said in a low voice, “I sure hope no one saw us go into that place together and then exchange money afterward. I can only imagine what they’d think.”
Because she grinned and winked at him, he knew she was joking. It provoked a laugh from him as she closed the door. It also gave his attraction to her another hard nudge.
Who would have guessed she had such a warped sense of humor?
He and Katie waved her off and then climbed into his truck to head home. As he started the engine and backed out of the parking spot, he took a moment to reflect on how the lesson had gone.
He had started it with serious reservations about working with Jasmine because he hadn’t thought she would be invested in Katie, and he quite frankly hadn’t liked her very much. Now here he was ninety minutes later, having serious reservations about working with her for the exact opposite reasons.
He wasn’t at all sure what to do about that. When he’d come up with this idea, he’d had some expectation that he’d have to help protect Katie’s heart from being broken if this didn’t work out.
What the hell was he going to do to protect his own?
Chapter Ten
Jasmine wasn’t sure just how she had pictured Gareth Dixon in her head, but the six-foot, six-inch, three hundred-pound black man with a bald head and full salt-n-pepper beard definitely hadn’t been it. When he first approached her in front of the dancewear store that she liked to frequent, she had assumed he’d pass her by on his way to one of the other stores in the strip mall. Her expression must have been quite comical when he instead stopped a few feet from her and extended a hand.
“Jasmine? I’m Gareth Dixon,” he’d said with a mellow southern voice and kind smile.
Belatedly, she caught sight of the bright purple shirt Katie was wearing as she clung to his hand and hid behind him. Jasmine did her best to collect herself, hoping she hadn’t offended him.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said as she accepted the handshake. When Katie poked her head out and wiggled her fingers at her, she tacked on, “And it’s nice to see you again, Katie. You ready to go shopping?”
Katie nodded and edged closer.
“Okay. Right this way.”
Jasmine guided them into the store. It was early in the day in the middle of the week, so it didn’t surprise her to find it empty. That was one of the reasons she had scheduled this shopping trip at this time. She figured Katie would be more comfortable if there wasn’t a crowd.
Spotting the manager on duty, a woman named Leslie she’d known for years, Jasmine lifted her hand in a wave. Leslie started to wave back. Her hand froze and her eyes widened when she saw Gareth. Jasmine might have been amused by the look on Leslie’s face if she hadn’t probably looked much the same herself a couple minutes ago. Gareth wasn’t exactly a typical dancewear consumer.
Leslie noticed Katie by Gareth’s side and produced a wide, salesperson smile. She left the shelf she had been straightening and approached them, now all business.
“Hi there,” she said. “Welcome to It’s Showtime. Is this the young lady we’re shopping for today?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Gareth said. “This here is Katie.”
He didn’t seem at all concerned that Katie had twisted so she stood behind him, her back pressed against his thigh. She had lost a shade of color and her breathing had quickened. Jasmine remembered what Will said about Katie and her response to some females. Something about Leslie was obviously not to her liking.
Jasmine told the manager, “We’re going to pick out some new shoes and a couple of outfits for Katie.”
“Great,” she replied. “I’d love to help. Should we measure her foot to gauge the best size?”
“She wears a size twelve girl’s shoe,” Gareth said when Katie didn’t budge. “Don’t know what that means for ballet shoes, though.”
“All right. We could start with that size and a half-size up,” Leslie said. “What brands do you want me to pull, Jasmine?”
Katie’s uneven breathing had grown audible in the quiet store. Holding up a finger, Jasmine walked behind Gareth. She lowered herself so she was at Katie’s eye level and waited until she met her gaze.
“Katie, this is Leslie. She’ll be the one to measure your feet so we can be sure we buy the right shoes. She’ll also have to go to the back to get the