Chapter 30
Yasmine
Everything to do with Hope’s surgery went about as well as could be expected, which was a huge relief. Sitting next to Zeus in the waiting room was more comforting than she’d thought it would be. When she started to get antsy, and he reached out to take her hand in his, she didn’t protest.
Because it wasn’t a romance thing; it was a support thing.
When they were allowed back to see Hope, he kept his hand on the small of her back, ushering her through the vet’s office. The vet tech, Taylor, smiled as she let them into the recovery room where the surgeon was waiting.
“She did amazing,” Dr. Sunny said, living up to her last name with a sunny smile. She was wearing mint-green scrubs, just like a hospital surgeon, and her long grey hair was pulled back into a neat bun.
“She’s got a good long life ahead of her now,” Taylor agreed enthusiastically, giving Hope’s head a gentle scratch. The dog’s tail twitched but didn’t do the full wag Yasmine was used to seeing. “She’s lucky to have such good friends.”
“Well, she’s a very good doggo,” Yasmine said, coming to stand by Hope’s head where she was laid out on the table, petting her gently. She didn’t think it was her imagination that Hope looked happy to see her. “So, what next?”
“We’ll keep her overnight, just to keep an eye on her, and you can pick her up in the morning.” Dr. Sunny gave them a quick rundown of the aftercare, as well as a folder full of printed instructions for them to take to Sarah and refer to. “And, of course, you can call me at any time.”
“Thank you so much, Dr. Sunny,” Zeus said, holding out his hand for the vet to take. When she did, he put his free hand atop both of theirs, holding them in place. “It is so appreciated. Hope is very special to all of us.”
“Yes, well.” Dr. Sunny cleared her throat. Her cheeks had gone a little pink. So had Taylor’s, and she was looking at Zeus with a dreamy gaze that made Yasmine want to put her own hands on Zeus to make sure the young vet tech knew he wasn’t on the market.
Except that he was on the market, wasn’t he?
Jealousy wasn’t good.
They hadn’t agreed to exclusivity or anything.
And it wasn’t like Taylor was making a move on him.
Not that Yasmine would have any right to say anything if she did.
After all, she’d given Payam her number on Monday.
Reluctantly. Because he’d asked in front of her parents, and she hadn’t wanted to tell him no with her mom standing there, beaming approvingly.
Even though she hadn’t wanted to exchange numbers.
And not just because of the curse.
He was perfect on paper and exactly the type of guy she usually went for and might have even been willing to risk the curse for in the past, but…
Zeus had kept popping up in her head. Which made sense, since Payam and Zeus were so different.
Where Payam was smooth and elegant, Zeus was rough around the edges and a little crude.
She couldn’t imagine Payam appreciating her in a tattered t-shirt and sweats, with no makeup. Or agreeing to let her put a face mask on him. Especially not if it got in his perfectly styled hair. Which, maybe, wasn’t fair since she knew they both gave off similar vibes, but…
Zeus’ fingers pressed against her lower back, jolting her back to the present.
“Time to go,” he said gently. “Hope needs to rest.”
As if agreeing with him, Hope gave a shuddering sigh and closed her eyes. She was so still, it looked almost unnatural. Some of her worry must have shown on her face, because Dr. Sunny quickly reassured her.
“Don’t worry, she’s just going to sleep very deeply for a bit. She’s on a lot of pain medication. That’s why we’re going to keep her here, to make sure that she comes off the anesthesia without any difficulties.”
“Okay.” Yasmine gave Hope one last pat, even though she appeared to be asleep, spreading her fingers through the dog’s silky fur before reluctantly letting go. She stepped away and smiled up at Zeus, whose gaze softened as he looked back at her.
“We’ll see her tomorrow,” he said.
Off to the side, Taylor sighed and put her hands over her heart, watching Yasmine and Zeus, before giving herself a little shake and turning around to pick something up from the counter.
Pressing her lips together, Yasmine let Zeus usher her out of the room. She didn’t know whether or not to be pleased that Taylor obviously thought Zeus and Yasmine were a couple.
Part of her liked that it meant Taylor wasn’t going to hit on Zeus… while another part of her felt like this was creeping into dangerous territory.
Would it be so bad to date him, for real? Even with the curse? At least it would be fun for a while…
Maybe.
On the other hand, did she need to date him? Maybe he’d be okay with the idea of being exclusive fuck buddies. That was a thing, right? Not a thing she’d done before, but this was all new to her. The only question was how to bring it up to him. That was something she wasn’t sure how to do.
“Do you want to help me pick Hope up tomorrow?” Zeus asked as they walked through the lobby and out to the parking lot.
“I hadn’t thought about it… um, I’ll have to check my schedule.” Yasmine shook her head. “Like, I knew that she couldn’t go home today, but all I could focus on was being here while she was in surgery, to make sure she got through it okay.”
“Understandable.”
“I can check it and get back to you.”
“Sounds good.”
They’d reached her car. Yasmine stopped next to the driver’s side door and looked up at Zeus, who was standing far closer to her than was necessary. There was something in his eyes. Lust? Desire?
“I have to get back to the office,” she said.
“That didn’t take as long as I thought it would, so there are a couple things I need to get done.
Especially if I’m going to help pick up Hope tomorrow.
” And she wanted to help pick up Hope tomorrow.
Not just because it was another good excuse to see Zeus, either.
“Alright, then.” He reached out, leaning slightly forward and brushing against her, to open her car door for her. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me.
But he didn’t.
Dammit.
Yasmine got into her car, and Zeus closed it behind her, giving the window a rap with his knuckles before stepping back.
He watched her pull out, and she glanced into her rearview mirror to see him sauntering toward his own car.
The man had a damn fine ass in those jeans, and it took some effort to rip her gaze away and focus on getting out of the parking lot without running into another car.
Crap.
If she wanted him to kiss her, she needed to figure out what she wanted. Exclusive fuck buddies sounded pretty good right now.
Neither Amara nor Veronica was in the front when she returned, which was fine.
Amara’s door was closed, so Veronica had probably just run out to do an errand or something.
Yasmine went to her own office to handle a few quick things she could check off her to-do list before tomorrow and grab some files to take with her.
Combined with her laptop, she might be able to get some things done from home tomorrow.
When she left, Veronica still wasn’t in the front office, and Amara’s office door was still closed.
Maybe they were continuing the conversation they’d been having earlier.
Yasmine hefted her purse on her shoulder, already thinking ahead to tomorrow.
Her phone buzzed, and her heart did a little leap in her chest thinking that maybe it was Zeus…
then sank back down when she saw Payam’s name on the screen instead.
Which either showed she really was getting over the curse… or that she really was more interested in Zeus, even if Payam more closely matched the list of the kind of man she would normally be looking for.
He’d gotten her number on Monday but waited two days to call, showing extra interest without being overly eager.
Going by Yasmine’s old rules, if he’d called the day after, she wouldn’t have picked up or answered him until the next day at the earliest. If he’d waited more than three days, she wouldn’t have responded to him at all.
Letting out a long, slow breath, Yasmine answered as she got into her car, putting the phone on speaker and tucking it into the cupholder next to her. She’d lost the cord to connect it to her car system a while ago and hadn’t replaced it yet, something she kept meaning to do.
“Hello?”
“Yasmine? Hello, it’s Payam.” His smooth, cultured voice was very nice to listen to. Even if she’d started to prefer a deeper voice that was maybe a touch more rough around the edges. “How are you?”
“I’m good, thank you. How have you been?”
Easy. Polite.
Boring.
“I’ve been good. I’m calling because I was wondering if you might have any free time this weekend to have a meal with me.”
Well, he did cut right to the chase.
Her parents would be happy if she said yes. Old Yasmine would have wanted to jump at the offer. He was so perfect that even with her determination to no longer give the curse another man to take from her, she might have been willing to take the chance. Especially if she hadn’t met Zeus.
But she had met Zeus.
“Yasmine?”
Crap. She’d hesitated too long, and he’d noticed.
“I… ah…”
“Yasmine, can I be frank?” The tone of his voice had changed slightly, becoming almost business-like.
“Absolutely.” She turned her head back and forth as she came to a stop at a stop sign, checking both ways before going across the intersection.
“I’m ready to settle down, and I’m looking for someone who wants that as well.
” His tone remained so even and unemotional, Yasmine needed a moment to process what he was saying.
“My mother heard from yours about your recent attempt at an arranged marriage, and she explained about the curse you believe you’re under, and after meeting you on Monday, I feel as though we could be what each other needs. ”
“Why do you think an arranged marriage would work out with you when it didn’t with my ex-fiancé?” she asked, frowning when her phone beeped at her. Was she getting another call? But traffic was a little heavier at this spot on the road, so she didn’t want to pick it up to look.
Damn it. She really needed to get a new car cord for her phone. It hadn’t really been a priority because she hadn’t been in a situation where she’d actually needed it until right now.
“Well, to begin with, I’ve had the great love of my life. Unfortunately, she passed away a few years ago.” The suppressed emotion in his voice made Yasmine’s heart ache.
“Oh God, Payam, I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you.” He cleared his throat. “I promised Leila that I wouldn’t spend the rest of my life alone.
I want children. I want companionship. She wanted those things for me.
But dating has been difficult. I hadn’t considered an arrangement until my mother told me about you, but it seems like an ideal situation for someone like me. Possibly for you as well.”
Because he wouldn’t meet his happily-ever-after while he was with Yasmine. He’d already met her and lost her. Maybe that was how she broke the curse.
But just thinking about it made her heart feel heavy. Not just for Payam and the pain she could still hear in his voice, but for her as well. Companionship, children… yes, those were things she wanted, but if she was being completely honest with herself, she also wanted more.
Her phone beeped again.
“I… this is a lot to take in.”
“It is. I just wanted to be honest with you because I don’t want you to turn me away, thinking that your history will repeat itself with me. It won’t.” He said the last two words so firmly, she didn’t have any choice but to believe him.
Have the wedding she wanted, the children she wanted, the presentation of the life she wanted… with a man who sounded very much like he was going to be mourning another woman for the rest of his life. Yet, part of her still thought that sounded tempting. At least she’d have most of what she wanted.
“I’d like to get together this weekend with you to talk about it more. Or at least, get to know each other more.” Clearly, Payam wasn’t going to be put off.
Yasmine could respect that. He still wanted to live, even if it was without the woman he loved.
Her phone beeped again.
“I… can I think about it?”
“Of course.” He didn’t sound upset at her request, which was good. “I know it’s unusual, but I feel like we’re both in unusual situations.”
“Fair enough.” She turned the corner onto her street, feeling very overwhelmed all of the sudden. “I do appreciate you reaching out to me, and that…”
Pulling into the driveway, Yasmine stared at the front door.
The partially shattered, open front door. Her jaw dropped.
“Yasmine? Yasmine, is everything alright?”
“I have to go.” She grabbed the phone. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Without even waiting to hear his response, she swiped to end the call, and that was when she saw all the alerts from the security system. All the beeps she’d gotten during the drive while on the phone with Payam. And she didn’t want Payam right now. She wanted Zeus.
She wished he was here right now.
Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck.
Wait, should she be sitting here? No. What if the person was still inside? What if it was Pete James?
Yasmine dropped her phone and grabbed for the gear shift… then screamed bloody murder as a large shadow covered the driver’s side window, trapping her in her car.