And herein lies the major problem.

I am stubborn to a fault and Jasper is kind to a fault.

He knows he messed up, and beyond the few apologies he issued right after we returned, I haven’t heard from him since. I actually really respect that. As much as we normalize fighting for someone, it’s nice to see a man simply taking no for an answer and not pressuring me to change my mind.

Except for the very small detail that I want him to fight for me to change my mind.

“Drew!” Elsie whisper-shouts, aware of her sleeping babies in the room. “You’re ruining this for me! Please let me love you loving Jasper. I need this!”

I’m about to explain to her, once again, that he has to be the one to make the first move, when my email chimes with a notification from an address I’ve never seen before. The subject line reads “Photography Inquiry for Drew Young” and successfully piques my interest.

“Shoot, hold on.” I hold one finger up—something she hates, which is obviously why I do it—and click open the email. And as I start reading, the world that has slowly been rebuilding itself around me since my meeting with Mr. Wilson bursts into a kaleidoscope of color. Possibility and hope spiral back to life, and my feelings for Jasper break through any lingering hurt I had.

“What is it?” Elsie leans out of her seat, trying to sneak a look at my computer screen. “Why does your face look like you just won a million-dollar sweepstakes?”

“Because”—I turn the laptop to face her so she can read the email—“I pretty much did.”

“Oh my god.” She breathes out as her eyes travel down the screen. “Jasper’s publisher wants to pay to use your photographs for the cover of his book.”

She tells me what I already know, since I read the email before her, but my excitement only grows when I hear her confirming that I didn’t make up this entire thing.

“I can’t believe it. He mentioned wanting my picture for his cover, but that was the day I called things off with him. I didn’t think he would still want it.” I gather my mass of curls and twist it into a bun on the crown of my head. “I don’t know what to do. What should I do?”

“Duh, Drew!” she shouts, forgetting about the small humans for a second. “Did you read those books with Jasper?”

I scrunch my eyebrows together, not following at all. “Uh, yeah . . .”