you have a preference?” he asked.
“No, whatever you’d like.”
He decided to select a red wine—one he knew was delicious with pasta. When he joined her on the patio, she had set the table and the spaghetti was served in a beautiful ceramic pasta platter. He smiled when he saw she had also baked a batch of garlic bread and he had a feeling it would taste as good as it looked.
“Everything is ready, so sit down and help yourself.”
He did, however, he waited for her to serve herself and say grace before digging in. “Umm…this is delicious,” he said moments later after taking his first forkful.”
“Thanks.”
“Who taught you how to cook?”
“My aunt. I went to live with her for a while after my mom died. She loved to cook and together we would try out a lot of dishes.”
“How long did you live with her?”
“Less than six months. My father loved my mother very much and he took her death extremely hard. He needed to go through that period of mourning alone. I think the only reason he remarried was because he thought he was doing me a favor.”
Although she didn’t say anything else, Wesley knew from what Jasmine had shared with him the other night that her father had unknowingly done her a disservice instead of a favor. It didn’t take much for him to gather that the woman her father had married was the stepmother from hell.
“Is your aunt still living?”
Jasmine shook her head. “No, she died five years ago.”
The sadness in her voice touched him. “Other than your father, do you have any other family?”
“No, he was an only child and my mother had that one sister who never had any children of her own,” she said thinking of her aunt Rena.
Wesley said nothing for a moment, and then said. “Your mother was a very beautiful woman.”
She met his gaze, surprised. “How do you know?”
“The locket.”
She didn’t say anything for a long moment as she looked into his hazel eyes. She had almost forgotten about the locket and that he still had it. “Yes, she was beautiful.”
“You favor her.”
Jasmine’s breath caught as their gazes held. For a moment she wasn’t sure how to respond. His compliment had caught her off guard.
“Thank you,” she finally said softly.
Wesley and Jasmine enjoyed the rest of their meal while discussing various topics, steering clear of Abraham Danforth and the press conference he’d held earlier that day. However, they did talk about the rumor that had been going around for years that Crofthaven was haunted.
Wesley smiled as he finished off the last of his spaghetti. “I’ve spent a number of nights at Crofthaven and have never seen this ghost people claim is there. However, Reid and Jake swear it exists.”
Jasmine lifted a brow. “Reid? That’s Abraham’s second oldest son, right? The one who’s getting married in a few months.”
“Yes. Reid and Tina Morgan are getting married and everyone is excited about it.” He took a sip of his wine before continuing. “Dinner was wonderful and I appreciate the invitation.”
“I’m glad you could join me. And I really appreciate your help in changing that tire. I’m glad you came along when you did. I was beginning to get a little nervous on that road alone.” She then took a glance at the darkening sky. “I think we might get a thunderstorm tonight.”
Wesley stood. “Then I’d better help you with dishes so I can be on my way.”
“You don’t have to help with dishes, Wesley.”
He chuckled. “Hey, no arguing. It’s the least I can do after enjoying such a delicious meal.”
Jasmine laughed. “Okay, if you insist, but remember I told you that I could do them by myself.”
“I’ll remember but I think four hands will be better than two.”
She washed and he dried while he told her about his Internet sales company and how it got started. He had capitalized on the contacts he had made in college, and she could tell the Danforths had been supportive. This explained his fierce loyalty to the Danforths and why he considered them as his family. In a way she understood because she was fiercely loyal to her father, as well.
“Well, that about does it with the dishes,” she said, putting the last one away. “If you’d like, I can prepare you a bowl of spaghetti to take with you since I have so much left.”
“Are you sure?”
She smiled. “Yes, I’m positive. It won’t take but a second.”
He leaned back against the counter as he watched her spoon a hefty portion of spaghetti into a large bowl and then wrapped it with clear cling wrap. She also wrapped up a few pieces of garlic bread. After bagging up both, she placed the bag in the middle of the table. It was then that they heard the raindrops beginning to fall and a quick glance out the window indicated the clouds had been much closer than they’d thought. The rain was already coming down fast and furious.
“Maybe you should wait until the rain stops,” she said. She walked over to the window and looked out. “It’s a mess out there.”
“Then if you don’t mind, I’ll just wait a while.”
She turned around and met his gaze. “I don’t mind,” she said quietly. She shivered slightly either from the chill that had entered the room or from the way Wesley was looking at her.
He saw her tremble and crossed the room. “You’re shivering. Are you cold?”
“A little.”
He reached out and pulled her into his arms, wrapping her in those big powerful arms she had admired earlier when he’d been changing her tire. “This feel better?” he asked. The question had been whispered close to her ear and sent more shivers through her body. Shivers that he felt.
“You’re still shivering,” he said softly. “Maybe I should light your fireplace to warm you up some.”
When he released her, Jasmine looked into his hazel eyes, tempted to tell him that her shivers had nothing to do with the temperature in the room and had everything to do with him.
A fierce storm may have been raging outside but here, inside her kitchen, deep within her body, another storm was raging. This one was just as turbulent as the one outdoors. And it wasn’t helping matters that he was looking at her like she was something he wanted to eat.
“Lighting the fireplace isn’t necessary,” she said softly, barely able to get the words out.
“Would you rather we sit in your living room on the
