Surprise left Jasmine speechless for a moment. There’d been way too much that left her speechless today. She crossed her arms under her breasts and summoned the firm tone she used when the boys in the afterschool programs decided to act the fool. “Explain.”
“It’s an apology from me to Francis...and to you. And a decision my father will hate—so it’s a win-win.”
She raised a brow, completely uninterested in talking about John Nave.
Royce stepped closer. Jasmine was glad she had her arms crossed in front of her. It lessened the temptation to reach out and touch him. “It’s an apology for acting out of greed.”
Jasmine found herself holding her breath as he met and held her gaze. “I started all of this in an effort to make money, Jasmine. Now, on the other side of it, I realize how wrong that is. You were right. I wish I could say I did the masquerade in an effort to help people, to help the mission. But I honestly didn’t care about the mission’s needs.”
His next step brought him just inches from her. “But I was right about one thing.”
“What’s that?” she whispered, then cleared her throat.
“You were the heart of all we did together.”
She couldn’t push him away when he leaned down to kiss her, but she couldn’t pull him closer, either. The conflict inside of her refused to die.
And he refused to move away. “Now, tell me what happened, Jasmine.”
This time she was silent because she wasn’t sure what to say, not because of sheer stubbornness.
“I’m used to the sexy, strong woman who set me straight in her own sweet and sassy way. This silence is scary.”
“Well, it’s easier to be sassy when there’s nothing big at stake.”
“Is there something big at stake now?”
Jasmine turned away. She just couldn’t bear to face his intent gaze. “Just leave it alone, Royce.”
“I didn’t get where I am by walking away.”
That sparked her temper. “I’m not a business deal.” Her voice rose as she tossed the words back over her shoulder.
“And I’m not a robot. Next to losing my mother, nothing has impacted me like losing you.”
She wanted to believe that, but she couldn’t ignore what she’d heard. “Then why would you do it?”
“Jasmine, I’m afraid I need more to go on.”
“I overheard you with your father, Royce!” Jasmine whirled around to confront him. “How could you shake that man’s hand and say ‘I have never let anything stand in the way of my success. I’m not about to start now’?”
“Because I needed to speak in a language he understood.”
The confusion on his face frustrated her. She groaned, then stomped away. How could he dismiss this so easily?
“I’m going to guess from your reaction that you didn’t stick around for anything further?”
This time she faced him from the safe, much more comfortable distance of a few feet. “What more could be said after that?”
“How about—I’ll do whatever I can to achieve success...but my definition of success has changed?”
His answer was so unexpected, she almost couldn’t get her question out. “To what?” she whispered.
“Jasmine, you’ve taught me so much over the last couple of months,” he said, shaking his head as if he still couldn’t believe it. “Not just you, but Don and Marilyn, Dominic, your family. The problem with immersing yourself in business is that, after a while, that’s all you see.”
And that described the Royce she’d met that first day.
He went on, “My mother tried to warn me, but I refused to listen. I just knew that I had to prove myself, and my father’s measuring stick was money.”
“But you had your mother.”
“I did,” Royce conceded. “And I took care of her as best as I knew how. But emotionally...emotionally, Jasmine, I’m not nearly as savvy as I am at business.” He stepped carefully into her personal space. “Actually, I’m in desperate need of someone to teach me what I need to know.”
“Teach you?”
He nodded, but it was the look in his eyes that took her breath away. “I think it’s time I conquered a new arena.”
“What’s that?”
“Love. Family.”
Was this really happening? Jasmine was almost afraid to believe.
“Would you and Auntie and Rosie and your sisters be willing to take on a workaholic CEO and teach me how to be...human?”
Yes, this might actually be happening. “I think your mother would have liked that.”
“I know she would.”
With the gentlest of touches, Royce cupped his hands around Jasmine’s face. As his lips touched hers, she again felt the magic of connecting with him.
After long minutes, he murmured against her lips. “I need you, Jasmine. Please help me become the man I should be. A husband. A father.”
Was it possible for your heart to explode, simply from emotion? But Jasmine couldn’t give in to the mushiness too fast. “On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
Jasmine dragged in a deep breath before she said, “That whatever we do...we do it together.”
“That’s a deal I’ll never turn down.”
* * * * *
Read on for an extract from CAN’T HARDLY BREATHE by Gena Showalter.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
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