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She nodded. “Yes, please.”
Fayez ordered a bottle of the crisp, fruity champagne she enjoyed. Whether he enjoyed it or not was another matter, but he always shared it with her.
A blonde woman, perhaps a decade older than Jazmina’s twenty years, walked toward them with sharp, clicking heels, her outfit screaming haute couture along with her expensive scent. She stopped and spoke to Fayez, her body oozing sex appeal and her unsubtle interest stirring something tart and acidic deep inside Jazmina’s chest.
Her breath hitched. Was this the woman who’d be her replacement?
As if reading her mind, the blonde arched a brow Jazmina’s way. “I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met?” she purred.
Fayez’s hand clenched his napkin, but his introduction was smooth, unhurried. “Daphne meet Jazmina, my…date. Jazmina, Daphne is an old friend of the family.”
Daphne’s laugh tinkled. “Oh, I think I was a little more than that, Sheikh Fayez.” She touched his shoulder in a familiar caress, her sparkling, cat-green eyes for a moment holding Jazmina’s. “It’s so lovely to meet you, Jazmina. But please, don’t let me interrupt your date.”
“We won’t,” Jazmina said coolly.
Fayez didn’t appear to notice when the blonde sashayed away, he was too busy assessing Jazmina. “Are you okay?”
Resentment flared. Whatever Daphne had been to Fayez it was well and truly over now, even if Daphne still held a candle for him. Her throat dried. Was that how Jazmina would be classified in the future? A passing acquaintance? A woman he used to fuck?
That she’d still be nobody and nothing if it wasn’t for him made her resentment fester more. She lifted her chin, her lie a brazen one. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
The drinks waiter returned and poured them each a glass of champagne before he placed the bottle into an ice bucket and retreated.
“Daphne means nothing to me,” Fayez said, as though he’d read Jazmina’s mind.
As though she wasn’t about to fall apart at the seams.
“I kind of gathered that,” she gritted.
He cocked his head to the side. “What is going on with you tonight? You haven’t been yourself from the moment I picked you up.”
A tidal wave of emotion swept over her, cracking her open. “Iammyself,” she retorted. “And maybethatis the problem. I’m good enough between the sheets, but I’ll never be anything more to you, will I?”
His face flashed with shock. “How can you say that?”
“How can I not?” She stood. “This was just going to be another dinner, wasn’t it?” At his frown she added,“Whatever.I’m no longer hungry. I’ll find my own way home.”
