“Yes,” she said. “But I don’t know for how much longer. They’ve complained constantly this past winter about the cold and snow and that their house requires too much maintenance.”
“Are they retired?” Cameron asked.
She nodded. “My father was a high-school principal and my mother an ER trauma nurse. Daddy has to watch his diet because he’s always been plagued with hypertension and my mother is a borderline diabetic, so she also monitors her diet and exercises regularly to avoid having to take insulin.”
Cameron stretched out his legs and shifted into a more comfortable position. “Where do they want to relocate to?”
“North Carolina. My father still has family there.”
Cameron’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “So there’s a little country in the girl,” he teased.
Jasmine laughed. “There’s a lot country in this girl. As a kid I used to divide my summer vacations spending three weeks in North Carolina and three in the Philippines. Then the last two weeks of the summer would be spent with my aunt, uncle, and cousins on Long Island.”
“Is that where we’re going?”
She nodded again. “Yes. My aunt and her husband own and operate a bed-and-breakfast overlooking Long Island Sound. Eight years ago they bought a fifteen-acre parcel of land adjacent to the property and set up a farm-to-table restaurant.”
“Isn’t that similar to what Hannah is planning to do with the DuPont Inn?” Cameron asked.
Jasmine paused before answering his question because she wasn’t certain how much Hannah had divulged to her financial manager. “I know her plans include a café for those who stay over in the inn and an onsite restaurant for the general public. As for a farm-to-table I don’t believe there’s enough land on which to farm much beyond herbs, tomato, or peppers.” She paused again. “Tonya mentioned she plans to do most of her shopping for her restaurants at the French Market.”
“Hannah told me Tonya is a phenomenal chef.”
“She is.” Jasmine told Cameron about her first trip to New Orleans with her former coworkers. “It was my first time sampling the local cuisine, cocktails, and music and within days I was ready to pack my bags and move there.”
“What’s stopping you?”
Cameron was asking a question Jasmine had pondered a number of times since Hannah had asked her to invest in her new venture. She had offered Jasmine a ten percent share in the DuPont Inn if she agreed to come onboard to assist in managing the inn.
“My parents and my condo.”
“Why your parents?”
“I’m their only child and now that they’re getting older I don’t want to live that far away from them.”
“If they relocate to North Carolina you wouldn’t be that far away.”
“That’s true,” Jasmine confirmed.
“What’s up with your condo? You don’t think you’ll be able to sell it?”
Jasmine tapped the horn lightly when the vehicle in front her lingered once the light changed from red to green. “I know I’ll be able to sell it once it’s listed, but . . .” Her words trailed off.
“But what?” Cameron questioned when she didn’t continue.
“I’d rather sublet it than sell it because I can use the equityifor when I decide to start up another decorating business.”
Cameron sat straight. “Are you serious about decorating again?”
She smiled. “I’m thinking about it. Why?”
“You may be sitting next to a potential client.”
Jasmine gave him a quick glance. “You need a decorator?”
Cameron paused, and then said, “Not right away, but in the very near future.”
“How near?” Jasmine asked.
