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.
