Chapter Twenty-Five

"Alexis, do you need help with anything else?" Daisy asks as she grabs a plate filled with baked potatoes.

"Nope, I"m coming up behind you with the toppings for what you"re carrying. We should be good. Kara, are you bringing the sides?"

"Got "em," Kara"s voice carries through the kitchen. "Are y"all done with the steaks and chicken?" she asks me, eyebrow raised.

"Yep, Boone will be bringing it in. Give him just a minute."

It"s been a little bit since we had a family dinner. Everyone"s had different responsibilities they"ve had to handle, but it feels good being with the group again. I have a seat at the table and glance around at our group getting themselves prepared to sit down and have a meal. I notice that Gabby isn"t here.

Daisy has a seat next to me, so I lean over. "Do you know why Gabby isn"t here? She"s been a few times with Barrett," I ask quietly.

She flattens her lips together. "It"s very up in the air with them. I talked to her the other day, and they apparently had a disagreement, which I guess can happen when you meet on a dating app."

"Did they really meet on one, though?" I give her a grin. "They knew each other."

"While that is true, I don"t think they realized it. They were apparently both using fake names, and when they met for the date, they were completely surprised."

"Ohhh shit." Now it"s starting to make a little more sense. "He didn"t tell us that part."

"She didn"t tell us either until one night at Monroe"s when he was dancing and we gave her shit about his hips being able to move." She reaches over my plate and grabs a grape off one of the platters. "It set them up for failure."

I make a cross over my heart. "Yeah, I learned about setting up for failure the hard way."

My wife rolls her eyes. "I wouldn"t venture to say you"ve really learned anything. You"re just a lot more handsome than you used to be, and I love the man you"ve grown up to be."

With my hand, I reach over, grabbing hers. "Thanks. I wouldn"t be here if it weren"t for you." That"s the most honest thing I"ve ever said to her. I didn"t mean to. I don"t want anyone to ever use my feelings against me, because that"s what he did and has always done.

"You would be, it might"ve taken you a lot longer to get here, but you"d be here. I have faith in you. Your past influences your present, but it doesn"t make it, Jasper. You"re gonna figure out that I"m willing to give you a lot of leeway, and life is about forgiveness. Hurting you, hurts me..."

Reaching up, I thread my fingers through her hair, palming her jaw. "I"ve hurt both of us a lot. I can"t begin to tell you how sorry I am."

"You don"t have to apologize. The apology doesn"t mean anything to me, because now I understand why you"ve been the way you are. Communication is key, and I think we underestimated that in the beginning." She tilts her head into my hand, burrowing like a cat into a warm blanket.

"Thank you." It"s the only thing I know to say. The only way I can express my gratitude to her, and finally I believe the two of us are at zero. We"re even, and only now will I be able to truly give into my feelings.

"Everybody ready?" Boone asks as he has a seat at the head of the table. "Let"s eat, I"m starving."

I take a moment to glance around the table, thankful for these friends I call family. None of them have let me down. They"ve welcomed me into their lives and their homes, even when they didn"t need to. They"ve all given me space to be the person I am, and to grow into a man who hopefully will be able to better share his feelings as he gets older. Glancing over at Daisy, I almost shout that I love her, but I can"t make myself form the words. Instead, silently... I love you.

"Are you okay?" She gives me a bemused grin, tilting her head to the side. "You look like you"re coming to grips with one of life"s mysteries."

I am, but she can"t know that. "Just thinking about how beautiful you are and how happy I am we"re here."

Those eyes of hers soften. "Look at you being sweet."

"I never knew how before you. Thank you for teaching me."

She leans forward, placing a kiss firmly on my lips. When she pulls back, her smile is wide. "I don"t know what"s gotten into you today, but I"ll take it."

Reaching down, I palm her thigh, squeezing it as I start to eat. If anyone would ever ask me what the perfect day would be. It"d be this. An amazing meal with my friends and my wife. The most important people in my life.

The ones I consider family.