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Authors: Samantha Hunter
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vaguely. Or rather, she was still paying the business loan she’d taken to buy it. “I have insurance.”
Insurance. They’d need to have an investigation before they would pay out. She’d have to fix all of this out of pocket if she wanted it done right now, and that would take weeks, at least.
Where would she run her classes? She could lose all of her students. The studio was a place they needed to feel safe—who could feel safe here knowing this had happened?
Thoughts swarmed as she fell to sit on the floor, dropping her head into her hands. She heard the officer walk away, sensing she needed a moment alone. In truth, even given all that she had been through before, Jasmine had never felt more alone in her life.
Chapter Seven
Leo woke up early, more energized than he’d been in a while. He was optimistic about the day.
Jasmine didn’t trust him, but he hoped to change that perception. She’d connected with him the other night on a different level, sharing at least a little. She’d been warmer, not as distant. She’d genuinely seemed pleased when he admired her business sense. He took it as a win.
He’d stayed away the day before, not wanting to push. Operation Take Care of Jasmine was a delicate one, he thought with a smile.
As he parked his car and walked down the street, he planned to grab some food at a local deli that packed picnic lunches. He’d bring that to her and leave it, but maybe she would invite him to stay and share.
She was unlikely to want to take time away from her business, and somewhere in his distant memory, he knew what that was like. Work had been his life, as it was Jasmine’s.
His mother had worked very hard, sometimes several jobs at a time, to support them. As a kid, he’d made a promise to himself that someday he would earn enough that she wouldn’t have to do that. It had fueled his ambition.
Leo wondered what fueled Jasmine’s. Usually there was a reason a person worked that hard, a motivation behind that kind of drive. His had been to take care of his mother.
He’d managed to give her some of the benefits of his new status in life. She’d been able to quit her jobs, working only one that she enjoyed, and he made sure that she had a paid mortgage, a new car, and one nice vacation before she’d passed away. She’d argued with him to buy a used car instead of new, he remembered warmly, sadly, as he walked down the street.
It would never seem like enough compared to what she’d done for him.
But now, he had a second chance of sorts. A chance to live a different kind of life, maybe, because after his mother had died, what had he worked so hard for? Status? His mom wouldn’t have approved of that. She had worked for him, for them—but what did he have to show for his sacrifice?
His bank account was impressive—enough that he wouldn’t have to work again for a long while, if he lived frugally. That was probably his goal, he supposed. Money. Power. Control.
Now, after going through the shooting, the amnesia, it all seemed flimsy. He wanted more than that in his life.
Right now, he wanted Jasmine.
Some commotion caught his attention, and he paused, noting the police tape and people around the spot where Jasmine’s studio was. He looked toward a shop on the other side of the street, an ice cream stand that was also damaged. Its vintage sign was shattered, windows broken.
“Such a shame,” some women passing by him said. “That poor young woman. Will she make it?”
Leo didn’t hear her companion’s response; his heart raced and his hands turned ice cold as he picked up his pace, running to the studio. It was barricaded off, but the place had been wrecked, the same as the ice cream store.
“What happened?” he asked someone standing there. The older man shrugged.
“Vandals, I hear. Did quite a job of it.” The old guy shook his head.
“When? Was anyone hurt?” Leo asked again, taking the man by the shoulders, which startled the old guy. “I’m
Insurance. They’d need to have an investigation before they would pay out. She’d have to fix all of this out of pocket if she wanted it done right now, and that would take weeks, at least.
Where would she run her classes? She could lose all of her students. The studio was a place they needed to feel safe—who could feel safe here knowing this had happened?
Thoughts swarmed as she fell to sit on the floor, dropping her head into her hands. She heard the officer walk away, sensing she needed a moment alone. In truth, even given all that she had been through before, Jasmine had never felt more alone in her life.
Chapter Seven
Leo woke up early, more energized than he’d been in a while. He was optimistic about the day.
Jasmine didn’t trust him, but he hoped to change that perception. She’d connected with him the other night on a different level, sharing at least a little. She’d been warmer, not as distant. She’d genuinely seemed pleased when he admired her business sense. He took it as a win.
He’d stayed away the day before, not wanting to push. Operation Take Care of Jasmine was a delicate one, he thought with a smile.
As he parked his car and walked down the street, he planned to grab some food at a local deli that packed picnic lunches. He’d bring that to her and leave it, but maybe she would invite him to stay and share.
She was unlikely to want to take time away from her business, and somewhere in his distant memory, he knew what that was like. Work had been his life, as it was Jasmine’s.
His mother had worked very hard, sometimes several jobs at a time, to support them. As a kid, he’d made a promise to himself that someday he would earn enough that she wouldn’t have to do that. It had fueled his ambition.
Leo wondered what fueled Jasmine’s. Usually there was a reason a person worked that hard, a motivation behind that kind of drive. His had been to take care of his mother.
He’d managed to give her some of the benefits of his new status in life. She’d been able to quit her jobs, working only one that she enjoyed, and he made sure that she had a paid mortgage, a new car, and one nice vacation before she’d passed away. She’d argued with him to buy a used car instead of new, he remembered warmly, sadly, as he walked down the street.
It would never seem like enough compared to what she’d done for him.
But now, he had a second chance of sorts. A chance to live a different kind of life, maybe, because after his mother had died, what had he worked so hard for? Status? His mom wouldn’t have approved of that. She had worked for him, for them—but what did he have to show for his sacrifice?
His bank account was impressive—enough that he wouldn’t have to work again for a long while, if he lived frugally. That was probably his goal, he supposed. Money. Power. Control.
Now, after going through the shooting, the amnesia, it all seemed flimsy. He wanted more than that in his life.
Right now, he wanted Jasmine.
Some commotion caught his attention, and he paused, noting the police tape and people around the spot where Jasmine’s studio was. He looked toward a shop on the other side of the street, an ice cream stand that was also damaged. Its vintage sign was shattered, windows broken.
“Such a shame,” some women passing by him said. “That poor young woman. Will she make it?”
Leo didn’t hear her companion’s response; his heart raced and his hands turned ice cold as he picked up his pace, running to the studio. It was barricaded off, but the place had been wrecked, the same as the ice cream store.
“What happened?” he asked someone standing there. The older man shrugged.
“Vandals, I hear. Did quite a job of it.” The old guy shook his head.
“When? Was anyone hurt?” Leo asked again, taking the man by the shoulders, which startled the old guy. “I’m
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