Secret Words (Secret Dreams Contemporary Romance 1) (15 page)

Ari laughed. "No need to flatter me. I'm already making you that dress. Now try the other one and see if you like it, too."

"Let me pay for the cost of the materials, Ari. Please," she said as she changed dresses.

"Not for these first two. I still have excess materials for them. I'm just excited that someone else apart from me will be wearing my designs. Whoopeee!"

Ari danced around the room while Jasmine laughed and buttoned herself up. Ari's exuberance was successfully distracting her from the pain of her broken heart.

She turned to the mirror, a big grin spreading to her face. "I definitely love this one too! Are these the only designs you have?"

"No, I have three more. The others are more casual. These are cocktail party type dresses."

"Show me all of them. If I like the others, I'm paying for them."

"Okay, I'm so excited," Ari said as she pulled more clothes out of her wardrobe.

Jasmine tried Ari's casual designs and decided she also wanted them.

Ari stilled and looked at her gratefully. "Thank you."

"No,
thank you
for your wonderful creations. And thank you for being such a wonderful friend. I'm glad I met you."

"Me too, Jaz."

They hugged briefly and she changed back to her own clothes.

"Have you designed some lingerie already?" Jasmine asked.

"I've already sketched some. Wanna see?"

"Oh, yes!"

Ari pulled out a sketch pad from a drawer and they sat on her bed to inspect them.

"Oh my God. These are hot," Jasmine gushed.

"I know. They are, aren't they? I designed these after I broke up with that cheating ex-boyfriend of mine. I wanted to create something that would make me feel sexy and desirable after being dumped. I guess I should thank him for giving me the motivation."

Jasmine gazed at her friend in wonder. "Ari, that was deep. Thank you."

"Was it?" Ari asked with a chuckle.

"Yes. I've been struggling to finish my fourth book because of my breakup with Kane. But you know what? I should put all the emotions I've gone through into my books and then create the happily ever after that I want. I could use Kane as an inspiration to come up with new material instead of letting my pain halt my writing progress."

"Yes! Let me go get us glasses of wine and we can toast both our exes."

As she watched Ari bounce out of the room, Jasmine smiled a bittersweet smile. She wouldn't be surprised if the ache she felt in her chest became a permanent fixture in her life. She loved Kane. He was the only man she'd ever loved. And by some cruel set of circumstances, she lost him. But she could choose to focus on the love they had shared and celebrate that over and over again through her books.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"Hello, Dylan. Happy birthday again," Kane said as he walked into their parents' place.

"Thank you. Isn't it great to have two birthday parties? I should do it again next year—throw a party that Mum and Dad aren't crazy about attending so Mum will hold another one here."

"Good thinking, bro," Kane said, patting Dylan's head patronisingly as they headed for the games room.

"Brenda wanted to come tonight but I told her it's family only," Dylan informed him. "She's waiting for her next invite from you, and she's bugging me about it. Next time she annoys me, I'm giving her your phone number."

"What? No! Dylan, I'll kill you if you do," he threatened as a delicious aroma hit his nostrils. A table was set up against one wall of the games room, and it was laden with food.

"Jesus. How many people did you invite, Dylan?"

"No one. Just family and the twins' girlfriends. Mum thought I was going to ask some of my friends to come. She
forgot
I already celebrated with them last week."

"It doesn't matter," Linda said as she offered her cheek to Kane. "You can all come back tomorrow and eat the leftovers."

"I bet that was your intention all along, Mum," Kane said with a grin as he went to hug his dad.

"It was your fault, Kane," his dad said. "Your mum loved it so much when you were here for two weeks that she's enticing you guys back with her cooking."

"Don't worry, Mum," Dylan said, rubbing their mother's back. "We'll pack all the leftovers in takeaway containers and we'll freeze them when we get home. Then every night, we'll microwave them and eat them. It'll be like you feeding us for a week except that we're not physically with you."

Linda shook her head at Dylan's cheeky response.

Faye and Ray arrived, carrying a cake each.

"Yes!" Kane said. "You should always make two cakes every time from now on, Faye."

"I don't really have a choice. You and Ray complain to me all the time that you never have enough."

"How can you complain, bro?" Kane asked Ray. "You live with her. She makes it for you all the time."

"Not anymore," Ray said with a pout. "She said she didn't want me to get fat."

"I said it's unhealthy for you to eat too much cake. I didn't say anything about you getting fat," Faye retorted.

"So you'll still marry me even if I get fat," Ray joked, snaking his arms around Faye's waist.

"I'll still marry you even if you're as big as an elephant," Faye responded, placing her arms around Ray's neck and tiptoeing for a kiss.

"Oh, please," Kane said with an eye roll. "You'll make everyone sick with all the sweetness we have to consume with our eyes."

The engaged couple ignored him and continued their kissing. He still couldn't believe how Faye managed to turn Ray from a private kind of person to someone who was ultra-comfortable with public displays of affection.

"Everyone's here," Linda announced as the twins and their girlfriends walked in and greeted everyone.

"Let's eat. I'm starving," Dylan said, rubbing his hands in anticipation as he approached the buffet table.

"Isn't Brenda joining us tonight?" Faye asked.

"No. She wanted to come but I said it's family only," Dylan responded, filling his plate with food.

Uh-oh,
Kane thought.
I'd be busted.

"So," Faye whispered to him, "you're not ready to include Brenda in our family gatherings? Brad brought his new girlfriend. They've only been going out for a couple of weeks."

"No," he whispered back. "After Hannah and Jasmine, I don't want to bring another woman here too soon."

"Ah," Faye replied with a nod of her head.

He hid a relieved sigh. He knew Faye wouldn't stop snooping if she thought something was out of place.

He'd been doing so well with not mentioning Jasmine to anyone in the past week. Wasn't that a sign of recovery? Sure, she still occupied his mind every minute of every day, but the fact that he could shut his mouth about her must mean he was making good progress. Well, he'd like to believe that or he would cave in with the heaviness of losing her.

He busied himself with plating some food, grateful no one was looking at his eyes to see the sadness there.

A phone rang loudly and Dylan fished it out of his pocket. Dylan groaned and shoved the phone in front of him. "Here, you answer that," his brother said.

He glanced at the screen.
Brenda.

"No. She's calling you," he said, turning away from Dylan.

"This is the tenth time today, Kane. All she wants is to talk to you. If you don't take this, I'm giving her your phone number," Dylan said, exasperated.

"Fine." He grabbed the phone from Dylan, walked out of the room and answered it.

He promised Brenda he would call her if he needed a date for another high-end function, and asked her not to annoy Dylan or he might suggest another date for him to take instead of her. Brenda seemed suitably chastened. She promised to just wait for his call.

He walked back into the games room and handed Dylan back his phone. "You owe me. She won't be annoying you again."

"What did you say?" Dylan asked.

"Something," he answered with a shrug as he picked up his plate and sat on the nearest chair.

"How come Brenda doesn't have your phone number, Kane?" Faye queried. "I thought you're going out with her."

Dylan choked on his food and stared at Faye in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? Where did you get that idea?"

Kane avoided his sister's eyes as she glared at him.

"Kane told us he liked her," Faye responded.

"Oh really now?" Dylan said with mischief. "Wait 'til I tell Brenda that."

"Don't you dare, Dylan," Kane growled.

"So you lied, Kane," Faye observed.

"Not really. I do like her as a fun kind of person. That doesn't mean I want to spend a lot of time with her."

Faye shook her head in censure.

"It's not such a big deal, Faye," he said with a hint of contrition.

"If I ask you a question now, will you tell me the truth?" Faye demanded.

Kane got nervous. He didn't like where this was going. "It depends on the question," he responded.

"Are you really over Jasmine?"

He dropped his fork. He didn't expect her to just come out with it.

"Why is my answer so important?" he asked as he walked over to the buffet table to get clean cutlery.

"You have no idea how important it is," Faye sighed.

"But why?"

He saw Faye glance at Ray with a determined look and noticed Ray's tiny nod.
What's going on?

"Your answer determines the kind of help we could give Jasmine," Faye said.

He scowled. His heart started to beat so fast he found it hard to breathe. "What on earth do you mean?"

"Give me your answer first."

He took a deep breath and released it slowly. "No, I'm not over her," he admitted as he slumped back in his chair.

"So you still love her?" Faye asked softly.

"Yes," he whispered.

"Oh Kane. You should have been more open with us last week."

"Well, I'm being open with you now. So tell me what you mean about helping Jasmine. What does she need help with?"

Faye held his gaze intently. "Jasmine broke up with you because she was being blackmailed by her ex-boyfriend George."

His heart stopped. "What the fuck do you mean?"

~~~~~~~

Kane buried his face in his hands as Faye detailed to him Hannah's involvement, the fake porno short stories and the unsigned threatening email Jasmine received.

His head and heart were pounding with a blend of emotional extremes and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Jasmine still loved him. That made his heart swell so large it erased his biggest pain in a flash.

But he was also angry. Angry at George, angry at Hannah, and most of all, angry at Jasmine for not sharing with him something so critical and significant. Didn't she think he would do anything he could to help her with this?

"Kane, Jaz said you told her about a firm who lost clients because the architect had some negative matters about his private life made public. Because of your firm's profile and the types of clients you cater to, she wanted to be absolutely sure that couldn't happen to you. That was why she did what she did."

He melted. Jasmine was crazy. The love of his life was crazy. And it humbled him that she loved him that much.

He looked at Faye, his vision suspiciously blurry. "Why didn't you tell me this last week?"

"Jaz was going to. That was why she went to Dylan's party. We managed to convince her to tell you everything after we showed her how we could neutralise George's threat even if we couldn't stop him. Ray was going to devote several pages in
Lifestyle by Design
for an article on you and put you on the cover. Ray and Jess came up with an idea of what to write so even if a bad one came out somewhere else, it wouldn't be taken seriously by people that mattered. Your international clients are more likely to read and believe what's written in
Lifestyle
than what's in some tabloid magazine." Faye paused, looking at him with compassion.

"So why didn't she?" he prodded.

"Because she saw you at the balcony with Brenda."

"Oh God!" he groaned. He could only imagine how hurt she must have felt.

"She left the party not long after that," Faye continued. "But before she did, she made us promise not to tell you anything. She said there would be no need for what we had planned because George's threat was only valid if she stayed with you. And from what she had witnessed, she believed you had moved on. She thought it was better that you didn't know anything so you wouldn't have to contend with all the drama.

"But of course, we just couldn't leave it at that. Jess and I decided we needed to find out how you really felt. If you didn't love Jaz anymore, then we had to drop the subject. And last week you told us you'd moved on."

"I said that because I thought you guys were worried about me. I just wanted to be left alone so I could heal in my own time," Kane croaked, his throat tight from unshed tears.

"Oh Kane," Faye cried, reaching over and placing a comforting hand on his arm.

"So we're going ahead with the article," Ray interjected.

"Yes, please," Kane responded humbly.

"It would be much more effective if Hannah cooperated. Is there a way we could swing her over to our side?"

"I'll talk to her," Kane answered. "I'll bribe her with anything she wants, as long as she doesn't ask for me."

Everyone chuckled.

He looked at Dylan. "Dyl, you won't mind if I leave now, will you? I might still be able to catch the last flight to Melbourne."

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Jasmine tried her best to appear carefree as she set down a pot of tea in front of her parents. It wasn't very often that her mum and dad turned up at her doorstep unexpectedly, so she suspected they were there to probe into why she had been lacklustre and way too quiet for the last two and a bit weeks.

She thought she got away with not seeing her parents this weekend, not that she didn't want to spend time with them, but the effort to look happy for their benefit was such a strain that she took the easy way out. She told them she couldn't go to dinner with them because she had work she needed to do that night. Well, now Alice and Joe were sitting in her living room for a quick cup of tea.