Pursing her lips tightly, Ariel turned on her heel and attempted to march away from her manipulative boss.

"Where are you going?" Jasper asked, taking several large strides to come to a stop directly in front of her. "What about the couple you were spying on?"

Ariel crossed her arms and glared up at her tall boss, silently cursing his height advantage.

"Nothing," she answered stubbornly, trying to brush past him.

Jasper’s hand gripped her shoulder, halting her progress. "It was not nothing, Ariel," he said, his voice dropping dangerously low.

"Let me go," she protested, growing increasingly impatient and acutely aware of her parched throat.

With a slight frown, Jasper released her. Ariel hurriedly moved along.

"Why the rush...meeting someone? Perhaps that’s why you were out here in the first place?" he persisted, his voice trailing after her retreating figure.

Ariel stopped and blinked, stunned. Slowly, she turned around, taking a moment to compose her face into an expression of indifference. "So what if I was?" she asked, feigning casualness. "What does it matter to you?"

Jasper glanced away, surveying the surrounding darkness, before turning back with a semblance of a smile. "It doesn’t matter to me. It’s only natural you’d want to meet your fiancé where his obnoxious grandparents won’t be hovering over you."

Ariel tensed, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. "Don’t insult the Williamss; they’re good people," she snapped.

Despite her own confusion, Ariel found herself fiercely defending anyone Jasper criticized. She suspected that if he had chosen to disparage Mandy at that moment, her defense of the medium would have been equally fervent.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend your future in-laws—"

"They’re not my future in-laws," Ariel interjected, placing her hands on her hips.

"Yes, they are. Perhaps you’ve forgotten what happens after you get engaged—"

"I’m not engaged to Noah!" Ariel exclaimed, her voice hoarse from thirst.

Jasper opened his mouth to respond but then fell silent, something flickering in his eyes before he quickly looked away. "But I heard you—"

Ariel bit her lip and sighed heavily. "He was asking for my friendship."

There was a pause before Jasper asked, "Why are you out here again, Ariel?" His expression had shifted to one of renewed curiosity.

"I was thirsty."

Jasper’s eyebrow arched in question. "What did you expect to find out here?"

"I was looking for a food stand but got caught in the crowds," Ariel explained impatiently. "I came out here to escape them. Now I’m going to find something to drink before I lose my voice." With that, she made a third attempt to leave.

Silently, like a dark shadow, Jasper fell into step beside her. Ariel pointedly ignored him, focusing instead on the crowds they were approaching. Welcoming the noise and chaos, she allowed herself to be swallowed up by the mass of bodies, making sharp, random turns in hopes of losing her persistent shadow. Unfortunately, Jasper was not easily outwitted; he followed so closely that every breath she took seemed to carry a hint of coffee. Ariel breathed through her mouth and trudged on with increasing effort.

After several fruitless minutes of navigating the dense crowd, unable to see past the sea of people (though she could frustratingly see Jasper towering above most of them), she finally heard a welcome announcement:

"Yakitori, get your Yakitori here—the best in Magnolia Midlands!"

Perking up, Ariel strained to locate the source of the shouts. After a moment of listening, she decided to veer left. As she pushed her way through the crowd, it became increasingly dense, and she found herself slowing to a halt. Uncertain why the group ahead of her had stopped moving, Ariel bounced on her feet, peering to the side to see what was obstructing her path. A voice from behind answered her curiosity.

"You’re in my way."

Ariel snapped her head around to glare at Jasper, but found herself stumbling back, facing his chest.

"Oh—sorry," she apologized to the young man she had bumped into in her surprise.

The young man’s frown melted away the moment he saw Ariel’s quick, apologetic smile.

"No problem. You alright?" he asked, steadying her as she regained her balance.

"Um, yes," Ariel mumbled, trying to compose herself.