a multicolored short-sleeved sweater. Her hair was long and curly, her eyes were dark and thickly fringed with lashes.
Funny how he’d never noticed her lashes before. Should he talk about Mandy’s lashes in the book? Did guys notice lashes? He hadn’t until just now, so probably not, although—
“Jasper!”
He returned to the present moment. “What?”
“Tell me what’s going on.” Her gaze narrowed. “It’s Renee, isn’t it? Do not tell me you’ve messed that up already.”
“What? No. How did you know about Renee?”
“She told me you two had gotten together and wanted to make sure I was fine with it.”
Damn—women really did talk about everything. Renee had told Wynn about their night together? He hadn’t said a word to anyone. Not that he was keeping a secret—it simply hadn’t occurred to him to say anything.
Wynn’s sharp expression softened. “I told her it was okay. You and I were over months ago.”
There was something in her tone. At least he thought there was. “What aren’t you telling me?”
She smiled. “Nothing.”
He didn’t believe her but wasn’t sure he really wanted to know. The whole woman thing was so much more complicated than he’d ever realized.
“I’m sorry about before,” she told him. “When we were going out. I was wrong to be so arbitrary about Hunter.”
“You mean telling me he and I couldn’t be friends? You were wrong.”
She laughed. “Yes, I was. I was scared of you becoming too important to him and then us breaking up. I should have seen that you would stay friends with him no matter what.”
He didn’t know what to do with that. While the apology was nice, he had a feeling it wasn’t free. There was something else coming—he was sure of it.
“So you don’t mind Hunter and I hang out now?”
“It’s good for him. You were right. He needs a man in his life. As much as I want to be everything to him, that’s not realistic.”
“Maybe you’ll meet someone and get married.”
She rolled her eyes. “No, thank you. I’m not interested in anything permanent.”
They’d had that in common, he thought. He knew his reasons—he’d been damaged in the war and would never be healed enough to fall in love—but what about Wynn? What were her demons?
Before he could ask, she said, “This conversation is not about me. You’re the one who showed up on my doorstep.”
“I didn’t know where else to go. Do you really think you’re going to be alone for the rest of your life?” Did Mandy? Did she want more? And if she didn’t, why not?
“Sometimes love isn’t practical,” she told him. “It’s not about wanting or not wanting, it’s about what can be. You assume you can’t fall in love because you’re too broken from what happened in Afghanistan.”
“I was warned it was a likely outcome.”
“Maybe then, but you’ve changed a lot. When you first moved to town, you kept to yourself. We barely saw you. Then you started making friends. We got together. It was nearly a year, Jasper. That’s a big deal.”
“It didn’t work out.”
“It was the best we could do at the time. My point is you’ve come a long way. Hunter said you even have a dog.”
“I didn’t plan on getting a dog.”
“You still have one, even without a plan. You’re getting better by the week. I think you’re a lot closer to normal than you want to believe. Now tell me what happened with Renee.”
He wanted to say that she was wrong, that he hadn’t healed as much as she claimed, that he would never be right and he was okay with that. Only he didn’t want to fight with her and suddenly the need to know what to do about Renee seemed more important than anything else.
“I told her I wanted to be involved with one of her weddings. Sit in on the meetings, understand why the bride and groom were making the decisions they were, listen to them pick out stuff.”
Wynn frowned. “Why on earth would you want to do that?”
“In the book I’m writing Vidar’s love interest is a wedding planner and the serial killer is somehow involved with the weddings.”
“Oh dear God, you’re not subtle, are you?” She rubbed her temple. “Let me guess. Renee said no way, no how because she would never agree to that.” She looked up at him, her eyes wide. “Tell me you didn’t go behind her back and charm some couple into letting you get involved.”
He shifted his weight, then shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. “Maybe.”
“You