Erica’s POV
My gaze was long and hard. He stepped out of his car and I was immediately filled with the urge to slap him across his face.
His golden eyes still had their mesmerizing hue. They were probably the only thing stopping me from carrying out my planthat and my weak throbbing leg.
“Erica?”
“No! I don’t want to hear any of it!”
I turned to walk away, or rather, limp away. I could feel his eyes on me but I couldn’t care less.
“Erica!”
He called after me but I ignored him and continued to walk, grabbing a shopping trolley and heading into the store. That bastard had better not follow me inside.
Too late.
I heard hurried footsteps and soon, he was walking beside me with a trolley of his own.
“Erica, we need to talk.”
“Actually, I think otherwise. Stay away from me, Jasper.”
I had never thought that I would miss the full use of my legs right now. I wanted to run away, as far away as I could, probably lose him in the store and while he’s disoriented, I’d slip out and go to a different store.
“Erica, please.”
“What do you want, Jasper? What else do you possibly want to tell me?”
My voice was slightly irritated and was just a few octaves below being an audible yell for everyone to hear.
I walked on without looking at him. Those honey-golden eyes of his had a way of dissipating anger and filling a room with warmth. I wasn’t going to look at him.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you were mated to Clarissa?”
“Why didn’t you tell me that you were engaged?”
I was immediately offended and had to turn to him in shock.
“I said that it was complicated…”
“Well, people in complicated relationships don’t usually get married so soon. And besides, how was I supposed to know that the Erica Clarissa was talking about was you?”
My anger simmered down. He made a fair point. But I was too stubborn to accept it. I was grasping at the fibers of anger that I had left before his very reasonable logic stole them away.
“You could have at least mentioned something, Jasper. At least have given me a heads up so that last night wouldn’t have been like a shock to me.”
I was failing. My fury was slipping away.
“I’m sorry I didn’t give you some kind of closure, but we are business people and we don’t bring our private matters into our work. I would have mentioned something about Clarissa but you dismissed my question about your love life ans and I decided not to regale you with mine.”
I sighed. My voice was quieter.
“You tried to kiss me…”
“A lapse in judgment on my part. I assure you that it won’t happen again.”
My heart sank deeper.
“And the things you said about me…”
“All true. I never regretted anything I said to you that night. Me being with another woman doesn’t stop me from giving someone I see is worthy, their due respect and my sincere compliments.”
I smiled and was finally aware of my surroundings. My eyes were wide open in shock. We had been walking for so long that we found ourselves in the timber and woodwork aisle that was at the far back of the store.
I couldn’t help but smile. My eyes had caught his golden ones. That warm feeling was settling in again.
“Well, here we are. Are you looking to buy some power tools or perhaps, some wood?”
He gave a light chuckle. For the first time since I got up, I felt relaxed. I couldn’t even feel my worries.
“Come on, let’s get back to the proper aisle.”
We head back slowly and I catch him glancing at my leg.
I felt my heart skip a beat.
“Might I ask what happened to your leg?”
I exhaled. Was I really going to tell him the long or short version?
“I had a car accident…”
Jasper raised an eyebrow; I could feel myself being slowly backed into a corner.
“Really? And it hasn’t healed up yet?”
I was silent. I had no way to defend this.
“Erica, I’m pulling down the business curtains since they are what got us into the first predicament”
We stopped at the food aisle and I grabbed a few items.
“Erica,”
He called me in a tone that was similar to my father calling me when I was in trouble.
“I need the truth what’s going on? With you, your leg, everything. We are friends now and if something is bothering you, I want to know so that I can help.”
I bit my tongue and threw in several packets of pasta.
“Erica?”
“Alright, this is what’s going on…”
************************************
We got outside and I put my shopping in my car. Jasper stared at me and had his arms folded across his chest. He was deep in thought. Had what I said thrown him off?
“Let me get this straight,” he said finally. “Dante is your mate and Lorenzo isn’t. Dante abandoned you six years ago and now he wants you back. You still have feelings for him but because of your past, you are unwilling to give him a second chance and Lorenzo was with you when you were struggling but you don’t truly love him. Also, you feel Hazan is after you and sent an assassin after you. You were shot with wolfsbane-tipped bullets and your wolf is weak so you can’t heal so fast.”
I nod.
“Yep. That’s the gist of it.”
Jasper was silent. All he could manage was a deep exhale as he leaned against the side of his car.
“That is a real tough story. I had never thought that someone as quiet as you could have so much going on in their life and yet, not make a fuss about it.”
I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or words of sympathy but I said nothing and leaned against the car alongside him.
The silence that hung between us was thin and I felt empathy in the way he looked at me. I almost forgot how soothing being around him could be.
“So what are you going to do now?”
I shrugged.
“Honestly, I don’t know. But I guess that I am getting married on Saturday. I can’t go back to Dante, Jasper. My father would be crushed. I can do that to him. I owe Lorenzo everything…”
“Erica, you owe no one anything. Not your father, not Lorenzo. The only person you owe anything is yourself.”
I look up at him and his golden eyes are baring down at me intensively.
“Are you saying that I should go back to Dante?”
“What I am saying is that you should follow your heart, Erica. You shouldn’t let Dante, your father, or anyone influence what you do. You are an adult. You have done your part for each of them. You have been a wonderful daughter to your father, he is proud of you enough, you gave Dante his chance when he had you, and Lorenzo has been under your care. You don’t owe any of them…”
He turned to face me and I felt the powerful change in the atmosphere. His warm presence seemed tough and imposing.
“… Erica, I need to know what you are going to do. What have you decided? What do you want for yourself? What is your heart telling you?”
I fall silent and my head drops. I look at the ground and stare at a leaf that is blown gently past my feet by the breeze.
“Erica?”
“I don’t know, Jasper.”
I raise my head and look at Jasper with teary eyes.
“I don’t know…”