Djinn in Love (Mystical Matchmakers #4)

Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

He studied the phone in his hand, wondering if he’d come on too strong today. Veronica’s texts after her dinner had been delivered seemed…different. Earlier, her replies came quickly and seemed casual.

This evening, it took her much longer to answer. Her words seemed carefully chosen, almost terse. Like when she texted him to let him know she’d left the office and again when she made it home. Two words each time. He’d sent a message back each time, acknowledging that he got them, but she didn’t respond to either.

Veronica: Heading out.

Veronica: Home safe.

His instincts were one of his greatest assets in business and they were telling him he’d fucked up somehow. He would ask her tomorrow when he saw her for lunch. He wanted to see her eyes and read her expression when she responded.

Jasper grunted and glanced at the time again. Eight-thirty.

He wished that he’d decided to deliver her dinner himself. Then, he could have spent the evening with her again. Even if it meant watching her work instead of talking to her. Instead, he’d decided to give her space, worried that he’d overwhelm her if he pushed his presence on her.

After their conversation last night about how tiring it was to keep her mental shields up all day and then for hours in the evening, Jasper was keenly aware of his own emotions and how they spilled out of him. He hadn’t practiced his mental shields in a long time. Until he was sure that he could maintain them around Veronica, he wouldn’t crowd her.

She’d been more concerned about how he might feel about an invasion of his private thoughts and feelings, but Jasper noticed the way her shoulders sagged when she discussed her past relationships and how much work it took to keep her mind protected when she should have been able to relax and just be herself.

He glanced at the clock again. Eight-fifty. Fuck it.

Jasper clicked on her name in his phone list and lifted the device to his ear.

“Hi, Jasper.” Veronica’s voice was soft. Hesitant.

“Hi, Veronica. How was your dinner?”

He could hear the smile in her voice when she answered. “It was delicious. Thank you again.”

“Where do you want to eat tomorrow for lunch? I’ll be close to your office. Is there another restaurant nearby that you like?”

“There’s a French bistro a couple of blocks away.”

“Do you eat there often?” he asked, intensely curious about her likes and dislikes.

From their conversation last night, Jasper sensed that Veronica was different from most of the women he knew. Not that there was anything wrong with the women he’d dated in the past. It was just…the way her mind worked struck him as different. Maybe it was because of her ability. Or maybe it was her personality. She seemed to see the world from a completely different perspective—one he very much wanted to understand.

“No, I usually bring my lunch to work,” she answered after a brief hesitation.

Jasper wondered if it was because she wanted to save money or if it was less stressful to eat at her desk than to go to a crowded restaurant and try to eat with people around. He wouldn’t ask though.

Instead, he said, “I was thinking I could pick something up for both of us and bring it to your office. We need to discuss details for the weekend since we’re leaving Thursday afternoon for the resort.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, she asked, “I thought that was why we were speaking tonight.”

Jasper chuckled. “Yes and no. I emailed you the dress suggestions my soon-to-be sister-in-law sent me and the itinerary for the weekend.” He paused. “We’ll need to leave Thursday afternoon around two. Will that be a problem?”

Her silence worried him, until she sighed. “No. Dominique has already given me Thursday and Friday off work.”

She didn’t sound happy about it.

Guilt crept into Jasper’s gut. He was tempted to tell her not to worry about it, that he would attend alone, but instinct told him that he would never get another chance to win her over.

Instead, he asked, “What can I do to make this easier for you?”

“Make it easier for me?” Veronica repeated, her voice cracking the end of her question.

“Yes. What can I do to make sure that you aren’t overwhelmed during the circus that has become my brother’s wedding?”

She laughed a little. “Circus? Will there be monkeys?”

“Absolutely. But don’t tell my little brother that we bought him from that family of chimps, okay?”

Veronica laughed again. This time the sound was freer and lighter. Jasper wanted to hear her laugh like that every single day. It was soft, much like her voice, but warm.

Her giggle died away and silence fell between them. He was just about to speak when she finally answered his question. “It helps if I can take short breaks during long events. If there’s time for me to go back to the room between the wedding and the reception or a chance for me to get away from a crowd for five minutes, it keeps me from being exhausted before the night is over.”

He could do that. He would find her a quiet place to relax every hour if he had to.

“I’m sorry.”

He blinked at her apology. “What? Why?”

“I know you’re probably regretting your decision to take me as your date.”

“No, I’m not,” he stated. He realized that his voice was harsher than he intended and found himself doing something he never did. He explained himself. “I’m not sorry that you’re going to be my date. I would rather take you to the wedding than any of the women I’ve met in the past six weeks.”

He heard her shaky exhale at his words before she replied, “Okay.”

“Good. Now, let’s talk about what you’ll need to know about my family and the different events happening this weekend. I should warn you that everything in my family ends up being over-the-top, so between Thursday evening and the wedding Saturday evening, there are no less than four gatherings. You don’t have to attend all of them, but I’ll have to be there, so we’ll need to figure out how to make it work.”

“Okay,” she repeated. Her answer was stronger this time.

Anticipation buzzed in Veronica’s veins. She shouldn’t be nervous or excited about seeing Jasper. She shouldn’t be feeling any of the things she was feeling. Nor should she believe what he’d said last night.

But she did. Oh, she did.

Her stomach had skittered when Jasper said he only wanted to take her to the wedding. Not any of the other women she’d matched him with over the past few weeks. The way his voice deepened. Just remembering it made shivers break out over her skin.

They had talked until after ten o’clock at night. It wasn’t until she’d yawned a second time that he said he would see her at lunch.

Now, it was closing in on one o’clock and Jasper would be arriving any minute.

Nerves danced in her stomach and chest. This felt like more than a simple meeting to prepare for a weekend of being his fake wedding date. A lot more.

Veronica was trying to concentrate on the computer screen in front of her when the front door to the office opened. She jumped and looked up in time to see Jasper step inside, a large brown paper bag dangling from one hand and a drink carrier in his other.

When he saw her staring at him, he smiled. A smile that widened as he approached her desk, his black eyes sparkling and revealing a small dimple in one cheek. Veronica realized that she’d never seen that dimple before because his smile had never been quite so big.

“Good afternoon, Veronica,” Jasper said, stopping in front of her desk. “How are you today?”

“Um, good,” she answered, feeling her mouth hesitate to form the word.

The man was too good-looking. He made her want to stutter.

“Are you ready for lunch or do you need to finish something up?”

She swallowed hard and got to her feet. “I’m ready for lunch,” she answered, wiping her hands down the sides of her skirt. Her palms were suddenly damp. “Thank you for bringing it.”

Jasper shrugged. “No problem at all.”

“I thought we could eat in the conference room,” Veronica started to say.

Before she could finish, Dominique’s door opened and her boss stepped out, leaning a shoulder against the doorjamb. “Mr. Bayat,” she said, nodding to Jasper.

“Ms. Proxa.”

A smile graced Dominique’s mouth. “Please call me Dominique.” Her eyes dropped to the bag and drinks in his hands. “Ah, you brought Veronica lunch. Excellent. We’ve been so busy this week that she hasn’t been eating properly,”

Veronica felt her face heat and knew her cheeks were so bright that they probably glowed red. While her boss wasn’t exaggerating, they had been swamped, Veronica hadn’t been eating much due to her nerves about this weekend rather than being busy. But she wasn’t about to admit that to Jasper.

Veronica shot her boss a wide-eyed glare, using her facial expression to encourage her to shut up. Dominique merely looked back at her and raised a single eyebrow.

“Well, Jasper and I have some things to talk about,” Veronica said. “But I will listen for the phone so I can answer it.”

Dominique scoffed. “You’ll do no such thing. You’ll have your lunch and relax. I’ll handle the phones and, if for some reason I can’t answer, they can leave a message on the machine. It won’t hurt them if they can’t get an immediate answer.”

Veronica opened her mouth to argue, but Jasper gently nudged her with his hip. “No problem. Thanks, Dominique.”

Her boss shot him a knowing look and a quick wink, which made Veronica flush further. When she glanced up at Jasper, he was studying her with amusement tinged with intensity. He watched her like he expected her to run and was preparing to chase her if necessary.

“Shall we?” he asked, gesturing toward the conference room with the hand holding their drinks.

Veronica nodded, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. She walked in front of him and held the door open. His broad body herded her toward the far corner of the table and her heart rate kicked up when the door shut behind them.

Jasper set the bag and drink carrier on the table, taking everything out of the bag and setting it on the table before her.

Feeling awkward, Veronica smoothed her hands down the front of her skirt again. “Thank you for bringing me lunch.”

Shoot, she’d already said that. Hadn’t she? Her equilibrium was shot around him.

“I wanted to see you before tomorrow’s chaos,” he murmured. Once the paper bag was empty, he folded it up and set it to the side. “Let’s sit.”

Again, nerves shimmered in her stomach when he pulled the chair out for her, his knuckles brushing her back when she sat down, and he pushed it in.

“Thanks,” she all but whispered.

“Stop thanking me,” he commanded, his voice deep and soft.

Veronica’s cheeks heated again, and she knew her blush was rushing up to her hairline. Why was she reacting to him like this?

Scratch that. She knew. After everything he said last night, Veronica was beginning to believe that he might be interested in dating her even after his brother’s wedding.

As they sat down and opened their containers, Jasper asked her, “Can you be ready to leave at eleven tomorrow morning? I thought we could stop for lunch on the way to the resort. That will give us enough time to get ready for the party at six.”

“I can be ready,” she answered, excitement fizzing in her belly at his words.

He wanted to take her out to lunch. If he wasn’t interested in her, surely, he wouldn’t want to take her out for a meal before they left the city. Right?

The wedding was at an exclusive resort two and a half, nearly three, hours out of the city and the first event scheduled was a party meant to welcome all the guests who were able to come two days early. There were more events on Friday, as well as the wedding and reception on Saturday. Each one had a different dress code. Jasper offered to take her shopping when they were on the phone last night, but Veronica assured him she didn’t need to purchase anything for the events.

He'd argued for a bit, but she explained that her time working at Mystical Matchmakers had involved attending all kinds of events from cocktail parties to galas. While her wardrobe might be a bit boring, it would be adequate for the long weekend. It had taken her longer than she expected to convince Jasper, but he’d eventually relented and accepted her insistence that she didn’t need new clothing.

“I asked my mother to arrange for us to have adjoining rooms,” he continued. “I wanted to keep up the appearance that we’ve been dating but I also wanted you to be comfortable.”

God, Jasper was so unexpected. He was so blunt and abrupt that she could barely believe how considerate he was being. Once again, he was trying to shield her from his emotions. She could tell by the muted sensations she experienced around him. It was clear he was out of practice because they occasionally leaked through.

Like right now. She could tell he was sincere. He wanted to have lunch with her the next day before they drove to the resort. He wanted her to be comfortable. He genuinely liked her.

Maybe it was time for her to be as honest about her feelings as Jasper was about his. She took a breath, preparing to ask him if what was happening between them was real. If he wanted to keep seeing her after the wedding.

But his phone rang, the opening strains of Run the World (Girls) filled the conference room. Grimacing, Jasper put down his plastic fork and fished his phone out of his pocket.

“Sorry. It’s my mother. I have to answer it because, not only is she my mother, she’s also my boss.”

Veronica bit back a smile, both at his words and the ringtone. But she couldn’t stop it from spreading across her face when she heard his next words.

Lifting the phone to his ear, Jasper said, “Hi, Mom. I see you’ve figured out my passcode yet again. Nice pick for the ringtone.”

Veronica couldn’t hear anything his mom said, but she shamelessly listened to Jasper’s side of the conversation.

“Oh, I see. You bribed my little brother to do it. I thought you preferred to do your own dirty work.”

Though his words were said in a stern tone, his mental shields had dropped a bit, and Veronica could sense his affection for his mother. And healthy doses of mild irritation and amusement. Resting her chin on her hand, Veronica turned her body so that she faced Jasper, and her elbow was propped on the table.

He noted the movement out of the corner of his eye and glanced over at her. He winked when he saw her smile, which made that fizzing sensation return to her belly.

“What was that?” he asked, breaking the trance she’d fallen into. “Mom, I’m not coming down until tomorrow. I told you that.” He paused. “Her name is Veronica, remember? She has to work today and I’m sure she needs time to pack and handle her own stuff before she leaves for four days.”

The fizzy sensation turned into lead bubbles that fell directly into the pit of her stomach. He’d talked to his mom about her. She reached for her drink, hoping to wash away the heaviness in her gut.

“She’s very special. I have no doubt you’ll love her and that Dad will ask me how I managed to convince someone so far out of my league to date me.”

Veronica had just taken a sip from her straw when he said those words and immediately choked on the iced tea and lemonade mixture. Coughing uncontrollably, she shoved her chair back from the table. She didn’t want to interrupt Jasper’s conversation by choking to death.

Before she could get to her feet and walk out of the room to give him privacy, Jasper’s hand clamped down on her knee, holding her in place. Veronica’s body stiffened, but his fingers remained wrapped around her leg. The heat of his palm seared the bare skin of her thigh where her skirt had ridden up. Veronica stiffened but didn’t try to pull away.

By the time she stopped coughing, Jasper was off the phone and had turned his chair to face her completely.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded, clearing her throat one last time before she answered, “I’m fine.”

“I know I warned you once, but I should warn you again. My mother is a handful. She’s great, but she will steamroll right over you if you let her.” When he saw the look on her face, he chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you this weekend. I’m just warning you in case she manages to get you alone.”

Veronica nodded again. If Jasper’s mother was anything like him, she was going to be difficult to say no to.

“I hate to cut our lunch short, but I have to get back to work.” He released her knee and got to his feet. “But I’ll see you tomorrow at eleven.”

“I’ll be ready,” she replied.

He gathered his food and drink. Unlike Veronica, he’d already eaten most of his lunch. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call or text me.”

Jasper leaned over her chair and Veronica stared up at him from her seat, frozen by his sudden nearness. His lips pressed against her cheek, perilously close to the corner of her mouth. The breath stuttered in her lungs and her throat closed.

He pulled back a few inches, but his face was still so close to hers that she could see that his eyes weren’t actually black, but a deep, dark brown. From this close, she could see the difference between his pupils and irises.

“You’ll call or text if you need anything, right?” he repeated.

“I will,” she murmured.

He smiled at her before he leaned closer and kissed her cheek again. This time his mouth brushed the edge of her lips. Veronica bit back a moan and locked her hands around the arms of her chair to control the full-body shudder that threatened to move through her.

“Bye, Veronica.”

Oh, no. She had to speak. Her throat was so tight that she wasn’t sure she could. She cleared her throat. “Thank you for lunch. It was delicious.” Veronica pushed herself to her feet. “I’ll walk you out.”

“No, you stay and finish your food. I’ll call you later if I get out of the office early enough. With my brother out of the office all week, I’m doing his work and mine, so I may not have time.”

She started to argue, but he was already moving out the door of the conference room and heading to the front of the office. Veronica watched as he strode out of Mystical Matchmakers and let the door swing shut behind him.

She was more confused now than she had been earlier. And she hadn’t been able to ask him about what was happening between them.

Maybe it was for the best. It had been so long since she’d truly been attracted to anyone that Veronica wasn’t sure that she was seeing Jasper’s behavior in the proper light.

She would pretend to be his girlfriend this weekend. If he seemed interested in more, she would ask after the wedding.

It would be better that way.