by Dani Wade
“I’m so sorry that I was late,” Jasmine said, taking a deep breath and noticing the intoxicating scent of baking cookies.
“No problem,” Dominic said, always easygoing. In all the time she’d known him, she’d never seen him angry, even when dealing with some pretty demanding clients.
“Dang, Greg must be cooking,” she teased. “I could gain weight just breathing.” Greg was a baker who created incredible cookies and meringues in the industrial kitchen at the back of the house.
“We try,” Dominic said with a wink before leading them into a nearby office. “He probably chose what to make the minute he knew you were coming over. A little sugar for our Sugar.”
“He knows me well.”
Just following Dominic deeper into the house helped Jasmine relax a little bit more. She’d never been the corporate office type. Her one venture into cubicle-land had convinced her it was the ninth circle of hell. Dominic’s office echoed her own, though they were two totally different styles. His was comfortable, with masculine elements of leather, grommets, wrought iron. Hers was everything fluffy and feathery. But both were designed to be lived in, played in.
Which just made the work more fun.
“So, tell me a little about what you’re aiming for,” Dominic said, leading them to a round table in one corner.
“That would be Jasmine’s department,” Royce said as he held out a chair for her.
Royce might be all business, but his mama had obviously made sure he was a gentleman.
Dominic tossed Jasmine a brief glance, but she could read a wealth of questions in the look. Like, what was this guy doing here if he wasn’t doing the talking? But she didn’t want to get into that right now.
“We’re planning a masquerade event,” she said.
The light in Dominic’s eyes told her he was on board already.
“But we don’t want just your traditional ball,” she added. “We’re also looking for other options for entertainment. I was thinking about that photo booth you set up for St. Anne’s.”
“A photo booth?” Royce asked, the doubt clear in his tone.
“Oh, it isn’t your normal photo booth,” Jasmine assured him.
Dominic eagerly reached for one of the large photo albums on the table. “Check it out.”
He turned the pages slowly, giving them a chance to study the various options. “We created a background unique to the event and brought in props for the guests to use.” He pointed to a group of people in a rowboat in front of a mural of a lake with a decorative bridge over it.
“I was thinking a mysterious castle,” Jasmine offered.
The men batted ideas around for a minute. Against her hip, Jasmine felt her phone buzz. Since her family knew she didn’t answer during meetings, she assumed it was a client and ignored it for the moment. When the buzzing started again after a few minutes, she stiffened, all her earlier tension returning.
Trying to brush it aside, she tossed out some more ideas. But the third buzz was her undoing. Slipping the phone from her pocket, she glanced at the screen. Two missed phone calls and a text from her sister Ivy.
911
She looked up to find both men watching her. Her smile was probably strained but she offered it anyway as she stood. “If you could excuse me just a moment, gentlemen?”
“Nothing wrong with that beautiful baby, I hope?” Dominic asked.
Seeing Royce’s back straighten both unnerved her and ticked her off. “I certainly hope not,” she said, unhappy with the quaver that had entered her voice.
But she wasn’t backing down. She didn’t know what his beef was with single mothers and families, but it wasn’t her problem. There was no denying she wasn’t a perfect mother. She had no delusions about that. The learning curve of the last six months had been steep. Still, she’d go above and beyond for Rosie and the rest of her family.
Family was the one thing that came before her clients, regardless of what they thought.
As she stepped back out to the porch, she prayed it was something like another stalled car or a burst water pipe. Things were replaceable. People weren’t. Now that Rosie was a part of their lives, she simply couldn’t imagine it any other way.
“Ivy?” she asked as her youngest sister answered the phone. “What’s wrong?”
“I need you quick,” Ivy said, her voice trembling and breathless. “I’m at Savannah General.”
Jasmine’s heart thudded in her ears, cutting off Ivy’s voice. The hospital? So much for her day getting easier.
Six
Royce watched Jasmine disappear out the door with her phone and was surprised at his personal concern. Ordinarily, he would have been put out. He didn’t have a problem with his employees dealing with life, as long as they did it on their own time. Normally he’d be formulating a few admonishing words after she’d kept him waiting this morning and then stepped out of a business meeting to handle what was obviously a personal call.
Instead, he sat here wondering what was wrong.
He turned back to find Dominic staring at the door with a frown on his face. The lines between his eyebrows said he was worried, too, but his expression turned more neutral when he caught Royce’s look.
“Would you like to go over a few portfolios while we wait?” he asked, his voice calm even though he seemed to have other things on his mind.
Eager for a distraction, Royce gave a quick nod. Besides, they were here on business. He needed to focus.
Dominic was quick thinking and smart, which gave him a leg up in Royce’s book. He pulled out examples of things he thought might work from the limited knowledge he had of their plans. Royce was impressed. He kept looking through one of the books while they discussed some photo booth ideas. Still, the whole time, his brain was ticking off the minutes that Jasmine had been gone.
What was going on? Did she need help?
As if his very thoughts had conjured her up, Royce turned the page to see a grouping of photos featuring Jasmine and her daughter. There was also another woman in the outdoor portraits, which seemed to have been taken at one of the local squares. The fountain behind them was familiar. The greenery provided a lush frame for the women.
“Oh, I’d forgotten which book those were in,” Dominic said, surveying the spread with a smile.
Despite admonishing himself to focus on the meeting, Royce found himself tilting the album farther toward him so he could study the group of women more closely. Jasmine was her usual elegant self, her summer dress full and flowing with a fitted bodice. This was his first time seeing her hair down around her shoulders. The thick mass blanketed her pale skin in soft waves, the sunshine creating glossy highlights in the dark color.
Rosie looked to be newborn, but there was no mistaking those black curls. The other woman looked down at the baby with a smile. But upon closer inspection, Royce thought he detected a pervasive sadness in the woman’s gaze that belied her indulgent expression as she watched the child.
Royce detected another subtle difference among the three. The third woman seemed sick. Her skin appeared a little gray, a little more aged than Jasmine’s.
Though the three were grouped close together on a picnic blanket in dappled sunshine beneath the trees, the other woman seemed to be more of an observer than part of the group. Still, Dominic was definitely talented when it came to composing a shot.
“The resemblance is remarkable,” Royce murmured. All that dark hair linked the women together. No male could penetrate their bond. Only it made him curious about Rosie’s father and whether she looked like him at all...
No. He refused to entertain any thoughts like that. It was too personal...too tempting...
“I know,” Dominic was saying. “Hard to believe they aren’t even related, isn’t it? You’d never know Jasmine wasn’t Rosie’
s biological mother.”
Royce’s gaze snapped up to the other man. “What?”
Dominic’s eyes widened. “Well...”
Without me, she’d have no one at all. Jasmine’s words came back to him, haunting his mind.
“What do you mean, Dominic?” Royce forced himself to keep his voice nonchalant. He kept all urgency out of the question. Even though, suddenly, he wanted to know very, very badly.
“I’m not sure I should share Jasmine’s personal business,” Dominic said with a frown. “I spoke out of turn.”
“I understand. I just wondered because Jasmine seemed so natural with her daughter. I knew she was a single mother,” he added, sprinkling in the truth, “but I never would have guessed she hadn’t given birth to her.”
Dominic seemed to consider his words. “You’ve seen her with Rosie?”
“Sure. She brought her to the office the other day.” Royce wasn’t going to reveal any more details about that visit...details that would make him look bad.
“Oh, yeah. Rosie’s such a good baby. Jasmine can pretty much take her wherever and the little one is perfectly content. And will charm anyone within smiling distance.”
Which just resurrected images of the sleepy child grinning in Jasmine’s arms. They’d looked so perfect together, which made it hard to believe that Jasmine wasn’t the birth mother.
Royce tried to assimilate the new things he’d learned into the old image, but it wasn’t working very well. An odd feeling started in his chest. And feelings weren’t a normal occurrence when he conducted business. Yet he seemed to be having them more and more often around Jasmine Harden.
He needed to get a hold on that...later.
“Is this Rosie’s mom?” he asked without thinking.
Dominic paused again, then shrugged. “Yeah. Jasmine met her at City Sanctuary mission. I’m not sure about the details, but I know Jasmine’s family took her in early in her pregnancy. Something went wrong and she asked Jasmine to take Rosie if anything happened.” He looked down at the smiling women in the picture. “She never even hesitated.”
Royce wasn’t surprised. Jasmine was strong. She ran a successful business and had a great reputation. He imagined she’d tackled motherhood with the same determination and grace.
He should be ashamed of thinking any differently. Except now he wanted the whole story.
“Dominic, will you call me a cab, please?” Jasmine’s voice quavered as she asked the question.
Royce hadn’t even realized Jasmine had reentered the office. He glanced up. Her expression was calm, but Royce could see the strain around her delicate mouth and eyes.
Dominic stood. “Sugar, what’s wrong?”
Jasmine visibly pulled herself together. “I’m so sorry to cut this short, but Auntie is at the hospital. She fell.”
As Dominic made the appropriate remarks, Royce stood. This type of thing was totally out of his realm of expertise.
He watched as Dominic slid an arm around Jasmine’s shoulders, feeling completely lost in this situation. That’s when he realized he didn’t need to do that part. Dominic had taken care of the comfort side of things. Royce could go straight to the logistics of the situation—which was his area of expertise.
“Where’s your car?” he asked, his tone now brooking no arguments.
She wouldn’t look him straight in the eye, but mumbled, “It wouldn’t start this morning. My sister Willow brought me.”
No wonder she’d looked frazzled when she arrived.
“Let me cancel my next few appointments and we’ll head over,” Dominic said.
“Absolutely not,” she countered, although her eyes were starting to look suspiciously glassy. “Just call me a cab.”
As they argued with each other, Royce argued with himself. So she had no car. She needed to go to the hospital. A cab would take forever.
He didn’t want to get involved in her personal life.
But she didn’t have a car.
And he was an ass for even debating this with himself. Finally, he cut them both off with, “It looks like I’m your ride.”
* * *
For the second time that day, Jasmine found herself riding in Royce’s car. Sitting next to him reminded her of all the reasons she shouldn’t be here.
The subtly spicy smell of him. The sight of his sure hands on the wheel. The overt luxury of the vehicle.
It was too intimate. Too much. There were too many reasons she should stay far away from personal situations with Mr. Business.
But what choice did she have?
Taking Dominic away from his other clients didn’t seem fair, though he’d been more than willing to help her out as a friend. A cab would have taken a while. She needed to get to Auntie and Rosie as soon as possible. It was her job to take care of her fam—
“Who is Auntie?”
It took Jasmine a moment to register Royce’s words because she’d completely blocked out any chance of his asking her a question about herself. Their few personal interactions so far had seemed as awkward for him as they had been for her. Maybe she’d been wrong.
“She’s not really my aunt,” Jasmine clarified. “She was my mother’s nanny when she was little and my grandmother’s best friend. We moved in with her after...anyway, all of us girls still live together now.”
Royce nodded. She could see the movement out of the corner of her eye, even though she refused to look directly at him. His presence was overpowering in the small space, especially in her vulnerable state. It was simply too close for comfort.
“She must be older,” Royce surmised. “A fall can be pretty serious in those circumstances.”
Which was a fact Jasmine wasn’t ready to confront. They’d be at the hospital soon enough, and she’d deal with it then. “She helps with Rosie when none of us girls are able to be home.”
“I know one of your sisters is a college professor. What does the other one do?”
“She’s an executive assistant at the McLemore firm.”
“That’s good. I’m glad you all are close and you have that kind of support. Rosie won’t be alone when her mom’s working.”
Jasmine felt her body stiffen in defense, but something about the sad tone of his voice had her reconsidering. Before she could question it, he went on.
“Why didn’t you tell me Rosie was adopted?”
The world swirled around Jasmine for a moment, disorienting her. This whole line of questioning was completely out of character for Royce. “I didn’t realize you would care.”
Why would he? Every encounter with her daughter, or even talking about her, seemed to bring a negative reaction from him.
As if he didn’t realize the intent behind her answer, he mused, “You look so much alike. It never occurred to me.”
Jasmine was getting more confused by the minute, but at least it kept her worry about Auntie at bay. It also loosened the hold she normally kept on her tongue in front of her clients. “I truly don’t understand, Royce. What difference does it make? I’m her mother. I’m a damn good one. I would never deny her a home or neglect her to go out to earn a living.”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
The car came to an abrupt halt. At first, Jasmine thought she’d pushed too far. Then she realized he’d actually parked in a parking space. They’d arrived at the hospital more quickly than she’d expected.
Only as he was climbing out of the door did he answer. “My mom did.”
As he softly shut the door, then walked around the car, Jasmine sat in stunned silence. Not only because Royce had admitted something so personal, but because it contradicted everything he’d told her about his mother at Keller House. He opened the door and helped her out as if he hadn’t just dropped a bombshell of magnificent proportions on her. They walk
ed into the hospital in silence.
What should she say?
He’d taken care of his mother before she died. She’d lived in the carriage house for years. Her son was Savannah’s youngest, and most mysterious, billionaire. Had whatever happened to his mother colored how he saw women, how he saw Jasmine?
His earlier comment made the answer obvious.
Before she could get a handle on her reaction, they reached the waiting area where Ivy was sitting with Rosie. Thankfully, the baby was sleeping, though her pudgy cheeks were flushed with the slight fever Jasmine was learning to associate with her teething spells.
Jasmine leaned over to carefully hug her sister around the sleeping child. “What did the doctors say?” she asked as she crouched in front of the pair.
“We’re still waiting on the X-rays to find out.” Ivy worried her lower lip, making her look a lot older than her twenty-three years. “I’m sorry you had to come here. I just didn’t know what to do.”
“No. It’s fine,” Jasmine said. Though asking Ivy not to feel bad was like asking Jasmine not to worry. “The last thing I would have wanted was for you to be sitting here by yourself dealing with all of this. It’s no problem at all.”
“But your car—”
“Driving over here wasn’t a big deal,” Royce interjected. “We were about done, anyway.”
Ivy glanced at him, her eyes growing wide with surprise.
“You had to get him to drive you?” she breathed. “I’m so sorry.”
“Car trouble always hits at the worst possible moment.” Royce tried to reassured her.
It didn’t work too well. Jasmine spied a slight sheen of tears in her sister’s eyes before she dropped her gaze and placed a kiss on Rosie’s head. It still amazed her that her littlest sister handled difficult clients with such ease at work. Jasmine still saw her as the child in need of her protection and care. But in this situation, they were going to support each other through whatever challenges they faced.
