Jasmine by Kathi S. Barton Page A

they spelled your name
right.” She glared at him and he laughed. “Look, you knew this was going to
happen. At least now your family will be there for you.”
    She looked back at the bold headline.
HBO WANTS OUR JASMINE BLACKWELL’S BOOKS. She wondered when she’d become their Jasmine, but simply read the story out loud to Nathan.
    “‘Jasmine Waite, our own little
shy girl, has just announced that she is the Jasmine Blackwell, author
of the naughty books The Main Characters . Miss Waite could not be
reached for comment.’” She looked up from the first paragraph. “That’s because
Miss Waite wasn’t privy to this thing.” She continued reading when Nathan
kissed her nose. “‘Couldn’t be reached for comment to talk about the HBO series
that they want to run on her books this fall.’ I wasn’t aware they’d set a date
yet,” she told Nathan as he set a plate of waffles in front of her.
    “Could be they’re making that up.
I’d call Drew when you’re done and see what he has to say. HBO may have
contacted the other lawyer with a date and he didn’t tell them you had fired
him.”
     She wrote it on the pad of paper
she always had on her. She tossed the paper on the counter as she dug into her
food. She was just eating the last sliced ham he’d fried for her when her phone
rang. Nathan answered it as he walked by it from the refrigerator.
    “Yes, she’s here. I’m not sure,
but I can ask… No, that won’t be… Yes, I’m sure you are, but that doesn’t… Yes.
Hang on, let me find out.” He winked at her before he put the phone on mute. “You’re
going to be very popular, it seems. The ladies club at the library wants to
know if you’ll do them the honor of coming to their luncheon tomorrow. They
want to talk to you about your writing career.”
    She groaned. “This is why I never
wanted anyone to find out. No, I don’t want to do lunch with those old biddies.
They wouldn’t even let me have a library card when I was a kid because my
father, and I quote, ‘wouldn’t have the money to pay for the books I wouldn’t
return.’ Like I was going to steal the books from them or something.” She
glared at him again when he laughed.
    “Look, you knew this was going to
happen. You had to know that people were going to change their minds about how
they treated you. I have the same thing. Now that Alyssa and I are close, it
seems that everyone I partied with before now thinks I’m as rich as her. I’m
not.” He handed her the phone. “You can be famous and gracious or you can be
famous and a bitch. Up to you. I’ll love you either way.”
    She felt her heart rate leap. They’d
sort of not talked about what he’d said to her in the restaurant yesterday. She
took the phone and stuck her tongue out at him.
    She ended up agreeing to go. She
also agreed that she’d sign books that any of them wanted to bring in as well. The
phone rang as soon as she hung up. It was the bookstore in town. Could she see
her way to come in and do a book signing soon? They would have all her books on
display by the following Monday. Could she see her way to come in on Friday? She
had to go to her office and pull up her calendar to see. By the time she’d made
arrangements for that gig, her phone rang twice more while she was marking the
date. She let the first one go to voicemail and the second she answered.
    “So you were going to call me
today and tell me, right?” Gracie said in way of greeting. “My own sister is
some famous smut writer and I have to read about it online. Shame on you for
not sharing.”
    “Oh like you aren’t famous. And I
write. I don’t design these incredible clothes that actresses and queens beg
you for. Didn’t I see one of your creations on a Golden Globe winner a few
weeks back?’ Jazzie smiled when her sister snorted.
    “So? You know I do that. I,
however, did not know about you. Why is that, I wonder? And it says in this
article that you and a certain man are fucking like