Hannah smiled. “If you’re attempting to use your pregnancy as an excuse to weasel out of becoming an innkeeper then forget it, little mama. I only asked if you were getting married because Cameron is in love with you.”
“No, he’s not,” Jasmine countered, shaking her head.
“I’ve known Cameron for a long time and he’s always been quite the lady’s man but he’s changed since meeting you. I’m willing to bet that underneath his charm and swagger, he’s really a good guy in spite of his reputation as a serial dater.”
Jasmine chewed the inside of her lip, not understanding why Hannah continued to bash Cameron. “I’m not going to judge him by what he did before I met him. I, too, have a skeleton in my closet. Remember, I told you that my first lover was thirty years older than me.”
Hannah nodded. “I still can’t imagine you sleeping with a man old enough to be your father.”
Jasmine affected a smug grin. Knowing she hadn’t always been the innocent young woman apparently had changed Hannah’s impression of her. “Not a day goes by that I ever regretted what I had with him.”
“Good for you,” Hannah said. “We’d better wash our hands or Tonya and Gage will think we’re in here doing something kinky,” she teased.
* * *
Jasmine sat at the kitchen table in a nightgown, bare feet resting on a chair, as she watched Hannah blend a smoothie. For the next nine months she would give up coffee, tea, colas, and alcohol. She wasn’t much of a milk drinker and had to devise a way in which to include dairy in her daily diet.
At lunch, Tonya and Gage had prepared sample tapas they planned to offer their patrons once they opened their supper club. Each small dish was more delicious that the one before it and Jasmine ate until she was too full to swallow another morsel. She opted for water instead of wine and the pre-dinner cocktails. And she had been forthcoming with Hannah, revealing the details leading to her relationship with Cameron, and in the process unburdening herself.
Hannah set the glass with a straw on the table. “Let me know if you like it.”
Jasmine took a sip. “Wow! It’s delicious. What’s in it?”
“Mango, peaches, strawberries, plain yogurt, and almond milk.”
She took another sip. “Giving up coffee will be worth it if I substitute smoothies.”
Hannah rested her elbow on the table and cupped her chin in her hand. “And a smoothie is less fattening than ice cream. I used to crave ice cream when I was pregnant with Wyatt.”
“Hopefully I won’t have any cravings that will make me blow up like a balloon.”
“When are you due?”
“The last week in January.”
“I think you should take Cameron’s suggestion and live with him.”
Jasmine went completely still. “Say what?”
“If the man wants you to live with him, then do it. How else are you going to get to know him? Look at Tonya. She moved in with Gage after they were together only a few months.”
“Didn’t she move in with him after he asked her to marry him?”
Hannah shook her head. “No. She was staying in the guesthouse and when the gates to the property malfunctioned he suggested she stay with him. And I don’t believe they were sleeping together at that time.”
“Are you giving me a vacate-the-premises notice, Hannah?”
“If you say it like that, then yes I am. I’m going to call Cameron tomorrow and tell him to come and pick you up and take you home with him.”
“What’s going to be your excuse?”
“Don’t need one.”
“You invite me to stay in your house and now you’re saying I have to leave. I know you want to play matchmaker but not by forcing me on Cameron. He’s said he wants me and the baby and I want to believe him. Besides you’re not supposed to know I’m pregnant. I made him promise not to tell anyone until I completed my first trimester.”
Hannah nodded. “Okay. You win. I won’t interfere again.”
“You’re not interfering, Hannah. I know you want for me what you have with St. John, and if it’s meant to be then I’m willing to let it play out.”
