Luisa
Tears fill my eyes when I look at Jasmine in the mirror. We are at the bridal shop where Jasmine is having her final dress fitting. We leave for Tennessee tomorrow, and Jasmine decided she wanted to try it on one last time. She’s been worried that with her growing belly, the dress may have gotten tighter.
Till today I hadn’t seen it on her, but now that I have, I can safely say I’ve never seen her look so beautiful. Her dress sits off her shoulders, with a heart-shaped bustline, and crystals cover the bodice of the gown, accentuating her curvy waist. Ribbon crisscrosses down the back and ties together at her waist, keeping the bodice secure, with the benefit of her being able to make it looser should she need to. The skirt is full, and Jasmine reminds me of Cinderella. It also does a wonderful job of hiding her growing belly. Not that Jasmine’s ashamed of it, but a girl does like to look slim on her wedding day. Jasmine’s chosen ivory for the dress, and a long veil covers her brown locks.
She turns around, away from the mirror, grinning at me. “Well, what do you think, Lu?”
I’m lost for words so I sit there just staring at her. “Lu? Earth to Lu.”
Getting up from my seat, I walk over and clasp her hands in mine. “Jasmine, you are going to make a beautiful bride.”
Jasmine smiles warmly at my words. “You sure it’s not too much?” She turns around to look at herself in the mirror again, running her hands over the flared organza skirt.
“It’s your wedding day, there’s no such thing as too much,” I say honestly. “Jazz?” Jasmine looks at me via the mirror. “You’re going to be the most beautiful bride ever, and Quill is going to die when he sees you. But, I will say… I sure do feel sorry for the man.”
Jasmine frowns. “And why is that?” she asks, her head cocked to the side.
“Because….” I giggle. “Once he has you to himself, he’s going to have a hell of a time getting you out of this dress?” I tug on the ribbon holding her bodice together. We both laugh out loud before Jasmine’s face straightens.
“What?” I ask when I see her mischievous look. It’s like she’s keeping a secret.
“Wait till Quill sees my lingerie.”
“What did you do?” I cover my mouth with my hand.
Smirking, her eyebrows dance when she says, “Let’s just say he will be very pleased.”
I giggle again and shake my head. “Where has my best friend gone?”
“Oh, she’s here, just a dirtier one,” she replies, and I nod.
“That you are.”
Jasmine eyes me suspiciously, and I look up at the pedestal she’s standing on. “What’s wrong?”
She steps down and holds out her hands to me. “Lu, I want you to know that I wouldn’t be doing this without you. You have always been there for me, and you have got me through so much in the last year. I wouldn’t be marrying the man of my dreams if I didn’t have you to give me that push.” Her eyes fill with unshed tears and I pull her into an embrace.
“Oh, Jazz. You don’t have to thank me, I’m just glad you found Quill. I know you guys are going to be happy.”
Jasmine pulls back and focuses on me. “Lu, you have always been honest with me. Now it’s my turn to be honest with you.”
I’m still wondering what she has to say. “What are you trying to say, Jazz?”
“I’m trying to say that Hawke is also a good man.”
“Jasmine, don’t,” I warn her.
“No, Lu, you need to hear this.”
I pull back out of her arms, but she steps forward and grabs my hands, leading me to the couch I was seated on before.
We take a seat and face each other. “Lu, don’t make the same mistake as me. I didn’t want to hear Quill’s side of the story when he slept with Jess. I wasted so much time being without him, trying to hate the man, but look where that got me? Kidnapped, and I almost lost my life.”
“It’s not the same, Jazz. Hawke has been engaged before, and he never told me. He kissed her. He wasn’t drunk or fed drugs to knock him out like Quill, he was sober, and knew what he was doing.” I begin to cry and look away from her.“Oh, Lu. I know Hawke loves you, he does. He told me. Josie is his ex-fiancée, but did you know she slept with someone else, and that Hawke was the one to catch them in bed?”
My gaze snaps back over to hers, and I gasp. “Josie cheated on Hawke?”
“Yep, and he was going to marry her the next month. He came home and walked in on her having sex with some random stranger.”
I rest a hand on my suddenly tight chest. I can’t imagine how awful that would have been for Hawke. I mean, sure I’ve been cheated on, but I’ve never witnessed it, had it right there in front of me. Why does everything need to be so complicated?
“So, he called off the wedding?”
“He did. Then he walked out of her life.”
Feelings of pride for Hawke fill me as I think of how hard that would have been for him. Then I look Jasmine in the eye. “Then why did he kiss her the other night?”
Jasmine sighs. “On the night of the bachelor party, they were at Black Panthers. Josie was there, stripping on stage.”
“Josie is a stripper?” I ask, shocked.
“She is now, yes. But when her and Hawke were together she was a personal assistant for some design company.”
“So why is she a stripper now?”
“This is where it all comes together, Lu.”
“Um, excuse me…. I don’t mean to interrupt, but did you want me to wrap up the dress for you?”
Jasmine looks behind her at the fitting assistant in the doorway. “Oh gosh, sorry, I’ve let time slip away from me. Sure, I’ll get out of my dress and bring it out front.”
Jasmine’s dress fits her like a glove so there’s no need for any finishing touches.
“We’ll have to continue this discussion later, Lu.” Jasmine gets up from the couch and heads to the changerooms where the assistant is now waiting, ready to help her get out of the dress.
I sigh, regret now filling me. Did I overreact? Josie cheated on Hawke! That could possibly explain his commitment issues.
I sit patiently waiting for Jasmine, and stand up and follow her when she exists the changeroom and makes her way to the register. They place the dress in a secured bag and lay it safely in her waiting arms.
“Here, let me help,” I offer as I hold the bottom of it. “You shouldn’t be carrying anything too heavy.”
“Not you too,” Jasmine states, rolling her eyes at me. “Ever since I’ve been pregnant, I’m not allowed to do anything unless Quill says I can.”
“He’s just being cautious, Jazz.”
“There’s cautious, and there’s just plain crazy. Quill is the latter. The guy won’t even let me go shopping on my own. He sends a prospect to the shop with my list.”
I smirk. “Yeah, that may be a little over the top.”
She smiles. “Good to know you see it my way.”
I roll my eyes. “Come on, let’s get this dress in the car. This gown weighs a ton, you sure you can walk down the aisle in this?”
“It’s fine. And don’t you dare tell Quill that it’s heavy. The man would make me change it, maybe even pick the dress for me.” I giggle imagining Quill doing that exact thing.
Once out front and near her car, Jasmine awkwardly opens the trunk and places it gently inside, ensuring it’s flat and won’t get creased. “There,” she says, “that wasn’t too bad.” Jasmine stands back, hands on her hips as she blows loose hair out of her face.
“Yeah, not bad at all,” I agree.
“Let’s go get a hot chocolate. I’m craving one and we can finish that conversation.”
“That sounds like a plan.”
We walk into Macie’s café which is next door to the bridal shop, and make our way to the counter to order our drinks. “Hot chocolate please, and, uh, Lu, what do you want?”
“I’ll get a long black, thanks.”
Once our drinks are ready, we carry them over to a table and take our seats.
“So, are you excited about going home?”
Jasmine’s eyes light up. She loves the ranch, and I can’t say I blame her; I love my own parents’ ranch too. I grew up next door to Jasmine, we were both only children and went to the same school. We were inseparable, and still are.
“You can say that. I’m glad I’m getting married there. It’s always been my wish to marry my future husband there, and with Nic that wasn’t going to happen, because of his mother’s plans. So I love how Quill knew it was a dream of mine and made it a reality.”
Sipping my coffee, I brace myself to ask Jasmine the question I’m dreading.
“Jazz?”
Jasmine’s stirring her hot chocolate, and takes a sip. She places it back down and gives me her full attention.
“Will you tell me the rest of that story?”
“Of course. Like I said, Josie is a stripper, and that night Hawke went to confront her out back after her routine. He saw her injecting herself with drugs.”
“Oh my God!” I cry. “What did Hawke do?”
“Well, you know Hawke, he can’t help but be the knight in shining armor. He drove her home and tried to sober her up by placing her in a cold shower.”
“Shower?” I yell. “He undressed her?” I’m in shock.
“I don’t think it was like that, Lu. Calm down,” Jasmine says looking around the café after the scene I made.
I lower my voice. “Was she naked?”
“I doubt it. All I know is that he got her in there and she kissed him, he pulled away, and left the bathroom.”
“He did?” I ask, surprised.
“Lu, what the hell? What did you think, that he would have sex with her there, and then...?”
“It did cross my mind,” I say honestly.
“You need to have more faith in him. He’s a good one,” Jasmine explains as she takes another sip of her hot chocolate, and I follow her by doing the same with my coffee.
“So if this all meant nothing, why did he never tell me about Josie? Why did he hide it from me?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he was worried.”
“Worried about what?”
“I don’t know,” Jasmine admits, sitting back in her chair. “Maybe he was scared, Lu. He’s been hurt, you know what that’s like.”
I sit back in mine, and run my fingers over the rim of my cup.
“Listen, I’m sure Hawke loves you… but he’s been hurt, Lu. Bad.” The way she emphasizes the last word forces me to look up at her. “He’s told you he loves you. That’s a big step for him.”
“You’re right. Maybe I overreacted.” I sag forward at my realization and cup my chin in my hand. “Have I lost him?” I ask Jasmine, feeling sick in my stomach with the thought I could have.
“Luisa, the guy is crazy about you. I’ve never seen him looking so lost. Please make up with him, I can’t share my food with him anymore. He’s killing me.”
I laugh at her comment and try to catch my breath.
“I’m serious, Lu, I’m sure the man is eating more because he’s depressed that you’re gone. Even Quill’s noticed him coming over more often. So please, forgive him. He’s a pain in my ass.”
“If only it was that easy.” I sag into my chair, my shoulders dropping.
“Luisa, are you not listening to a word I’m saying? Get your ass in your car, and go to him. He’s at the clubhouse.”
I chew on my bottom lip, contemplating going.
“Go,” she repeats, and I give in. I get up from my seat and give Jasmine a warm hug, thanking her.
“Don’t be late tomorrow, hon, plane leaves at 11.00 a.m. I expect you and Hawke on time,” she adds winking.
“Will do, Mom,” I say smiling, and leave the café and head to my car to find Hawke.