In the corner of her eye, Jasmine caught a glimpse of a car slowly rolling up the driveway. Through the open window, she could hear the purr of its engine and a slight squeal in the brakes as it turned and came to a stop in front of the estate home. Not wanting to be spotted, she stepped to the side of her bedroom window and only pulled the sheer panel curtain back far enough to peek through. She inspected the car just long enough to be sure it was the black Mercedes Benz belonging to her cousin, Alexis.

It was Friday afternoon and, sure enough, Alexis was the first to arrive at the Farrington House with her weathered, but exceedingly wealthy husband Charles in tote. By evening, the house would be packed with the sort of aristocrats that would accept any invite to a lavish party. Other than bragging about Charles’ latest business acquisition to anyone who would listen, Jasmine had no doubt that there was only one thing on Alexis’ agenda—simply to spoil Jasmine’s weekend. Even as children, the cousins couldn’t manage getting along. She supposed it was owing to the fact that their fathers exhibited the worst sort of animosity towards one another. As far as Jasmine was concerned, it was no accident that she was an only child.

As she watched the couple exit the car, a third door opened and a man stepped out from the backseat. She recognized him immediately. It was Vaughn Matthews, Charles’ prize nephew and recent Harvard graduate. It had been years since she had last seen Vaughn, and as far as she could see now, those years had been very good to him. He was no longer the scrawny, prep boy she remembered, but a well-toned and strikingly handsome man. His curly, dark hair looked wild and rugged, but shined in the bright summer rays beating down on him.

While Charles and Vaughn pulled the luggage and two sets of golf clubs from the trunk, Alexis stood admiring her view of the waterfront on the other side of the property. Jasmine shook her head in disbelief as she watched Alexis point her nose in the air and snarl as if the smell of the salty ocean breeze offended her.

With their arms full, it looked like Charles and Vaughn were struggling to bring everything into the house in one trip. Meanwhile, she saw Alexis carry nothing but her purse and the key to the front door. The way she walked in her pointed black stilettos made Jasmine wonder if the shoes didn’t fit her properly, or if Alexis was just trying to avoid stepping on the spider cracks of the stamped concrete. Either way, such an arrogant poise made the urban prima donna look ridiculous and completely out of her element in the coastal bliss of Chesapeake Bay.

Jasmine laughed callously at her cousin. “How pathetic,” she said under her breath. “You pretentious bitch.” Then, just to spite her, Jasmine switched her playlist from a calming, instrumental composition to one that was sure to rattle Alexis’ cage.

Vaughn followed the couple into the foyer of the vacation home and was immediately greeted by the steady, pulsing beat of Jasmine’s heavy music. Alexis grunted disapprovingly, and Vaughn thought it sounded like she was trying to dislodge something in the back of her throat. He couldn’t keep his lip from curling in disgust. If someone else had drudged up such an appalling noise, he was sure Alexis would have described it as something even more distasteful than the music that seemed to offend her so much.

“Go and tell her to shut that dreadful racket off, will you, Charles?” Alexis bellowed. It wasn’t so much a request as it was an order.

Charles hadn’t even set the luggage or his golf clubs down yet when he received his wife’s harsh instruction. “That’s not coming from Jasmine’s room, is it?” he asked.

“She’s the only one here!” Alexis exclaimed. “Where else would it be coming from?”

Charles carefully leaned his golf clubs up against the wall in the foyer. “It’s just music,” he said, in Jasmine’s defense. “You won’t be able to hear it in your bedroom.”

Alexis turned sharply and gave her husband an awful look. “It’s a beautiful day, darling. I’m not going to spend it in my bedroom. I’m going to have a cold drink and I’d like to enjoy it on the patio,” she said. “In silence,” she added a moment later.

After exchanging blank looks with Charles, Vaughn discreetly turned his wrist to look at his watch. If he had thought of it sooner, he would have wagered his uncle a four-figured sum that, after walking through the front door, sixty seconds was the longest it would take before Alexis found something to gripe about. Despite the fact that the odds were in his favour, Vaughn would rather have emptied his wallet just to be proven wrong.

It didn’t seem like Charles was in a rush to deal with the task that had arbitrarily been assigned to him. Instead, he rolled their suitcases through to the kitchen on the way to the west-wing master suite.

“Charles!” she yelled.

“I’ll ask her to turn it down,” Vaughn offered, before the situation turned into a nasty ordeal.

Alexis merely mumbled her satisfaction. She dropped the house key into her purse and stepped into the kitchen. It was spotless except for the row of empty water bottles and a bowl of orange peels and depleted grape vines next to the sink. As if she couldn’t fathom why a single dirty dish and some recyclables would be left on the counter, Alexis threw a hand up and sighed once more.

After picking an inconspicuous spot in the foyer to stash his clubs, Vaughn followed Alexis into the kitchen just in time to see her shaking her head disapprovingly. She gracelessly threw her purse onto the counter and perched her sunglasses on her head.

“We are hosting a dozen people here this evening! I hope she knows no one is going to clean up after her,” Alexis said. “Perhaps you should remind her of that as well, Vaughn.”

“Relax,” Charles ordered upon his return from the master suite. “That’s why we’re here, isn’t it? Besides, we’re early. I’m sure Jasmine meant to have this cleaned up before everyone arrives.”

“Just see to it that you’re right,” Alexis said and walked away. Once she left to inspect the patio, Charles began preparing the cold drink his wife spoke of.

“Vaughn, I’m going to give you some advice,” he said and looked his nephew straight in the eye.

Vaughn listened carefully.

“Don’t you dare fall in love with a Farrington. You hear?”

He respectfully nodded, knowing that Charles was being serious.

Before going to talk to Jasmine, Vaughn decided that a peace offering would probably be in order. He took a bottle opener from one of the drawers and pulled two bottles of beer out of the refrigerator.

Although they had known each other for years, Vaughn had to admit that he never got to know Jasmine as well as he’d have liked. He was just a teenager when they met for the first time. He remembered her coming off as a well-mannered and well-reserved young woman. They enjoyed seeing one another at Charles and Alexis’ wedding, but after Vaughn started his freshman year, he lost touch with Jasmine. In fact, the first time he saw what had become of her was when he spotted her on the cover of a swimsuit calendar a few years later.

From what he heard, a career in modelling swimwear led to an opportunity to perform as an exotic dancer. It wasn’t long after Vaughn saw Jasmine’s first centrefold that he began fantasizing about seeing more than just nude photos of her. But at all costs, he kept that fantasy to himself.

With the beers in hand, Vaughn followed the sound of resonating base to the east-wing master suite that Jasmine claimed when she stayed at the Farrington House. He raised a tight fist and knocked hard on the door, but not so hard that his intrusion would come off as rude.

The door swung open and startled him as he absorbed the look of fury on Jasmine’s pink, flushed face. The look quickly softened before his heart had a chance to miss another beat.

“Vaughn!” She sounded surprised to see him.

It was a relief knowing that the harsh glare must have been meant for someone else. Without being asked, Jasmine pointed the remote she held in her hand at the stereo system and turned the music down.

“Hi,” he greeted awkwardly before quickly looking her over. She wore a tight sports bra and a pair of yoga capris that fit so snug, Vaughn hardly had to use his imagination to envision what she would look like without them. “Wow,” he breathed, helplessly.