had touched something deep inside her. He just hoped she would want to explore it.
Jasper’s stomach clenched tightly as he waited for her answer. “Well?”
“There will be time to figure out the particulars later,” Courtney said. She placed her drink on the bar and rose from her stool. “Let’s go upstairs.”
Once in his suite, although Jasper desired her, he found himself feeling oddly protective of her. She was putting herself at great odds for the privilege of being with him, and he didn’t want her to think that he only cared about her body and nothing else. He cared about her well-being too.
He helped her to the bed and then knelt to unzip and pull off her boots. She seemed surprised that he was taking care of her. She probably suspected that he would take her to bed because the passion they’d shared in Punta Cana had been off the charts, but he wanted Courtney to know that there was more to him than being her lover.
“Thanks,” she said when he removed one calf-length boot and then the other. She rose for Jasper to un
dress her, but instead he walked away and went to the open suitcase on the floor.
He removed an oversize T-shirt from the suitcase and brought it toward her.
“What’s that for?”
“For you to sleep in.”
“You mean, we’re not gonna...you know.” She winked as she came toward him, but ended up stumbling slightly into his arms. “Gonna do it?”
Jasper grasped her under her arms before she fell. “There will be time for that another night.” He righted her so he could pull the sweater she wore over her head and throw it across a nearby chair. Then he pulled the oversize T-shirt over her head. Her skintight jeans were next; he unzipped them with ease and slid them down her legs. She stepped out of them and he threw them over the sweater.
“Come to bed, baby,” Jasper crooned, pulling the large damask comforter back and settling Courtney between the cool, crisp white linens and down pillows.
“Aren’t you joining me?” Courtney asked when Jasper left her side.
Jasper smiled. “Yes, but no hanky-panky.” He removed his trousers and shirt, leaving him in only his undershirt and boxers, and then joined her inside the bed.
He pulled her into the safety of his arms and Courtney came willingly. She nestled her head in the crook underneath his neck and rested her face against his chest. With Courtney so close, Jasper could feel her nipples pucker underneath the thin T-shirt she wore. Despite the desires of the lower half of his body, Jasper focused on just being there for Courtney. He kissed her head and lightly stroked her hair.
“Thank you,” she murmured against his chest as she curled into the curve of his body. “I think I needed this more than sex.”
“I know,” Jasper said as he leaned over to turn off the light on the nightstand. “Sleep and we’ll talk in the morning.”
In the morning light, everything was crystal clear to Courtney. She knew she’d made the right decision in choosing Jasper. He’d shown her last night that their relationship could be about more than just mutual gratification. It could be about caring and comfort. It was the first time she’d allowed a man to get this close, and she was no worse for the wear for doing so. Perhaps Kayla and Shane had it right about finding someone that completed you.
Formula for Passion Page 11