outdoor portraits, which seemed to have been taken at one of the local squares. The fountain behind them was familiar. The greenery provided a lush frame for the women.
“Oh, I’d forgotten which book those were in,” Dominic said, surveying the spread with a smile.
Despite admonishing himself to focus on the meeting, Royce found himself tilting the album farther toward him so he could study the group of women more closely. Jasmine was her usual elegant self, her summer dress full and flowing with a fitted bodice. This was his first time seeing her hair down around her shoulders. The thick mass blanketed her pale skin in soft waves, the sunshine creating glossy highlights in the dark color.
Rosie looked to be newborn, but there was no mistaking those black curls. The other woman looked down at the baby with a smile. But upon closer inspection, Royce thought he detected a pervasive sadness in the woman’s gaze that belied her indulgent expression as she watched the child.
Royce detected another subtle difference among the three. The third woman seemed sick. Her skin appeared a little gray, a little more aged than Jasmine’s.
Though the three were grouped close together on a picnic blanket in dappled sunshine beneath the trees, the other woman seemed to be more of an observer than part of the group. Still, Dominic was definitely talented when it came to composing a shot.
“The resemblance is remarkable,” Royce murmured. All that dark hair linked the women together. No male could penetrate their bond. Only it made him curious about Rosie’s father and whether she looked like him at all...
No. He refused to entertain any thoughts like that. It was too personal...too tempting...
“I know,” Dominic was saying. “Hard to believe they aren’t even related, isn’t it? You’d never know Jasmine wasn’t Rosie’s biological mother.”
Royce’s gaze snapped up to the other man. “What?”
Dominic’s eyes widened. “Well...”
Without me, she’d have no one at all. Jasmine’s words came back to him, haunting his mind.
“What do you mean, Dominic?” Royce forced himself to keep his voice nonchalant. He kept all urgency out of the question. Even though, suddenly, he wanted to know very, very badly.
“I’m not sure I should share Jasmine’s personal business,” Dominic said with a frown. “I spoke out of turn.”
“I understand. I just wondered because Jasmine seemed so natural with her daughter. I knew she was a single mother,” he added, sprinkling in the truth, “but I never would have guessed she hadn’t given birth to her.”
Dominic seemed to consider his words. “You’ve seen her with Rosie?”
“Sure. She brought her to the office the other day.” Royce wasn’t going to reveal any more details about that visit...details that would make him look bad.
“Oh, yeah. Rosie’s such a good baby. Jasmine can pretty much take her wherever and the little one is perfectly content. And will charm anyone within smiling distance.”
Which just resurrected images of the sleepy child grinning in Jasmine’s arms. They’d looked so perfect together, which made it hard to believe that Jasmine wasn’t the birth mother.
Royce tried to assimilate the new things he’d learned into the old image, but it wasn’t working very well. An odd feeling started in his chest. And feelings weren’t a normal occurrence when he conducted business. Yet he seemed to be having them more and more often around Jasmine Harden.
He needed to get a hold on that...later.
“Is this Rosie’s mom?” he asked without thinking.
Dominic paused again, then shrugged. “Yeah. Jasmine met her at City Sanctuary mission. I’m not sure about the details, but I know Jasmine’s family took her in early in her pregnancy. Something went wrong and she asked Jasmine to take Rosie if anything happened.” He looked down at the smiling women in the picture. “She never even hesitated.”
Royce wasn’t surprised. Jasmine was strong. She ran a successful business and had a great reputation. He imagined she’d tackled motherhood with the same determination and grace.
He should be ashamed of thinking any differently. Except now he wanted the whole story.
“Dominic, will you call me a cab, please?” Jasmine’s voice quavered as she asked the question.
Royce hadn’t even realized Jasmine had reentered the office. He glanced up. Her expression was calm, but Royce could see the strain around her delicate mouth and eyes.
Dominic stood. “Sugar, what’s wrong?”
Jasmine visibly pulled herself together. “I’m so sorry to cut this short, but Auntie is at the hospital. She fell.”
As Dominic made the appropriate remarks, Royce stood. This type of thing was totally out of his realm of expertise.
He watched as Dominic slid an arm around Jasmine’s shoulders, feeling completely lost in this situation. That’s when he realized he didn’t need to do that part. Dominic had taken care of the comfort side of things. Royce could go straight to the logistics of the situation—which was his area of expertise.
“Where’s your car?” he asked, his tone now brooking no arguments.
She wouldn’t look him straight in the eye, but mumbled, “It wouldn’t start this morning. My sister Willow brought me.”
No wonder she’d looked frazzled when she arrived.
“Let me cancel my next few appointments and we’ll head over,” Dominic said.
“Absolutely not,” she countered, although her eyes were starting to look suspiciously glassy. “Just call me a cab.”
As they argued with each other, Royce argued with himself. So she had no car. She needed to go to the hospital. A cab would take forever.
He didn’t want to get involved in her personal life.
But she didn’t have a car.
And he was an ass for even debating this with himself. Finally, he cut them both off with, “It looks like I’m your ride.”
* * *
For the second time that day, Jasmine found herself riding in Royce’s car. Sitting next to him reminded her of all the reasons she shouldn’t be here.
The subtly spicy smell of him. The sight of his sure hands on the wheel. The overt luxury of the vehicle.
It was too intimate. Too much. There were too many reasons she should stay far away from personal situations with Mr. Business.
But what choice did she have?
Taking Dominic away from his other clients didn’t seem fair, though he’d been more than willing to help her out as a friend. A cab would have taken a while. She needed to get to Auntie and Rosie as soon as possible. It was her job to take care of her fam—
“Who
