Page 11 of Djinn in Love

“I’m also wondering why you didn’t just have Margot send a bouquet for you. She has excellent taste, and she usually handles this sort of thing, right?”

Margot, Jasper’s assistant, had been with the company since his father started it. She was a siren and, even at the ripe old age of four hundred and three, she looked no more than forty. She did have excellent taste. And she also ordered flowers for the women Jasper dated.

But Veronica was different.

His brother sat up straight in his chair, his smile fading. He looked shocked. “Oh, wow. You really like this one, don’t you?”

“She is…” Jasper wasn’t sure how to describe her to his brother. He had too many words rather than too few. “She’s exactly who I’ve been looking for.”

“And you’re bringing her to my wedding? Are you nuts?!” his brother exclaimed, jumping to his feet to pace in front of Jasper’s desk, waving his hands as he spoke. “Her first introduction to Mom and Dad will be while we’re surrounded by our crazy family. Auntie Samira is coming, and she’s bringing Cousin Mina. Dad’s entire family will be here, and you know how they are! They’re going to have the two of you betrothed and making appointments to look at wedding venues before the rehearsal dinner is even over!”

Jasper shrugged. He didn’t really have a problem with any of that.

His brother’s eyes opened wide. “You don’t just like her. She’s the one!”

“Lower your voice before Mom ends up in here,” Jasper hissed, leaning over his desk.

Milo mirrored his position until their faces were only a foot apart. “I’m right though, aren’t I? She’s the one. That’s why you ordered the flowers yourself. And why you’re bringing her to the wedding. Wait.” He paused. “Didn’t you say earlier that she neededconvincing?”

Knowing where this was going, Jasper sat down in his chair and leaned back. “Yes. She did.”

His little brother threw his head back and laughed, making Jasper wish they weren’t in the office so he could sucker punch him in the gut. Unfortunately, his mother had forbidden that type of behavior as soon as they started to work at the family business.

Not that it stopped them completely, but they did try to keep any…friendlyviolence out of the office. Their mother had a point when she said their employees wouldn’t respect them if they acted like children.

“Why did she need convincing?” Milo asked, grinning at him from across the desk. “And how did you manage it without scaring her off?”

Jasper shrugged. “She works at the matchmaking office.”

“Matchmaking office?Youwent to a matchmaker?!” Milo chortled with glee. “Does mother know?”

Glowering, Jasper shook his head and came around from behind his desk. He went to office door, peeking out to make sure his mother wasn’t lurking nearby. She didn’t exactly spy on her sons, but she wouldn’t hesitate to eavesdrop if she overheard them having a discussion that sounded interesting.

Satisfied that his mother wasn’t going to overhear, Jasper shut and locked his office door before he turned back to his younger brother.

“No, Mom doesn’t know,” Jasper answered, “because if she did, she wouldn’t be speaking to me right now.”

“I think she’d be pleased,” Milo retorted, settling back into the chair behind Jasper’s desk.

The little shit had parked his ass on it as soon as Jasper turned his back.

Ignoring the obvious bait for his reaction, Jasper settled a hip on the front edge of his desk, his side turned toward his brother.

“No, she wouldn’t. She’d be pissed because she’s a control freak, and she thinks she knows best when it comes to who we should be dating. Hell, she practically handpicked Prema for you!”

Milo nodded. “That’s true, but she was right. Prema was perfect for me.”

“She is, but Mom always understood you a lot better than she understood me.”

“That’s because you’re just like her,” Milo retorted, which made Jasper roll his eyes. His brother smirked as he continued speaking, “You’re a control freak, too. That’s why you can’t trust her to find you a woman. And why your first reaction when she tries is resistance, even if the woman is perfect for you.”

Jasper scoffed. “None of the women she picks out are perfect for me because they’re all just like her.”

“And?”

“And you’re right. I’m more like Mom than I am Dad. I don’t need to marry someone just like me. We’d kill each other within months. I need someone more like Dad. Someone who calms my fire, not matches it.”

His brother made a face as he considered Jasper’s words.

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