the ring would bring the person who owned it true love.”
“Ooh,” Willow said, her grin growing bigger and bigger.
“Sure enough, he was able to win his woman’s hand...and the ring has been passed down to every generation of your family ever since. Each has claimed its power is real.”
Ever the skeptic, Jasmine couldn’t help but add, “And look how that worked for them. Scandals, death. Our family has some of the worst luck ever.”
When Ivy’s hopeful expression fell, it made Jasmine feel like a big bully.
“It’s said to bring its owner true love, not an easy life,” Auntie gently admonished, ever the voice of wisdom. “Besides, if the scandal hadn’t driven your grandparents out of Savannah, then your mother and father might never have met.”
Jasmine didn’t want to disrespect the memory of her parents, but... “A ring did not cause them to find each other—being in the same place at the same time did.”
“Maybe so—”
“Don’t be a realist, Jasmine,” Willow complained. “Embrace the magic.”
Ivy reached over to take the sleeping baby and snuggled her close. Rosie gave a shuddering sigh. “Is it really healthy to teach Rosie that there’s no magic, no romance in the world?”
“She’s only six months old,” Jasmine protested. “Besides, I didn’t say that—” Jasmine created magic every day with her events, or rather, the feeling of magic.
Willow added her two cents’ worth, even though Jasmine considered her biased. “Yeah, Jasmine, haven’t you ever heard of Cinderella? Rapunzel? Beauty? Wendy? Dorothy?”
“You want me to convince Rosie there’s magic in the world by indulging this nonsense and snaring a man?”
“No—the man is just a bonus,” Ivy said with a giggle.
“An uptight CEO?” Jasmine couldn’t believe she was hearing this.
Ivy wasn’t deterred. “The uptight CEO with thick hair, muscular build and a tight a—”
Willow gasped and covered the sleeping baby’s ears. “Ivy!”
Ivy grimaced. “But yes—that is a bonus. You just need to sweeten him up a little.”
“For Rosie?”
“Yes!” her sisters said in unison.
“She needs a man around,” Ivy went on. “After all, we didn’t have one. How can we possibly teach her anything about men?”
They all paused, silently weighing the loss of their father. The only man they could remember being part of their family...and that was a long, long time ago.
Auntie finally weighed in. “She’s already going to hear enough reality when she gets older and learns what happened to her birth mother,” she reminded Jasmine with a sad look.
“Or are you just afraid the ring will actually work?” Willow jumped in.
Was she? Jasmine secretly admitted that all the loss she’d suffered in her young life made her reluctant to let someone else in. Only dire circumstances had brought Rosie to her. Jasmine had adopted her as a newborn at the behest of the little girl’s dying mother. A woman Jasmine had come to know at the City Sanctuary mission where she’d volunteered—and then lost when Rosie’s mother succumbed to the cancer she’d never been able to afford to have treated properly.
“The ring is for all of you girls, but I think Jasmine has a unique opportunity here to prove her point...or ours.” Auntie held out the ring box once more, smiling as if she understood Jasmine’s dilemma all too well. “A little magic never hurt anyone,” she said.
Somehow, Jasmine didn’t believe that.
So much for that businesslike attitude. Jasmine tapped her stiletto heel as she glanced at her watch once more. He’s twenty minutes late.
She knew traffic hadn’t held him up. The coffee shop she’d chosen for her brainstorming meeting with Royce was right near his office building. As she watched the boats on the river and the tourists wander by on the sidewalk, she struggled with her impatience.
Yes, something probably came up: a business call, papers to sign, something.
But why hadn’t someone called? She’d sent the contract in plenty of time. Her racing thoughts were driving her crazy.
I’ll wait ten more minutes.
Just sitting here was annoying her all the more, so she dumped her coffee and set off toward his office building.
The gorgeous architecture and sweet smell of pralines from a riverside candy shop didn’t calm her agitation as she walked over the stone pathways. Tension built up inside—a problem she’d never had with her clients. What was it about this guy? Usually she could just breathe and reroute her focus to where it needed to go in order to produce forward momentum toward their mutual goals.
Not today.
Days spent wondering what that tattoo was on his neck, whether his hair was mussed when he rolled out of bed in the morning or if he ever did anything but work had taken her to places she hadn’t wanted to go. And the stupid ring wasn’t helping.
She glanced down at the emerald she wasn’t used to having on her right hand. So stupid. But if she backed down now, her sisters would never let her hear the end of it. So she’d prove to them that the legend wasn’t real—and teach Rosie there were plenty of special things in life without magic.
Her phone started vibrating in her hand. Glancing down, Jasmine mumbled under her breath, “Well, it’s about time.”
“Hello, Mr. Brazier,” she said.
His tone was as clipped as hers. “I need to postpone. Please come to my office in an hour.” He was so short, she wondered if he even realized he was talking to an actual person.
“Excuse me?”
“Come here in an hour,” he repeated.
Click.
An hour? Jasmine paused to scroll through the calendar on her phone. Oh, my. Since Royce had only allotted an hour for their meeting, Jasmine hadn’t worried about the tight timeline she had for this morning. An hour would put her right smack in the middle of Auntie’s doctor’s appointment. Willow was in class. Ivy was at work. Which left...well, no one to watch Rosie. Except her.
He probably wasn’t going to like how that went... But then again, he hadn’t really given her much choice in the matter. It was time Mr. Brazier got his first lesson in seeing the person behind the business opportunity.
When Jasmine walked into the outer office a little over an hour later, Matthew’s eyes widened. “Miss Harden, I’m so sorry.” His eyes widened
