Chapter 28
Zeus
Drew’s office was the first place Zeus stopped in on Monday morning, file on Pete James in hand. He hadn’t been able to add much that he hadn’t found on his first look into the man, but he’d put everything in there that he could. There were still a lot of unanswered questions, though.
Had anyone else gotten a visit from Pete?
Did Drew know Yas?
If he did, how would he feel about Zeus and Yas’ arrangement?
Probably best not to mention it. Things with Drew were improving, but if he felt at all protective of Yas—whether because she was connected to Naomi or because she was a member of The Outlands—that could set things back. Plus, who knew what he and Naomi would say to Yas about Zeus?
“Here you go,” he said as he walked into Drew’s office, folder outstretched in his hand. “Everything I could find on Pete James.”
“Thanks, man.” Drew’s expression cleared, turning to relief as he took the folder from Zeus. “I tried to do some digging on my own, but I can already tell you found more than I did.”
“It is kind of my specialty.” He’d been hired by Lincoln for tech stuff, after all.
“Yeah, well, I appreciate it.” Drew shook his head. “The guy seems like an asshole, and I don’t need Naomi worried all the time. I don’t want to be worrying about her, either.”
Normally, this was the time Zeus would just nod his head and leave, but having already set Yas up with a security system, it was on his mind. Especially with how much Drew had been working.
“You’ve already got a security system, right?”
Drew’s shoulders tensed, as if he was trying not to take umbrage at Zeus’ question, but he kept his expression neutral.
“Yeah.” He hesitated. “Honestly, it could probably use an upgrade, though.”
“I can take a look at it if you want. Which one do you have?”
They chatted about security systems for a few minutes.
It turned out that Drew didn’t need a new one, but Zeus told him how to get some extra bells and whistles that would give him a little more peace of mind when he wasn’t at home.
By the time he left Drew’s office, the other man had fully relaxed, and Zeus could honestly say it was the first conversation with Drew he’d actually enjoyed.
“Thanks, Lavender,” Drew said as Zeus turned to go.
It was quite possibly the most feminine-sounding spice he could have chosen, and Zeus could have taken that as an insult, but it was the first time Drew had called him by a spice. Which meant it was actually a gesture of welcome and acceptance to the team.
“You’re welcome, Sporty,” Zeus said, his chest feeling a little tighter than usual as he sauntered out the door.
There was no need to make a big deal of it. But it felt like one.
As he walked out the door, he came to a halt when he realized Lincoln was standing in the hall, where neither Zeus nor Drew would have been able to see him from the office, but where he could likely have heard the entire conversation.
There was a small smile on his face, and it widened as he met Zeus’ gaze.
“Good job, son,” he said softly with a nod of his head before he started walking. When he passed Zeus, he gave him a pat on his shoulder.
Standing in the middle of the hall, stomach churning, Zeus felt frozen to the floor for a long moment. Voices in the lobby, more people coming in through the front doors, made him shake it off. He didn’t want anyone to find him standing here in the middle of the hallway, unable to move.
Clearing his throat, he started walking back to the privacy of his own office, ducking his head as he lifted his hand to wipe away the sudden wetness on his face.
No one else needed to know the odd effect Lincoln’s approving words had had on him.
Yasmine
“Well, it’s nice to have officially met you,” Yasmine said, her heart hurting a little as she straightened up from giving Hope a final pet.
As good as the dog had been for her, and as amazing as her company had been, it was clear that Sarah was her person from the moment the other woman walked in the door.
Hope might not have a ton of energy, but she used up every bit of it greeting the other woman, though she was also very gentle, thankfully.
Sarah was a little wisp of a thing, petite in every way, and currently looked like a stiff wind could knock her over. Yasmine almost felt bad about leaving, but Sarah had insisted she could manage on her own.
“And so nice to have met you,” Sarah said, opening her arms to give Yasmine a hug.
She hesitated for just a moment before bending down to accept it; she didn’t normally hug people she didn’t know well, but Sarah was different. This whole situation was different. Sarah squeezed her tightly, while Yasmine hugged her back more gently, worried about Sarah’s sutures.
“Thank you so much for taking care of my baby.”
“I’m so glad I was able to. I’ll be back on Wednesday to take her to the vet,” Yasmine said, letting Sarah hold her.
She could only imagine how scary it had been for Sarah, worrying about her dog while she’d been in the hospital.
If she wanted to cling to Yasmine, Yasmine wasn’t going to push her away.
“Zeus said he’ll be there, too. And if you need anything between now and then to just let him know. ”
“He told me. Thank you, dear.” Sarah let Yasmine go and wiped some tears from her eyes as she stepped back. “You two are both such good people. He’s single, you know.” She gave Yasmine a meaningful look.
“I did know that, yes,” Yasmine replied, stifling a laugh. Oh, if only Sarah knew. Not just about the curse, but about what Zeus and Yasmine were up to. She wondered if the older woman would be approving or appalled. Not that she was going to share enough to find out what Sarah’s reaction would be.
“Good.” Sarah nodded, as though the fact that Yasmine and Zeus had met, and she knew that Zeus was single, meant everything would work itself out in the way it should. And, obviously, Sarah thought the way it should work out was for them to end up together.
But friends-with-benefits was about as far as it was going to go. Sarah didn’t know about the curse.
Finishing up saying goodbye to Sarah, Yasmine headed to her parents. She’d promised to come over for dinner tonight so they could see her, although she was dreading it a bit. Her mother still hadn’t given up on getting Yasmine uncursed. And her dad didn’t believe in it at all.
Papa would probably like Zeus.
Which was a useless thought because she was not introducing her parents to her fuck buddy.
But it was also true. Especially because her father would appreciate Zeus’ take on the curse.
Her mother would probably like it, too, if only because it would help her keep hoping for Yasmine’s eventual marriage and children.
Staring at the home she’d grown up in, Yasmine tried to convince herself that dinner wasn’t going to be that bad.
The ivy crawling up the house’s brick gave it a romantic feel.
Her mom had always loved ivy, even if it wasn’t good for the house, and her father indulged that love even though it drove him nuts.
The rosebushes in the front yard were just starting to bloom, their pink and red buds visible but not yet fully open.
With another sigh, Yasmine got out of her car and closed the door behind her.
Locked it. Began walking up the driveway to the paved path leading to the front door.
Small flowering bushes lined the walkway, leading up to the larger rose bushes next to the house.
The bright blue front door stood out against all the brick and greenery, a splash of contrast that drew the eye in.
Also, a choice her mother had made that drove Papa nuts when he was allowed to dwell on it.
Knocking on the door three times, Yasmine punched in the code to unlock the door and let herself in.
Her mother was already coming around the corner into the foyer, and her expression broke into a wide smile when she saw Yasmine.
She was dressed in a long, blue-and-white patterned dress that brushed the floor as she walked, the short sleeves like little caps on her upper arms.
“Darling! You made it.” Maman came forward, arms spread wide in greeting.
She and Yasmine half-hugged as she gave Yasmine a kiss on the cheek.
“It’s so good to see you.” Stepping back, her gaze swept over Yasmine’s outfit, which was a cute little black pencil skirt with a frilly white blouse.
She’d worn her hair down today, and the black tresses curled over the tops of her breasts, drawing attention to them despite the high neck of the blouse. “You look lovely.”
There was something about the way she said it that made Yasmine highly suspicious.
“It’s good to see you, too, Maman,” she replied, narrowing her eyes at her mother.
That was when she finally registered the sound of her father talking to someone.
A male someone. While she couldn’t make out what they were saying, she could tell he was talking to another man.
Her suspicion deepened. “Who else is here?”
“Oh, just Payam Karimi, you know, my friend Zahra’s son?” Her mother’s dark eyes were wide and full of false innocence.
Yasmine groaned. “Maman, you didn’t.”
She did remember him, vaguely, though the last time she’d seen him, she’d been in middle school, and he’d been in high school.
It was during one of the vacation get-togethers with her mother’s friends she’d been occasionally dragged to throughout her childhood.
What she remembered most about that particular one was spending it with another of her mother’s friends’ daughters…
what had been her name? Laura? Lauren? Laurie?
Something like that. They’d both been obsessed with the same band and had spent most of their time listening to it and comparing opinions, occasionally writing their own lyrics to the songs, while the boys had done a lot of sports-type games.
“Didn’t what? Didn’t invite one of my closest friend’s sons to dinner when he happened to be in town? Of course, I did. It would have been rude not to.” Maman leaned in. “He does not live that far away, you know. He moved to northern Maryland last year.”
“Uh huh. I take it Zahra is still in New York?”
“Yes, and she was so grateful we offered Payam dinner. He’s here for a conference. Something about tech, of course. So smart he is.”
“I’m sure.” Yasmine sighed. “I presume he’s also single?”
“Oh, how should I know?” Maman waved her hand airily before turning, sliding her hand through Yasmine’s arm, and linking them. “I could always ask Zahra, though. If you’re interested.”
“I’m not. I’m taking a break from dating, remember?” Yasmine shot her mother a look as she began to drag Yasmine down the hall toward the men’s voices.
Her father laughed at something Payam said.
Great, he was funny, too. It wasn’t easy to make her father laugh.
But she wasn’t interested. Not in the slightest. Not only did she not need to get her heart broken again, but it also wasn’t like she was hurting for intimacy and orgasms anymore.
Zeus had given her everything she needed over the weekend.
And while they hadn’t made a plan for this week before she’d drifted off to sleep last night, he’d mentioned wanting to get together.
Which meant she didn’t need to be set up on another date. But she also couldn’t tell her mom that right now. Partly because her mother had already invited the man to dinner, but also because she didn’t want to end up giving herself away. Sometimes, her mother saw her a little too clearly.
The last thing she needed was her mother realizing the reason she wasn’t interested in meeting a man tonight was that she already had a man.
Not that Zeus was her man.
But she might have been a little weaker, a little more hopeful, despite everything, if she hadn’t just spent the weekend being thoroughly fucked. And he was her man for that.
“I know, I know,” her mother reassured her, patting Yasmine’s arm. “But there’s no harm in meeting a nice man, is there?”
“Of course not, Maman.”
Yasmine sighed inwardly as her mother pulled her into the room where Yasmine’s father and Payam were, beaming brightly as if she didn’t realize her daughter’s reluctance.
Which she might not, or perhaps she thought Yasmine’s reluctance would fade once she actually met Payam.
He looked exactly like the type of man Yasmine normally liked. Very similar to Mason in a lot of ways.
Tall, which was apparent as soon as he stood up to greet her.
Very handsome. Black hair and dark brown eyes, his skin tone a few shades lighter than Yasmine’s own and set off by the sky-blue shirt under the tan jacket and matching tan linen pants he was wearing.
The combination made him look professional, yet somehow laid-back.
“Yasmine,” he said, his smile widening to show a flash of white, even teeth. His hand smoothed down over the linen jacket, easily pushing it into place, before holding it out to take hers. “What a pleasure to see you again.”
“It’s nice to see you, too,” she replied as she put her hand in his. Instead of shaking it, he gave her fingers a rather lingering squeeze.
“You weren’t kidding when you said she somehow got even more beautiful,” he told her mother.
Her cheeks heated with a blush. Of course, her mom had been trying to pimp her out. Though, looking at Payam, she couldn’t blame her mom. Just like with Mason, her mom had done a good job of picking out a guy exactly her type.
And while she was off men and no longer trying to fight the curse, it wasn’t as though she was actually dating anyone. She and Zeus weren’t together-together.
So, why did she feel so guilty about not mentioning him as her mother maneuvered her into sitting on the couch beside Payam?