"Hi," he said with a happy smile.
"Hi."
"What time is it?"
"Almost eleven."
"Did I tell you last night my flight back is at three this afternoon?"
She frowned as a pang of disappointment hit her. "Why so early? Could you take a later one?"
He caressed her arm. "I need to talk to Hannah and I want to do it before the evening so I can avoid having dinner with her."
"Why?" Panic started rising to her throat.
"Ray and I think the article would be more effective in silencing that blackmailing psycho if Hannah is involved in clarifying the story."
"But Hannah believes you cheated on her with me. And she thinks I'm an evil witch who seduces engaged men then dumps them after they leave their fiancées."
He laughed. "I love your description. But you see, if we could get Hannah to also tell the truth then George's stories would stand out as the lies they really are. The only thing he could still scare us with would be those fake porn stories he put together. But we'll sue any publication that attributes them to you."
"I don't care about the porn stories. There must be a hundred Jasmine Allens around the world. Having that name attached to a story wouldn't make people jump to conclusions I'm the Jasmine Allen who wrote it. And I already thought about the suing thing if it's necessary. I'm more worried that if Hannah stubbornly refuses to believe us, then it's more likely she and George would act out their threat against you."
"That's a risk I'm willing to take."
"See, this is exactly why I didn't want to tell you or anyone else about this," she said angrily, sitting up on the bed. "Do you understand what you are risking, Kane? Do you realise what you stand to lose?"
He also sat up and faced her. "Yes, I do," he insisted. "I might lose a few clients. It might impact the business and I might have to work extra hard on damage control. But eventually, I'll get back on top of it. But I refuse to let that son of a bitch George run our lives. And I refuse to break up with you ever again," he said, pointing a finger at her face.
"I suffered for one whole month just so you won't have to lose what you've built, Kane. Please don't take that lightly," she said as a last-ditch effort to make him protect his career.
"Why did you do it?"
"You know why. Because I love you!"
"What about me, Jaz? I love you, too. Much more than you know. I'd rather lose my reputation and my clients than lose you. I'd rather be painted as the man who cheated on his fiancée than not ever be with you," he said hoarsely.
She sobbed in a breath, her eyes swimming in tears.
Kane cupped her face. "Please," he pleaded, "let's focus all our energy on meeting our challenges head-on rather than wasting our time avoiding them. My career is not the most important thing in the world to me, Jaz. You are."
She sighed, nuzzling her face against his hand. "Okay," she responded, finding herself unable to bear even the thought of giving him up again.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
"I can't believe I'm leaving tomorrow," Jasmine said sadly as she gazed at her best friends Sam and Kris. Three weeks had gone by so fast since she and Kane got back together. Tomorrow morning, she would be flying to Sydney with some of her clothes and personal items. She was moving in with Kane.
She had sold her furniture and her car. Kane had suggested she buy a new car in Sydney, as hers was already a few years old. She agreed. She had some money for that. She'd been a good saver.
She still had some clothes and non-essential items that were now stashed in her parents' garage but she would take them with her next time.
"I bet you're not as sad as we are, Jaz," Kris said. "After all, you'll be living in a big, architect-designed house and following Mr. Summers around the world."
"Not to mention not having to work for a living," Sam said enviously.
Jasmine gasped. "Hey, I still work for a living! I'm just a full-time writer now. Sure, I'll be sitting on my ass, but it will be sitting on my ass making up stories and trying to sell them."
The other girls snickered. "And she calls it work," Kris said.
"Well, it is," Jasmine said with a smile. "It's not an easy job, especially the marketing bit."
"Okay, Miss Author, whatever you say. All I want is for the three of us to promise that we will try our darnedest best to get together for one weekend every two months," Sam said.
"Yes," she answered, "unless of course I'm overseas with Kane. But we'll Skype regularly."
"Speaking of Kane, how come he's not here yet?"
"He'll be here soon."