“Please, just go.”
Her whispered plea was like a punch to his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. As much as he wanted to get down on his knees and beg her to give him a chance, he knew that he couldn’t. Not because he didn’t love her enough to fight for her, he couldn’t because he loved her so much he knew he had to let her go.
Chapter 26
6 MONTHS LATER
“I feel like the Goodyear blimp.” Jasmine shifted uncomfortably in the passenger seat of Nan’s SUV.
“You look beautiful!” Nan enthused.
“I can’t even tie my shoes.”
Nan patted her hand, which was resting on the console. “That’s why God invented flip flops, Pumpkin.”
Jasmine wasn’t one to complain, but the past week her patience with this pregnancy had been wearing thin. She still had three more weeks before her due date and she was, in a word, miserable. She couldn’t sleep. She had no appetite. She had to pee all the time. And no matter what position she was in—sitting, standing or laying down—she felt like she couldn’t breathe.
“Oh, look how pretty!” Nan enthused as she turned into the community center parking lot.
Alternating pink and blue balloon arches lined the walkway. At the entry, on each side, stood a tall, white wooden stork. One with a pink bundle hanging out of its beak and the other with a blue. Oversized silver Mylar balloons spelling “OH BABY” hung above the door.
The parking lot was packed and Jasmine sighed. “Why did I agree to this?”
When Sophie and Aunt Wendy had offered to throw a coed baby shower for Katie, Amber, Leah, and Jasmine, she’d felt honored to be included. But that had been two months ago, when she didn’t feel as big as a house. Now that the day was here, she wanted to bail.
“It’s going to be fun!” Nan assured her.
Jasmine wasn’t so sure about that. She was sweaty, tired, and cranky. Her ankles were the size of semi truck tires. And her back was killing her. She wasn’t sure if she’d slept wrong or what, but it kept cramping up on her.
The one silver lining was that she wouldn’t have to see Leo in this condition. It had been bad enough that he’d witnessed every stage of this pregnancy, the good, the bad, and the ugly—and let’s be real, there had been a lot more bad and ugly than good—and she couldn’t avoid him since they worked together.
But, thankfully, he wouldn’t be at the party. He’d headed back to Tanzania, where his latest veterinary facility was opening. She didn’t know when, or if, he was coming back. The thought of him being gone for good without her even saying a proper goodbye was a little—no, a lot—heartbreaking. And the worst part was, she only had herself to blame for it.
She hoped he’d come back, but he really didn’t have anything else holding him here. He’d been a busy guy the past few months. Everything at the clinic was running smoothly. He’d updated all of the equipment and computer system. Doc was semi-retired but coming into the office a few days a week, and Leo had suggested a new rotation so that none of the full-time vets got burned out.
Besides all of the work he’d done at the office, he’d also renovated Doc and Kitty’s house. Kitty had shown Jasmine progress pictures every week at ballroom dance class because she knew how much Jasmine loved home renovations. It was sweet. Kitty would ask Jasmine’s opinion about what materials she would use if it was her dream house. She rarely went with Jasmine’s picks, but it felt nice to have a vote.
He’d completely repiped the plumbing in the entire house, put in new insulation, drywall, and flooring, and brought all of the electrical up to code.
The one place Kitty had taken her suggestions was in the kitchen, which was also the room with the biggest transformation. It started out with Formica counters, and particleboard cabinets, and a wallpaper backsplash. Now, it boasted butcher-block counter tops, white shaker cabinets, and a deep blue subway tile backsplash. Each time Kitty brought pictures of a new space that was completed, Jasmine was blown away at the quality of Leo’s work. If he ever wanted to give up saving the world, he could make a killing as the host of one of those HGTV shows. There was seriously nothing the man couldn’t do.
Jasmine was actually starting to believe he might actually walk on water.
Working side by side with Leo, knowing he was just across the street, and seeing him at classes, had been a special kind of torture. She wasn’t making it any easier on herself either. Every night she fell asleep watching The Notebook. She just couldn’t get what he’d told her out of her head. He’d said that she was his Allie.
It might not be Shakespeare, but it was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to her.
She missed him.
He’d done exactly what she’d asked him to. He left her alone. He hadn’t shown back up on her doorstep. He was still attentive at work, but he never crossed the line of professionalism.
But she was almost positive that he’d been sending her gifts. Every week, like clockwork, she’d received anonymous packages that she suspected he was responsible for, but she had no proof. One week it was a certificate for a massage. The next week it was a mani-pedi. The week after that, it was a pregnancy pillow, which she loved so much she would marry if that were legal. Another week it was a pair of socks to help with her circulation.
She’d asked him, more than once, if he was behind her secret admirer gifts, but he denied being her pregnancy fairy godmother—or, she guessed, godfather. Nan and Meg both claimed they had nothing to do with it, either. She knew that one of the three of them had to be lying. But which one?
Or, hell, maybe the entire town had just taken pity on her since her baby daddy had married his mistress, and his new bride was due the same week Jasmine was, which meant that Corbin had gotten them pregnant within days of one another. The man may have been shit in the morals—and pretty much every other department—but, apparently his swimmers could really swim.
After circling the lot several times, Nan pulled up to the front. “You head in, I’m gonna go park on the street.”
“I’ll go with you.” Jasmine knew it was ridiculous that she didn’t want to walk in without Nan, but she was giving herself a grace period of allowing ridiculousness for the duration of her pregnancy.
“No, you won’t. It’s too far for you to walk. Now get out, I’ll be right in.”
Knowing that arguing would be futile, Jasmine opened the door and stepped out. When she did, Nan peeled out of the parking lot like she was playing Tokyo Drift. She always drove safely when Jasmine was in the car, but by herself, the woman was a menace.
Jasmine looked down at the dress she was wearing and adjusted the neckline so her boobs weren’t hanging out. Thankfully, since Amber was pregnant, she’d ordered an entire line of maternity wear for her boutique Bella. And as a gift to Katie, Leah, and Jasmine for modeling the collection, she’d given them all samples. Because of her generosity, Jasmine’s maternity wear game had been on point. In fact, she now owned more maternity clothes than regular clothes.
The dress she’d chosen today was an off-the-shoulder floral sundress that didn’t cling to places she didn’t want it to. The coral base color complemented her skin, and it was both pretty and comfortable, which was the most important thing these days.
She stared at the balloon arches and knew she needed to walk through them, but for some reason the idea of it felt like walking the plank.
“Hey, hot stuff!” She heard Meg’s voice and turned to see her friend heading her way, all three girls in tow, the four of them dressed in their Sunday best.
“Where’s Cam? I thought this was a coed party.”
“Cam Jr. is sleeping. He’s going to come over when he wakes up.” Meg linked her arm through Jasmine’s as the girls ran ahead under the arches. “You ready to party?”
“Let’s do it.” As they walked into the gym, Jasmine was blown away by how amazing everything looked. There was a floral selfie wall, balloon sculptures of rattles and bottles, and a cupcake station. She was
overwhelmed by the amount of thought and work that had gone into it, and so honored yet again to be included.
The party went off without a hitch. Sophie and Aunt Wendy shared MC duties. There was music, food, and tons of games. Jasmine’s favorite was when the guys chugged beer from baby bottles. The winner was Cam, which surprised no one.
Leah, Amber, Katie, and Jasmine were all given crowns and sashes to wear. She’d had hers on for about two seconds before Phoebe had come and confiscated it. Katie lost hers to Sophie’s daughter.
As much as she’d been dreading the party, she was glad that she’d forced herself to come. It showed her that she really did belong. She had a community of people, and just because she didn’t have a partner didn’t mean she was alone.
When all of the husbands were doing pacifier races (where they held pacifiers between their knees and ran), Cam had stepped in to be her partner. And when they had to guess what candy bar was in each diaper, Bea paired up with Leah, and Lance had been on Jasmine’s team. When the couples had to answer baby trivia questions, Meg had joined forces with Jasmine, and they’d dominated since Meg was Supermom to four little ones.
Her journey to parenthood might not look the way she’d thought it would, but that was okay. She had a tribe. Her tribe. And like Meg was always telling her, it took a village.
Things were still going full swing when Jasmine moved to one of the seating areas to rest. She sat down and shifted a pillow behind her back, hoping that the added support would relieve some of the pressure she was feeling.
As she looked out at everyone laughing and enjoying themselves, she realized that it was strange. Now that she was okay doing this without a partner, she actually missed Leo more.
She’d been so scared to lean on him, because she didn’t think she’d be able to stand back up if he let her fall. But now that she knew she could, she actually wanted to lean on him, and it was too late. He was gone. Whoever was running things in the universe must have a pretty grim sense of humor.
She winced as her back spasmed again. She was struggling to push off the armrest to stand up, thinking that walking around might help, when a strong hand wrapped around her forearm and effortlessly helped her up at the same time she heard a deep voice ask, “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
Just like when he’d rescued her from falling in the rain when she was moving into her house, her body recognized the touch and voice a split second before her eyes lifted and locked with Leo’s. For a moment she thought she might’ve fallen asleep and was dreaming. But then he spoke again and she knew that he was real.
Worry laced his tone as he said her name. “Jasmine?”
Her eyes shot to his. “What are you doing here?”
“I would’ve been here earlier but one of my flights was cancelled and two of them got delayed.”
“You came back.” She knew that she was stating the obvious but she was just so shocked to see him.
The half-grin that lifted on his full lips sent her heart racing. “Of course I did.”
She started to smile when her back locked up again and she hissed through her teeth instead.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I think I must’ve slept on my back wrong, or maybe I tweaked it or something. It keeps cramping.”
“How often are the cramps?”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “They weren’t this bad this morning but now they keep coming, one right after the other. I think I might’ve overdone it with the games.”
“You’re in labor,” he said, still holding her arm.
“What? No. I’m not due for another three weeks, and it’s my first baby. First babies never come early.” Jasmine had read all the baby books, and they all said the same thing. “And it’s not in my stomach, the pain is in my back.”
“You’re having back labor.”
“What?” Jasmine had heard of Braxton Hicks, but she hadn’t heard of back labor. “No, I don’t think—”
Her words cut off when a sharp pain shot from her back down to her feet. This one was worse than the others. The pain was so bad she wasn’t even able to breathe during it.
“Come on.” Leo put his arm around her and started to walk toward the back exit.
“Where are we going?” she asked through labored breaths.
“To the hospital.”
Jasmine wanted to argue with him, but she couldn’t. It was all she could do just to stay on her feet. She leaned on Leo as they walked through the crowd.
“What’s going on?” Meg asked, rushing up to them.
“Are you okay? What’s wrong?” Nan was right behind her.
“She’s in labor. I’m taking her to the hospital,” Leo explained calmly.
“I’ll call the ambulance.” Meg pulled out her phone.
“It’ll be faster if you drive her.” Alex Sloan, who was a fireman/EMT, piped up.
“I’ll drive!” Nan shouted as another pain sliced through Jasmine.
This one was so bad she had to stop walking. Leo stopped and held her, telling her it was going to be okay as she dug her fingernails into his forearms. And as soon as she felt it subsiding, her feet were leaving the ground. Leo picked her up and carried her out to Nan’s waiting SUV.
She would’ve protested but she didn’t have the energy.
He gently set her in the front seat and secured her seatbelt around her. When he shut the door without saying another word, Jasmine couldn’t help but feel a little bit disappointed that he hadn’t said goodbye. But then the back door opened and he got in. “Let’s go.”
She smiled as they sped off to the hospital. The drive was a blur, but she remembered hearing Leo on the phone, letting the hospital know that they were coming, all while timing her contractions and holding her hand. He also braced her when Nan took the corners too sharp.
Jasmine might’ve been out of it, but she was pretty sure that Nan was taking advantage of her get out of jail free card, since she knew if she got pulled over all she’d have to say was that Jasmine was having a baby.
After they arrived at the emergency room, everything happened so fast. A nurse met her with a wheelchair and whisked her away. Nan and Leo were both running behind but when they went through the automatic double doors that led into labor and delivery, she heard someone say.
“You’re gonna have to wait here.”
She looked back and saw Leo standing, watching her go. Then the doors shut and he was gone. She wanted to thank him, to tell him that she was sorry for how she’d treated him, tell him that she loved him, too. That she’d always loved him, and that she’d just been scared, but she wasn’t scared anymore. She wanted to ask him if he still felt the same way he did all those months ago. If he still thought that she was his Allie.
But then she had another contraction and she decided that it could wait. She needed to have this baby first.
Chapter 27
Leo paced back and forth in the waiting room. They’d taken Jasmine back four hours ago and he hadn’t heard anything yet. His mind was racing with all of the things that could go wrong.
He couldn’t believe that he’d almost missed this. When he’d agreed to go to Africa, he hadn’t planned on cutting it this close. He was supposed to have arrived back yesterday, but with all the delays and time changes, he’d nearly missed the shower. He couldn’t believe that that was what had been stressing him out, the thought of missing her shower. It never even crossed his mind that she might go into labor.
Jasmine wasn’t due for another three weeks. And since this was her first pregnancy he’d assumed that she’d be late, if anything.
I’m not ready, he thought as he paced back to the vending machine and back again, thinking of all the things he still had to do to get ready.
“Where is she?”
Leo turned and saw Corbin standing in the hallway. He was wearing a mint green polo shirt, with a checkered cardigan tied around his neck, navy blue shorts, boat shoes and a visor. He looked like a t
ool.
“They took her back,” Leo told him.
“Where?”
Leo was sure Corbin had to be fucking with him and couldn’t actually be asking that question but when he continued standing there staring at him, Leo pointed to the words painted over the double doors at the end of the hall. “Labor and delivery.”
“I thought she wasn’t due for another month!” Corbin’s hands flew up as his phone dinged and he took it out of his pocket.
“Three weeks,” Leo corrected.
His phone beeped again and the father of Jasmine’s baby cursed under his breath. As he walked toward the reception area Leo heard Corbin answer the phone, “I know baby, I’m sorry. I can’t believe she pulled this today, either. I’ll be back soon, I promise.”
Leo’s hands curled into fists at his sides. He’d never wanted to knock someone out as much as he did right then. He’d do anything, pay anything, to get one shot at wiping that smug, arrogant expression off of Jasmine’s ex’s face. He didn’t care if he got arrested, it would be worth it. The only thing holding him back was that it would upset Jasmine. He would never do anything to upset her.
Since the pacing was just firing him up more, Leo decided to take a seat and try to calm down. He did his best to ignore the fact that the nurses were giving Corbin information that Leo himself wasn’t allowed to be given. Corbin was the baby’s father. He had the right to know.
Even if the douchebag didn’t deserve it.
The automatic doors that they’d taken Jasmine through opened and Leo looked over, expecting to see Corbin go through them. Instead, a nurse came out and spoke to him. She was speaking quietly so Leo had no clue what was being said. He did his best to read her lips to get an update, but he couldn’t make out anything she was saying.
Corbin’s voice, on the other hand, was loud enough that Leo was able to make out every word.
“Why not?!” he yelled.
The nurse held out her hand and said something else that Leo couldn’t hear.
Just One Touch - Leo & Jasmine (Crossroads Book 16) Page 24