Page 41 of Hired Husband

“You don’t? He made it sound like you’re practically family.”

Her entire face scrunched up. “What? No. GlobarStar sometimes does business with his family’s company, but that’s about it. Thank God.”

I felt my insides slowly relax. “That’s good to know. I didn’t enjoy my brief interaction with him much either.”

“He’s shady as hell,” she murmured, shaking her head before looking back at me. “I hope he didn’t say anything too rude to you.”

“Oh, he did. He made a few comments about my family, but I walked away.”

“Good for you,” she said firmly. “He was after Deja for a while before she got engaged to Colin. I don’t think I’ve ever been as relieved as I was when that didn’t work out for him.”

I blinked a couple times. “He was interested in Deja?”

“I doubt it,” she muttered. “I’m pretty sure the only thing he’s interested in is my family’s money.”

As soon as she said it, I looked down into her eyes and wondered if that was what the sudden change in him had been about at the gala. It was possible that he was after Jasmine now, still trying to crack the Saad family safe. That didn’t sit right with me at all.

“Are you ready to get out of here?” I asked. “I’ve been dying for a walk on the beach and now is as good a time as any, right?”

She smiled. “Let’s go pay for our food. Then I’ll show you a little cove right around the corner that you’re going to dream about for the rest of your life.”

I chuckled. “Bring it on.”

Five minutes later, the waves were rolling gently across our feet as we strolled along the shoreline. The music was already fading behind us, keeping David and whatever his plans for the night might’ve been with it.

I exhaled a slow breath as we rounded a corner that led to a perfect little inlet, the water so calm it was like a swimming pool. “Wow. This really is going to haunt my dreams. It’s gorgeous.”

Jasmine looked over at me, her eyes glittering with the ambient light of the city and the moon. A mischievous smile ghosted across her lips. “So, uh, are you afraid of the water?”

“No,” I said, then frowned when her smile only widened. “Why? And why are you looking at me like that?”

“Okay, then how do you feel about boats?”

CHAPTER 16

JASMINE

The deep night sky was only just beginning to grow pale when Isaac and I boarded the private yacht. I’d woken him up an hour ago, startling the heck out of him when I’d shaken his shoulder in what he’d thought was still the middle of the night.

He’d sat bolt upright in bed, shirtless and with his hair all sleep tousled, and I’d gotten a shock too. It turned out that Isaac Thayer was probably the only person in the whole world who woke up looking dangerously hot.

He glanced around the yacht now, looking like he was half-convinced he was still dreaming, and a completely unnecessary shiver of desire snaked through me. Blowing out a frustrated breath, I stirred the coffee I was making with a bit too much enthusiasm.

Little droplets splashed out of my mug. As I was wiping them up, Isaac came wandering into the kitchenette and I nearly knocked the whole damn thing over. Come on! Get it together, Jasmine. You work with the prettiest boys in the world and you’ve never let any of them get to you like this.

Isaac gave me a lazy, wonderfully confused smile, and instantly, even my stubborn inner voice fell silent. “I’ll admit, I’ve woken up in worse places than a yacht on the Red Sea, but do you want to tell me what we’re doing yet? When you mentioned boats, I thought you wanted to go kayaking or something.”

I shook my head, my mouth dry as I stared at him. “All you need to know is that you’re mine for the day.”

“Yours, huh?”

He took a few steps closer and my heart stopped.

It started again once I realized he wanted caffeine instead of me. He slid in beside me at the counter and started fixing himself a cup of coffee, and I mentally berated myself for expecting him to pounce on me.

Idiot. He’s not yours.

“Did you actually run this by your father or have I been kidnapped?” he asked. “Not that I’m complaining.”