Derek watched her as she disappeared and then looked at Jacob like she was crazy. “Mom always gets like that when she finds a new book store. She will be in there all day. I usually try and find a book to read in one of their comfy chairs, cause I know it will take forever. She always feels bad about how long she’s taking though, cause she buys me a big ice cream sundae afterwards,” Jacob said, trying to decide if it was worth it to follow his mom.

“I will take you out for ice cream and you won’t have to sit in the bookstore all day,” Derek said, as if reading his thoughts.

“Yeah,” Jacob said, clearly making his choice and following his dad into the huge furniture store. “Can I have a new bed? I know my bed is good but I’ve had it forever and I really want to get a bunk bed so my friends have somewhere to sleep,” Jacob pleaded with him.

“You can have all new furniture for your room. You’re a big boy and it’s time you got a desk and new dresser and other things that fit you better,” Derek said, not able to deny his son a single thing. “Let’s go get your stuff picked out first,” he finished and grabbed Jacob’s hand.

Derek was starting to feel better as he watched Jacob’s excitement over his new things. The kid was so enthusiastic and excited about everything and Derek was humbled by Jacob’s appreciation of everything he got.

Derek realized Jasmine hadn’t spoiled him in a bad way. Jacob was a good boy in so many ways. He was appreciative of things and always polite to everyone around him. He was so unlike other children and he was really starting to realize Jasmine wasn’t the materialistic person he’d once thought she was.

Her choice in furniture was another example of who she was. She didn’t want the exquisite leather showpiece furniture. She wanted something that was comfortable for her and her guests. She didn’t care about what people saw when they walked into the room, she cared they were comfortable. She was going to be a breath of fresh air, in a world of corporate sharks.

They soon had the furniture ordered for every room in the house except the library and Derek realized three hours had passed and he still hadn’t seen Jasmine. “Have you seen your mom yet?” Derek asked Jacob.

“I told you. She forgot how much time has gone by, like she always does,” Jacob said, with a role of his eyes.

“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.

She tried to make the best of the situation and entertained Jacob as much as possible. He had his sleepover and about ten boys came and spent the night. They were in love with the swimming pool and basketball court and couldn’t figure out which to do first.

They went from activity to activity until they were exhausted and crashed in the den, watching scary movies and filling up on junk food.

Jasmine continued to keep busy with her son and the wedding and soon almost an entire month had passed. Her wedding was coming up in a few more days and she was terrified. She’d barely spoken to Derek since they had moved in and she noticed she’d actually seek him out and find reasons to be in the same room. He didn’t seem to feel the same way. It was breaking her heart all over again.

It seemed to be the same story as when she was only an eighteen year old girl. He’d gotten what he wanted, so he didn’t want to be around her anymore. She was starting to really panic about the whole situation. She was already getting dependent on him once again and she knew Jacob was and she didn’t know if she was going to be able to pick up the pieces this time if he left them.

Jasmine was sitting in the library reading, which wasn’t unusual. Jacob was at a sleepover and Derek was at the office, late once again. The buzzer sounded alerting her someone wanted in the gate.

She knew it couldn’t be Drew or Ryan, as they had the code but she couldn’t figure out who else would be there so late in the evening. She got up and answered the ringing.

“Can I help you?” she asked, still feeling a little silly speaking into a box.

“It’s Amy. I have some materials for Derek,” said the sexy female voice.

Jasmine couldn’t understand why Derek would ever let one of his ex-girlfriends come to her house but she figured he didn’t care if he threw the woman in her face. She opened the gate and just hoped she was in and out quickly.

Jasmine met her at the door, because she wanted the visit ended soon. The woman looked like every man’s fantasy come to life in her incredibly short skirt, skin tight blouse and heels making her legs look like they were endless. She had red nails to match her red lipstick and Jasmine felt a bit intimidated, as she was standing there in her sweats, without make-up and her hair thrown back in a very messy bun.

“Thank you for bringing this over. I’ll give them to Derek as soon as he gets home,” Jasmine said, as she held out her hand to take the items.

“Oh, he hasn’t made it back yet?” the woman said, as if she knew exactly why he wasn’t there. Jasmine narrowed her eyes, no longer even pretending to be friendly.

“He’ll be home anytime,” Jasmine said.

“I know, I’m meeting him here. We do have a lot of business to take care of, so I’m sure you can find something else to do,” she suggested in a manner that implied her and Derek had a lot more to do than business. Jasmine’s first instinct was to toss the woman out on her doorstep, with her fist but she was a better person than that.

“Fine, you can wait in the den,” Jasmine said through gritted teeth. She decided if he was going to bring his tramps into the house this wouldn’t work. She was going to give him a piece of her mind later.

She lay down in the library to wait for him to come home and sleep finally overtook her. When she woke it was three in the morning. She sat up quickly and looked out the window. She was relieved to see Amy’s car was gone but still angry he’d asked the woman to her house. There were just some boundaries you didn’t cross.

She climbed up the stairs and went to his room. He wasn’t in there, so instead of searching the house from top to bottom, she decided to get some sleep and then confront him in the morning.

She quickly undressed and climbed beneath the covers. She felt a movement and was startled to find Derek in her bed. “What are you doing here?” she snapped, as she tried to jump from the bed. She was far too angry with him to do anything.

“I got sick of waiting for you to come to me and I’m tired of your bed,” he said, as he snaked his arm out to grab her before she could move away. When he realized she was completely naked, he groaned in pleasure and then she felt his lips connect with hers.