Whirlwind

(47) third proposal

LIBBY

***

I surprised Jasper... which I was ecstatic about. And his reaction was perfect.

When I landed and turned on my phone, I had about twenty missed calls from him in the space of two hours, so I figured something might have been wrong. The first call had been at two his time, so maybe he'd started having nightmares again. I rang him back but his phone rang out. I rang four times and then texted him, figuring he probably went back to sleep.

I got through security pretty quickly, and then there was a car waiting for me that Lori promised she'd booked. He greeted me as Eddie and took my bags before leading me to a black Range Rover.

The ride from the airport wasn't too long, and soon I was at the hotel. I didn't have a room, figuring I'd be in Jasper's, so instead of waiting around for him to see me, I headed out to the city and went to grab some food.

After another hour he finally rang me back. He sounded odd on the phone, but he assured me he was fine. Unfortunately my phone battery died before I could talk to him properly but at least I vaguely knew my way back to the hotel.

When I got there, Lori had a ticket waiting for me so I grabbed it and took a look around before joining the queue for his book. The line was massive, and after half an hour he finally arrived to a chorus of whoops. He looked so handsome in his button blue shirt and black jeans I was tempted to run at him then and there, but I couldn't ruin my own surprise.

When I got close to the front, I could hear him getting moody, and I couldn't help but laugh. He shouted at me for giggling, not realising who I was, so I could see what Lori was talking about when she said he'd been grumpy. I was going to joke that he wasn't himself, but the truth was whenever he was like that, that was him reverting back to who he used to be. And although he wasn't a terrible person, Jasper hated being that version of himself more than anything, because he knew he could be better. Especially when he was with me. I think that's why he hadn't wanted me to read his book.

But then when the woman in front gave me her phone and stood behind him, so they could take a picture. He even offered that time. But when he saw me, his face lit up like a Christmas tree. He was the smiling bright and bubbly version of Jasper, who I love equally to grumpy Jasper. I only had time to take one picture before he shot across the table and next thing I knew I was being spun around in his arms and his lips were on mine. I think he may have even been a blur in that photo... but I didn't have time to fix it. After a few pleasantries he threw me over his shoulder and took me up to the room and had his way with me... and I him.

But never was I expecting him to say what he just said.

"Baby?" He nudges, stroking his index finger up my arm.

"Yeah I heard. Oh my god, Jasper... where did that come from?" I say it incredulously but I shouldn't really be surprised. And to be honest I was tempted to.

I'd been trying to plan it for the best part of six months, and not getting anywhere with it. We didn't even have a date yet and we had to be married within a year of him moving to the UK.

"How easy is it to just get married anyway?"

He grins. "Not sure. I've never tried." He laughs at his own joke and it's a beautiful sound.

"You know what I mean," I giggle again whilst swatting his chest. Again.

"Would you want to though?" He asks, his face serious for a second. "I know you want the big wedding and the dress and stuff."