by Lucy Clark
The kiss he pressed to her lips was full of promise, full of hope and most of all full of love. Jennifer leaned back and looked at him, her brain fuzzy from the past few days, filtering something important through it.
‘Did you tell me last night that you loved me?’ she blurted out, and immediately wished she hadn’t. What if he hadn’t? What if she’d simply dreamt that part and Jasper wasn’t at all in love with her? Holding her breath, she waited for his reaction and almost collapsed with relief when his lips twitched into a smile.
‘I did and you promptly fell asleep.’
‘Oh. Sorry. I was tired.’
‘I know.’ He kissed her. ‘Not the most flattering response, I must say.’
Jennifer giggled. ‘Must have brought your ego down a notch or two.’
‘My ego—thank you very much—is just fine and, I’d like to point out, hardly ever elevated or puffed up.’
Jennifer only laughed again.
‘Do you mind?’ he asked softly, all traces of humour vanishing.
‘About?’
‘About me loving you.’ He said the words as though he was unsure of her reception of them.
‘Oh, Jasper.’ Jennifer laced her fingers through his hair, urging his head down so she could show him just how much she didn’t mind. The kiss was long and slow and he was sure, filled with as much love for him as he had for her…but she still didn’t say the words. Perhaps she couldn’t…not until she’d said her goodbyes to her past love.
When they pulled back, both slightly breathless, he rested his forehead against hers. ‘I have to go. Duty calls but I’ll try and get away earlier from clinic so we can go this afternoon.’
‘Go? Go where?’
‘To your park.’
Jennifer watched as he straightened his jacket and took his car keys from his pocket. He was an amazing man, patient, understanding and loving. He was helping her to move on with her life because he understood exactly what it was like. He’d been there and he’d safely traversed the pit of despair to come out the other side.
She had listened to what he’d said and known instantly that he was right but did they have to go so soon? This afternoon? To the park? She could see the determined look in Jasper’s eyes as though he knew exactly what she was thinking. If she prolonged saying goodbye to Art, who knew what she’d miss in the meantime? No. Jasper was right. It had to be this afternoon. It had to be today because she didn’t want to miss one more second of her new life with this man who loved her.
Slowly she nodded. ‘We can go in Miss Chief. The girls love that car as much as I do.’
He pressed his lips to hers again before heading to the door. ‘You’ve got yourself a date, Dr Thorngate.’
The park was the same. Exactly the same. Of course, the trees and shrubs were taller but the play equipment, the layout, the park bench—everything was the same.
‘We’ll leave you to it but call me if you need me,’ he said as the girls tugged him towards the swings.
Jennifer nodded and watched them go. Slowly, she looked at her surroundings, memories flashing before her eyes as she made her way over to the bench. When she looked down at the grass she could imagine Arturo lying there, talking as he pointed to the clouds. A smile touched her lips at the vibrant way he’d always been able to make her feel. Her breathing became deeper as one emotion after another started to swamp her. The smile disappeared and a regretful sadness settled over her heart.
They would have had a great life together. She knew that without a doubt but it had been a life that wasn’t meant to be. A life that didn’t belong to her. Not any more.
She looked over at the play equipment, watching the children having so much fun, her eyes eagerly searching out a tall, dark and handsome man with two blonde cherubs beside him. When she found Jasper and the girls, Jennifer’s breathing began to return to normal and to her surprise and delight, when she looked at him, she became filled with that same sense of vibrance she used to get from Arturo.
Her past was her past.
Jasper and the girls were her future.
He looked over at her then and she smiled and waved. Jasper settled the girls in the sandpit before striding towards her.
‘OK?’
‘Yes.’ The word was soft but full of determination.
He didn’t say anything else but came and sat beside her, lacing his fingers through hers. They sat there for a while in silence, watching the girls playing happily together. Finally, it was Jennifer who broke the silence.
‘I love your girls, Jasper.’
He smiled. ‘They’re pretty special. They have a way, through their innocence, to help us to breathe, to have fun, to laugh and enjoy life.’ He shifted and placed his arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer. ‘This world isn’t done with you, Jennifer Thorngate. There’s still so much you need to accomplish and whatever your goals are, whatever it is that you feel you need to do, I’ll be right there beside you, supporting you every step of the way. And the girls will be there, too. My parents adore you, the girls can’t stop talking about you, and I can’t stop thinking about you, loving you.’ He kissed her.
‘Keep the memories,’ he continued. ‘No one wants to take them away from you but they’re snapshots, Jen. Snapshots of another part of your life, another time, another place. We grow, we progress, we change. It’s been happening since the moment of creation. You’ve grown, you’ve progressed and you’ve changed. Embrace it.’
Jennifer looked up at him with all of the love in her heart. ‘I intend to. Thank you for bringing me here, Jasper. Thank you for sharing your family with me, for being there for me and helping me through.’ She held his gaze but swallowed, knowing she needed to continue, knowing she needed to tell him how she felt, even though she was apprehensive.
‘Thank you for loving me.’ Her voice was so choked with emotion that it dropped to a whisper. She swallowed, her heart pounding wildly against her ribs as she licked her lips. ‘And because you love me, because of everything you and the girls have done…Jasper…I’ve fallen in love with you, too.’
‘You have?’ He’d known, he was sure he’d felt it, but there was always that tiny little part of him that doubted and now, that tiny little part had been swept away with her declaration.
‘Yes.’ She laughed through her emotion, relief mixed with passion flooding her as he gathered her close and pressed his mouth to hers. When he pulled away, he looked at her, unable to believe how incredibly happy he was. He looked over to where his girls were supposed to be playing in the sandpit but instead they were running towards them. He let go of Jennifer momentarily to scoop his daughters up, Lilly sitting on Jennifer’s knee and Lola on his own. He held his girls—all three of them—in his arms but his eyes were intent on Jennifer’s.
‘You’ll marry me?’
Jennifer looked from Lola to Lilly and then back to their daddy. ‘Yes.’
‘You going to marry our daddy?’ Lola asked, her eyes widening in surprise.
‘You going to be our new mummy?’ Lilly asked, equally as surprised.
‘Yes. Yes.’ Jennifer laughed and kissed both girls before kissing their father again.
‘And you’ll have a big wedding?’ Lilly asked.
‘Yes.’ Jasper answered.
‘And in the church and have the party and everything?’ Lola was starting to wriggle with delight.
‘Yes. Everything.’
The girls looked at each other with glee. ‘Finally,’ they said in unison.
‘Finally, what?’ Jasper asked, a little astonished at his daughters’ perceptiveness.
‘Finally we get to walk down the aisle!’ Both girls clapped their hands before running off to the slippery-slide, more than happy to leave their father to kiss their new mother once again.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-3622-0
A MOTHER FOR HIS TWINS
First North American Publication 2009
Copyright © 2009 by Lucy Clark
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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