Page 27 of Security and Submission
“Come on, sweetheart,” Yasmine said, closing the door and taking Hope up the footpath, which was also made of stone. “Everyone is going to be so excited to meet you.”
She was not wrong.
Audrey, Cassidy, and Audrey’s grandmother, Brenda, were already there with Claudia, and all of them jumped up when Yasmine came in with the dog. For some reason, seeing Audrey didn’t give Yasmine the usual pang that it did. Maybe she was finally getting over her lost wedding. That would be nice.
The curvy redhead got down on her knees to greet Hope, who was wagging her tail a mile a minute as she was covered with love.
“Aren’t you a pretty girl?” Audrey asked enthusiastically as Hope licked the underside of her chin.
“So pretty,” Cassidy agreed, kneeling beside her to try to get in on the petting action.
“I definitely need the story of how you ended up with this dog,” Claudia said, shaking her head as she gave Yasmine a hug in greeting. “You never really struck me as a dog person.”
“I never really thought of myself as a dog person,” Yasmine admitted. “Hope is growing on me, though she needs to go back to her real owner on Monday.”
“Okay, I want this story, too,” Cassidy said. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail that swept back and forth as she looked up at Yasmine, raising her eyebrows. Her level of confidence had come a long way since she’d first arrived in Pittsburgh, on the run from her abusive ex. Probably didn’t hurt that her current boyfriend had killed her abusive ex when he’d tried to kidnap her. David was a hero in every sense of the word.
He and Brenda were also the reason Audrey had come to Pittsburgh. Yasmine didn’t hold that against them. It was better to know that Audrey was Mason’s perfect match before Yasmine and Mason got married. If Audrey had come to live near her brother and grandmother after Yasmine had married Mason… he would have done the right thing. Yasmine believed that with every fiber of her being. There was no way he would have cheated on her.
But having a husband who wanted to be with someone else would have been so much worse than having an arranged fiancé who did—the marriage hadn’t happened yet, so she’d been able to easily release him from the arrangement.
“So, do we play games or gossip during game night?” Brenda asked, coming over to greet Hope, holding a glass in her other hand. Yasmine assumed the glass contained some kind of alcoholic beverage.
“Both,” everyone chorused.
Brenda did not let her status as David and Audrey’s grandmother stop her from being hell-on-wheels, which is how Cassidy ended up as her hired companion. Someone needed to keep their eye on her so she didn’t get into more trouble than she could handle. Plus, she really shouldn’t be driving. Since David and Cassidy had ended up as a couple, it had all worked out well.
Not everyone could handle being Brenda’s companion. She might look sweet with her candy floss white curls that were closely cropped to her head and her shiny blue eyes, but she was a filthy old lady with absolutely no filter.
“I’d rather gossip,” Brenda admitted. “Unless the game we’re playing is strip poker, but since none of you have anything I’m interested in seeing, gossip is good.”
Audrey slapped one hand over her face. “Grandma!”
“I played strip poker with Mick last week.” As usual, Brenda was undaunted by her grandchild’s censure. “Let me tell you, the cake that boy is packing…”
“Grandma!” Audrey’s voice went to a higher shriek.
“Do you even know what ‘cake’ is?” Claudia asked, clearly amused.
“Sure do. Those two hockey players from that Hot Rivalry show both have cake.” Brenda made a scooping motion in front of her that clearly outlined buttocks. “The Russian had the wedding cake, and the Canadian had the groom’s cake.”
It took Yasmine a moment to realize what Brenda meant, as the shower scene popped into her head, then she cracked up… because she was not wrong. Both of the guys had cake, but…
“I cannot with you,” Audrey muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“It’s Heated Rivalry, anyway,” Yasmine corrected Brenda, amused.
“I said what I said. They’re hot.”
“Just be grateful you didn’t have to watch it with her,” Cassidy told Audrey, simultaneously resigned and amused. “Although getting to watch her cry over Scott and Kip was pretty amazing.”
“I wasn’t crying. I was leaking.” Brenda sniffed, lifting her chin. “I don’t cry.”
“Uh huh.”
“Have you all seen it?” Brenda asked with a gleam in her eye, looking around at all of them. “We could change this from game night to fake hockey night.”
“I have seen it, and I’m not sure we can say it’s really about hockey,” Yasmine replied with a light laugh. “I don’t know anything more about hockey after watching it than I did before.”
