Page 99 of Maxwell

His hair was a little bit longer, as if he hadn’t cut it in a while, which made her long to run her fingers through the thick curls as she had in the past. He looked achingly beautiful.

He slowed to a stop and tugged one of the earbuds free. “Hi, Jasmine.” He nodded at Myra. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Annoyingly, Myra’s voice had climbed an octave. Jasmine barely resisted the urge to kick her in the shin.

“Getting your steps in before brunch, as usual?” Maxwell asked.

He seemed relaxed and friendly. Meanwhile, she was having difficulty breathing because it felt like someone was standing on her chest.

“Something like that,” she answered.

“You look good.” The words were stated as fact.

“You too.” She returned the compliment without thinking and wished she could kick herself in the shin.

His enticing lips held the faintest hint of a smile. “Enjoy your walk, ladies.” With a small nod, he returned the earbud to his ear and kept walking.

Jasmine watched him longer than she should have. He hadn’t pushed. He hadn’t lingered past his welcome. He hadn’t even asked about the roses.

“You okay?” Myra asked, eyes filled with curious concern.

“Yeah, girl. I’m fine,” Jasmine said with a little laugh.

They continued on their way.

Chapter Forty-One

Jasmine went down the hall toward the front desk and stopped short at the sound of Keisha’s voice, high-pitched and excited.

“...and I said, ‘You have got to be kidding me. I can’t believe you kept your promise. Tickets sold out as soon as they went on sale!’ And he goes, ‘To the general public, but I have the hookup.’ I can’t believe I have front-row tickets to see Delta J. Front row!”

Renee beamed at her. “You’re so lucky, especially since she doesn’t perform much in small venues like this, does she?”

“No, she doesn’t, which was another reason why I assumed it was a lost cause. I mean, the tickets sold out fast, and since he doesn’t work here anymore, I figured he’d forgotten all about the promise he made. Marcus is going to be shocked, do you hear me? I’ve been talking about the show since—” She caught sight of Jasmine.

Renee continued smiling, but her eyes flicked between the two of them.

“Hi, Jasmine,” Keisha said.

“Hey, what are you so excited about?” Jasmine kept her tone light and upbeat as she walked into the reception area.

Guilt crept into Keisha’s face. “Um, Maxwell got me tickets to see Delta J. He had promised me he would get me tickets a while back. This was before they went on sale and before...” She bit her bottom lip. “You don’t mind, do you? I’ll give them back if it bothers you.”

Renee suddenly became very interested in the paperwork in her hand.

“Of course not.” Jasmine punctuated her answer with a laugh to make sure Keisha knew accepting the gift was no big deal. Keisha was loyal, but Jasmine understood that she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see Delta J in a small, intimate setting. “You and Marcus should go and enjoy yourselves.”

Keisha’s smile returned, uncertain but hopeful. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Renee, would you take a look at these? They need to be recoded,” Jasmine said.

“Sure.”

Renee took the stack of papers, and Jasmine walked out of the reception area with a funny feeling in her stomach. Not because she was jealous Keisha would get to see Delta J perform, although she was a little jealous.

But because Maxwell had delivered for Keisha. Despite everything, he had kept his word.