“It averages about a couple of dozen. Catered parties make up almost half of our annual revenue. I want to add a few new appetizers to this season’s menu. After taking a few lessons in Thailand, I told Keith we should include a few Asian dishes.”
Jasmine smothered a moan. “When you say Asian appetizers I fantasize about spring rolls and shrimp fritters.”
Danita nodded. “I had what the Thai call shrimp in tuxedo with a sweet chili sauce and they were so good I wanted to cry tears of joy.”
“Filipinos call them shrimp lumpia.” Jasmine searched her memory for the ingredients to make the appetizers she’d eaten as a child in the Philippines. Three hundred years of Spanish rule resulted in a fusion of Asian and Spanish cuisine of which she never tired, along with the dishes indigenous to the American South.
Danita sat straight, her gaze fusing with Jasmine’s. “Do you know how to make them?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I have all of the ingredients so I’d like you to help me make some.”
Jasmine’s eyes grew wide. “Now?”
Danita stood up. “Yes, now. We can make a few of your Filipino shrimp recipes beforeour menget back.”
Jasmine wanted to tell her father’s sister that Cameron wasn’t her man but didn’t want to rehash or defend her decision not to commit to a relationship because she did not trust men. She was a hopeless romantic and she knew becoming involved would be detrimental to her emotional wellbeing. She tended to think with her heart and not her head.
“What else do you want to make?” she asked her aunt.
“You mentioned shrimp fritters, and I have loads of them in the freezer.”
“They’re calledukoy. Do you have butternut squash?”
Danita nodded. “There may be a few ripe ones in the greenhouse.”
“Let’s go, because it’s been a long time since I’ve had shrimplumpiaandukoy.”
* * *
“Where do you park your car?” Cameron asked as he left the RFK Bridge and headed toward downtown. He’d offered to drive back from Long Island to Manhattan after spending an enjoyable afternoon with Jasmine and her relatives. He and Keith had visited a winery and after a winetasting he ordered several cases of red, white, and rosé shipped to New Orleans. Jasmine’s uncle suggested he come back the end of August for the Shinnecock Indian Powwow which was one of the largest Native American Gatherings on the East Coast. Cameron told him he couldn’t commit at this time, but would definitely consider it.
“There’s an underground on the corner across the street from my building. Why?”
“I’m going to park this beast and take a taxi back to the hotel.”
Jasmine gave him a sidelong glance. “Why would you want to do that when I could drop you off, and continue uptown?”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” he teased.
Jasmine’s mouth opened and closed before she said, “No. Why would you say that?”
“It’s only seven-thirty and I thought we could hang out together a little longer.”
He’d spent nearly twelve hours with Jasmine and her family and he hadn’t wanted it to end. Her aunt and uncle were inviting, unpretentious, and obviously very much in love with each other. Keith had openly admitted he was more in love with his wife now than he’d been when he first married her, and Cameron was open when he admitted he had never been in love and would only marry if he was in love with a woman.
She smiled. “Is this when I invite you up to my place for coffee or a nightcap?”
His teeth showed whitely in his face as he flashed a wide grin. “It is.”
“Okay. When you turn onto my street there’s an underground garage near the corner opposite my building.”
Cameron felt as if he’d won a major victory. It was apparent Jasmine trusted him enough to allow him inside her apartment. During the drive to the city he’d expected her to talk about her ex, but when she didn’t he decided not to bring up the subject, and complimented himself on his ability to quell his impulsiveness when it came to Jasmine. His inner voice told him that she would reveal everything in her own timeandat the right time.
During the long drive back to the city both had been content to listen to music rather than talk, and for Cameron this was a first for him just to relax and enjoy the music and the presence of the woman sitting next to him. Perhaps it was because he was a bachelor living alone that he’d come to covet his privacy and solitude. His mother had accused him of shunning marriage because he was selfish and predicted he would eventually die a lonely old man with nothing to contribute to the world except a tombstone. He’d kept mum when he wanted to tell Belinda LaSalle Singleton that she had stayed in a marriage that had been doomed from the start, and continued to stay with a man because she did not believe in divorce.
“Why did you call Black Betty a beast?” Jasmine asked, breaking into his thoughts.
