LOGINDavin“To the bride and groom.”Lucas raised his glass toward us, and the conversations around the reception tent slowly faded.The garden looked different under the evening sky. String lights hung between the trees, candles flickered across the tables, and the dance floor was already surrounded by flowers. After everything that had happened to get us here, there was something almost strange about sitting there and feeling completely at peace.I reached under the table and found Jasmine’s hand, and her fingers immediately slipped between mine.Lucas looked at us and shook his head with a grin. “I’ve known Davin for more than twenty years, and I can honestly say I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at Jasmine. Not even his paintings get that much attention.”Laughter spread through the tent, and he raised his glass again.“Jasmine, welcome to the family. God help you, because we’re way more chaotic than you probably bargained for.”Jasmine laughed, turning toward him. “I
Jasmine“Hold still,” my mother said, pushing another pin into place. “You’re going to ruin an hour of work if you keep moving.”“I can’t help it. I’m getting married in two hours.”“I’m aware.” She met my eyes in the mirror and smiled. “I’ve been aware since Evelyn started circling April on every calendar in this house.”I laughed, but my hands were still restless in my lap.My mother stepped back and studied my reflection. Her expression softened, and I knew that look. I had seen it when I graduated and when I came home from the university after everything fell apart. Her lips pressed together for a moment, and she blinked before looking away.“You look beautiful,” she said. “Really beautiful.”I looked at myself again.The ivory dress fell softly around me, simple but elegant, with delicate embroidery along the hem. Evelyn had taken me shopping three different times before we finally agreed on it. She had complained about every dress that was too plain, too dramatic, too traditiona
JasmineEvelyn made it clear she wasn’t joking about the wedding when she showed up at Davin’s house the following Saturday with a folder tucked under her arm and three venue brochures sticking out of it.She dropped the folder and brochures on the kitchen table and pulled out a chair. “Don’t look at me like that.”I looked at the folder, then at her. “I haven’t said anything.”“You were about to.”Davin walked in behind her, wearing a dark T-shirt and sweatpants, his hair still messy from sleep. He stopped when he saw the brochures spread across the table.“What’s happening?”“Evelyn has started planning our wedding.”His eyes moved from the brochures to his sister. “Already?”“Already?” Evelyn shot back. “You proposed last night. What exactly did you think was going to happen?”Davin looked at me like he wanted backup, but I just lifted my coffee. “Don’t look at me. I’m staying out of this.”“Traitor.”I laughed under my breath as she arranged the brochures across the table.The fir
Jasmine“Jasmine?”I turned at the unfamiliar voice and found a woman standing a few feet away, studying me with a hesitant smile. I knew her immediately. I’d seen her in old photographs so many times that recognizing her in person felt easy.“Evelyn?”Her smile widened. “Okay, good. I was really hoping you’d say that.”I laughed softly. “I’d know you anywhere.”“That’s a relief.” She stepped closer. “We never actually met, did we?”I shook my head. “No, not properly.”She glanced toward the crowd, then back at me. “I’ve heard so much about you that I feel like we have.”I smiled. “He talked about you too. A lot. Back when…” I hesitated, suddenly unsure how to explain it to her.Evelyn raised a brow. “Back when you two were together?”I nodded. “Yeah.”Evelyn nodded. “I figured.” She reached for my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “He told me everything eventually, after months of squabbles. You know Davin isn’t exactly the easiest person to get information out of.”I laughed. “I kn
JasmineDavin took my hand after the applause had settled, his thumb moving slowly over my knuckles as if he still needed the reassurance that I was standing beside him.“There’s one more thing.”I looked at him. “You’re not done yet?”He gave me a small smile. “I saved the best for last.”I laughed softly. “You really know how to keep a girl nervous.”“Come with me.”He led me toward the far end of the gallery, where a heavy curtain covered a section of the wall, and stopped in front of it.He glanced at me for a moment, almost uncertain, and that alone caught me off guard. Davin Jackson had always seemed like a man who knew exactly what he wanted to say.Seeing him hesitate made me wonder: What could possibly be behind that curtain that is making him so uncertain?“Okay,” he said quietly. “Before you see it, there’s something you should know.”“What?”“I almost didn’t show this to you.”My brows furrowed. “Why?”“Because I didn’t know if you’d think it was too much.”I studied his f
Davin“Jasmine.”Her name left my mouth before I could stop it. For three years, I had wondered what it would feel like to see her again. I had pictured finding her in a crowded room, hearing her voice, wondering what I would say when we finally stood face to face. But none of my imaginings came close to this.She was standing in the middle of my gallery in the navy dress I remembered, her copper hair falling over her shoulders. Her eyes were already blurry with unshed tears.For a moment, I couldn’t move. I just stared at her. The microphone was still in my hand, but I had forgotten about it. The guests around me had disappeared into a blur of faces and movement, and all I could see was the woman I had spent so long trying to get out of my mind.She had changed. There was a confidence in the way she stood that hadn’t been there before. She looked older and steadier, but when her eyes met mine, I saw the same warmth that had always undone me. And whatever control I had left began to s
Jasmine“What the fuck!?”For a second, nobody moved.The room smelled like sweat and cheap vanilla candles—the type Mia always burned when she studied. Her laptop still sat open on the desk beside the bed, highlighted notes glowing against the screen like some sick joke.Jason was sprawled across
Jasmine“I’ve told you, Jasmine, you’re too fat for that. You look like a potato in that dress,” Mia said with a small laugh, like she was making an innocent observation instead of saying something so insulting.I looked at her through the mirror.She was lying across my bed comfortably, scrolling
JasmineSomething about Professor Jackson had been bothering me for the entire lecture.It wasn’t just that he was attractive. That much was obvious.It was the strange sense of familiarity that kept tugging at me whenever he spoke.Every time his voice rolled through the lecture hall, something in
JasmineThe pounding in my head woke me before my alarm did.For several seconds, I lay perfectly still, my eyes closed against the sunlight filtering through the curtains. The brightness felt cruel, pressing insistently against my eyelids while a dull ache pulsed behind them.Every part of me felt







