Mad About You

contours of her lithe body rose in his mind, amazing him all over again. Now that he'd had a glimpse of her sensual side, getting her out of his mind would be even more difficult.
    And Jasmine hadn't heard the last of him yet. He was no genie, but he still had one trick up his sleeve.

    * * *

    "Ms. Crowne, a delivery van just arrived."
    Jasmine glanced up at the secretary, her hands stilling on an onyx horse-head sculpture. "With the rug?"
    "Yes."
    She smiled in relief. A simple black woven rug from a carpet warehouse was better than no rug at all. Jasmine stepped back to check the sculpture arrangement on Trey's dressing table. Satisfied, she joined the woman, checking her watch. "Good—this is even earlier than I was promised."
    "I told him to drive around to the west hall entrance. That way he won't have to carry it so far to the governor's room."
    "Thank you, Ms. Rogers. I'll take it from here."
    Jasmine smoothed a hand over her hair and checked her suit. She wanted to look her best when the cameras arrived, to show an outward appearance of calm, even if she were falling apart inside. Thankfully, she hadn't been followed home last night, and the news crews were too distracted by the freak storm to notice her car had been parked near Ladden's store for over three hours. If she were very, very lucky, maybe she and Ladden would be the only people who had to live with the knowledge of what they'd done.
    When she walked into the west hall, she stopped abruptly. Her heart jumped to her throat at the sight of Ladden standing just inside the wide delivery door. He wore his usual jeans and T-shirt with a white ball cap that read Atlanta Braves. Every intimate act they'd shared last night flashed through her mind.
    As she walked closer on rubbery legs, he removed his hat. "Hello," he said politely. No innuendo, no spite. Just hello.
    "What are you doing here?"
    His brow furrowed in puzzlement. "I brought your rug."
    Alarm shot through her. She couldn't put that, that... thing in Trey's room and have it traveling the halls of the governor's mansion. "I changed my mind."
    "But you said you had to have it. You said it would be perfect for McDonald's room."
    "I told you," she said, trying to keep her voice calm, "I changed my mind."
    "From last night to this morning?" he asked, one eyebrow raised. "What happened to change your mind?"
    Everything. "I decided it wasn't right for the room after all."
    He shrugged, "Too bad. You asked for a rug, you've got a rug." Then he pulled out a pair of work gloves and turned toward the exit.
    "But I don't want it!" she said, trotting after him.
    He turned back. "Why not? It’s just a rug after all…it’s not as if it has some kind of magical power."
    She bit her tongue. With her luck, the rug would wait until the TV cameras were rolling, and then get up and do a jig.
    When she walked out on the stoop, Ladden emerged from the truck with the rug resting on his big shoulder. "Which way is the governor's room?"
    She didn't answer.
    His mouth curved into a wry smile. "Don't tell me you've forgotten."
    Pursing her lips, she sighed in resignation. Maybe she could get rid of it later. "Follow me."
    Jasmine walked stiffly back to Trey's room, knowing Ladden perused her figure from only a few steps back. When she led him into the room, her skin tingled with the awkwardness of the situation.
    Ladden lowered the rug gently to the polished wood floor. "Nice. My entire showroom would fit inside here."
    She nodded, not knowing what to say.
    He unrolled the carpet carefully and combed the fringe, touching the rug almost lovingly. "There. Your first instinct was right—the colors are great for this room." He turned a smile her way. "And how appropriate that this rug be in this room, don't you think?"
    So she could remember their lapse every time she stepped into Trey's bedroom. Feeling lightheaded, Jasmine reached for a chair to steady herself. "Ladden—"
    "Jasmine, I love you."
    Her chest felt ready to explode. Hot tears burned her eyelids, but she blinked them away and took a deep breath. "Ladden, I’m not the right woman for you. We're very different people with very different goals in life."
    He removed his hat, folding it in his hands. "I thought everyone wanted to grow old with someone they love."
    "But I want... excitement and travel and fame." She measured her words, trying to be as honest with him as possible. She owed him that much. "Ladden, not very many people know that... that I came