Just One Touch - Leo & Jasmine (Crossroads Book 16)

by Melanie Shawn

  As her release began to build, her back arched.

  Tomorrow. She’d go cold turkey tomorrow.

  Chapter 16

  Birds flew overhead as Jasmine sat on the bench on a walking path along the river, waiting for Corbin. She’d asked him to meet after her doctor’s appointment because she knew that she couldn’t put it off any longer. She’d heard the heartbeat today, and had her first ultrasound.

  When she’d seen the blurry black and white image, everything shifted from abstract to reality. It’s not that she’d been in denial. It was just things had gotten very real, seeing the image.

  She was ten weeks pregnant, which meant that she had about thirty more to go. She still wasn’t showing, well anywhere except in her bust. She was spilling out of her bra, and some of her scrubs were tight. She was about to make herself a note to order more when her phone vibrated in her purse. She pulled it out, expecting it to be her ex making some excuse as to why he couldn’t make it.

  But it wasn’t a text from Corbin. It was from Leo.

  Leo: How did everything go?

  She couldn’t help the smile that lifted. She’d mentioned her fear of doctor’s appointments a few nights ago over dinner and he’d offered, several times, to go with her to the appointment. She refused, obviously. As much as she’d have loved the company, she didn’t feel like it was appropriate.

  Since the night they’d spent together, they hadn’t had sex again, but they’d spent all of their free time together. He kept showing up at her door with food, DVDs, or games to play. She’d crushed him at checkers and he’d annihilated her at rummy.

  As much as she’d enjoyed his company, she wasn’t sure if he was being so attentive and considerate because he felt bad about sleeping with her or if they really were friends.

  Work had been a little…awkward. Or at least, it had been on her part. In fairness to Leo, he really hadn’t changed how he was treating her. But she’d definitely been hyperaware of him, and of how the people around them were acting.

  When she heard footsteps coming down the path she looked up and saw Corbin walking toward her.

  “Thanks for meeting me. I just wan—” Jasmine’s stopped mid-sentence when she saw that Corbin wasn’t alone. He was walking a dog. An adorable black lab that looked to be about three months old. “What are you…who is that?”

  “This is Oreo,” Corbin announced proudly.

  “Hi, Oreo.” Jasmine bent down and the dog greeted her by jumping up and covering her face in kisses. “What are you doing with Oreo?” she asked from her crouched position.

  “It’s my dog. Well, mine and Jessica’s dog. I got it for her birthday.”

  “What?” Jasmine couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “This is your dog?”

  “Our dog. I got it for her birthday. Isn’t he cute?”

  “But you can’t…you’re allergic…you said…”

  “Turns out all I needed to do was take a Claritin and I’m fine.” Corbin grinned smugly.

  Out of all the ways that Corbin could and had betrayed Jasmine, this one was by far the worst. To her, this was the ultimate betrayal. She stood, hoping to mask the fact that his actions had affected her in any way. The very last thing she wanted was for him to see that she’d felt the blow of what he’d done.

  “That’s great,” she pasted on a smile. “He’s adorable.”

  At least she wasn’t lying about that. The dog was adorable.

  “So, what’s up? I have places to be.”

  Jasmine could see that it irritated Corbin that he hadn’t been able to get the reaction out of her that he’d wanted. Even though it shouldn’t matter, she couldn’t help feeling satisfied that she hadn’t let him win. Not that it was a competition. Or, at least it shouldn’t be. Especially since they were going to be parents.

  Wanting to just get it over with, she launched right in. “A few weeks ago, the day that I came home and found you and Jessica—”

  “If you’re just going to keep bringing up the past, I’m out of here.” He turned and started to walk away but she kept talking.

  “I came home because I needed to tell you that I’m pregnant.”

  He stopped. Slowly, he started to turn.

  She pulled out one of the ultrasound pictures. She’d asked the nurse if she could have doubles. Without saying another word she handed it to him.

  His jaw was practically scraping the ground.

  As soon as she handed him the image, her limbs got heavy. Exhaustion pulled at her, probably the letdown of finally telling him. All the adrenaline that came from the stress of keeping the secret had drained out of her body.

  “How far along are you?”

  “Ten weeks.”

  “Ten weeks?!” He yelled. “Why did you wait so long to tell me?”

  At first, she thought that he must be joking, but since Corbin didn’t really have a sense of humor, she realized that wasn’t the case.

  “Well, at first I didn’t tell you because when I came to do that, you were having sex with someone. Then I didn’t tell you because I was too busy breaking up with you and moving out. Then, I was going to tell you but you showed up and told me that Jessica was pregnant. Then, I was going to tell you the other weekend but Jessica walked into Ladies’ Night announcing that she was engaged. So, yeah, there didn’t really seem like a good time to slip that news in.”

  “Is it mine?” he asked.

  Now Jasmine’s jaw was the one that hit the floor. “You can’t seriously be asking me that.”

  “I don’t know what you’re doing now. Or who you’re doing it with.”

  “Yes, Corbin. It’s yours. If you’d like a paternity test once the baby is born, that’s fine. And if you want nothing to do with the baby, that’s fine too. But whatever involvement you want to have is going to be in writing. I’m going to speak to Katie about drawing up a pape—”

  “What do you mean, in writing? If this is my kid, I don’t need a paper telling me when I can and can’t see it!”

  That attitude was exactly the reason why he did need a paper saying when his visitation would be. Jasmine would never keep their child away from its father, but she was not about to have her life or her child’s life dictated by Corbin’s whims.

  “Let me know what you decide. I understand if you want to speak to Jessica about it first.”

  As soon as Jasmine brought up Jessica’s name, the color drained from Corbin’s face. She hated herself for it, but she’d have done anything to be a fly on the wall when those two had that conversation.

  “This is really shitty timing!” Corbin spat out before turning and marching back the way he came.

  “Bye, Oreo.” Jasmine waved at the dog who was trotting behind his very pissed off owner.

  As soon as her ex was out of sight, she knew what she had to do. Now that she’d told Corbin, it was time to make a call. She took another deep breath and scrolled through her contacts.

  When she lifted the phone to her ear, she was hoping that she’d have a few rings to continue to build up her nerve. Instead, Nan answered on the first one.

  “Hello, newly single and ready to mingle. I was just about to call Bingo so we need to make this quick.”

  Quick, that was good. She could drop the news and they wouldn’t have to have some long discussion about it. “Hey, Nan.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “What do you mean? Nothing.”

  “Pumpkin, you don’t hide stress in your voice well. What is wrong?”

  Even knowing that the time had come and she couldn’t put off the call any longer, Jasmine still found herself stalling. “Are you sitting down?”

  “Is it that bad?”

  “Just…are you sitting down?”

  “I’m about to be hopping my ass on the next flight to Chicago unless you tell me what the hell is going on.”

  “I’m pregnant,” Jasmine blurted out, hoping to employ the Band-Aid ripping method. No build up. No excuses. Just the cold, hard truth.<
br />
  She waited for Nan’s reaction but only heard silence. Since she wasn’t one to hold her tongue she wondered if she’d given the woman a heart attack?

  “Nan?”

  “What? I’m still waiting for the bad news.”

  “There’s no bad news. That’s it, I’m pregnant.”

  “Oh, thank God. I thought you were going to say that you were getting back with that tool. Why did you scare me like that with all the sitting down nonsense?”

  “I didn’t mean to, I just thought you’d be upset.”

  “You’re gonna have a baby! That’s a blessing!”

  Relief washed over Jasmine and she lowered back down on the bench that she’d been sitting on. Tears began to fill her lids. “You’re really not upset?”

  “Of course not! I’m thrilled! Unless…wait, are you going to get back with Corbin?”

  “No, no, no,” Jasmine assured her emphatically. “Absolutely not.”

  “Good.” There was a moment’s pause before Nan asked, “He is the daddy, right?”

  “Yes! Who else?” What was going on with people? First Corbin and then Nan. She’d only slept with one person in her life…well, before Leo, but that was after she’d found out she was pregnant.

  “Well, I don’t know. Call it wishful thinking.”

  “Nan,” Jasmine said in a warning tone. “You can’t talk like that when the baby’s born.”

  “I know, I know. That’s why I have to get it all out now.”

  Jasmine grinned.

  “How are you feeling? How far along are you? When did you find out? Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl? Do you need me to come there? I wasn’t joking about my ass being on the next flight. I can be there by tonight. Are you eating? What have you had to eat today?” Nan’s rapid-fire questions flew at Jasmine one after the other.

  Some people might find her line of questioning a little much, since Jasmine was an adult who’d lived on her own for six years, but not Jasmine. It meant so much to her that Nan cared about her the way she did. She’d seen other people take their family and friends for granted, but she never would.

  “I’m feeling good, just a little tired. And I’m ten weeks. I—”

  “Ten weeks?!” Nan cut her off. “When did you find out?”

  “I found out the morning that I caught Corbin cheating. That’s what I was going home to tell him.”

  “See, this baby is already a blessing! If you hadn’t found out you were pregnant, then you never would’ve gone home, and who knows how long you’d have stayed with that two-timing low-life.”

  “Nan,” Jasmine warned again.

  “I told you, I’m getting it out of my system now. And why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

  “I didn’t tell anyone, well except Leo. Not even Meg. I just told Corbin and called y—”

  “Hold on. Rewind. What is this about you telling Leo? Who is Leo?”

  “It’s not like that,” Jasmine quickly corrected the conclusion that Nan had jumped to. “Leo Taylor, he’s Doc and Kitty’s grandson.”

  “You mean the saint that is saving the world one lost cause at a time?”

  “Yes,” Jasmine chuckled, knowing that Nan was referring to the way that Kitty talked about him. “He’s back to help out with the clinic after Doc’s stroke.”

  “And how, may I ask, did he end up being the only person you shared this news with?”

  “I went into work right after I saw…Corbin and Jessica…you know.”

  “Of course you did.”

  “It was Leo’s first day. I walked into an exam room he was in and I threw up on him.”

  “You threw up on him?”

  “Yes.” That would go down as one of the most embarrassing moments of her life. “Before I even introduced myself.”

  “What did he do?”

  “He was great. He had me sit down, gave me water to sip, and held a cold compress to the back of my neck.”

  “Did he now?”

  “Yes, and then he asked if I wanted him to call my fiancé, because he saw my ring, and I started crying. I didn’t mean to, but I broke down and told him I was pregnant and what I’d just walked in on.”

  “Did you now?”

  “Nan, seriously, it wasn’t like that,” Jasmine reiterated as she heard several loud voices in the background shouting Nan’s name. “Your public awaits. I’ll call you later.”

  “This conversation isn’t over, Pumpkin. You’ll call me tonight.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “And take care of yourself. Rest and eat.”

  “Yes, ma’am.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too. Bye.”

  Jasmine sat looking over the river and felt like the weight of the world had just been lifted from her shoulders. She’d been dreading telling Corbin and Nan and now that it was over, she’d wished she’d done it sooner. Now she felt like she could actually start to enjoy this pregnancy. Well, minus the nausea and exhaustion.

  She watched as a mama duck swam by with three ducklings paddling behind her. That was going to be her soon. Except with only one duckling.

  Flying high from her meeting with Corbin and her call with Nan, she figured she might as well go for the hat trick. She could do this in person, but honestly, she didn’t have the nerve.

  She lifted her phone and was surprised when the name she was about to call lit up.

  “Hey, Meg. I was just about to call you!”

  A loud groan sounded over the line.

  “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

  “In labor. On the way to the hospital. Can you get…ahhhh,” her friend moaned again.

  “Yes, what? What do you need me to—”

  “The girls!” Cam shouted in the background. “Can you pick up the girls at daycare? My mom won’t be here until tomorrow.”

  “Yes, of course. I’ve got them.”

  There was another loud groan and then the line disconnected. Jasmine rushed back to her car and sent out a sub bat signal for someone to cover her yoga class that night.

  As she drove to Happy Days Day Care, she thought about who would drive her to the hospital when the time came. Leo’s face popped up, but she shoved it back down. He wasn’t her Cam. She didn’t have a Cam.

  Never in her life would she have thought that sentence would depress her, but she was getting a lot of surprises these days.

  Chapter 17

  Leo pulled into his driveway and when he stepped out of his truck, his eyes automatically shot across the street. He’d messaged Jasmine after her doctor’s appointment this morning and still hadn’t heard back from her. It had taken a healthy dose of self-control not to text her again or call her. He’d managed to make it through the entire rest of the day without doing either, but just barely.

  Whatever was going on between them was occupying his every thought. In his professional life he’d always thrown himself into his work completely. Some had called him a workaholic. Others had used the term obsessive. But none of those characteristics had ever shown up in his personal life.

  Until he met Jasmine. Or, more accurately, until he saw Jasmine’s picture. Since then, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the hazel-eyed, curly-haired angel. He’d never believed in fate or destiny. He maintained that the concept of “soul mates” or “the one” was fabricated by people who wanted to sell tickets to romantic movies or books.

  Leo was a realist. He believed in tangible things. Things that he could touch with his own hands and see with his own eyes. His feelings were never part of the equation when he made decisions because they were transitory.

  But all that changed the first time he saw Jasmine, or rather, the picture of Jasmine.

  Now the most real thing in his life was what he felt about a woman that made zero sense on paper. A woman who he had no business getting involved with. A woman who had enough going on in her life without him complicating things. A woman who he’d shared the most intimate night of his entire life
with.

  Sex with Jasmine wasn’t like any sex he’d ever had in his life. When he was with her, inside of her, he hadn’t known where he stopped and she began. They’d been one—mind, body, and soul.

  But it wasn’t just about the mind-blowing sex. He wanted to be around her all the time. Not some of the time. Not most of the time. All of the time. He had a constant countdown running in his head, marking time until the next time he’d see her beautiful smile, hear her addicting laugh, smell her sweet floral scent.

  He was constantly preoccupied with whether or not she was taking care of herself. Was she eating enough, resting enough? Was the baby okay? How could he love someone who wasn’t even born yet?

  Damn. He really had it bad and he had no idea what to do about it.

  She seemed different since they’d slept together. In the morning when they woke up, she was running late, so he thought that was what her strange behavior was about. But, it had continued. There was a wall up between them, especially at work, and he wasn’t sure how to break it down.

  Or, if maybe he should just leave it be.

  He stood across the street from her place, willing himself to go into his own house. She was home, safe and sound. The lights were on in her living room and her VW was parked in the driveway. She hadn’t answered his text, so logically he knew the right thing to do was to give her space. But when he found himself crossing the street to her house he realized that he wasn’t being led by logic.

  As he got closer he heard laughter and music. By the time he made it onto the porch, he could hear what sounded like a party. What would she think about him showing up unannounced when she had company? She was obviously fine. There was no reason for him to knock on her door. So why did his feet feel cemented in place?

  Making decisions had never been an issue for Leo in the past. When his friends wondered which college they wanted to attend or what career they wanted to pursue, he’d known exactly what path he wanted to take in life. When they’d worried about whether it was time to settle down and start families, he’d never wavered. Uncertainty was not something he’d ever struggled with.