That Forbidden Love

Chapter 6

Jazmyn

Jazmyn heard the doorbell ring a few minutes after she’d just touched up her makeup and a wave of anxiety hit her instantly. He was right on time and not a second late. Just as she’d predicted he would.

Someone like Zack Whittaker was always precise and punctual. A decision-maker who stuck to his guns come rain or shine. A total far cry from her extremely flighty nature.

Sweeping a hand down the forest green sheath gown she and Brianna had picked up earlier at the store, Jazmyn took one look at her red twist locks.

Piled atop her head with a few shorter ones tumbling down in front, it lent her face a softer appearance and complimented her ruby red lipstick to perfection, at least that’s what Bri had thought when she’d Facetimed minutes earlier.

But Jazmyn still had doubts about the overall look despite how the green and gold eyeshadow made her look chic and ultra-feminine, colluding well with her gold stilettos. Remembering Bri’s warning about overthinking, she caught herself in time and took a deep steadying breath.

One more look at the vanity mirror, she picked up her green Chanel purse and headed out of the bedroom. Bishop barked as she emerged into the living room and bounded closer to lick her ankle almost approvingly.

“Thanks, baby. Now wish Mommy luck because I’m totally out of my element,” she whispered, bending to rub and scratch behind his ears.

“Come on, boy. Time to go,” she straightened up and headed to the front door with him following closely behind. A quick intake of breath and she pulled the lock apart, turning the door open.

Zack stood few feet away looking dapper in a sky-blue shirt rolled up at the sleeves and tucked into black trousers, with a bouquet of white roses in hand and a smile.

“Hi, Jazmyn. You look absolutely breathtaking. I thought black was your color, but it seems green does the trick even better.”

Jazmyn caught the joke within his compliment and couldn’t hold back a chuckle.

“Why, thank you. You look refreshingly eatable as well.”

Realizing the connotation of her comment, she slapped a hand across her mouth and felt heat creeping up her neck at the grin on his face.

“Well, that sounds like a plan, just allow us to get through dinner first and you have a deal,” Zack replied, tongue-in-cheek.

“Here, these are for you.” He handed over the flowers to her, his gaze switching to her dog. “And who might this handsome specimen be?”

“Bishop,” she bent to rub the mutt’s fur, barely recovered from their humorously heated exchange. Bishop sat on his haunches staring with a possessive measure as Zack bent to his level.

“Hello, Bishop. Are you the lord and protector of this woman right here?”

Bishop barked once and sidled closer to lick Zack’s face which was quite surprising for a dog who was usually wary and careful of strangers.

“I think I meet the approval benchmark,” Zack commented with a smile, their gazes at eye level and less than a foot apart. Jazmyn got up rather quickly, almost bumping her head on the doorjamb.

“I guess he does,” she replied, an embarrassingly nervous flutter in her voice. “Excuse me, I need to put this away.” She was back into the house even before he gave a nod, and hurried to the safety of the kitchen to catch her breath.

What was it about the man that got her tied up in several knots and turned her into an anxiety-ridden idiot?

Suddenly aware she was keeping him waiting, Jazmyn quickly found an empty ceramic vase for the roses and hurried out to join him and Bishop.

“Sorry about that. I’m all ready now.”

“Shall we?” He asked with a pleasant smile, extending a hand.

Jazmyn’s breath hitched as she placed a hand in his, feeling the familiar zap of electricity travel through her body and ending up smoldering between their locked gazes.

Arriving downstairs, she was filled with relief when Mr. Bennett came to the door for Bishop, replacing the heavy tension with another less chaotic one.

“Make sure you treat my Jaz like the queen she is and get her home safe and in one piece,” the lovable man cautioned Zack as she introduced them.

“You have my word, sir,” Zack responded with a polite smile and gave her a teasing sideway glance.

Jazmyn broke away from his unreadable gaze and bent to kiss her landlord’s cheek. “See you later, Mr. Bennett. Bye, Bishop,” she waved at the dog as the door shut behind them.

“I think you are very special, Jazmyn,” Zack commented as he drove his Porsche out of the street, joining the slow-moving traffic heading out of the Quarters and into the Garden Districts.

“Oh.” Jazmyn didn’t know how else to respond to that. Thank you? No. Didn’t that sound a tad bit conceited?

“You have a lot of protectors and people who look out for you,” Zack continued. “That usually tells me a lot about a person. I’m sure your parents must be amazing people.”

The compliment made Jazmyn feel good inside but wasn’t enough to stop his last comment from stirring turbulent waters.

“Yeah, they were amazing people,” she replied almost hollowly, staring out of the window and into the busy street.

And she was correct.

From what she could remember of her childhood memories, her birth parents had been warm and loving. Although being thrust into the foster system had left its considerable scars, she was infinitely glad for the gift of her adoptive parents.

They alone were entirely responsible for erasing a good number of those scars and for how she’d turned out eventually.

“Were?” Jack’s question came suddenly and out of nowhere as she swiveled sideways to meet his confused gaze.

“You used the past tense, were,” he explained. “Was that intentional or a mistake? I’m sorry if it’s something you don’t want to talk about. We can change the subject.”

“No, it’s perfectly alright,” she told him, summoning a smile. Eventually, she’d have to talk about it regardless of how difficult it was. Doing that now or later wouldn’t make much difference, nor would it lessen the pain in any way.