Chapter 10
Yasmine
Shutting down her computer, Yasmine picked up her purse and reached for her phone to check it.
One text from her mom, checking in to see how she was doing, one from Grace letting her know that Sarah was doing well and asking if they could set up a time for a video chat so Sarah could see Hope, and one from Zeus checking in to see how Hope was doing.
Two messages for the dog, and only one for her.
Le sigh.
That sounded about right, sadly.
She took another picture of Hope, who was lounging on her doggy bed at Yasmine’s feet, just like she’d been doing all day except when Yasmine took her out for walks. Well, and when she’d come out to accept love and pets from both Amara and Veronica, who were happy to love on her.
Just having her in the office was nice enough that Yasmine was starting to wonder if getting a dog would be easier than she’d thought, especially if she could take the dog to work with her most days like this. Although it would need to be as sweet and calm a dog as Hope was.
“Because you’re the best girl, aren’t you?” Yasmine murmured, giving Hope’s ears a good scrub while her tail wagged back and forth. “Everyone’s gonna love you tonight.”
She texted Sarah and Grace back, asking when a good time for the video call would be.
As she was taking Hope out to the car, her phone buzzed again, and she got Hope into the backseat before checking it.
Zeus
What a good girl.
Chill, Yasmine told her suddenly racing heart and intrigued libido.
That was for the dog, not for her. Sadly.
She kind of wished it was for her.
Yasmine
She’s been a very good girl. I’m glad Sarah’s getting better, but I’ll be sad to see her go.
Zeus
As a dog owner, I can confirm that having a dog around is very nice. This is Tiger.
A picture of a rusty orange-ish brown dog with black stripes accompanied the text. He did kind of resemble a tiger, just in dog form. Muscular and with his mouth open wide, tongue lolling, he looked as if he was grinning at the camera.
Yasmine
Aw… he? she? is beautiful!
Zeus
He, and yes, he knows he’s a pretty boy.
That made Yasmine laugh, and she was glad that Zeus didn’t seem upset by her calling his boy dog beautiful. Then again, Zeus seemed unflappable from the limited experience she had with him. Not the type of person to let little things bother him.
Which was nice.
Yasmine
As he should.
Zeus
Do you and Hope have any fun plans for the evening?
Was he asking because he wanted more information about Hope, or was he asking because he wanted to know what Yasmine was up to?
It would be nice if it was the latter… except that she was off men.
No more dating. No more thinking about romance or any of the other things that she couldn’t have because she was freaking cursed.
Yasmine
I’m going to take her to hang out with some of my friends.
Zeus
Sounds like fun.
Yasmine
Are you and Tiger getting wild tonight?
Zeus
Absolutely. The dog park where I can run him to semi-exhaustion, so he’ll settle down and watch something with me.
Yasmine giggled. Hope whined from the back seat, and she realized she was standing in the parking lot, next to her open car door, rather than getting into it. Oops. She was definitely acting as if she was interested in Zeus.
She needed to cut it out. There was no real indication he was even interested in her that way.
Yasmine
Have fun!
Zeus
You, too.
There. That was a good end to the conversation.
Yasmine gave herself a little shake and got in her car.
Boundaries. She needed to put up boundaries before her head got out of whack with fantasies about what could be.
That’s what always happened, then the guy always ended up with someone else.
With Mason, she’d let those fantasies get even farther than usual because they’d been officially engaged, even if it had been arranged.
While they’d been engaged, she’d fantasized about what the wedding would look like.
The dress she’d wear. How she’d do her hair.
The expression on his face as she walked toward him down the aisle, and he was hit by a thunderbolt of realization that she was the perfect woman for him.
He’d fall in love with her then and there, ending the ‘arranged’ part of their relationship.
That’s what she’d dreamed of.
Having someone there in the evening when she got home. Someone to snuggle up with and watch television or a movie with. Someone to talk to over dinner. Someone to be with.
Instead, he was going to have all that with Audrey.
Yasmine wasn’t bitter. Not really. Mostly, she was just mad at herself for thinking it might go any differently. For hoping it would when she should have known better.
Which was why she was not going to be fantasizing about Zeus in that way. No what-ifs. No maybes. No hoping.
Thankfully, game night with her friends should be good and distracting. Yasmine pulled up in front of Claudia’s house and parked the car while Hope looked out the window curiously.
Although Claudia was a total badass, a Domme, and a real-life sniper, her house looked like a fairy-tale cottage.
Like something out of a painting with its stone exterior, gabled windows, and the flowering plants all around it.
All it was missing was a little stream with a tiny footbridge over it.
Though Claudia would be the last person to call herself girly, that’s exactly what her home was.
Going around to the back door, Yasmine grabbed Hope’s leash as the dog hopped out, curiously sniffing the air.
“Come on, sweetheart,” Yasmine said, closing the door and taking Hope up the footpath, which was also made of stone. “Everyone is going to be so excited to meet you.”
She was not wrong.
Audrey, Cassidy, and Audrey’s grandmother, Brenda, were already there with Claudia, and all of them jumped up when Yasmine came in with the dog. For some reason, seeing Audrey didn’t give Yasmine the usual pang that it did. Maybe she was finally getting over her lost wedding. That would be nice.
The curvy redhead got down on her knees to greet Hope, who was wagging her tail a mile a minute as she was covered with love.
“Aren’t you a pretty girl?” Audrey asked enthusiastically as Hope licked the underside of her chin.
“So pretty,” Cassidy agreed, kneeling beside her to try to get in on the petting action.
“I definitely need the story of how you ended up with this dog,” Claudia said, shaking her head as she gave Yasmine a hug in greeting. “You never really struck me as a dog person.”
“I never really thought of myself as a dog person,” Yasmine admitted. “Hope is growing on me, though she needs to go back to her real owner on Monday.”
“Okay, I want this story, too,” Cassidy said.
Her long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail that swept back and forth as she looked up at Yasmine, raising her eyebrows.
Her level of confidence had come a long way since she’d first arrived in Pittsburgh, on the run from her abusive ex.
Probably didn’t hurt that her current boyfriend had killed her abusive ex when he’d tried to kidnap her.
David was a hero in every sense of the word.
He and Brenda were also the reason Audrey had come to Pittsburgh.
Yasmine didn’t hold that against them. It was better to know that Audrey was Mason’s perfect match before Yasmine and Mason got married.
If Audrey had come to live near her brother and grandmother after Yasmine had married Mason…
he would have done the right thing. Yasmine believed that with every fiber of her being.
There was no way he would have cheated on her.
But having a husband who wanted to be with someone else would have been so much worse than having an arranged fiancé who did—the marriage hadn’t happened yet, so she’d been able to easily release him from the arrangement.
“So, do we play games or gossip during game night?” Brenda asked, coming over to greet Hope, holding a glass in her other hand. Yasmine assumed the glass contained some kind of alcoholic beverage.
“Both,” everyone chorused.
Brenda did not let her status as David and Audrey’s grandmother stop her from being hell-on-wheels, which is how Cassidy ended up as her hired companion.
Someone needed to keep their eye on her so she didn’t get into more trouble than she could handle.
Plus, she really shouldn’t be driving. Since David and Cassidy had ended up as a couple, it had all worked out well.
Not everyone could handle being Brenda’s companion. She might look sweet with her candy floss white curls that were closely cropped to her head and her shiny blue eyes, but she was a filthy old lady with absolutely no filter.
“I’d rather gossip,” Brenda admitted. “Unless the game we’re playing is strip poker, but since none of you have anything I’m interested in seeing, gossip is good.”
Audrey slapped one hand over her face. “Grandma!”
“I played strip poker with Mick last week.” As usual, Brenda was undaunted by her grandchild’s censure. “Let me tell you, the cake that boy is packing…”
“Grandma!” Audrey’s voice went to a higher shriek.
“Do you even know what ‘cake’ is?” Claudia asked, clearly amused.
“Sure do. Those two hockey players from that Hot Rivalry show both have cake.” Brenda made a scooping motion in front of her that clearly outlined buttocks. “The Russian had the wedding cake, and the Canadian had the groom’s cake.”
It took Yasmine a moment to realize what Brenda meant, as the shower scene popped into her head, then she cracked up… because she was not wrong. Both of the guys had cake, but…
“I cannot with you,” Audrey muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“It’s Heated Rivalry, anyway,” Yasmine corrected Brenda, amused.
“I said what I said. They’re hot.”
“Just be grateful you didn’t have to watch it with her,” Cassidy told Audrey, simultaneously resigned and amused. “Although getting to watch her cry over Scott and Kip was pretty amazing.”
“I wasn’t crying. I was leaking.” Brenda sniffed, lifting her chin. “I don’t cry.”