“Jasper’s kicking butt. He’s probably one of the best players here.” Aside from wanting to talk up Jasper out of loyalty, I wasn’t kidding. I’d far rather watch Jasper than any other player, so that had to count for something.

“He’s all right. Bet he at least adds to his transforming card collection with his points.”

“Yeah,” I said weakly. Crap. If all went well, Jasper wouldn’t be adding to his own collection, and for the first time all day, my stomach rebelled. Funny how hanging out with Jasper calmed me down on more than one level. But now bitterness sloshed around in my gut and made my throat tighten. I didn’t like keeping Jasper from getting something for himself.

Maybe there was something I could do. Something more than simply playing Neptune, which was more about his group. Something for him. It was strange the way he made me want to take care of him. But it wasn’t really a nurturing sort of feeling. Like, I wasn’t turning into my mom. More like I wanted him to ask—to demand something from me, something that only I could give him. Not for the first time, an erotic parade of images danced through my brain. There wasn’t much I didn’t want to give him. He wouldn’t ever ask, of course, but that didn’t stop me from wanting.

“There you are!” Almost like my fevered thoughts had conjured him, Jasper came striding toward us.

“That was fast.” Heck. No way had he pulled out a win that quickly, but I didn’t want to let my disappointment show.

“Yup.” Then Jasper grinned, and I drank in his smile like I was chugging down electrolytes after a two-hour match. I might never get enough of seeing him beam.

“You won?”

“You doubted?”

“Nah.” I went to clap him on the shoulder, but both the memory of earlier and Eugene’s speculative look had me pulling back before I could touch him.

“Liar. And I missed a top-eight finish by five points!” Jasper bounced on his feet, all but dancing. He was so damn excited. And it was for me. It was humbling. I’d spent so much of my life being a selfish ass, while Jasper was the opposite. He did so much for others, and it seemed to genuinely make him happy. But unlike his sister and the kids at the hospital, I wasn’t so sure I was worthy of that much goodness.

“Wow.” I wanted to tell him thank you, but not with an audience. And even those words wouldn’t be enough to describe everything happening in my brain.

“Come on. Let’s go check out the prize wall.” Jasper tugged on my arm before he seemed to realize that we were all but holding hands right there. He dropped his hand, but I didn’t need any enticement to follow him anyway.