Alex stood in the dimly lit alley, arms stiff at his sides,pletely paralyzed by Jasmine''s audacious invitation.
She stood inches from him, eyes squeezed shut, lips pursed like she was about to deliver the world''s most exasperated kiss.
"Are you kidding me right now?" he blurted, heart hammering. "What''s wrong with your mouth? Need me to check or something?"
Jasmine cracked an eye open, her mouth twisting into a smirk that sparkled with wicked amusement.
"I''m letting you kiss me, genius," she muttered. "Don''t tell me you''re too thickheaded to figure that out."
Alex''s jaw dropped.
He was sure he looked like anded fish gasping for air.
"You''re messing with me," he rasped, eyes darting away. "This can''t be good." Jasmine rolled her eyes so hard he half expected to hear a clicking sound. "It''s not my fault you''re clueless. I''m practically giving it away here."
"Look," Jasmine hissed, leaning in closer, to Alex "I''m doing this once. And if you don''t take it now, then consider that your final chance gone-forever."
Nearby, a scruffy homeless man snickered, wagging a dirt-caked finger at Alex. "Hey, buddy! If you''re too much of a spineless wimp to take that kiss, I''ll step right in. Ain''t every day a woman like that offers to swap spit."
Alex whipped around, face aze. "Shut your mouth, old man. Unless you want me to test out how far I can throw someone."
The homeless man threw his hands up, cackling. "Oh, big words from the doc who''s too petrified to lock lips with a prettydy."
"Do you have a death wish?" Alex hissed back, voice shaking with poorly concealed nerves. "Or are you just bored out of your mind?"
The homeless man barked anotherugh.
"This is better than TV. By the way, Doc, I''m still waiting on that free medical treatment you promised. Can we speed up the smooch so you can patch me up? I''ve been waiting here all day!"
"What''s your problem?" Alex growled.
"Hunger, obviously." The man''s stomach rumbled on cue, and he grinned shamelessly.
Jasmine tossed him a box of bread, not even looking his way. "Here. Brand new, so don''tin."
The man caught it with a dramatic swoop and sniffed the contents with glee.
"Ah, that''s the stuff! Thanks, gorgeous. But c''mon now, keep pestering that coward-he might keel over any second from sheer embarrassment."
"Beat it!" Alex snapped, raising a fist as though daring him to say one more word.
Tha homeless man shuffled off, singing under his breath, He''s gonna break sooooon... oh, I can see him crackin''
Reluctantly, Alex''s eyes flicked back to Jasmine-who stood there, lips perked like a mocking invitation.
A fresh wave of panic washed over him; he could almost hear his heartbeat echo through the alley.
She was mesmerizing.
Her skin glowed under the flickering streetlight, and those cherry-red lips threatened to unravel every shred ofposure he had.
"All right, you insufferable show-off," Jasmine finally sighed, hands on her hips..
"We done with the theatrics? Because I''ve got actual problems to discuss. I''m not just here to toy with you. Well, maybe a little."
She winked and, without waiting for a response, grabbed him by the wrist. "Come on, let''s get out of this dump. My flowers are drying out, and we have business to handle."
She dragged him toward his new clinic, the car horns and hollers of passing pedestrians fading in the background.
Jasmine kicked the door open and breezed inside like she owned the ce, depositing a bucket of fresh flowers into a pot by the wall.
“Tea?” Alex managed, still trying to steady his breathing.
"Sure," she said curtly, eyes fixed on him. He handed her a cup, his fingers trembling.
She noticed, and a small, devilish grin tugged at her lips.
"So, here''s why I''m really here. Charles is screwing up big time-worse than ever. He poached almost the entire workforce from Kingston Pharmaceuticals. There''s talk he''s teaming up with Jericho Kane down in Vermont. They stole our precious long-life research, and I''m basically in crisis mode here.”
"That''s not good," Alex repliedmely. He cleared his throat, trying to summon his professional voice. "Uh, do you... need me to do something?"
She nodded, a glint of desperation shining in her eyes. 1
"I need your help, and I need it yesterday. You''re the best doctor I know, so... be our h
ary chief physician. In name, at least. Just until I can bring in someone else. But as soon as I find a permanent recement, you''re off the hook if you don''t want
it."
Alex mulled it over, the weight of it pressing on his chest. "You think I''d be good at that? I mean, I just opened this clinic..."
Jasmine bit her lip, and for the briefest moment, she looked almost vulnerable.
"If you don''t help me, Jericho''s gonna steamroll Kingston Pharmaceuticals and take control of Vancouver. Everything is on the line."
He let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his hair. The tension in the room was thicker than day-old grease. Finally, he nodded. "Fine. I''ll try. But no guarantees. This might be way over my head."
Her face split into a dazzling smile. "Thank you! Seriously, Alex, I owe you one. Now let''s get moving, You''reing with me-there''s a whole stack of paperwork waiting at my ce. And I can show you exactly what''s going on, how you can help, and maybe... maybe I''ll even let you finally earn that kiss."
She grabbed him by the corner of his shirt and dragged him but the clinic door, her confidence making Alex''s head spin.
Outside, the homeless man reappeared, bread crumbs dusting his chin.
He shot Alex a mocking salute. "Have fun, Romeo! Don''t forget to close your eyes
and pucker up, or she might never let you hear the end of it!"
Alex red daggers, but he couldn''t help the embarrassed flush rising to his cheeks.
Jasmine snorted, yanked him into her car, and they sped off into the electric glow of the city.
He looked at Jasmine and thought about how different she was from Sophia.
"How is it that some people can hear you speak a thousand words and still not understand you, while others can understand you without you even saying a word?"