“She didn’t ask, I offered,” I corrected. The last thing I wanted was anyone, even her brother, thinking Reesa wasn’t a strong independent woman.
Jasper raised a brow and said, “Then I’m really glad you are here, because maybe you and I should talk.”
Reesa crossed her arms and said, “I haven’t seen you in almost a year and this is the greeting I get?”
“Of course we’re happy to see you, but you’re the one who showed up with your boyfriend. Did you think I wouldn’t want to get to know him?” Jasper asked.
Boyfriend?
We hadn’t labeled anything. And I couldn’t recall ever calling myself someone’s boyfriend. I could tell Reesa was a bit surprised by Jasper’s comment as well.
“Jasper, I’m not going to be happy if you scare away the only company we’ve had so far,” Alissa said.
He went to his wife and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry, angel.”
Alissa smiled up at him then turned to us. “Why don’t you two sit? The doctor just left and said that Aniya can come stay with us in our room.”
I saw Reesa’s eyes glisten. “That’s wonderful news. I’m so happy for you both.”
“We’ve been able to go see her in the NICU but it’s hard getting around.” She pulled the sheet off her leg and showed her ankle. It was several different shades of purple and extremely swollen. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
“That looks so painful!” Reesa exclaimed.
“It was horrible. I was so worried about the baby, and Jasper, well, let’s just say he wasn’t sure which emergency to deal with.”
“I was very composed during the entire thing,” Jasper stated.
Alissa nodded, then snickered. “That’s why when he was helping me put on clothes to go to the hospital, he put my underwear over my pants.”
Reesa looked at Jasper and burst out laughing. “Hope you’re better at dressing Aniya.”
I could tell Jasper was not amused, so I tried to cut the tension.
“In such high stress situations, you’d be surprised how low on the priority list clothes are. I had one man come in suffering from a heart attack. His wife insisted he get dressed first. When we removed his clothing to examine him, we found he was wearing his wife’s pink thong. He told us it was the closest thing he could find.”
Jasper said, “See. Finn is a doctor and doesn’t find it strange at all.”
I wasn’t going that far, but if it helped, I was glad.
There was a knock on the door and a nurse came in with the baby. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Florraz. Look who has come to stay with you.” The nurse walked over, checking Alissa’s bracelet against Aniya’s before placing Aniya in her arms. “Is there anything you need?”
Alissa and Jasper were too focused on Aniya to even respond. I said, “We will press the call button if they do.”
The nurse left and Reesa walked over to the bed. “She’s…beautiful.”
Alissa smiled. “Do you want to hold her?”
Reesa nodded and Alissa handed her Aniya. I knew Reesa was beautiful, but in that moment, holding her niece, I’d never seen anyone more stunning. And the look on her face said it all.
You want what your brother has. A family of your own.
I was there, sharing this very precious and private moment with them, and it was the first time I wished I had stayed in the car.
There were a lot of decisions to make. First of all, am I accepting the job? But most importantly, where do Reesa and I go from here? We needed to have a serious conversation when we were alone.
You deserve to have everything you want. I just don’t know if I’m the man who can give it to you.