“Good morning, beautiful,” Jasper whispered against her ear when she woke up.
Courtney glanced up and found Jasper was up and watching her.
“You have an intent look on your face,” Jasper said. “I hope you’re not regretting your decision to give me another chance.”
Courtney shook her head. “I’m not. I trust my gut instinct.”
Jasper smiled and his eyes contained a sensual flame. “I’m glad to hear that.” He lowered his head to give her a slow, shivery kiss that caused desire to burn within her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him firmly against her. There would be time for talking later. She’d been emotional and a little bit tipsy last night, but she was awake now and aching for the fulfillment of his lovemaking. Jasper did not disappoint.
* * *
“Shane told me about what happened last night,” Gabrielle said from outside the dressing room. When Courtney arrived at the bridal shop to pick up the bridesmaid dresses after they’d been altered, she was surprised to find it was just the two of them. Apparently, Gabby had purposely told Kayla and Courtney’s mother to arrive thirty minutes later so she would have time to talk to her dear friend and soon-to-be sister-in-law. Gabby’s other bridesmaid, Mariah, lived in Paris, so she had had her dress shipped to Paris’s best alteration seamstress and would bring it with her when she flew in for the wedding.
“Yeah, the family—rather my Dad and Kayla—aren’t too happy with my dating choices these days,” Courtney replied from inside the dressing room as she fastened the strapless bra she intended to wear underneath the champagne-
colored dress. She pulled the dress over her head and admired herself in the mirror. She looked pretty good for a bridesmaid, she thought. She came out of the dressing room so Gabby could see.
“It looks great,” Gabrielle said, adjusting the bosom of the dress ever so slightly. Courtney had a smaller chest and was not as full figured as Kayla had become since Alexander’s birth and breast-feeding. “What do you think?”
Courtney turned so she could see the back in the three-way mirror. “Looks good to me.”
Gabrielle reached for both of Courtney’s hands and pulled her to the nearby ottoman. “And how are you handling things?” she inquired. “Your family is so close. I can’t imagine you at odds.”
“Neither can I,” Courtney answered honestly. “And I don’t want to cause any disruption to your wedding festivities as they draw closer, but I won’t let Daddy bully me either. He actually forbade me to see Jasper like I was some naive teenager.”
“So I heard, but you’re going to continue dating him, right?”
Courtney nodded. “I am. And no one’s going to stop me.”
Gabrielle smiled broadly. “Good for you. I want you to be as happy as Shane and I are, because if you hadn’t given me a shove and helped me admit my feelings for your brother, I would still be alone and unhappy.” Her almond-
shaped brown eyes misted with tears. “I have you to thank for my new life.”
“I’m so tickled that you’re going to be part of my family, I could just burst.” Courtney smiled, squeezing Gabby’s hand.
“So are we,” Elizabeth and Kayla said in unison from behind the duo. Startled, they both guiltily raised their heads as if they’d been caught in a clandestine conversation.
Gabrielle rose from the ottoman and gave Elizabeth a hug. “So happy you guys could make it. Your dresses are all here and ready for you to try on.” She motioned to the two dresses hanging next to her wedding gown, which she had been waiting to try on until everyone had arrived.
“Did we get the time wrong?” Kayla asked, glancing at her sister, who was already in her bridesmaid’s dress.
Gabrielle shook her head. “No. Courtney and I just needed some alone time. Come.” She grasped Kayla’s arm and pulled her toward the rack.
While they talked, her mother came toward Courtney. “How are you, my darling?” she asked, tucking a wayward strand of Courtney’s hair behind her ear. “You didn’t sleep at home last night.”
“You noticed.”
“You’re my daughter. Of course I notice these things,” Elizabeth replied. “It’s why I want to talk to you. Your father behaved insufferably last night and I’m truly sorry about that. I’ve told him he must apologize at once.”
Courtney wasn’t surprised by her mother’s blunt talk; she had a way of wrapping her father around her little finger. “Mama, I appreciate that, but you know that won’t change anything. Daddy’s never going to accept my dating Andrew’s son.”
“He will have to learn,” Elizabeth stated. “I think you should invite Jasper to dinner with the family.”
“I don’t think that’s a wise idea, Mama. I think it will only cause chaos.”
“I will not have discord in the family and most certainly not because of Andrew. He’s hurt my family enough. Matter of fact, I have a mind to go and talk to him. Give him a piece of my mind.”
“No, no.” Courtney shook her head. “That will only infuriate Daddy. You know he doesn’t even like you near that man. Please just stay out of this.”
“I know,” Elizabeth said regretfully, “it’s just that I feel so helpless. I feel like it’s my fault that Andrew keeps attacking our family. All because of what happened decades ago.”
“It’s not your fault, Mama. And you certainly can’t control that I met and fell for Jasper’s son.”
“Are you saying you love him?” Her mother’s eyes grew large.
Courtney wasn’t ready to admit to herself or her mother that it was love. She doubted she’d ever been in love. Lust, she understood. It was just an animal attraction, but love was another matter entirely. “It has the makings of being serious,” she replied instead.
Elizabeth noticed that her youngest daughter chose her words very carefully. “Hmm...well, sometimes love happens rather quickly. Then again, sometimes it happens over time.”
“Is that how it was with you and Daddy?” Courtney asked.
“Yes, it was slow and gradual. As Andrew and I drifted further apart, Byron and I grew closer. And in time, friendship turned into love.”
“I think Jasper and I kind of did it backward,” Courtney said. “We were hot and heavy at the start, and now I think we could learn a thing or two from you about being friends.”
Elizabeth smiled. “Thirty-six years of marriage and still counting....”
“And that’s my hope for Shane and me,” Gabrielle said, joining the duo with a big smile on her face, “that we can be nearly as happy as you and Mr. Adams have been all these years.”
“We have no doubt you will be,” Elizabeth said cheerily.
Chapter 12
“Son, you don’t have to help with the chores,” Abigail Jackson told Jasper a couple of days later when he stopped by to check in on her.
“I know, Mama,” Jasper replied, setting the tray of tea and sandwiches on her nightstand. “But I offered to help, so it’s no problem.”
“I doubt cleaning out the stables is much fun for you,” she responded. “I can’t remember the last time you got your hands dirty.” Once he’d become successful with his hotel business, Jasper had hired some ranch hands to help her with the farm.
“Well, actually, the last time was a month ago when I met Courtney.”
“Oh, yes.” She chuckled. “When you pretended to be a construction worker.”
“It wasn’t a far stretch.” Jasper laughed with her. “Working summers with Uncle Duke wasn’t easy either.”
“Ah, but think about all the practical knowledge you obtained. Helped you become a brilliant architect and start your own business.”
“I wouldn’t say brilliant, but you’re right. I wouldn’t be where I am today without it.”
“And that’s a good place?�
�� Her voice sounded hopeful.
Jasper smiled. “Yes, the hotel business is going great and Courtney...well, we’re moving in the right direction.”
“Does that mean I’m going to see more of you from now on?” she asked.
Jasper nodded. “Most definitely. Listen, I’m going to go finish up, but I’ll see you in a bit. Eat up.” He inclined his head to the turkey sandwich and tomato soup.
He left the room and bounded down the old wooden stairs, intent on cleaning out the stables and adding some fresh hay and such. He swung open the front door and was surprised to find his father standing on the porch.
Jasper sighed wearily. And he was having such a good day, he thought to himself. “What do you want, Andrew?” He pushed past him so they were standing outside. He didn’t want his mother to get upset and overhear the conversation. Of course, just having Andrew on her property was probably enough to do that.
“I came to see my long-lost son,” Andrew replied, “since you obviously didn’t have any intention of coming to see me.”
“I told you when I left that house that I would never return. I haven’t changed my mind.”
“Jasper, son.” Andrew touched Jasper’s arm. “Don’t you think it’s time we let bygones be bygones? What happened between your mother and me was a long time ago. I’m sure she’s forgiven me by now. Why can’t you?”
“Forgiven you?” Jasper said ruefully. “I highly doubt that. She despises you as I do.”
Hurt etched across Andrew’s face at Jasper’s harsh words. “You can’t mean that,” he said. “I’ve never harmed you. You were given the best I had to offer. You had the best clothes and toys, the finest education...”
“But I didn’t have my mother,” Jasper responded. “You saw to that.”
“Abigail didn’t belong in my world. And she knew it. It was why she left us, left you.”
Jasper pointed a finger at him. “Don’t you dare rewrite history, Andrew! My mother didn’t leave me! She left you because you gave her no choice. You were hung up on Elizabeth Adams. Heck, you still are.”
“You’re wrong about that. In case you hadn’t noticed or heard, I remarried. Blythe and I are quite happy.”
“Is that a fact?” Jasper laughed.
“Don’t you mock me, boy!”
“And don’t you play me for a fool,” Jasper responded. “If you didn’t still love Courtney’s mother, you wouldn’t have started Jax Cosmetics. And you wouldn’t be constantly trying to one-up Byron Adams and his family to prove to Elizabeth that she made the wrong choice.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Andrew said, pacing the porch. But Jasper could see he’d hit the nail on the head.
“Does the truth hit a little too close to home for you, Dad? I think it’s about time someone showed you a mirror and who you’ve become. You’ve spent your entire life living in another man’s shadow. Have you no pride, no self-respect? Get on with your life. Accept the fact that you will never get her back.”
“She was my first love!” Andrew yelled. “You have no idea what it’s been like all these years, watching her marry my best friend, bear his children, start a company with him.”
Jasper stared back at Andrew, stunned by the revelation. It was probably the first honest moment he’d ever had with his father.
“I loved that woman,” Andrew stated wearily. “I loved her more than any other woman before her or since.”
That Jasper knew. His mother had known Andrew didn’t love her. He’d merely married her because she was carrying his son, his heir.
“It was my greatest regret that I let her slip away, that I allowed Byron to sneak his way into her heart. I blame myself. I have for years. I had the best woman in the world, but I was too selfish to know it back then.”
“If you know this, why don’t you just let this vendetta you have against the Adams family go?”
“I can’t and I won’t.” His father shook his head. “Byron deserves to pay for what he did to me. He was supposed to be my friend, but instead he went behind my back and took my woman. The only way I can repay him is to attack the one thing he loves more than Elizabeth or his brood, his company. I know that’s the one thing I can take away from him that will make him hurt the most.”
Jasper was surprised that he actually felt pity for the old man. He was holding on to a grudge that had cost him his pride, dignity, self-respect and ultimately his son. “I’m sorry to hear you say that. I know you’re a smart man, but you must know that going against Adams Cosmetics, which is helmed by Elizabeth’s children, would hurt the lady herself. You know that this will not bring her back and she will despise you.”
His father’s eyes turned to stone. “I realize that. And so be it. If I can’t have her, I will destroy Adams Cosmetics. And you’re in a prime position to help me. With your newfound relationship with the Adams girl, you could get me the intel I need for payback. It’s time you accepted your place in this family.”
Jasper laughed at his father’s delusions. “You’re just as sick and twisted as I remember.” He shook his head in amazement. “If you think I’d ever move a finger to help you, you have another thought coming. After what you did to me? To my mother?”
“Ah yes, your mother.” Andrew looked up to the second floor and laughed devilishly. “I heard she had an untimely fall.”
Jasper watched his father and noticed the glee in his voice at his mother’s situation and cringed inwardly. “How can you get satisfaction from someone else’s distress?” Jasper was horrified. “Get off this land and never come near me or my mother again.”
“I’ll leave when I’m good and ready to,” Andrew said, walking toward him and towering over Jasper. “You may be young and strong, but I can still take you, boy.”
“I don’t doubt you can, but listen to me, because I’m telling you this for the last and final time.” Jasper looked up at his father. “I want nothing to do with you, your little schemes or Jax Cosmetics. I want nothing from you.”
“Then I will disown you,” Andrew stated without missing a beat, “give the money to your stepsister, Monica.”
Jasper shrugged. “Be my guest. She’s been more of a son to you than I’ve ever been.” From what he’d heard, Monica Jackson was desperate for his father’s approval and had no conscience. She would do whatever was necessary to win his praise.
His father glared at him, but Jasper could see behind the glare that he was shaken. He probably assumed that at some point Jasper would get over his anger toward him and eventually rejoin the fold, but he was wrong. Jasper had never felt as though he belonged in Jackson Manor or in his father’s world. He was happier here with his mother on the farm, as he’d always been.
“Do as you wish,” Andrew said, “but know this. If you’re not with me, you’re against me. And as your mother knows, I take no prisoners.” He sauntered off the porch steps and strode toward the limousine that was waiting for him down the path.
A strange sense of dread washed over Jasper because he believed every word that had come out of his father’s mouth. His father now considered him an enemy, which made the situation very dangerous indeed.
* * *
Courtney wasn’t happy when Jasper told her he had to make a return trip to Punta Cana before his first Adams family dinner. He’d had to get back to meet with the second bidder who’d come in after Dorchester Construction. Jasper was trying to get them in place so he could rest easy during Shane and Gabrielle’s wedding festivities. Of course, it meant she would have no time to prepare him for meeting her family. It was going to be a trial by fire.
As she walked into Kayla’s office, Courtney suspected she was not going to be a stranger to trial by fire. They were meeting to discuss Courtney expanding her role at the company. It had been nearly a week since they’d last spoken, which had g
iven them enough space to calm down. However, Courtney knew that the topic of conversation would eventually stray to her boyfriend. But that was okay, because Courtney had a bone to pick with Kayla as well about her reaction to Jasper.
To show her new mature side, Courtney had dressed in a winter-white boatneck dress and bolero jacket. Although she’d toned down her look, she was still fashionably chic.
Her older sister was waiting for her in her office, dressed in a brown multicolored tweed skirt suit that belied her age. Sometimes Courtney wished Kayla was not so stiff, but she knew that she had to dress the part for her position.
“You wanted to see me?” Courtney asked from the doorway.
Kayla smiled and motioned her in. “Yes, come in.”
Closing the door, Courtney walked toward Kayla, who’d come from behind her desk to greet her. They exchanged a customary quick kiss on the cheeks and Courtney followed Kayla’s lead by going to the couch in her office and taking a seat.
“I want you to know that I’ve listened to you and I’ve heard your concerns,” Kayla began. “You’re restless. You want to be more than a spokesmodel. You want a say in the marketing strategy for Adams Cosmetics.”
“All of the above,” Courtney said. “I’m twenty-seven and I’ve had a great run, but it’s time I retired and we find a new spokesmodel. But I would like to be part of the decision-
making process for my replacement.”
“Absolutely,” Kayla replied. “You can take the lead on finding us the right candidate.”
“Great.” Courtney smiled. “So what else?” She needed more.
Kayla continued. “Well, Ethan and I have looked at our marketing and communications department, and since we’ve merged Graham International’s cosmetic division with Adams Cosmetics, there’s definitely room for improvement.”
Formula for Passion Page 12