Book 2: What Happens Here - Chicago (What Happens Here Series)

Chapter 29 - Jasmine

After eating what was hands down, the best blueberry pancakes that she'd ever had in her life, she smiled as she glanced over at Ethan. To her surprise, Ethan had taken the next couple of days off so that they could spend time together. A mixture of emotions had filled her at that knowledge because he had mentioned that he rarely ever took time from work. Jasmine assumed that since he had been gone over the weekend for his friend's wedding, and with him being the owner of the business, she thought Ethan would've gone into the office, while she waited for him at his place each day. Or, at least, that's what she had become accustomed to...when she was dating Marcus.

Shit. Jasmine really had to stop comparing what she had with Ethan to the horrible relationship that she'd had with Marcus. Ethan was nothing like Marcus, he was a far better man than Marcus could ever hope to be.

Jasmine's eyes outlined Ethan's strong, masculine profile, and she smiled at the fact that this amazing, generous, and incredibly thoughtful man was hers. Ethan Daniels was not just an incredibly beautiful man on the outside...and as thoughts of just how mouthwatering his "outside" was flashed through her mind, had tingles racing over her body, which had her clit throbbing. Okay hold up...what was her point again? Oh...yeah...Ethan was just as beautiful on the inside as he was on the outside, and when she thought of how thoughtful and considerate he was, she couldn't help but smile.

When they'd stopped by E&D, so that she could meet Ethan's crew, she'd been introduced to his office manager, Melyssa Wells. Ethan had shared that Melyssa was in a sense, his "right hand woman", at E&D, and had been since they'd opened their doors. She handled all of the administrative, staffing, and day-to-day stuff for E&D, and assisted Caden whenever Ethan was away, which wasn't often. Well...except for these next couple of days. Jasmine wasn't sure how she felt about that to be honest, because on one hand, she was truly touched that Ethan would take time off to spend with her. But on the other, she felt a little guilty because she knew how important running his business was to Ethan, which is why he rarely took time off.

When they had been at E&D, Melyssa, who was currently pregnant with her first child, had shared how Ethan had hosted a baby shower for her and her fiancé, who also works at E&D, Jasmine had truly been impressed. As Jasmine had spent time speaking with Melyssa, Melyssa had also shared that Ethan hadn't taken more than three personal days off since starting E&D, with the exception being when he'd been involved in a hit and run accident, a little over three years ago. Jasmine had recalled seeing the long, jagged scar on his hip when they'd made love that first time in Vegas, but the moment hadn't been right for her to broach the topic with him. Now, as Melyssa sat explaining how the driver had never been caught, and how Ethan had to stop participating in the marathons that he'd loved, had broken Jasmine's heart. And as she'd pictured the jagged scar in her mind, knowing how he'd gotten it made her furious.

According to Melyssa, Ethan had been participating in marathons all over the world for years and had been in the middle of training for his final marathon in Chicago, which would have earned him a place in the Abbott World Marathon Majors. Jasmine had immediately pulled her phone out and googled what the heck the Abbott Majors was...and what she'd discovered had intrigued her. According to the information that she'd read, Ethan would have achieved a prestigious ranking as a "six-star finisher", and her heart ached for him because Ethan had put years of hard work and dedication into achieving his goal, but a freak accident had stolen that from him. Anger filled Jasmine as she thought of the asshole who had recklessly hit someone and then drove off without even checking to see if the person they'd hit had lived or died. With her fist clenched, Jasmine closed her eyes as her chest tightened at the thought of how she could have loss the chance to meet Ethan because of that trifling, piece of shit ass mother....