If he hadn’t already snagged my heart earlier, he’d have it now. All his. His belief in me, his absolute trust, meant the world to me. I only hoped I could find it in me to trust him, trust us, half as much as he trusted me. And I didn’t want to let him down either. My hands shook as I pulled him close. I wanted to make all his dreams come true and just hoped I was up to the task.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Milo

“I don’t want to ever let you down.” Jasper was way too serious for a guy about to get lucky.

“You won’t.” I matched his somber tone. And I truly believed that. He wasn’t the type to maliciously fail me or to stop trying. He cared, and the fact that he’d slowed down enough to talk about this was proof.

“You’re awfully sure of that.” Jasper bumped shoulders with me, still not back to the kissing and joking mood we’d been in before. The music was slow and nostalgic, which made me more relaxed and talkative than was maybe wise.

“I am. And I’m the one who let you down. You…you’re the most reliable, generous person I’ve ever known.” I wasn’t sure whether I could ever apologize enough, and my stomach churned with worries that never totally went away.

“You can’t keep beating yourself up for past mistakes.” Jasper squeezed my hand. Yup, kind and generous to a fault. “You were really brave tonight. That matters. And I want us to move on. Forward. Together.”

“Together,” I echoed before kissing him, putting all my surging emotions into it, all the things I didn’t even have words for. I meant what I’d said at the ball. I wanted an us, however scary and unlikely that concept might be.

We tumbled backward on the bed, kissing for long moments, before I finally pulled away to catch my breath.

“We’re gonna ruin our costumes.” I laughed as I grabbed for my backpack and retrieved the things I’d bought with flaming cheeks at the store earlier that day.

Jasper made fast work of removing his costume down to his boxer briefs, and my body took notice of all his creamy skin and adorable freckles. I was down with anything that got us horizontal again fast, but I still carefully stripped off my toga and set it on the chair with our coats, loving how Jasper watched my every move like a kid waiting for an ice cream cone.

“You really want to do this? I’m totally good with what we’ve been doing,” Jasper said as I climbed back onto the bed.