Double The Love (BWWM Pregnancy Romance Novel) (16 page)

Jasmine leaned in to accept a
chaste peck on the cheek from him.

“Well aren’t you a sight to be
seen,” Alfonso continued, giving her a slow once over. “You look stunning, but
what else is new?”

Alfonso turned to Liam and raised
his brows questioningly.

Jasmine forced a smile as she
made the introductions. “Al, this is my boyfriend, Liam Manning. Liam this is
my attorney, Alfonso Carey.”

Alfonso shook Liam’s hand and
grinned, but it quickly dissolved into a frown. “Wait a minute,” he said,
pointing a finger at him. “You wouldn’t be the same Liam Manning that just won
for the Global Legal Award, would you?”

Liam hesitated and rubbed his
neck. “Uh, yes, actually,” he admitted, looking away from Jasmine when he saw
her jaw drop. He had no idea how this Alfonso guy had unearthed such a personal
detail about his life, but regardless, the secret was out.

“Congratulations,” Alfonso
said, slapping him on the back. “But what are you doing here then? Isn’t the
ceremony tonight?”

Liam shrugged. He’d never done
very well with public adoration, and now wasn’t any different.

“You do
know that’s one of the most prestigious
legal award’s a young lawyer can receive, don’t you?” Alfonso pressed, looking
at him like he was crazy.

“Yeah, but I wasn't going to
miss Jasmine's—”

 
“Alfonso,” Jasmine spoke up, cutting Liam off in midsentence.
Her expression was ripe with anger. “Would you excuse us for a moment?”

Jasmine didn’t give Alfonso any
time to respond, however. She quickly grabbed hold of Liam’s arm and propelled
him out into the lobby. “You asshole!” she exclaimed, swiveling around to face
him. “How could you keep something like this from me?”

Liam sighed and took a seat on
a bench. “Jazz, I had a choice, and I made it, alright?” he said without
looking at her. “I chose to come to your launch. I’d think you’d be happy about
that.”

“Happy that you turned down the
award of a lifetime at my expense?”

“It’s not that big of a deal,”
Liam insisted. “Jazz, I’ve got my career, alright? I just became a partner. I
don’t need some fancy award to solidify it.”

Jasmine deflated, not wanting
to cause a scene, but she spent all of the following day venting to her mother.
“I just can’t believe he’d do something so selfless,” she said, pacing back and
fourth across her living room. “Alfonso said it’s one of the highest honors a
lawyer can receive, and he just blew it off like it was nothing!”

Diana had trouble disguising
her amusement as she continued folding a load of laundry. The passion in her
daughter’s tone made it obvious that she was in love, but that was something
she’d need to discover on her own.

Jasmine abruptly stopped
talking when she heard Liam and Maya reenter the house from the backyard, and
Diana couldn’t help but smirk. Even when they were angry at each other, their
chemistry was impossible to ignore.

Maya waddled between her
parents and quickly broke up the tension. “I pottied!” she announced, pulling
at her mother’s dress.

Jasmine groaned. “It’s your
turn,” she said, crossing her arms and nodding at Liam. “I did the last
change.”

“Yeah, but you're the better
person for the job, wouldn’t you agree?”

Jasmine narrowed her eyes at
him before shaking her head and storming from the room. She was hormonal enough
as it was. The last thing she was in the mood for was his sarcasm.

Liam sighed and laid Maya on a
changing mat. Sure enough, her diaper was completely full, and he held his
breath as he began to change it.

Later that night, Diana had a
whispered conversation with her husband about the state of Jasmine and Liam’s
relationship. “It's a wonder they aren’t married already,” she remarked. “They
sure fight like they are.”

 
“Soon though,” Keith said with a nod. “I’ve got a good
feeling about it.”

 
“You think?”

“Oh yeah. Those two were made
for each other. I bet it’s only a matter of time before we get another baby
announcement.”

“Really?” Diana turned on her
side to look at him. “What makes you say that?”

“Just keep an eye on them tomorrow,”
Keith said. “You’ll see what I mean.”

Diana kept that in mind when
she went over to spend time with Maya the following morning. Jasmine was
feeding her breakfast when she entered, and Diana insisted on taking over. “Go
on then,” she said, nodding at the stairs. “You look like you could use some
extra rest.”

Jasmine shook her head and
continued spooning mashed up fruit into Maya’s mouth. “It's okay, really,” she
said. “I’m going to be on tour soon. I want to spend as much time with her as I
can until then.”

Dian hesitated before
surrendering. “Alright,” she said, turning on her heels. “But at least let me
make you a cup of coffee.”

“That’s alright,” Jasmine said,
waving a hand in the air. “I’m off caffeine right now.”

Diana gave her daughter a peculiar
look, and she was just about to vocalize her suspicions when Liam entered the
kitchen. His hair was disheveled and he looked in dyer need of a good nights
sleep, but his face lit up as soon as he laid eyes on Jasmine and his daughter.

Diana smirked as she watched
him make a beeline towards Jasmine. It was like there was some unspoken rule
that said they needed to be touching whenever they were in the same room
together.

Jasmine relaxed against him and
turned away from the dishes she was washing to look up at him. She kept one
hand pressed against her stomach as she tilted her mouth up to meet his, and
that’s when Diana knew without a shred of doubt that Keith was right.

“Liam?” Jasmine spoke up later
that night. They were lying on the couch watching some low budget action movie,
but her thoughts were elsewhere.

Liam glanced briefly away from
the screen to look at her. It was clear that he was far more immersed in the
movies plot than she was.

“I've started looking at
houses,” Jasmine said.

As soon as the words left her
mouth, Liam sat up and paused the TV, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t
have to. His expression spoke for its self.

Jasmine sighed. “Look, I know
you’re not happy about this, but could you at least try and fake it for my
sake?”

Liam studied her face for a few
seconds before responding. It took everything in him, but he forced a smile and
tried his best to be a good sport. “I'm happy for you,” he lied, reaching out
to touch her hand.

“So does that mean you’ll come
check them out with me?”

Liam shrugged. “Of course. I
can’t have you living just anywhere.”

Jasmine gave him a grateful
smile. She knew that he wasn’t looking forward to the distance this would put
between them, but the fact of the matter was, she was leaving on tour soon
anyway. All her moving out would do was give him time to adjust to her absence
before it happened. It didn’t mean they were over or something.

“So when's the first viewing?”
Liam questioned, breaking through the tension.

“Tomorrow at eight.”

“Great,” Liam said, flashing
her an apprehensive smile. “I'll be there.”

Chapter twenty-eight

Liam caught Jasmine in their
bedroom folding up her clothing and putting it in boxes. He still couldn’t
believe that she’d be gone come nightfall. He didn’t want to believe it.
Without a second thought, he pushed her up against the wall and kissed her into
quiet submission. “I have to fill my spank bank before you leave,” he
whispered, smiling against her mouth.

Jasmine kissed him back
enthusiastically. “Oh come on, it’s not the end of the world. In fact, you can
come by and visit me tomorrow night. We can christen the rooms.”

“Only if you wear something
tight and black for me.”

“Oh I will,” Jasmine assured
him. “I know just the thing.”

“For Christ's sake!” Jason
shouted from the doorway, loosening his grip on the box in his arms. “Will you
two give it a rest already? If you keep this up how do you expect to ever
survive living apart?”

Liam snickered and loosened his
hold on Jasmine, pressing a brief peck against her cheek before making his way
down the hall. It was late by the time she was finally fully moved out. Liam
closed his front door and stepped out onto the front porch beside her, grabbing
hold of her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. He’d known it would be
hard, but he hadn’t expected it to be
this
hard.

“I have to do this, Liam,”
Jasmine whispered, meeting his gaze. “I've never really taken care of myself.
Even when I was living in LA, the label had a whole team of people catering to
me. This is something I need to do if I’m ever going to take myself seriously
as an adult.”

Liam nodded and rested his
forehead against hers. “I understand,” he told her. “Of course, that doesn’t
mean I have to like it, now does it?”

Jasmine smirked. “You'll still
see Maya every day,” she promised.

Liam sighed. “Jazz,” he said,
tightening his grip on her. “I love my daughter more than life itself, but this
isn’t just about her. It never has been. You mean just as much to me as she
does.”

 
“I know,” Jasmine said. “I just…I need to do this for myself.
I’ll always regret it if I don’t.”

Liam nodded. “I know,” he said,
giving her a hopeful smile before leaning in to kiss her again. “Be careful,
and look after our daughter, alright?”

Jasmine nodded and made her way
off the porch, silently hoping he hadn't noticed the tears in her eyes. Andrea
was a lot more receptive, however. As soon as Jasmine got in her car, she took
one look at her mascara-streaked face and gave her a sympathetic smile. She
understood what Jasmine meant when she said that she needed to find herself,
but distancing herself from Liam in order to do it seemed like such a backwards
way of going about it.

However, it didn’t take Jasmine
very long to see the positive aspects of her decision. She and Andrea’s album
had made it onto the top lists in over five countries, and every major radio
station in the states was dying for them to make an appearance. Two more of
their singles had just hit number one on the charts, and they’d already reached
a deal with their record label for their second album as a duo. A little
independence had done Jasmine a world of good. She was now independently
wealthy, which was how she had afforded the quaint beachside property with a
huge yard and pool.

On Maya’s second birthday,
Jasmine and Andrea finalized the details for their tour, which would start in
the states and end in Europe. Neither woman was particularly thrilled at the
prospect of leaving their daughters or their partners behind for such a long
stretch of time, but they couldn’t deny the fact that they were elated by their
newfound success. It wouldn’t be easy, but in the grand scheme of things, it
would be good for everyone.

That’s what Jasmine kept
telling herself anyway.

“Ninety days,” Liam repeated
for the fifth or sixth time, continuing to turn around the idea in his head. He
was really trying his best to be supportive, but it was becoming more difficult
with every passing day.