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“My mother won an all-expense paid, five-star beach vacation in one of those women’s magazine raffles,” Jasper said, collecting himself.
“And my father had finally decided to deal with the death of my mother. He took a much-needed break from work. The first vacation he’d taken since I was born. He saw Selene lounging by the pool, and the rest was history.”
“Not many people are lucky to find love twice,” Mark said, his gray eyes and gray hair populating the rearview mirror again.
“My father wasn’t an easy man to love, Mark. I’d only known him to be broken, and that I was the one who’d broken him. He was dedicated to his job, and spent most of my childhood running away from me.”Running away from the reminder.“Selene made him worth loving, though. He tried for her sake. She was his everything.” I regretted speaking the honest words the instant Jasper pulled away from me; but then seeming to understand he wasn’t the only one entitled to pain, he slid his palm back under the coat and retook my hand.
“Should we tell him about the apple picking incident?” I asked Jasper, changing the subject. Willing to say and do anything to bring a smile—or in this case a grimace—to his face. Mark looked intrigued.
“Let’s just say I used to love green apples, and now I don’t.” He shivered from the memory of eating so many of them at the orchard that he’d puked all over my father’s new car the whole ride home.
We arrived at the tree farm and spent about an hour debating over what size tree to purchase.
“We don’t need something that big for just the two of us,” Jasper argued when I pointed to a twelve-foot stunner. It warmed my heart to hear him consider the tree ours, even if it was said without thought. Maybe it meant I’d get him for Christmas, that he’d carve out some time for me. He’d mentioned spending his last couple Christmases with Daniel’s family. Maybe this year it’d be him and me.Ourfamily.
“Doesn’t matter. I saw the way your eyes gleamed when you spotted it. It’s an exact replica of the one we had that first Christmas together. We’re getting it.” I waved an attendant over to assist, stealing a side-glance at Jasper, fully expecting a scowl but finding whimsy instead as he stepped closer to the tree.
“Will this fit?” he asked, staring adoringly at the tall fir.
“Have you seen my ceilings?” I asked.
“Well what about the elevator?”
“We’ll make it work.” I wasn’t leaving there without that tree. If it would’ve taken a crane to get it through the penthouse windows, so be it.
We helped Mark strap the whopper to the roof of the SUV, and then we were off. I’d had the concierge send one of their shoppers out for decorations, so we drove straight home and spent the rest of the evening decorating, making the penthouse a home for the holidays.
Jasper sat on the floor of the living room, staring up at the lit tree. Between its golden sparkle and the city lights filtering in through the wall of windows, we didn’t need the interior lights on at all.
I left the room and returned with a wrapped present, sitting in front of him and handing it off after he’d pushed up from his palms and secured his hair into a bun. “Figured it didn’t make sense putting this under the tree with you around. Open it.”
“You could have hidden it until Christmas,” he said, all while snatching it from me and ripping the silver paper to shreds. I chuckled, carding a rogue curl behind his ear.
“What is this?” he asked, turning the framed document right side up.
“It’s a patent for this piece of technology,” I said, producing a glass encased t-shaped object the size of a jellybean from my pocket. “This is going to help us succeed in making the artificial heart something close to permanent, not transitional. One that can sustain the host’s life well beyond a handful of years.”
“Stupid question, but we’re not talking about immortality, are we?”
“No, it’s not meant to last forever, a transplant will still ultimately be needed, but it provides the recipient more time. And it will allow for a relatively normal existence in the interim. And with any luck, anyone in need will be a candidate.” Selene hadn’t been a good candidate for what had currently been on the market.
“Will it work?” he whispered, daring to hope.
“We have the largest laboratory, top scientists, and engineers in the country who all believe it’s possible.”
“How long will it take?”
“Time,” I admitted, regretfully. “Things like this take time. Right now all we have is the design and the technology to make it happen. And hopefully I’ll get the call from Daniel or my team shortly telling me the necessary paperwork has been signed to get the prototype underway. There will be trial and error, and a lot of red tape to go through before getting the final product approved for testing. It’ll be worth the wait, though.”
“Thank you,” he said.
“It’s only a copy—”
“I’m not thanking you for the document, Cole.”
I nodded. “Where will you hang it?”
“Maybe in my office,” he said, chewing on his lower lip.
