“Let’s go find her,” Derek said with a slight smile. It was kind of endearing she got so lost with her books.
They walked into the bookstore and found Jasmine at the checkout counter and there were about four overflowing bags at her feet and two more on the counter. He looked from her to the bags and back again. She spotted them as the cashier ran her credit card.
“Oh I’m sorry it took so long, I lost track of time but they were having a great sale and there are just so many books here,” she explained quickly and then looked from her bags to them with a guilty expression.
“We better start hauling these out to the car,” Derek said with a smile.
“I know I spent too much and I’m sorry but those empty shelves need to be filled and they had such a great sale,” she said, following him with two of her own bags. He was going to have to make another trip.
He was really curious about what her idea of too much money was. “How much did this all cost you?” he asked.
Her face turned red and he was thinking she spent several thousand dollars. He really didn’t care. “Two hundred and twenty dollars,” she mumbled. He could barely here her and asked her to repeat herself. When she did, he stopped and stared at her. She was feeling guilty about spending two hundred dollars on books.
He started laughing, quietly at first and then it just kept building up until he was doubled over, he was laughing so hard. He was trying to stop and couldn’t. His stomach was hurting, he was shaking so much. It took him about five minutes to get himself under control enough to speak and by that time Jasmine was glaring daggers at him and Jacob was smiling like he enjoyed the sound.
“I don’t see what you find so amusing,” she snapped at him.
“I can’t believe you’re standing there with a guilty expression on your face from spending two hundred dollars on books. Seriously Jasmine, one of the stools we bought today cost twice that amount,” he said, still chuckling.
“Well, whatever,” she huffed and then headed towards the furniture store. She was glad he wasn’t trying to guilt her over the purchase but he didn’t need to laugh at her. Her father had always told her she wasted her money on books. He couldn’t understand why she’d want to read all that nonsense, as he’d put it. She loved to sink into her fantasy worlds and she didn’t care what anyone had to say about it.
Derek and Jacob quickly caught up with her and although Derek was no longer openly laughing, she could still see the sparkle in his eyes and knew he was fighting it. She finally smiled, realizing that it was a little silly of her to be so uptight. She relaxed and then had a good time finding her furniture.
She had to like the fabric, first of all, and tested the different couches by touch. When she found a material she liked, she’d sit on it and see how comfortable it was. She must have done that with a hundred couches before she found the one she was searching for. The other furniture was easier to find and soon they were done.
She didn’t know what strings Derek was able to pull but they were delivering everything the next day. She couldn’t wait to get the library all set up.
By the time they got back home the three of them were dragging their feet. It had been a busy day but a very successful one. Jasmine was kind of bummed to have to return to work the next morning. She was enjoying putting her new home together and didn’t want to stop.
Chapter Thirteen
Over the next several weeks the tension between Jasmine and Derek was escalating. He continued to let her have the master bedroom on her own but she was finding it was very lonely in the huge room by herself. She was afraid he may end up winning once again and she was going to beg him to join her.
They’d been planning the wedding together but for the most part he was doing everything. Her dress was being made for her and she had several fittings. She was in love with it and actually really excited for the finished product. She didn’t know how Derek had managed to get it done but the designer was making the dress almost identical to the picture she had. Jasmine had taken pieces from several different photos of dresses she liked and pieced it together. The designer was phenomenal and she couldn’t wait to wear it.
She and Derek started taking separate vehicles to the offices, as he was spending his time between the main office and his newest take-over. As the new people got hired and into place, he was only coming in about one day a week. He was also getting back to the house later and later. Jacob was beginning to complain to him.
He told Jacob he promised to be home more once he was done working on a new business deal but Jasmine thought there was a lot more to it than that. She thought she’d be happy about not having to see him so much but she’d gotten used to him being around and now that he was disappearing she felt abandoned in her huge home.