She was determined to ensure he contaminated as few spaces as possible.
“Fine.” He took a step back and looked at her like she was crazy.
Maybe it was the hormones from being pregnant, or maybe that had nothing to do with it, but either way, she wanted to sock him in his smug, arrogant face so bad she could barely contain herself.
With the self-control of a saint, she turned back around, walked down the hall, opened up her nightstand, grabbed the ring, marched back out and gave it to him. Once she had, she knew there was no way that she could possibly tell him about the pregnancy now. She needed to be calm when sharing that news.
“If that’s all…” She took two steps toward the door. Unlike the hallway, this time he didn’t follow her. He stayed in place in the middle of her living room.
“Actually, there’s one more thing.”
All of the adrenaline that had been coursing through her drained out. Her arms hung heavily at her side as she turned back to him. Exhaustion weighed her down. “What?”
What else could he possibly have to tell her?
“You might want to sit down.”
“Why?” Did he only have months to live? Was that why he’d made that crack about her getting bad news at the doctor? Had he been having an affair because he had a brain tumor that affected his behavior?
She actually started to get concerned about him.
“Because, what I’m about to tell you might come as a shock.”
“Just say it.” If he did have a tumor, she’d be there for him. Not with him, but there for him. And she’d definitely tell him that he was going to be a father.
“Stop being stubborn, just sit.”
“I think you’re overestimating your ability to shock me at this point.” She couldn’t help but get in that one last dig.
His eyes hardened and she could see that he’d taken her comment as if she’d thrown down the gauntlet. “Fine, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Jessica moved in, and she’s pregnant.”
Once again, she’d been wrong. He’d definitely shocked her.
* * *
Leo wasn’t exactly spying. He was working on his truck in his driveway, which just happened to be across the street from Jasmine. He may have noticed a car pull up and seen a man go up to the door. He hadn’t gotten a good look at him, but he was pretty sure it was her ex. Corbin was ten years younger than Leo, so he didn’t really remember him. He did remember a local cable commercial that the kid was in, advertising his dad’s real estate business, but that was when he was like five or something.
Still, he definitely looked like the same kid, and the vanity license plate on his Porsche Roadster read KNGCRBN, which he assumed was short for King Corbin.
Although, Leo’d initially read it Killing Corbin, which made him smile.
Whoever it was, he’d been in there for a few minutes now, and Leo’s mind was working overtime thinking of what might be going on.
Was she telling him that she was pregnant?
Were they getting back together?
From everything he’d heard, and over the past few days he’d heard a lot, Corbin was a tool. He’d never been good enough for Jasmine. Not that any man could be.
Leo’s phone buzzed and he saw Cam’s name come up. He wondered if Meg’d had her baby. He answered it and before he could greet him, his friend shouted, “DiCaprio!”
“What’s up, Cam?”
“Meet me at The Grill for a drink next Friday.”
“Did Meg have the baby?” Was that how his friend was celebrating?
“No, not yet. We got a babysitter. Meg’s going to some lady thing at Tempting and it’s my last night out before the baby comes and I’m on lockdown.”
“It’s not prison, Cam.”
“Spoken by someone who doesn’t have kids.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Leo saw movement across the street. Jasmine was standing at the door, her hand pointing toward the outdoors. Her face was illuminated from the porch light. He wasn’t an expert lip reader by any means, but it appeared that she said, “Leave. Now.”
He couldn’t see what the guy was doing since he was still inside. Every fiber of his being was telling him to walk across the street and offer his assistance, but he knew that was a bad idea.
It’s none of your business, he told himself. Don’t get involved.
Domestic situations were the worst thing to get involved in, even for police officers.
“DiCaprio, you there?”
“Yeah.”
“So, you in?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there.”
“A’right cool. I’m gonna hit up Seth and some of the other Mustangs. Reunion time!”
Leo didn’t really have any desire to meet up with the rest of his high school football team, most of whom he hadn’t seen in close to two decades, but he wouldn’t mind catching up with Seth Sloan. Cam used to refer to them as the Three Amigos, always followed by the iconic arm crossing and pelvic thrust salute from the movie of the same title.
Seth and Leo usually refrained.
The call disconnected and before the phone was back in his pocket he’d already walked halfway across the street. He could hear a man’s voice but still couldn’t see anyone but Jasmine.
“Everything okay, here?” Leo asked, realizing how cliché the question was as soon as it left his mouth.
“It’s fine. Corbin was just leaving.”
He couldn’t tell if Jasmine was happy to see him or not. What he could tell was that she had no color in her cheeks and she needed to sit down.
“I was doing you a favor coming here. I thought it would be better if you found out from me instead of Loudmouth Leah or Motormouth Meg telling you.”
Jasmine’s hand flew up and she pointed her finger in his face. “Do not talk about my friends like that. Just go.”
“Why are you always defending them?” He took a step toward her and his arms flew up in the air as he said, “When are you going to reali—”
Not able to stop himself, Leo moved between them. “I think Jasmine made it clear she wants you to leave.”
“Who the fuck are you?” Corbin looked at him for the first time.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Exactly, so why don’t you mind your own fucking business, asshole.”
He took a step toward Leo. Leo stayed where he was, willing the jackass to take a swing at him. He was begging him to, so he could knock him on his ass.
“Corbin, stop!” Jasmine got between the two men, her back facing Leo. “Go! Home!”
“Is he staying?”
“It’s none of your business who stays and who goes. You got your ring. You told me what you came here to tell me. Now go.”
Corbin stayed where he was, glaring at Leo over Jasmine’s head.
“I can always call Jessica and tell her that you won’t leave.” Jasmine started to pull out her phone.
Leo saw the moment that she won. Corbin looked defeated and pissed about it. Without another word, he marched down the porch steps, got in his car, slammed the door, and revved the engine before peeling out.
“Nice guy.” Leo said dryly as they watched the car speed down the street.
“Thanks for coming over.” Jasmine stepped inside and it was clear to Leo that she wasn’t inviting him in.
“Are you okay? Have you eaten?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just tired. I’m going to go to bed.”
A little disappointment niggled at Leo’s chest, but he was happy she was going to get rest.
“Okay, I’m right across the street if you need anything.”
“Thanks.” She smiled sweetly but he could see that it wasn’t reaching her eyes.
Something was upsetting her. He wasn’t sure if it was her ex or something else, and he hated that she wasn’t telling him. But he could see that she’d put a wall up and his only choice was to accept it.
“Goodnight,” he said as he turned.
“Goodnig
ht,” she replied softly, shutting the door.
He waited until he heard the lock click into place. He’d sleep well knowing that she was safe for tonight.
The question was, how would he sleep when he was thousands of miles away from her, and he wasn’t just worried about her, but her baby, too? He didn’t know the answer, and honestly, he was scared to find out.
Chapter 13
Bed.
That was the only place that Jasmine wanted to be.
A yawn claimed her as she sat in her car, eyes closed and head leaning back on the headrest. She hadn’t slowed down since she’d woken up at six a.m. She’d worked at the clinic, the store, and subbed a stretch class for seniors.
The entire past week had been a blur, actually.
She wasn’t sure if it was the pregnancy or life changes that were making her so tired, but whatever the reason, from the time she woke up in the morning until the minute her head hit the pillow at night, she felt like the day was nothing but a marathon with her bed at the finish line.
Days kept passing, one after the other, and she still hadn’t told Corbin about her pregnancy. She hadn’t told her friends or Nan the news yet, either. For some reason, she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.
The secret was starting to weigh on her and she wondered if the stress of it might be adding to her fatigue, or if her body was just tired because she was growing a human inside of her.
The one person that did know, Leo, had been going out of his way to make sure she was okay. This past week, he’d been the epitome of a doting partner. Minus the “partner” status of course.
At the clinic, he made sure that she ate every few hours, that she sat down regularly so she wasn’t on her feet all day, and assisted her whenever she was dealing with a large animal. She kept thinking that Angie or someone else that worked there was going to notice the special treatment she’d been getting and mention it to her, but so far, no one had.
Meg had finally gone on maternity leave, otherwise, she was sure her friend would have had something to say.
Leo’s attention wasn’t just focused on her at the clinic, either. He’d stopped by her house several times and would always make up some neighborly reason why, but it was obvious that he’d just been checking on her to make sure that she was resting and eating.
During her ballroom dance class for seniors, he’d brought her favorite flavor of protein bars to her because he’d been concerned that she’d skipped dinner. Which she had.
Corbin had never done thoughtful things like that. If she were a betting woman, she’d wager her last dollar that even after being together over a decade, her ex didn’t have a clue what her favorite flavor of protein bar even was. He’d certainly never shown her the brand of care and nurturing that Leo had recently.
She kept having to remind herself that none of it meant anything. Of course, that was easier said than done with all of her emotions currently strapped into a hormone roller coaster ride.
But it was so difficult not to read too much into it. She was convinced that he was being even more attentive because he was carrying the weight of being the only person, other than the staff at the doctor’s office, that knew about her condition. She figured he must feel somewhat responsible.
Which was one more reason why she needed to let the cat out of the bag. It wasn’t fair to put all that on Leo. He had enough to deal with between the clinic, his grandparents, and his non-profit. He had so much on his plate, and it was time to take her off of it.
Hmm, thinking about being “on his plate” caused a plethora of naughty imagery to pop up in her mind.
Her phone buzzed and she groaned because she knew it meant her five-minute rest was over. She was also frustrated because she’d spent it thinking about Leo, which had been a growing trend. She’d caught herself doing it almost constantly.
She opened her heavy lids and glanced at her watch, confirming that she only had ten minutes to set up before the event.
Usually, she was early for everything. But these past two weeks she’d been cutting things close. Thankfully, she hadn’t actually been late. Yet.
Dragging herself from the car, she walked to the trunk and popped it. Her limbs felt heavy as she stared at the plastic bin that contained her Naughty Nights products.
Just three more hours and she’d be able to throw on sweats and slide into bed. That was all she had to get through. Three. More. Hours.
Let the countdown begin.
With more effort than it should’ve taken, she lifted the container and shut the trunk. As she walked up to the back entrance of Tempting, she had a vision of doing this with a baby. She pictured herself with a stroller, diaper bag, and all the other things babies needed, and panic arose in her.
How was she going to do this, really?
As soon as she stepped through the back door of Tempting, which was hosting Ladies’ Night, she heard the low rumble of chattering voices. Usually she looked forward to social events, but tonight she was dreading mingling. Harper’s Crossing was a small town and she knew that word had spread about her and Corbin’s breakup.
The last thing she wanted to do was have everyone telling her how sorry they were—or worse, how happy they were for her. She’d rather everyone just keep their opinions about her personal life to themselves.
But she knew that was a pipe dream. Especially after they found out that not only was she having Corbin’s baby, but Jessica was, as well. That was small-town gossip gold right there.
“Hey, beautiful!” Sophie Sloan threw her arms around Jasmine. “How are you doing?”
Her friend held her a little too long, which could only mean one thing. She knew about her breakup.
“I’m good.”
She stepped back and stared directly into Jasmine’s eyes. “I’m here if you need to talk. Cry. Punch something.”
“Punch something?” Jasmine questioned. Sophie had never struck her as a violent person.
“Yep. I’ll hold up pillows and you can punch them. It’s a technique I learned after Nick passed. It really works.”
Sophie’s older brother Nick had died tragically in a car accident when he was eighteen. Hearing her friend mention the loss of her brother put things right back into perspective for Jasmine. She might be dealing with a lot right now, but there were people who had it a lot worse.
So what if she was pregnant by a man who’d cheated on her, and who was also expecting a baby with someone else? Her life might be a soap opera, but it wasn’t tragic. Losing a son, brother, or best friend was tragic.
Having a baby was a blessing, at least that’s what Nan had always said. She hoped her adopted mom still felt that way when she found out that Jasmine was the one who was going to be blessed.
“Thanks, Soph. I appreciate it. But, I’m fine. Really.”
Her friend gave her one more hug before mingling with other guests.
On autopilot, Jasmine went to work setting up the table. Thankfully, she’d done so many of these, she could set it all up in her sleep. Which was basically what was happening.
After making sure that she displayed the new flavor of massage oil front and center since it had the biggest profit margin, and the new pocket vibrators stacked beside them because they were her best sellers, Jasmine took a seat on one of the tufted benches beside her table. They were normally inside the dressing room but the staff brought them out into the store during special events.
Women were arriving steadily and the low buzz of conversation built.
Jasmine’s eyelids and limbs were heavy. Hoping to alleviate one of those, at least, she closed her eyes for a moment.
The moment she did, he popped up in her mind. She imagined him rubbing the new massage oil on her back and neck and then licking it off. She pictured him spreading her legs and teasing her with one of the lipstick vibrators.
She and Corbin had never experimented with the products she sold. He said that they were for women who couldn’t get the real thing. She’d b
een tempted to point out that she had the real thing and it had never satisfied her. She’d enjoyed sex with Corbin, but he’d never made her orgasm.
Leo had. Well, not actually—but in her dreams he had, which was more than she could say for her ex. She had more day and night dreams about Leo than she’d ever had about anyone or anything in her life. And they weren’t always dirty…in fact, they rarely were.
She’d picture them having dinner, or going to the movies. She’d dream about him mowing the lawn while she gardened, or the two of them waking up at dawn to watch the sun rise while drinking coffee. Most of her dreams were just normal, mundane things that felt like fantasies when he was in them.
It didn’t matter what else was going on in her life, or how exhausted she was, Leo was always on her mind. She couldn’t seem to escape him. It was odd to her how much she’d been obsessing over him. Not only because of her current life circumstances, but also because she’d never been one of those girls that doodled a boy’s name on her notebook or spent hours fantasizing about what ifs. She hadn’t ever had a schoolgirl crush when she was a pre-teen or teen so having one now in her mid-twenties was disconcerting to say the least.
But there didn’t seem to be anything she could do to stop it. As she sat with her eyes closed, a scene from earlier in the day popped into her head, when she’d assisted him as he amputated Duke’s leg. The shepherd mix had been rushed to emergency surgery after being hit by a car. He was on death’s door when he arrived, but Leo’s decisive, quick action had saved Duke’s life.
He had the dog stabilized and out of surgery in less than an hour. As a senior dog, the longer that he had to be kept sedated, the worse his chances were of waking up.
But he had woken up just fine, and was expected to make a full recovery.
She’d assisted Doc and the other two vets at the practice more times than she could count. They were all amazing, but none of them had the poise, confidence, and skill set that Leo had. His depth of knowledge and agility with procedures was unparalleled.
Besides having movie star looks, a great laugh, a deep voice, and a disarming sense of humor, he was also very good at his job. And that just made him all the more appealing to her.
Just One Touch - Leo & Jasmine (Crossroads Book 16) Page 12