healing-hearts (26 page)

“What makes it so unbelievable?” Jason inquired, leaning back and settling in the leather of his chair.

“Come on, Jason, I know you.” Raquel’s voice dropped an octave as she pressed her palms flat on the smooth surface and leaning in toward him across the desk. “You’re just like me.”

“People change, Raquel,” Jason declared.

“Not people like us.” She stood up, returning to her full height. “We love the thrill of the chase.”

“Now, don’t get me wrong I still love it...in business. But, for my personal life...” He just let that stand in the air between them. Raquel was one of his co-workers and had even been an enjoyable lover for a while, but he didn’t see her as a confidant. They were still competitors for the same position and he had to keep some things private. His marriage and family were two of them.

Jason was impressed how Raquel could even make a shrug seem like a sensual move.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to work. I just stopped by to say Hi.” Looking at her watch, she backed up toward the door. “Besides, it’s six thirty and it’s almost bed time for a certain family man.”

Raquel walked out of his office with a parting wink.

Jason shook his head at his colleague’s words and began to put his work away for the night. He didn’t need Raquel to remind him of the time, because most days in the last couple of weeks he found himself staring at the clock repeatedly anxious about going home and being with the twins. They had quickly snagged a place for themselves in his heart.

A small voice inside his head told him that Yasmine had, too, but that was a thought he didn’t want to give room. He knew that those feelings wouldn’t go anywhere, because he had no doubt that when all of this was over, she would end it and walk out of his life forever. So, he lived in the present when it came to Yasmine.

After locking away the files he’d been working on and turning off his computer, Jason headed home—he had promised the kids he would read them a bedtime story and he didn’t want to be late.

~ML~

When Jason walked into the house Yasmine and the kids, who were already in their pajamas, were lying on the living room floor, playing a board game that helped the children with letters and numbers.

“Hi, Jason.” Joshua, the first to spot him, yelled.

“Want to play?” Jessica asked greeting him with a big smile.

“No, I think I’m going to go take a shower really quick and get all this work grime off me, then how about a story?”

“Can you
wead
the story about the brother and sister and the candy house?” Joshua asked, looking up from the game.

“But, I want to read a story
vith
a princess in it.” Jessica whined to her brother.

Before an argument occurred, Jason stepped in. “How about we put the names of the two books in a bowl and Yasmine can pick one of them and which ever one comes out gets read tonight and the other one we can read tomorrow?”

Both little brown faces scrunched up as they considered the option.

They both agreed.

~ML~

“I think everything seems to be going pretty well.” Jason strutted into the bedroom after the kids had been read to and tucked in for the night.

Yasmine looked over at him from her place under the covers. She had just gotten into bed, and normally Jason would be in the kitchen for another hour doing work before he came in. Yasmine’s nerves immediately became alert with his presence.

“Yes, it does. I find myself rushing home from work to be with them.” She giggled with the thought of the twins.

“Me, too.” Jason slid off the sweat pants he wore around the house and padded over to the bed in his usual sleepwear ensemble—boxer briefs and t-shirt. “I’ve got an early day tomorrow. Do you think you can get the kids dressed by yourself?”

“I don’t know...” She gave an exaggerated pause and then smiled at Jason. “I think I can manage, but I won’t promise that one of them won’t walk out the door with their pants on backwards,” she threw in, tongue in cheek.

“Hey.” He slid under the blankets. “That only happened once and it was a skirt. It looked the same on both sides.”

Sarcastic humor laced her words. “You know, I ought to call the fashion houses and tell them we have a genius of an idea. Turn all your skirts around—little girls want to wear rows of pretty bows in the back.”

They both began to laugh.

“Have you seen some of those fashion shows, they would probably think it was a marvel of an idea,” he posed.

“They probably would.” She inhaled and then exhaled slowly, calming herself after the laughter.

“You know, you have such a free sounding laugh.”

“Is that a good or bad?”

Jason was on his side facing Yasmine, with his head propped on his hand above his pillow. “It’s neither. It’s just you, Yasmine. You give yourself totally over to whatever you’re doing, whether you’re briefing or laughing or raising twins. It’s an awesome sight to see.”

“You laugh.” She felt a little inept with the intimacy of the moment.

“Yeah, but in my line of work, we smile and chuckle, because time is of the essence. Always another promotional assignment needing work, time is a commodity.”

“Do you like what you do?” Yasmine asked. She really didn’t know much about Jason, except for brief snatches of his life she got around the house.

“I love it. I couldn’t see myself having another profession.”

“What I saw at the Neptune Festival and the fact that your boss is looking at you for the vice-president position, I’d say you’re exceptionally good at it.”

“Thank you, Yasmine.”

“V
ocê mais que merece-o
.” Her soft words letting him know he more than deserved it.

Jason leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips. “
Boa noite
,” in Portuguese.

“So you’ve been practicing.” The corner of her lips rose as she turned over onto her side away from Jason, her usual direction of sleep being away from the door.

“Not really, I just picked it up from what you tell the kids at night.”

“Hmm...sometimes, I don’t realize I’ve switched languages.” She stifled a yawn.

“I guess blending them has become so customary to you, it just happens.” The bed shifted as Jason got comfortable.

“Pretty...much...” She began drifting off to sleep.

Somewhere in the lethargic fog, she could sense Jason moving in closer to her and slipping his arm around her waist. Without awaking to process what was going on, Yasmine snuggled deep into the warm cocoon of his arms and gave herself completely over to dreamland.

The next morning when Yasmine awoke to the buzz of her alarm, she was in bed alone. Stretching, she took a moment to remember being wrapped in Jason’s arms all night and how much she had enjoyed it. She got up from the bed, deciding not to analyze what it all meant to the relationship. She was going to take it day by day and leave the worrying for later. The intact family setting was something she and the children would never have again after Jason left; she was going to enjoy it fully.

“Who knows?” she thought to herself as she got her things together for a shower. She had forty minutes before she would awaken the kids.

After everything was over, she would just have faith that Jason would still be an active part of the children’s lives.

And in your life?
her heart questioned, but she pushed it away. She was a big girl she could handle whatever came her way. Besides, she was a pro at turning her heart off. She’d had plenty of practice with Blake, she thought to herself as she got into the steady stream of warm water.

~ML~

“Well, aren’t you just radiant these days?” Leigh suggested across the table from Yasmine at one of their favorite lunchtime spots, an Italian restaurant.

Their food had just arrived when Leigh had made her statement. Yasmine had chosen fettuccini, with mushrooms in a garlic cream sauce; it was always something different for her and Leigh had ordered her usually tortellini with ham and a white cream sauce.

“I wouldn’t go as far as that, but I am comfortable and happy.” Yasmine said as she picked up her lemon tea and sipped, hoping to hide the smile.

“Don’t try and hide, I can see that smile from here as you’re about to pack in all those carbs and fat,” Leigh winked at her, “…and I’m glad.” Then Leigh took her first bite of food. “Hmm, it never ceases to amaze me how good the food is here.”

“A healthy dose of all things bad can be good for the soul every now and then.” Raising her glass she said, “I dedicate this national food cheat day.”

Leigh clinked glasses with Yasmine’s.

“You know a good, old fashioned regular supply of sex makes a woman hungry.

“Well none of that is happening here. This is strictly a mutual business arrangement.”

“Umm…hmm.”

She chose to ignore her friend, but admitted to herself that the last few weeks had been going well, but she chalked it up to finally having the twins under her roof. She took a bite of food. It was good, as she expected. She once accidentally described the wrong thing to the waiter and gotten a plate with noodles swimming in a lot of garlic
butter
, instead of adding extra
fresh
garlic to the original menu choice. But she had eaten it and not sent it back like Leigh had suggested and had given herself a stomachache for a week.

“You deserve to be happy, Yassi. So, tell me about my soon to be godchildren.”

“The only word that comes to mind when I think of Joshua is firecracker.” Yasmine laughed, thinking of the little boy’s energy.

“How so?” Leigh threw out the question in between bites.

Yasmine answered them the same way. “He’s just so full of energy. Everything is done with an explosion or speed and there are sound effects that accompany everything.”

Yasmine told Leigh a few stories about the entertainment of raising a three year-old boy and they both laughed.

“So, how is Jessica?”

Yasmine paused for a moment. “She’s the epitome of what would be called ‘daddy’s little girl’. She’s sweet and likes dresses and dolls and lip gloss.”

“You’re already letting that girl put color on her lips?” Leigh feigned a look of shock.

“No, girl, it’s those flavored chapsticks. Jason bought them for her one day, when he heard her inquire about mine.”

“Do the kids fight a lot?”

“They have their moments where they argue or one is touching the other one, but for the most part, Jessica sits quietly playing with her dolls while Joshua is the tornado around her.”

That description brought another round of laughter.

“So, I take it Jason is relating well with them?”

Yasmine paused for a moment. “He’s gentle with Jessica and even has tea-parties with her, then ten minutes later he’s in the back yard playing some sports game with Joshua.”

“Business man becomes father.” Leigh commented.

“Amazingly, he’s at home every night before their bedtime and never goes to the office on the weekends unless he has to and he’s back within hours.”

“It sounds like you all are getting the hang of this,” Leigh commented.

Yasmine gave her friend a broad smile. “We are.”

Leigh asked the question Yasmine was dreading.

“A great father, but how is he as a husband?”

Yasmine, like Leigh, pushed the other half of the food remaining on her plate aside for the waiter to place in to-go containers—they would eat it at work the next day. “Considerate…and attentive.”

“You’ve been married for months, to a hottie, and all I get it is considerate and attentive? Well,
hell
, I saw that much at your reception,” Leigh’s Virginian drawl came out thick.

Laughing, Yasmine threw her hands up feigned impatience. “Well if you already knew then why did you ask?”

“Because I was hopin’ that in respect of our friendship, I would have at least been privileged to a little more juicy details than that.” Crossing her long legs, she turned to the side in her chair and gave off a perfect imitation of being insulted, Leigh finished with, “But I just want you to know, that I am not feeling the love from your direction.”

Yasmine waited for the waiter to take their plates away to put in carry out packaging and then teased her friend. “Well, if you’re mad at me then I won’t tell you the countertop story.”

“Well, it’s about time. I’ve waited long enough, so come out with it.” Leigh accused as she rapidly swung herself back to face the table and Yasmine.

The waiter returned, Yasmine gave him the money for the tip and bill and then rose from the table. “Nooo,” Yasmine let the O’s drag out before she continued, “You wanted to be all sassy, so you’re just going to have to wait until we get to the car.”

Rushing past her, Leigh spoke over her shoulder, “You better be glad I can’t speak another language, because I’d be telling you off about now.”

Yasmine trailed behind her best friend laughing and saying, “
Aposto-o
ria
,” then rephrased it in English, “I bet you would.”