Her fingers curled around his hand. “Why would you want to,darling? We’re both over forty, and too old to play head games.”
He froze. “You’re over forty?”
“Yes. How old did you think I was?”
“Thirty-four or maybe even thirty-five.”
“I’m forty-two,” she whispered. “And before you ask, I’ll celebrate my forty-third birthday next week.”
“Damn!” he drawled. “Have you found the fountain of youth?”
Jasmine pressed her lips together to smother a giggle. “Don’t you know good black don’t crack?”
Cameron stared at Jasmine, and then burst out laughing. He splayed a hand over her back as the warmth from her body seeped into his palm. “I suppose I know now.”
The number of voices escalated as more people came onboard. Moments later the blasts from the ship’s horn sounded, followed by the voice of the captain announcing the crew was preparing the boat to set sail.
“Come with me,darling.I want to introduce you to the others.”
* * *
Jasmine wanted to remind Cameron that he had called her darling again but then changed her mind. He’d called her sweets, and now darling and perhaps they were terms of endearment he was used to saying to women with whom he had been involved. She recalled her grandmother saying not to make a mountain out of a molehill because the argument wasn’t worth the effort it took to get upset and it could possibly lead to ending a friendship. Jasmine smiled when she noticed that she wasn’t the only woman wearing red.
Dozens of eyes were directed at her as Cameron held her waist. “I’d like everyone to meet Jasmine Washington. Darling, this motley crew wearing the striped ties are my fraternity brothers, and the beautiful women standing beside them are definitely their better halves.”
One by one the men shook her hand, while their wives exchanged pleasantries. One woman gave her a critical stare. “Aren’t you the interior decorator who used to work with Gregory Carson?”
Jasmine did not want to believe that someone had recognized her. After all, it had been twenty years since she had been Gregory’s constant companion. “Yes.”
The woman’s eyes widened. “I thought I recognized you from somewhere. I used to be a cataloguer for one of the auction houses that sold a few pieces of Gregory’s art collection. I’d come to his loft to view the collection, and that’s when he introduced me to you as hisprotégée.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t recall meeting you.”
“That’s because there were so many people there that night. I later discovered that Christie’s sold the remaining pieces in his collection, with the exception of one. Do you have any idea who owns Pembroke’s painting of his mistress Sebastiane?”
Jasmine noticed everyone hanging on to the woman’s every word. “I’m sorry I don’t,” she lied smoothly.
She knew the painting was in the private collection of a reclusive billionaire, whose estate upon his death would donate it to MoMA. Her explanation seemed to satisfy the inquisitive woman, who accepted a flute of champagne from a waiter as the yacht pulled away from the dock. Within minutes waiters were circulating with flutes of champagne and trays of hot and cold hors d’oeuvres.
“That was quite an inquisition,” Cameron said in a quiet voice.
Jasmine met his eyes over the rim of her flute. “I didn’t expect to meet someone from my past,” she said just before taking a sip.
Cameron held his flute, his gaze boring into her. “What was she implying when she said protégée?”
She leaned in close to him. “Let’s go to our table and I’ll tell you.” There was enough activity for her to talk quietly to Cameron without being overheard. He escorted her to their table, pulled out a chair, and then moved the chair with her shawl and evening bag close. He placed the shawl over the back of his chair and set her purse on the table.
“He was your lover.”
Jasmine turned to look at him, their noses only inches apart. “How did you know?” she whispered.
Cameron pressed a kiss on the bridge of her nose. “I don’t know who Gregory Carson is or was, but Danielle looked like the cat that had swallowed the canary when she realized your connection with the man.”
“He was not only my lover, but the first man I’d ever slept with.” Jasmine did not know why, but she had spent the past two days revealing personal details of her life to Cameron when it hadn’t been that way with others she knew. Perhaps it was because she felt she could trust him, or maybe she knew he wouldn’t be judgmental.
“I take it he was much older than you?”
She nodded. “I was nineteen and he was fifty-four when I met him for the first time. He had been married twice and divorced, and was a grandfather many times. Gregory was an incredibly talented decorator who’d decorated the homes of A-list movie stars and captains of industry. Many of his interiors appeared inHome BeautifulandArchitectural Digest.”
