Page 18 of Djinn in Love

“Good afternoon, Veronica,” Jasper said, stopping in front of her desk. “How are you today?”

“Um, good,” she answered, feeling her mouth hesitate to form the word.

The man was too good-looking. He made her want to stutter.

“Are you ready for lunch or do you need to finish something up?”

She swallowed hard and got to her feet. “I’m ready for lunch,” she answered, wiping her hands down the sides of her skirt. Her palms were suddenly damp. “Thank you for bringing it.”

Jasper shrugged. “No problem at all.”

“I thought we could eat in the conference room,” Veronica started to say.

Before she could finish, Dominique’s door opened and her boss stepped out, leaning a shoulder against the doorjamb. “Mr. Bayat,” she said, nodding to Jasper.

“Ms. Proxa.”

A smile graced Dominique’s mouth. “Please call me Dominique.” Her eyes dropped to the bag and drinks in his hands. “Ah, you brought Veronica lunch. Excellent. We’ve been so busy this week that she hasn’t been eating properly,”

Veronica felt her face heat and knew her cheeks were so bright that they probably glowed red. While her boss wasn’t exaggerating, they had been swamped, Veronica hadn’t been eating much due to her nerves about this weekend rather than being busy. But she wasn’t about to admit that to Jasper.

Veronica shot her boss a wide-eyed glare, using her facial expression to encourage her to shut up. Dominique merely looked back at her and raised a single eyebrow.

“Well, Jasper and I have some things to talk about,” Veronica said. “But I will listen for the phone so I can answer it.”

Dominique scoffed. “You’ll do no such thing. You’ll have your lunch and relax. I’ll handle the phones and, if for some reason Ican’t answer, they can leave a message on the machine. It won’t hurt them if they can’t get an immediate answer.”

Veronica opened her mouth to argue, but Jasper gently nudged her with his hip. “No problem. Thanks, Dominique.”

Her boss shot him a knowing look and a quick wink, which made Veronica flush further. When she glanced up at Jasper, he was studying her with amusement tinged with intensity. He watched her like he expected her to run and was preparing to chase her if necessary.

“Shall we?” he asked, gesturing toward the conference room with the hand holding their drinks.

Veronica nodded, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. She walked in front of him and held the door open. His broad body herded her toward the far corner of the table and her heart rate kicked up when the door shut behind them.

Jasper set the bag and drink carrier on the table, taking everything out of the bag and setting it on the table before her.

Feeling awkward, Veronica smoothed her hands down the front of her skirt again. “Thank you for bringing me lunch.”

Shoot, she’d already said that. Hadn’t she? Her equilibrium was shot around him.

“I wanted to see you before tomorrow’s chaos,” he murmured. Once the paper bag was empty, he folded it up and set it to the side. “Let’s sit.”

Again, nerves shimmered in her stomach when he pulled the chair out for her, his knuckles brushing her back when she sat down, and he pushed it in.

“Thanks,” she all but whispered.

“Stop thanking me,” he commanded, his voice deep and soft.

Veronica’s cheeks heated again, and she knew her blush was rushing up to her hairline. Why was she reacting to him like this?

Scratch that. She knew. After everything he said last night, Veronica was beginning to believe that he might be interested in dating her even after his brother’s wedding.

As they sat down and opened their containers, Jasper asked her, “Can you be ready to leave at eleven tomorrow morning? I thought we could stop for lunch on the way to the resort. That will give us enough time to get ready for the party at six.”

“I can be ready,” she answered, excitement fizzing in her belly at his words.

He wanted to take her out to lunch. If he wasn’t interested in her, surely, he wouldn’t want to take her out for a meal before they left the city. Right?

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