any chance of his asking her a question about herself. Their few personal interactions so far had seemed as awkward for him as they had been for her. Maybe she’d been wrong.
“She’s not really my aunt,” Jasmine clarified. “She was my mother’s nanny when she was little and my grandmother’s best friend. We moved in with her after...anyway, all of us girls still live together now.”
Royce nodded. She could see the movement out of the corner of her eye, even though she refused to look directly at him. His presence was overpowering in the small space, especially in her vulnerable state. It was simply too close for comfort.
“She must be older,” Royce surmised. “A fall can be pretty serious in those circumstances.”
Which was a fact Jasmine wasn’t ready to confront. They’d be at the hospital soon enough, and she’d deal with it then. “She helps with Rosie when none of us girls are able to be home.”
“I know one of your sisters is a college professor. What does the other one do?”
“She’s an executive assistant at the McLemore firm.”
“That’s good. I’m glad you all are close and you have that kind of support. Rosie won’t be alone when her mom’s working.”
Jasmine felt her body stiffen in defense, but something about the sad tone of his voice had her reconsidering. Before she could question it, he went on.
“Why didn’t you tell me Rosie was adopted?”
The world swirled around Jasmine for a moment, disorienting her. This whole line of questioning was completely out of character for Royce. “I didn’t realize you would care.”
Why would he? Every encounter with her daughter, or even talking about her, seemed to bring a negative reaction from him.
As if he didn’t realize the intent behind her answer, he mused, “You look so much alike. It never occurred to me.”
Jasmine was getting more confused by the minute, but at least it kept her worry about Auntie at bay. It also loosened the hold she normally kept on her tongue in front of her clients. “I truly don’t understand, Royce. What difference does it make? I’m her mother. I’m a damn good one. I would never deny her a home or neglect her to go out to earn a living.”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
The car came to an abrupt halt. At first, Jasmine thought she’d pushed too far. Then she realized he’d actually parked in a parking space. They’d arrived at the hospital more quickly than she’d expected.
Only as he was climbing out of the door did he answer. “My mom did.”
As he softly shut the door, then walked around the car, Jasmine sat in stunned silence. Not only because Royce had admitted something so personal, but because it contradicted everything he’d told her about his mother at Keller House. He opened the door and helped her out as if he hadn’t just dropped a bombshell of magnificent proportions on her. They walked into the hospital in silence.
What should she say?
He’d taken care of his mother before she died. She’d lived in the carriage house for years. Her son was Savannah’s youngest, and most mysterious, billionaire. Had whatever happened to his mother colored how he saw women, how he saw Jasmine?
His earlier comment made the answer obvious.
Before she could get a handle on her reaction, they reached the waiting area where Ivy was sitting with Rosie. Thankfully, the baby was sleeping, though her pudgy cheeks were flushed with the slight fever Jasmine was learning to associate with her teething spells.
Jasmine leaned over to carefully hug her sister around the sleeping child. “What did the doctors say?” she asked as she crouched in front of the pair.
“We’re still waiting on the X-rays to find out.” Ivy worried her lower lip, making her look a lot older than her twenty-three years. “I’m sorry you had to come here. I just didn’t know what to do.”
“No. It’s fine,” Jasmine said. Though asking Ivy not to feel bad was like asking Jasmine not to worry. “The last thing I would have wanted was for you to be sitting here by yourself dealing with all of this. It’s no problem at all.”
“But your car—”
“Driving over here wasn’t a big deal,” Royce interjected. “We were about done, anyway.”
Ivy glanced at him, her eyes growing wide with surprise.
“You had to get him to drive you?” she breathed. “I’m so sorry.”
“Car trouble always hits at the worst possible moment.” Royce tried to reassured her.
It didn’t work too well. Jasmine spied a slight sheen of tears in her sister’s eyes before she dropped her gaze and placed a kiss on Rosie’s head. It still amazed her that her littlest sister handled difficult clients with such ease at work. Jasmine still saw her as the child in need of her protection and care. But in this situation, they were going to support each other through whatever challenges they faced.
“Is everybody okay?” Willow rushed up behind them.
Ivy stood as they all talked over each other, trying to share what they knew and offer comfort. Though Jasmine still felt a touch of panic over Auntie’s condition, it was better with both of her sisters here. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied Royce standing to the side, watching them. His expression was carefully neutral. With a quick squeeze of her sisters’ arms, she walked over to where he stood.
“Thank you so much for bringing me here. I didn’t intend to disrupt your day.”
A slight frown snuck across his face, but wasn’t there long enough for Jasmine to figure out what it meant. Ivy appeared at her elbow with a blinking Rosie. Jasmine smiled at the little girl and got a crooked grin in return. Taking her into her arms, Jasmine hugged her close for a moment. Then she turned her focus back to Royce. She definitely noticed how his gaze had settled directly on her, avoiding Rosie completely.
Without thought, she softly asked, “Why would your mother leave you alone?”
For a brief second, she saw a flash of pain in his expression that was so intense it took Jasmine back to the days and weeks right after her parents had been killed in the car accident. But within the space of a blink, the emotion disappeared. Had she imagined it? When he dropped his gaze to Rosie, it made her wonder.
Then a nurse called from behind him, “King family?”
Recognizing Auntie’s last name, she handed Rosie over to Willow and rushed to the edge of the waiting area. But the nurse wasn’t very helpful, and Jasmine found herself returning with a clipboard in her hand.
“What did she say?” Willow demanded.
Jasmine shook her head, blinking so tears wouldn’t well up in her eyes. “Just that they were waiting to take her to X-ray, and in the meantime they needed this paperwork filled out.”
