by Katie Dowe
“Be very discreet, this is the woman who is going to be my wife.”
“Got it.”
“Hit me up as soon as you find out anything.”
He hung up and sat back in his chair. They had both driven up early this morning and he had insisted that later she come by his apartment and to his surprise she had agreed without arguing. Maybe she was getting soft, he thought with a tender smile.
His intercom sounded just then. “Your dad is on the line, Lucas.”
“Put him through.”
“We have been back home for two weeks now and we have not seen you, son,” Lenny Henderson complained as soon as he came on the line. “What’s happening with you?”
“I have good news.”
“You met someone,” Bella Henderson spoke up at the other end.
“I met someone,” he said with a grin. “Not just someone but the woman I have fallen in love with and the one I am going to spend the rest of my life with.”
“Darling, I am so happy for you! Bring her by this weekend and let us meet her!” his stepmother urged.
“I need to tell you something first.”
*****
“So you are back?” Bubba gazed at the beautiful pensive woman sitting opposite him on the bench out in the yard.
“Yes.” She pulled her thin sweater closer to her. Bubba had been very busy since she had been away. There were freshly molded dirt and the entire section had been fenced off to keep the dogs out. “He wants to marry me, Bubba.”
“He told me. So when is the wedding?”
Jasmine looked at him wryly. “I have not said yes.”
“But you are going to.”
She got up abruptly and stamped her booted feet into the soft grass trying to get rid of the cramps there. “We are not suited.”
“Says who?” Bubba demanded. “I have never seen you so happy around a guy before. He is the only man I know aside from me who does not take crap from you. He is the man for you, Jasmine, and you had better not mess it up with this nonsense about trying to find out who the loser who impregnated your mother is. It is not important, do you hear me?”
She stood there staring at him and was taken back to when he had found her cowering in the room all those years ago. “Yes, sir,” she said in a subdued voice.
“Good. Now let’s go and get something to eat,” he said briskly.
*****
“Talk to me.” He took the plate from before her and put it aside. She had found him waiting for her downstairs and they had come up together to find that the housekeeper had left braised beef and mashed potatoes.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why are you so determined to make this work?”
“We are already working, darling,” he said softly as he leaned her and tilted her chin up. Her hair was caught up on top of her head in a messy bun. Her face was devoid of makeup which did not seem to take away from the fact that she was exquisite! “We are just ironing out the kinks.”
She brought her hands up and held his strong wrists. “Bubba advised me not to mess up.”
“Good advice,” he said lightly, his heart pumping hard as he felt her giving in. “But I know that you are not going to.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I love you more than my own life and nothing you do will ever make me stop loving you. We are in this thing together and I know that we will work as long as you let me in. Will you do that? Will you let me love you the way no one ever has?”
“Lucas-”
“You don’t have to say the words now, darling.” He leaned over and took her lips in a kiss that had her fighting for breath! He lifted his head and looked down at her his eyes stormy. “You are here with me and that’s enough for now.”
She nodded unable to utter a word.
“Ready for bed?”
“Give me a minute please?” she murmured huskily.
“Sure.” He came around and turning her around he dropped a kiss on her forehead before leaving.
Jasmine watched as he bounded up the stairs. She took a breath and blinked the tears from her eyes. He overwhelmed her and she did not know what to think! He was rich beyond anything she could ever imagine! He was handsome and charismatic, he could have about any woman he wanted and yet he had laid his heart right at her feet. He had opened up to her about his feelings without the slightest hesitation with no fear of being rejected.
She got to her feet slowly and cleared away their plates. He had given her the tour of the place and she had been impressed by it. She could make her home here with him. She could marry him and be his wife and give in to the unfamiliar feelings battering at her heart! She could put away her fears and become one of those wives they write about all the time, she thought with a faint smile. Taking a deep breath she made her way up the stairs and towards the suite where he was. He stood by the bed waiting for her, a look of enquiry on his handsome face. She did not come in but stood right in the doorway. He did not approach her but waited on her to come to him.
She did and flew into his arms! He opened them and gathered her to him holding her tight, burying his face in her thick hair.
“Yes,” her voice was almost inaudible but he heard her.
“My darling,” he whispered, his body shuddering against hers!
Chapter 11
“We have invites from my parents. Dinner this weekend.” His tone was casual as he came and sat next to her on the cream leather sofa in his large living room.
“Today is Thursday, Lucas. Were you hoping to bundle me up and put me in the car and take me there?” she asked him impatiently as she turned to face him. It had been two days since she had tentatively agreed to marry him and she had been anxious ever since. She had called Phil but he had not answered and he had not returned her calls. She was going to let him brood a little before cornering him.
“You have a way of arguing over everything and I did not want this to be one of those times.” He reached over to play with the ends of her hair that she had put up into a ponytail. She had stopped arguing about coming over to his apartment even though he wished she stay permanently. Time enough for that when she had his ring on her fingers! “I have something for you.” He reached into the pockets of his loose sweatpants and came out with a soft dark blue velvet box. “I figured we should make it official.”
“It will be official when we stand in front of that guy with the robe and a few hundreds of your closest friends,” she told him sardonically as she stared at the box.
“It’s not going to bite, Jasmine.” With a longsuffering sigh he opened it. Jasmine’s eyes zeroed in on the exquisite pink diamond winking up at her. She did not want to think how much something like that was worth and she certainly was not going to be walking around in the enormously expensive piece of jewelry all around town making herself a target.
“It’s lovely,” she murmured as she looked up at him. “How long?”
“How long what?” He took it out and pulled her left hand to him, securing the ring onto her ring finger. It was a perfect fit!
“How long have you had it?” She could not help but admire how it looked on her finger.
“A couple of weeks now.” He lifted her hand and kissed her fingers. “I figured you would come around eventually.”
“Did you now?” Her voice was deceptively soft as she looked at him.
“I am pretty irresistible and besides I am crazy about you. That should count for something.”
“Maybe.” She pulled her finger away and moved closer to him. His arms closed around her tightly as he rested his head on the top of her head, closing his eyes in relief. “I am not wearing it when I am working,” she murmured drowsily as she breathed in his subtle expensive cologne.
“No problem.” His fingers stroked her back sending heat through the thin red blouse she had worn today. “I figured we could tie the knot in June.”
She shrugged a little. “As long as I just show up t
o the church. And I am not attending some stupid bridal shower,” she warned.
“I will tell Leesa and the others to hold off on that.” His voice had a trace of amusement running through it.
“I know that the ‘wives’ as they call them do pretty good work but I am not much on cliques,” she continued.
“They are good people.” He eased her away to look down at her. “I know you are not much on trust, darling, and you prefer to be alone but these women are very loyal and stand by each other.”
“So in other words you are telling me that it would serve me well to join their army? Look at that? We are not even hitched yet and you are telling me what to do.”
His green eyes glowered as he looked at her. “You are a fraud,” he told her silkily.
“What?” She blinked up at him.
“You are a wonderfully passionate woman with a lot to give and do you know how I discovered that?” He did not wait for her to respond. “When I make love to you, I see the real you. A woman of fire and passion that surpasses all I have ever seen before. You are beautiful on the outside and on the inside. You have the capacity to love so much and I think you know that as well so you hide behind these walls in order not to get hurt. You cannot fool me, Jasmine. I am on to you and because I happen to know you, nothing you say will make a dent into how much I love you, my sweet. Your barbs are not hurting one bit.”
“You think you know me?” she whispered huskily.
“I know I do.” He bent his head and took her lips with his. Jasmine sighed against his mouth as she surrendered to a force much more powerful than anything she had ever come up against!
*****
The house was enormous and sat on top of a gentle crest. It afforded an incredible view of the surrounding areas. Palm trees lined the periphery of the fence and the circular driveway was almost a mile long. Roses vied with oleanders and tulips in the wildly beautiful gardens that started from the wrought iron electrical gate up to the strong oak double doors. “I used to watch Dynasty when I was little and wondered how on earth people who lived in places like these manage to go through all the rooms. You grew up here?” Jasmine asked as she tried not to be intimidated by the sheer luxury.
Lucas parked the car and turned to her. He knew she was nervous and was doing her best to hide it. She had dressed from his place and had changed her outfit three times before settling on a blue and white cotton dress with white strappy sandals. Her hair was loose around her face and her makeup was light. “I did and I got used to it.” He took her hands in his. “They are very nice people and I promise you that as soon as they start showing signs of biting I will get you out of there fast.”
Giving him a dirty look she dragged her hands away and stepped out of the car. The smile was still on his handsome face when he came around to take her hand in his. She tried to pull away but he held on tight as they made their way to the door. It swung opened by a thin pasty looking woman with a very severe white bun at the back of her head but her light green eyes lit up as she looked at Lucas. “Master Lucas, what a pleasure!”
“The pleasure is all mine, Bonnie,” he said as he pulled the woman in for a hug. “This is my fiancé Jasmine. Baby, this is the second love of my life.”
“You go on.” Jasmine looked in fascination as the woman’s plain face lit up with a blush. “Pleasure to meet you, miss. Come in, your parents are waiting in the living room. Dinner will be served in an hour.”
They were standing by the huge mantel waiting for them. Jasmine had a quick look around the elegant room before she was enfolded in a perfumed hug. Bella Henderson was a tiny sprite woman with a lovely smile and gentle blue eyes. “We are so happy to meet you, my dear,” she said with a smile as she stepped back. Lenny Henderson was an older version of his son and he stood there looking at her for a moment before coming forward to hug her.
“You were right, son. She is exceptionally beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She pulled back quickly, not really comfortable with the embraces and the warmth from total strangers. Lucas took her hand and led her over to the sofa where he kept her hand in his.
“So, my dear, we understand that you two are getting married in June?” Bella nodded to the uniformed maid as she came in with some refreshments.
She shrugged restlessly. “Lucas thinks we can pull it off.”
Lenny glanced at his son for a moment. “Can you?”
“I have already spoken to a wedding planner and Leesa and Kelly will be liaising with her to fine tune everything,” Lucas said smoothly as he sipped his aperitif. “It’s now almost the end of April so I figured it is enough time.”
“Would you like me to do anything?” Bella posed the question to Jasmine. “I am here now and I love weddings.”
Jasmine looked at the woman for a moment and then nodded. “I guess.” She got to her feet suddenly. “I need to use the bathroom.”
“There is one right down the hall on your left.”
“Thanks,” she muttered and hurried out.
“Are you sure she is ready, son?” Lenny asked as he went to pour himself a glass of wine.
“All this wedding talk is spooking her.” He twirled his glass around a little pensively. “Maybe we should just drop it.”
“What can we talk about?” Bella asked her stepson softly. “You told us not to mention her past so what is comfortable for her?”
Lucas got to his feet abruptly. “She is getting comfortable around me. I still have to be very careful where she is concerned but we are getting there.” He turned to face them. “I love this woman with my entire being and whatever it takes I am all for it. She has been hurt pretty badly in the past so it is going to take a while for her to trust fully. I have no problem in waiting.”
*****
Dinner was pleasant and Jasmine found herself enjoying the meal as she glanced discreetly around the large formal dining room with its twenty seat table and high arched ceiling with the glittering chandeliers. The conversation was muted and centered mostly on the extended trip the Hendersons had taken to the Caribbean and Europe. Jasmine enjoyed the meal and felt the food critic in her coming to the fore as she ate the tender lamb chops and delicately flavored sliced beef.
“My dear, Lucas tells us you are a food critic. How exciting? What do you think of the food? I am sure our chef would love to hear how he is doing.”
“If I tell you I am going to have to charge,” Jasmine said with a faint smile around her lips.
The husband and wife looked at her startled and then burst out laughing. “Good one,” Lenny Henderson said in approval.
“Thank you,” she said with a regal nod. “This is top of the line, you can tell your chef so.”
“He will be happy to hear,” Bella told her with a beaming smile.
“Or you can tell him yourself,” Lucas drawled. “As soon as we are finished here I am giving you the tour.”
“Do we have enough time?” she asked him dryly.
They all laughed at that and Lucas leaned over and taking her by surprise he kissed her slowly on the lips not caring that he had an audience. “We will make time, darling.”
She pulled back when she could, her heart tripping inside her chest and her hands trembling slightly. “Behave,” she said shakily.
Both Bella and Lenny watched the play in fascination. Lucas looked from one to the other and his green eyes glowed with the unmistakable look of love in them.
“Let’s call for dessert,” Bella murmured.
*****
“Eight suites in total? Isn’t it a bit too much?” Jasmine wandered around what had been his suite when he was a boy growing up. The place had a time loop to it with his baseball pictures on one wall and even his desk top computer on the desk he must have used to do assignments and all that.
“They are thinking of moving out and getting a smaller place.” He caught her up against him and nuzzled her neck. “How do you feel about living here?”
She turned to face hi
m stunned. “I would not know how to act in a place like this. I am just getting used to your fancy apartment.”
“Okay, one step at a time. We could have the reception here. There is a huge ballroom as well as a huge backyard. What do you say?”
She shrugged restlessly. “Anything you want.”
“You are going to be a bride, darling, and brides are supposed to be excited.”
“I am going to be standing before a bunch of strangers I don’t know and pouring my heart out. It is not something I am excited about,” she muttered.
“You are going to pour your heart out?” he teased her as he held her close to him.
“You know what I mean. Saying stuff like for richer or poorer in sickness and in health. What if I get a dreaded disease and there is no coming back from it?”
He laughed loudly at that, his amusement genuine. “Only you, darling,” he said shaking his head. “In that case I would ask your permission to marry a friend of yours or something like that before you kick the bucket,” he said with a straight face. He winced as she jabbed him in the ribs. “What was that for?”
“Cheat on me with anyone and I will be having your balls over an open fire.”
“Ouch!” he grimaced. “Very graphic for comfort, darling.” He lifted her up in his arms and bore her to the bed.
“What are you doing?” she asked in panic. “We are in your parents’ home.”
“And this is still my suite.” He placed her on the bed and came over her. “That means total privacy.” His lips touched hers gently, his tongue entering her mouth slowly. Jasmine melted against him and wrapped her hands around his neck, her fingers going into the soft hair at the back of his neck.
“Lucas,” she sighed into his mouth as she moved restlessly beneath him.
He lifted his head and looked down at her, his heart hammered inside his chest as he took in her swollen lips and slumberous eyes. He loved her so much that he did not know how to put it! “Jasmine.”
“Please,” she whispered.
“Tell me,” he urged.
“I need you now.”
“It was not so hard, was it?” he whispered as he rolled off her and started taking off her dress. She had on tiny matching blue lace underwear that barely covered her and he felt his body hardened even further.