CHAPTER 7

Jasper had already been gone when I woke up on Sunday morning, and there was a glass of water and painkillers waiting for me on my nightstand along with a note saying he had to leave to check animals. Head throbbing, I sat up and carefully picked up the water and medicine, trying to think of the last thing I could remember from the night before, which was overhearing the conversation between Edward and Jasper when I was in between consciousness and then him bringing me to bed.

I spent the day in my apartment trying to recover from the worst hangover I could ever remember having, and I didn't feel completely back to normal until Tuesday. Thankfully, the week at work was slow, and we got out on Thursday for Christmas break. I spent the next two days until Christmas Eve wrapping presents and baking cookies to bring to my parents' house for Christmas day.

Christmas Eve was usually pretty lonely for me the past few years. My family didn't have any get-togethers, and Rosalie and Tanya were usually with their significant other's respective families. It left me at the house by myself, drinking spiked coffee and watching cheesy holiday rom-coms all day.

However, that wasn't acceptable this year, and when I even mentioned it being "the usual" on my end this year for Christmas Eve, Rosalie and Tanya had looked at me like I had grown a third head. They didn't say anything to me about it, but the next day, Jasper called me and told me his sisters had chewed him out for nearly two hours for not having any plans with me for Christmas Eve. And so the hurricanes had decided for us: Jasper and I would be waiting for Santa together on Christmas Eve.

I pulled up to Jasper's house in the early afternoon on Christmas Eve, feeling a little nervous. I still had no idea what happened that night at my house when he stayed there, but he had been extra smug lately. That worried me immensely.

When I got there, I decided to give him a taste of his own medicine and walked in unannounced, trying to be as quiet as possible. I quietly slipped in through the front door, set the dish of cookies I'd made on the entryway table, and tiptoed down the hallway into the large, open living area.

Jasper was sitting on the couch reading when I saw him. The fireplace was on, and even though he hadn't decorated for the holidays aside from a singular stocking hanging from the mantle, I couldn't help but admit that this was the type of house that felt extra cozy on the holidays. I almost felt bad for ruining his peace and quiet time. Almost.

Carefully, I walked up behind him and quickly wrapped my arms around his neck. "You really shouldn't leave your door unlocked." I said in his ear.

"Son of a…" Jasper lurched forward and then turned his body around to face me.

I giggled. "Merry Christmas."

He clutched his chest, still breathing heavily. "You better sleep with an eye open tonight, woman. Fuckin' hell."

I smiled sweetly and hopped over the back of the sofa to sit next to him. "Whatcha reading?"

Jasper sighed and got comfortable in his spot again. "It's about World War II."

"Oh, Pa-Paw." I teased, laughing, as I pulled out my crochet needle and yarn from my bag.

"You're one to talk." He said, eyeing the needle in my hand.

I rolled my eyes and got to work on the row of stitches I had been working on. "Crocheting is cool again. Ask all the hipsters."

"If the hipsters are doing it, it's not cool, darlin'." He chuckled, looking back down at his book.

I giggled and looked over at him. "Ya know, cowboys and the whole western thing is really in right now, too."

"Yeah, don't fuckin' remind me." He grumbled. "If I see one more frat boy in a fucking Prius get out of his car in a pair of boots and brand new Wranglers, I'm gonna run my truck off a cliff."

I laughed. "So judgemental." Dally jumped up onto the sofa just then and hopped up to lay on the backrest behind me, resting her snout near my shoulder as I worked. "Does she always do that?" I asked.

Jasper looked over at the dog and then back down to his book, nodding. "Yep."

I turned and kissed the side of her head before looking back down at what I was doing. "Freakin' adorable."

Jasper laughed softly but kept reading.

And that's how we stayed for the next two hours until my fingers started to get stiff from the stitches I was making. When I put my needle and yarn back in my bag, I turned to Jasper, watching him expectantly.

He raised his gaze up to me, never fully lifting his head, and smirked before looking back down at the page he was on. "Are you bored?"

"Yes."

"Give me a second."

"Okay." I replied.

He finished the page he was on, marked his place, and then shut the book. He put the book on the side table next to the sofa. "What would make you not-bored?"

I shrugged.

He grinned and got up to his feet. "Come on." He held out his hand to me, and I took it gingerly, wondering what his plan was. He led me outside to his truck and then opened the passenger door for me.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

He shrugged. "We'll figure it out when we want to stop."

I looked at him, confused, as he shut the door and then walked around to the driver's side. "So you're just gonna drive to nowhere?" I asked once he was inside and had started the truck.

"Yeah, why not?"

My brows furrowed. "It's Christmas Eve. What do you expect to find that we can do?"

"I don't know. We'll go look at Christmas lights in the rich neighborhoods or somethin'. We'll figure it out." He said as he pulled out of his driveway and onto the main road.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"How often do you go on trips and not know exactly where you're gonna end up?"

"'Bout a quarter of the time, probably."

"But… what if there's no hotels when you wanna stop? What if you run out of gas? Jasper, what do you mean? You really just get in the truck and drive?"

He looked over at me, smirking. "Spontaneity isn't much your thing, is it?"

"No, not really."

"Be honest. How many calendars do you have?"

I blushed, avoiding his eyes. "I don't know. A normal amount. Why do you ask?" I mumbled.

He chuckled. "I have one. On my phone. And something tells me that you have about twelve."

"No, I only have four."

"You have four calendars? Bella, that's obsessive."

"It is not. I need to stay organized. One planner is just for my school stuff. One planner is for personal and professional. Then, I have a big calendar on my desk that I jot down my little notes and reminders on. And then I have a weekly one with my to-do list for each day."

Jasper looked over at me, wide-eyed. "You're doing too much, babe."

"What if I forget something, though? I need to be thorough."

He took his phone from his pocket and tossed it in my lap. "You can be thorough and not have to take three hours of your day just to write down one event."

I narrowed my eyes at him and then opened the calendar on his phone. It was extremely thorough and detailed. "There's no color coordination or cute motivational little stickers reminding me that it's okay that life sucks because I'm still gonna get my shit done." I criticized.

He smirked. "If you need motivational stickers to get you through the day, you don't need another calendar. You need a different day job."

"Well not all of us inherited a fifth generation family business, Jas." I laughed. "What do you expect me to do? I don't see myself doing anything else." I admitted.

"There's nothing else you'd think you'd be happier doing?"

I turned my body to face him, leaning against the backrest. "Well, yeah, but it's not work."

"Well, what is it?"

"I don't know. Just anything I wanted, I guess. Pick up a bunch of hobbies I've always wanted to try. Get a dog. Travel. Have a cute little house to decorate and redecorate over and over again. Just really random stuff. It doesn't seem like much, but life moves so fast sometimes that even the little stuff ends up being a luxury, ya know?" I explained, meeting Jasper's stormy eyes for a moment before he stared back at the road.

He seemed to be deep in thought as he considered what I said. "I think you take life a little too seriously, babe."

"We only get one, cowboy. It's kinda hard not to."

"Exactly. You only get one. I'm not saying you should just up and quit your job. Just don't waste the quality time you get with yourself."

I tilted my head at him, thinking about what he said. "Have you always been this insightful?"

He shrugged. "Eh, I guess. But the philosophy degree definitely helped."

"Your degree is in philosophy?"

He nodded. "Well, I double majored in philosophy and agronomy in undergrad. And I have a master's in folklore."

"You're fuckin' with me." I accused.

"I promise you, I'm not."

"How did I not know this?" I asked.

"I don't know. You were probably too busy organizing your calendars to come to my graduations." He said, grinning crookedly.

I hit his bicep. "You wanna go, Whitlock? I'll beat your ass."

"Let's go, baby doll. I'll pull over right now." He challenged.

I giggled. "Nah. I don't wanna leave Dally fatherless."

He smirked. "Oh, okay."

"Jasper?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you." I didn't really know what I was thanking him for exactly–if it was for the advice he just gave me or keeping me entertained today or helping me with trying to destroy my brother's engagement. I just felt like I needed to tell him, and I felt like there was a whole lot more that I needed to say other than just thank you. But it worked for now.

His voice was soft and low. "You're welcome, darlin'."

We ended up riding around for the next two hours and looking at Christmas lights until we got hungry. When we got back to Jasper's house, he made dinner, and we sat in the living room to eat while we watched a movie. After I finished eating, I settled in to get more comfortable on the sofa.

I hardly paid attention to what was playing on the television. Instead, I watched the flames in the fireplace and thought about how Christmas Day would go tomorrow. We'd go to my parents' house through the early afternoon and then to Jasper's parents. We'd spend the entire holiday lying, and for some reason or another, it seemed to be weighing extra heavily on my chest tonight.

I felt awful. Not to mention that the only reason we had gotten into this mess was because I was shoving my nose into something it didn't really belong in. And yet again, I questioned whether or not we really should've been doing this. Was getting Garrett to break up Victoria really the best answer in this situation?

Maybe she had changed. Maybe that's why they finally set a date. Maybe she finally woke up and realized that she was being crazy and had a really good man in front of her to settle down with.

But maybe she hadn't changed at all. But what was her endgame here? Why bring Garrett down with her in whatever messed up scheme she was concocting and weaving?

I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't even noticed when Jasper had gotten up and was trying to get my attention until I felt his hand on my shoulder. I jumped in startelement and looked over my shoulder at him.

"What?" I asked.

"Do you want anything to drink?" He asked, laughing a little.

"Oh… um, coffee?" I asked.

He nodded and went into the kitchen. A few minutes later, I heard the coffee start to drip in the pot, and Jasper came back to lean on his elbows on the back of the sofa. "You're unusually quiet tonight." He commented.

I sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"We're goin' to hell, aren't we?" I asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that we're trying to break up a relationship and lying to everyone we know in the process." I said.

"Well, do you want a clean conscience or do you want Victoria gone for good?"

"I want both." I whined.

He chuckled. "I'm not sure both are possible right now, Bella."

I pursed my lips. "Maybe they are."

"How?"

"Okay, just hear me out." I stated.

"I don't like how you said that." He replied warily.

"Just listen. What if we can end this all tomorrow? All you have to do is try to seduce Victoria."

He stood up straight. "Absolutely not."

I sat up and turned my body toward him. "You don't have to actually sleep with her, Jasper. But she obviously has low enough morals to sleep with someone else's boyfriend. Just flirt with her a little. See if she reciprocates."

"Isabella, my sweet ray of fucking sunshine, you're not thinking clearly. Now, I see that crazy look in your eye, but just hol' on a minute and listen to me, aight?" He said, his hazel eyes trying to meet mine. I narrowed mine and met his gaze begrudgingly. Satisfied that I was listening, he continued, "First of all, Victoria knows that I'm the one that outed her to your brother when she cheated with Tyler. She'll see right through the act. Second of all, I don't think your brother is going to take me flirting with his fiancée very well, regardless of the motive. Third of all, it's Christmas. There will be no sabotage on Christmas."

I groaned. "Please, Jas. Sometimes you just gotta take one for the team, ya know? For the greater good."

He shook his head and went into the kitchen, and I stood up and followed him. He poured a mug of coffee and handed it to me. "No. Now, woman, you drink your coffee and forget you ever had this plan."

I sighed. "Fine." I said and went to get the milk from the fridge.

He let out a breath and poured himself a cup of coffee.

I made my coffee and then jumped up to sit on the counter. "... Ya sure?"

He shot me a look. "No, ma'am."

"So no sabotage on Christmas?" I asked. "Like not even a little bit? I can't even trip her on the way to the bathroom or anything?"

"Bella… it's Christmas." He said it as if it were obvious, his eyes nearly pleading for me to drop it.

I smiled a little. "You really like the holidays, huh?"

"What's not to like?" He asked.

I shrugged, laughing. "Why didn't you decorate more?"

"I don't know. Just didn't feel like I needed to."

"You needed to."

"Did I now?"

I nodded. "It's not Christmas without a tree. Where's Santa going to put our presents tonight?"

"I guess you'll just have to find out in the mornin', won't you?"

"What?" I laughed.

He smirked and leaned over to kiss my cheek. "Guest room bed's turned down whenever ya get tired. I'm headed to bed." He picked his mug up off the counter and then walked down the hall to his room. Dally hopped down from the sofa and trotted off after him.

I watched him walk away, wondering what he had up his sleeve before shaking my head and getting down from the counter.

I guess I'll find out in the morning.

~ SUNSHINE ~

It was raining when I woke up the next morning. It wasn't the nice, fluffy white snow I had dreamed about, but in South Louisiana, that hadn't been likely to happen anyway.

I checked the time on my phone, and it was only six thirty. Still, I felt well rested enough and got out of bed. I hadn't forgotten what Jasper said last night, and my curiosity was still piqued.

Nothing looked different when I walked out of the guest room and made my way towards the main living area. There was already coffee on in the kitchen, and I poured myself a cup before going into the living room and curling up on the big armchair by the fireplace. It wasn't lit, but still, in the dim, early morning light, there was something so comfortable about the moment. And for a while, I could see myself doing this every Saturday morning. I'd want to cozy up the space just a little bit more with some plants and extra throw pillows and blankets, but there was real potential here.

I had just finished redesigning the entire living room in my head when I realized what I was doing, and I immediately sat up straighter, trying to get less comfortable. Dally had been sitting at the top of my chair, and my abrupt movement caused her to hop down and stretch while she looked at me with an expression that almost seemed annoyed.

"Don't look at me like that." I huffed quietly.

More time passed, and at about eight, the backdoor in the kitchen opened, and I turned to see Jasper walking in, bundled up in a hoodie and thick flannel jacket. He took his hat and jacket off and hung them up on the rack, kicked his boots off, and then walked into the kitchen. He wordlessly put his thermos in the sink and then made a fresh mug of coffee before turning towards the living room.

He jumped a little when he saw me. "Fuck… I kinda forgot you were here." He admitted.

"The nerve." I snapped playfully.

He took a sip of his coffee and walked into the living room. "Maybe forget is the wrong word. Just didn't expect you to be up yet." He sat on the arm of the sofa closest to me.

"How's the weather?" I asked, taking in his damp hair and the rain drops on his hoodie.

"Shitty." He replied and then smirked at me mischievously, his eyes gleaming. "Could really go for some sunshine, ya know?" He winked.

I blushed, slightly speechless, and quickly took a sip of my coffee before I found my words and could say anything that would get me in trouble. "You're awful." I muttered, still hiding behind my coffee cup.

His smirk never wavered. "I guess that's why you got a present last night, and I didn't, huh?"

I eyed him suspiciously. "What are you talking about, Whitlock?"

He didn't say anything. His eyes only moved to the mantle of the fireplace and then back at me.

"What?"

He looked pointedly at the fireplace again.

I looked at him questioningly for a moment longer before turning to look at the mantle. Nothing looked different or out of place since I had come yesterday. "What are you looking at?"

"Jesus Christ." He muttered through a chuckle. "If there's no tree, where else would there be a present, Bella?"

I perked up. "Is there something in the stocking?"

"I think I've given you enough hints at this point."

I pursed my lips to the side, trying to keep my giddy smile at bay. "I didn't get you anything, though."

"It's fine, Bella." Jasper assured me.

"But I feel bad."

"If you don't go open it in the next eight seconds, I'm givin' it to Dally." He threatened.

"So it's something a dog could use?" I questioned.

"Isabella."

I hopped up out of the chair and put my mug down on the coffee table. "Okay, okay." I said and walked over to the stocking on the mantle. I got up on my tip toes and reached in to grab whatever was inside. I pulled out a small wrapped box. It was shaped like something familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on exactly what it reminded me of.

I walked over to the sofa and sat down on the cushion next to where Japer was perched on the arm before apprehensively unwrapping the gift. When I unwrapped the box, I realized what it was and looked up at Jasper. "Is this what I think it is?" I asked nervously.

He laughed. "Do you honestly think I'd give you a belt buckle? It's the only box I had on hand." He explained.

I let out a sigh of relief and took the lid off of the box. Inside was a sheer organza bag that held a ring with a chunky, pear shaped blue turquoise stone. I turned to Jasper in surprise, and he smirked.

"Don't look at me like that. You wear at least six rings a day anyway, and it's not even solid gold. I just saw it and thought of you."

I bit my lip, somewhat sheepish, and took the ring out of the bag. I slipped it on my right hand pointer finger, where it fit perfectly.

"When'd you get it?" I asked softly, keeping my eyes focused on the ring.

His voice was surprised. "Oh, um… I don't remember exactly. October, maybe? I was in Fort Worth."

Something about his answer made my throat tight. He went to Fort Worth even before we decided to get into this plan, much less pretending to be a couple. He shopped for everyone else a week before Christmas, but he saw something for me in October?

Oh, I've been being a real bitch to him, haven't I? I bit my lip, feeling the guilt wash over me. After all this man had done for me through the years, I was here purposely hurting him because I was afraid? I didn't even know what I was afraid of anymore. I just knew that I had wasted too much time keeping him at arm's length.

"You like it?" He asked softly, breaking me from my thoughts.

I nodded, still not looking up at him. After a few moments, I looked back over at him, and he was watching me with pensive eyes. My next movements were slow enough to feel like they took years but still quick enough to happen before I lost my nerve. I gently tossed the empty box on the coffee table and then stood up in front of Jasper.

His stormy eyes were still watching my every move. My hands went up to either side of his face, resting against his scruffy jaw.

"I think now's the time for that conversation, cowboy." I whispered.

His eyes widened only slightly before his free arm snaked around my waist and his lips crashed against mine.

A/N Where have I been? Well a beautiful belated honeymoon spent tasting bourbon in Kentucky and then coming to the realization my dream job is not my dream job at all and questioning all of my life decisions. It's been hectic and emotional over here, but here's chapter 7 finally. Let me know what you think, bebs.