Secret Words (Secret Dreams Contemporary Romance 1) (3 page)

"So his parents are here tonight too?"

"No. His dad's not well so they couldn't attend. He's here by himself."

"You shouldn't have come out here all alone with him, Jasmine," he rebuked.

"He's never tried anything inappropriate before. But I must admit he spooked me a little bit tonight."

"Shouldn't you tell your dad about him?"

"No. There's no need. He's gone now."

Kane was unconvinced Jasmine had heard the last of Tim but he let it go for now. "I'm glad I followed you."

She gave him a startled look. "I thought you just happened to be around again."

"No. I saw how upset you got in there. I wanted to make sure you were fine."

"Do you make it a habit of playing hero to damsels in distress?" she teased.

"Only to beautiful distressed damsels in pretty bridesmaid's dresses. You look stunning today, Jaz. I haven't had the chance to tell you that until now."

"Thank you," she murmured, her long lashes fluttering as she gazed into his eyes.

Jasmine licked her lips and his breathing shallowed. He felt the pull of her mouth and his tongue itched to explore it. He stopped breathing altogether when Jasmine tilted her face to his in an open invitation.

Damn it. Not yet.

"Uh, I think we should go back in," he croaked.

Jasmine seemed to snap out of a mesmerised state and her cheeks reddened. He could imagine what was going through her head.
 
She would be thinking he didn't want to kiss her.

He decided he owed her an explanation. "Jaz, I'm afraid I'm engaged."

"What?" she asked in shock. "I had no idea."

"It's complicated and —"

Jasmine shook her head and raised her hand to stop him from explaining. "You're right. We should go back in." She turned on her heels and hurried away.

He wanted to kick himself for sticking to principles.

CHAPTER THREE

"No way. Not again," Jasmine said heatedly to her best friend over the phone.

"Weren't you just a little curious as to why it was complicated?" Samantha Lane asked.

Jasmine rolled her eyes although her friend couldn't see. "Sam, he's engaged and that's that. I don't care why it's complicated. I just don't understand why he kept making moon eyes at me and felt compelled to rescue me from a boozed-up admirer."

"Well, he sounds keen on you."

"I'm not a fiancé-stealing slut," she said bitterly.

"Of course you're not! Will you stop saying it like you think everyone thinks so?" Sam demanded.

"George's fiancée thought so. And I bet you George told Tim something along those lines, and that was why Tim treated me like he did."

"I thought Tim stopped talking to George when George dated you. You really think George badmouthed you to Tim?"

"Why else would Tim be so disrespectful of me all of a sudden? He wasn't like that before."

"Maybe Tim just feels frustrated. Like you said, he seemed to wonder why you were giving everyone else a go and not him," Sam suggested.

"He said I was giving everyone else a
turn.
That has a totally different connotation from giving everyone else a
go
. I'm positive he believes I sleep around and he wants his
turn
."

"That's ridiculous. I'll slap him hard the next time I see him," Sam declared loyally.

"Thanks, Sam. I'm still wishing I slapped him hard last Saturday."

"I'm worried that Tim's there in Sydney with you. What if he follows you around and does something unthinkable?"

"Don't worry. Most of the time, I'll be in the house writing. I'll keep the doors and windows locked."

Sam snorted. "You went there to see if you'll enjoy living in Sydney, not lock yourself indoors to write your book."

Jasmine laughed. "I know. But you know I like Sydney already. The only thing I'm still considering is if I want to be away from my parents and you and Kris," she said, thinking of Kristen McCann, her other best friend and Sam's cousin. "Although you did promise me we'll have fun girls' weekends often if I do decide to move."

Sam chuckled. "Yes. Even though we'll miss you a lot, Kris and I are already looking forward to those weekends. They'll be great because absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"Looks like you want me to pack up and leave Melbourne already."

"You know you're very close to accepting your boss's offer, Jaz. It's a senior role and it's more money. And I don't think you should worry about your parents being far away from both you and Jessa. I bet you when you make the move, they'd think about moving too."

"I hope so. I really do hate the thought that they'd be by themselves without one of their kids close by."

"What have your mum and dad said about you moving?"

"Well, Mum got teary when I told her but she said I should do what I want. But you're right, Sam. If I do accept the role, Jess and I could convince Mum and Dad to move here, too."

"Did you tell Jessa about your books before she left for her honeymoon?" Samantha asked.

"No. I chickened out."

"Why? You said you were excited about letting her know. I'm sure she'd be thrilled about the fact that there's another writer in the family."

Jasmine snorted. "Jess is one of the star writers for
Lifestyle by Design
. You know how huge that is, with the magazine being so highly popular and well-respected. Compared to her, I've got a long way to go."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short. If people knew your pseudonym, they would probably mob you before they would your sister."

"Yeah, right," Jasmine smirked. "Anyway, in relation to telling Jess about my writing, even though I could trust her to keep a secret from our parents, I don't think she would keep it from her best friends. They're as thick as thieves and tell each other almost everything."

Sam laughed. "Just like you, me and Kris."

She chuckled. "Yeah, just like us."

"Well, so what if Jessa tells her friends? Maybe they've even read one of your books and are already your fans. And from what you've told me, Jessa's friends are great people."

"They are," she confirmed with a loud exhale. "But one of them is Kane's sister."

"Aha! So it's really about the guy you want to run away from."

"I don't want to run away from him. He's simply not available."

"Fair enough. If that's the case, what would it matter if he learned about your secret life?"

Jasmine looked out the window as she twirled a strand of hair around her finger. Would it matter if Kane found out she wrote steamy romance novels? Even though her novels were a celebration of love and its physical expression, she anticipated not everyone would be open to them. Would he even want to read them? She grew warm at the picture of Kane reading the sexy scenes in her books.

She shook her head vigorously to rid herself of the embarrassingly erotic thought. It was ludicrous to keep dreaming about a man who was unavailable. Even if the other woman was only his girlfriend and not his fiancée, she would still keep her distance. After her humiliating experience with George, she didn't want to go where she could be painted as a whore who destroyed relationships.

But Kane said it was complicated.

"Jaz? You there?"

Samantha's voice jolted her out of her pondering. "Yeah, I'm here. What were we talking about?"

"Where did you go, girl? I said what would it matter if this guy Kane knew about what you do in your spare time?"

"You know I still very much want to keep my writing top secret. If I'm still too shy to even tell my family, why would I want him to know? We've only known each other for over a week."

"That's a point," Samantha agreed. "I guess I'm just intrigued by this sizzling attraction you two seem to have."

"I know, Sam," she said with a sigh. "There's something there. But he's engaged so there's no way we could be together."

Her chest hurt at the reality of her words.

~~~~~~~

Jasmine's fingers stopped tapping on her keyboard when her phone rang. Shoot. She was just finishing a scene where her lead character was having a toe-curling orgasm from the man she thought she'd lost forever.

She frowned at the caller ID. 'Blocked', it said. She stared at it, reluctant to answer for fear it could be one of her workmates wanting to chat about how her holiday was going, then ask a quick question or two about one of her clients.

What if it's Kane calling?

Her mind flashed a picture of Kane's head between her legs, giving her as much pleasure as her heroine just got, and she quickly moistened at the thought. Damn, it wouldn't do her good to think of him while she was writing erotic scenes.

The ringing had stopped and she felt a pang of regret for not answering it. What if it had been Kane? What if he was ringing to tell her he'd broken up with his fiancée because he couldn't stand the thought of never being with her? What if he wanted to tell her he couldn't wait to kiss her all over —

Her overheated, overactive imagination was interrupted by the phone ringing once again. She answered it quickly and rather breathlessly. "Hello?"

"Jasmine. Even over the phone you're so sexy."

"Who's this?" she cried in alarm, knowing it wasn't Kane.

"It's me," the caller chuckled and she stiffened in hostility.

"What do you want, Tim?"

"Hey, I'm just calling to apologise for Saturday night. I'm sorry for the way I acted. I blame it on the alcohol."

"And who chose to drink too much, Tim?" she asked coldly.

"You're right, of course," he replied placatingly. "It was entirely my fault. I'm sorry."

"Fine. Thank you for calling."

"Wait, wait!" Tim called out before she had a chance to hang up. "I want to make it up to you, Jasmine. How about I take you out to dinner tonight?"

Her mouth opened in disbelief. This man was really something else. "Sorry, Tim. I can't. I already have plans."

"With your boyfriend?"

"Yes."

"I noticed you spent last night alone by yourself in that big house after your parents went back to Melbourne."

The hairs on her neck stood up.
How the hell did he know?

"Are you stalking me?" she asked, injecting as much disapproval and coldness in her voice as she could muster.

"Stalking you? Come on. I thought we were friends. Can't friends have dinner together?"

"We're not friends. We're just acquaintances."

"Come on, sweet pea. Our fathers are business partners now. Don't you think they'd like it if the two of us got closer together?"

"You know I already have a boyfriend. You even met him the other night."

Tim chuckled. "Can one man satisfy you, Jasmine? I heard you have a high sex drive. And dating different men gives you ideas for those sexy stories you write. I promise you I'm much better in bed than George. I'll give you lots of ideas for your sex scenes. Please, Jasmine. I'm dying to know what it's like to be with you. You're so beautiful."

"You must be mad! If you don't stop hassling me, Tim, I swear you'll regret it." Her voice was low and shaking with anger. "You know my dad is the majority shareholder in the business and it would impact on your dad —"

"Would you really tell your father?" Tim interrupted. "Do you really want him to know you sleep around so you could write horny little stories? Wouldn't that break his heart?"

"I do not sleep around! Now go to hell and leave me alone!" She ended the call and flung her phone on her bed. Her body shook uncontrollably from outrage and shock. How could anyone think that way of her?

The answer was obvious. George Paulson. The liar ex-boyfriend from hell. That phone call was evidence he had given Tim a copy of the document he stole from her computer.

Her eyes burned with furious tears as she remembered that incident.

George had turned up at her doorstep on a Sunday afternoon when she was in the middle of writing a lovemaking scene for her third book.

She had gone to the kitchen to make them coffee and plated up some leftover lemon meringue cake her mum had made the day before. When she had called for him to join her in the kitchen, he didn't answer. To her dismay, she found him in her study, sitting in her chair, his bulging eyes glued to her laptop screen.

That was precisely the time when George went from sweet to icky. Instead of being embarrassed at being found snooping into her private stuff, he had suggested they find another girl and have a threesome.

She had gaped at him in astonishment. There was nothing in her manuscript about a ménage à trois, so where the hell did the idea that she was up for that come from?

She threw him out, angry and hurt.

It got worse. A couple of days later, she had discovered a 'sent' message from her email folder. George had emailed her partial manuscript to himself from her computer. The hide of the guy! The only consolation about all that was there was nowhere in that document that showed her pen name. Her alter ego's identity remained a secret.

She'd never completed that book and she'd decided to abandon it.

She thought that was the end of it until that horrible day when she was at a coffee shop with Sam and Kris. A woman in her early twenties had approached their table, grabbed a glass of water and threw it in her face. Thank God it was only water, but still, it was shocking.

The woman had accused her of being a cock-sucking, fiancé-stealing, slut-whore and warned her to stay away from her George. She had been so stunned she could only watch as her friends defended her. After much drama, the woman had left, still fuming and cursing at her.

She couldn't understand how George could have fooled them both. But it made her feel a little better that she wasn't the only one deceived. At least she could hang on to the notion that George was an expert liar instead of her being stupid and a bad judge of character.

She didn't know if George and that girl were still together but she wouldn't be surprised if they'd split. It would serve George right. But what worried her now was that George might be being vindictive. He was the one who cheated and slept around but he wanted
her
to have that reputation. Now his pal Tim was bothering the hell out of her. Some dysfunctional trait in common must have bound those two as friends.