Leisurely, he poured himself a tall glass of iced water and drank deeply from it before licking the water from his lips. "I can stop pretending that I don't want you."
Okay. Jasmine had expected him to flirt outrageously but this was just too...well...outrageous. "Excuse me?" she tried her best to look disgusted but thrills were shooting all over her body at his words and the reaction surprised her.
"Oh no, honey," he murmured silkily. "Excuse me. For my manners. But the allure of forbidden fruit is just too much for me to resist."
She occupied herself with forking and popping an oyster in her mouth. How could she feel attracted to him in the space of five minutes? More to the point, how could she feel any kind of attraction at all for anyone when she had sworn never to feel those things again? He opened his mouth to speak again but the waiter came over with his usual and he leaned away from her to allow his meal to be placed in front of him. Jasmine stared at it. Oysters. On a bed of ice.
"That's your usual?" she blurted out.
He smiled a little as he picked up his fork and speared an oyster with it. "Not that I need it."
She swallowed again. "Right. Neither do I, by the way." She cringed at her own words.
He responded by laughing and popping the oyster in his mouth. That laughter sounded like wine being poured in a goblet. A cause for celebration. His hair was tousled by the wind and strands of it had fallen over his brow, making him look even more attractive. Jasmine went back to her meal, determined to keep her eyes averted now. What the eye did not see, the heart could not desire.
"Aren't you going to ask me what I meant about you being forbidden fruit?" he asked in a low voice and she revised her philosophy.
Apparently, there was a lot to be said about a sexy male voice as well. Phone sex kind of voice. Murmuring delicious suggestions in a dark bedroom between silk sheets kind of voice. Jasmine managed to keep her expression neutral. After all, she had had years of practice.
"Wait, you know?" He sounded surprised and she realized that he had been waiting for her answer and had jumped to the most obvious conclusion upon her silence. "Shit, you know Alex wants you, huh? He told me that you had no idea."
Jasmine sipped at her water again. She wanted Alex to return so that this guy would stop giving her all his attention and she could think about her body's reaction and analyze it to death.
Armaan had stopped eating and was staring at her. "Man, the guy drives himself crazy trying to avoid revealing his feelings for you because he thinks it'll scare you off or something and you've known all along. Incredible. This would make things easier."
"No!" She turned to glare at him. "Don't you dare tell him that I know."
He raised his eyebrows at her. "Is that a threat or a request?"
She simmered down and looked at him imploringly. "Request," she squeaked.
"Didn't sound like one," he pointed out.
"Please. Don't tell him. I don't want to lose a really good friend. That's all he will ever be to me," Jasmine confided.
Armaan peered into the direction in which Alex had disappeared as if he was thinking hard about the situation. After a while, he turned back to her. "You're killing him, you know that?"
Jasmine sighed heavily. "Please, Armaan."
He studied her earnest expression and suddenly, he grinned at her. "I liked the way you said that. Say it again," he prompted softly.
"What? No."
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Say it again, Jasmine." His tone was firm this time. "Say it or watch me tell Alex that you know he wants you."
Jasmine gaped at him. "You've only just met me and you're manipulating me?"
"Say it."
He had seemed so nice at first but now, the realization dawned on her that Alex's best friend was certifiably crazy and obnoxious. Was poor Alex aware that his precious Armaan had flaws? She folded her arms and glared at him. "If you care about Alex, you would not subject him to a very painful rejection from me."
The guy in question returned to the table and smiled at them angelically. "Mum sends you her love," he said to Armaan before taking his seat. "Sorry. Was I gone for too long?"
"You're right on time, buddy," Armaan told him. "Jas and I were just talking about you."
The relieved smile that had lighted up Jasmine's face upon seeing Alex vanished. She shot Armaan a warning look. Did he not understand that Alex would be hurt if he knew that she would never want him the same way? She did not want to put a strain on their friendship. He was all she had in this new life she would begin in Milan and they were on such good terms. She tried to convey all of this to Armaan with her eyes but he ignored her. And who gave him permission to call her Jas, anyway?
"Yeah? What about me?" Alex attacked his steak with renewed hunger.
Armaan raised an eyebrow at her. 'Say it again', he mouthed and she glared at him.
"Jas was just telling me how fond she is of you."
The oyster she was chewing on quickly disappeared down her throat and she knew that this guy was going to ruin things if she did not give in. She remembered Alex telling her earlier as he had escorted her down to the restaurant that Armaan was the apple of his mother's eye. Now it occurred to her that it
