Double The Love (BWWM Pregnancy Romance Novel) (9 page)

 
“Cute, Jazz, real cute,” Eli said with a snort. “Little miss
goody two shoes falls for the brooding loser next-door. As if that’s not the
most common fucking story in the book.”

“Eli…” Jasmine pleaded. “Just
go.”

Eli squared his shoulders and
snatched up the flowers before turning towards the door. “So that’s it then?”
he questioned, nodding at Jasmine’s hand. “You’re just going to ride off into
the sunset with him?”

Jasmine didn’t say anything.
She didn’t owe this asshole anymore of an explanation than the one she’d
already given him.

“Whatever,” Eli said. “You can
consider this my resignation then. Good luck finding someone else who will put
up with your shit. By the time I’m done with you, you won’t be able to perform
at a fucking open mic night in Watts.”

Eli stormed into the hall
before Jasmine could respond. She sat down and clenched her jaw as she tried to
fight off her tears, but it didn’t take long for them to snake their way down
her face.

Jasmine straightened up when
she heard a knock on her door. Not wanting anyone to see her in such a
vulnerable state, she grabbed a wad of tissue and hastily wiped at the mascara
on her cheeks before approaching the door.

“What the hell happened?” Liam
questioned, leading her back into the room.

“Eli came to see me,” Jasmine
explained between sniffles, continuing to wipe her face. “It didn’t go well.”

Liam was immediately on edge.
“What did he do?” he hissed, giving Jasmine a slow once over for any signs of
physical abuse. “He didn’t hurt you did he? Because I swear to god, if he did,
I’ll make sure he regrets—”

“No,” Jasmine interrupted.
“It’s not that…it’s just…he proposed.”

“He
what?
”

Jasmine sighed and sat back
down before elaborating. “He came here with some bullshit speech about how he
wanted to support me and the baby, but as soon as I told him it was yours, he
snapped. He even threatened to make it impossible for me to find work. I have
no idea what I’m going to do now.”

“You’ll do what you always do,”
Liam said, smoothing her hair back away from her face. “You’ll survive. You
don’t need some sleezeball publicist to make things happen for you. You’re
talented, Jazz, really talented. That speaks for itself.”

Jasmine smiled and started to
respond, but Liam interrupted her before she could. “Jazz, I need you to know
something,” he said, pulling back to hold her at an arms length. “I’m sorry for
being AWOL lately. I just…I’ve been feeling a bit off ever since the proposal
thing. It isn’t your fault…it’s just…I want you to know that you can depend on
me. I’m going to be there for you and the baby no matter what.”

Jasmine smiled through her
tears. “Okay, who are you and what did you do with Liam?”

 
“I grew up, Jazz. It tends to happen when you get someone
pregnant.” Liam kept one arm laced around her and reached into his back pocket.
“And I have some good news…”

“Oh?” Jasmine perked up. She
could certainly use some good news right about now.

“I got a job,” Liam announced,
holding up an envelope. He was clearly excited. “It's at a major law firm. The
partners were impressed by my resume and the recommendations a couple of my
professors gave them. They sent me an offer for a paid internship in their
malpractice department. The pay isn’t all that great, but there’s a chance I
could be put on salary after my first year if everything goes well. This is
big, Jazz. I feel like things are finally starting to come together for me, and
I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Jasmine squealed and threw her
arms around Liam’s neck, pulling him in close. He smiled as she kissed his
cheek, but it didn’t take long for it to dissipate. “There’s a catch,” he
managed. “The office they went me to work at is back home in Newport...”

Jasmine was quiet as she
considered the implications of his words. “We’ll cope,” she assured him. “This
is too good of an opportunity for you to pass up.”

Liam smiled. “I'll still come
with you to all of your appointments, and I promise I’ll be there for the
birth,” he said, speaking eagerly. “Like I said, you can depend on me. I'm not
leaving you to deal with this on your own.”

Jasmine cheered up at the sound
of that. “This is it, isn't it?” she said, breaking his gaze and looking down
at her stomach. “From here on out, neither one of us will ever be able to make
a decision without the other.”

Chapter fourteen

Jasmine was rapidly falling out
of love with Los Angeles. The traffic was terrible, the people were callous,
and in short, it was definitely not a city built with pregnant women in mind.
But all of that wasn’t even the worst of it. It was Liam’s absence that
bothered her more anything else.

Liam had been living in Newport
Beach for almost three weeks now, but remaining true to his word, he came to as
many appointments as he could and he never once complained about the commute.
As soon as the appointments were over, he would press a kiss against her
forehead and drive the two hours back like they were nothing.

Liam was exhausted, but he
loved his new job and the responsibilities attached to it. It afforded him many
things, but the best of all was a gorgeous two-bedroom house with plenty of
room for the baby.

As strange as it was for
Jasmine to admit, Liam had finally began to grow up. Her own life, however, had
begun to stall. As much as she disliked LA, the remnants of her career kept her
from moving back home. Liam was right. She’d quickly found a way to carry on
without Eli’s help, but the only work she could get were guest host appearances
at local radio stations. The money wasn’t great by any stretch of the word, but
a job was a job, and she wasn’t in any position to turn down work.

Jasmine sighed and switched off
her TV. She was sitting on her couch with her ankles elevated to relieve some
of the puffiness that the day had brought on, but of course there was nothing
good on to watch. She wished she could just go to sleep, but calling it an
early night wasn’t any option for her these days. The baby was most active at
night, and all she could do was fidget.

Wanting a distraction, Jasmine
grabbed her phone and dialed Liam’s number, but she was taken aback when a
woman picked up.

“Hi Jazz!” she said as though
she knew Jasmine personally. “Liam’s in the bathroom. Hold on, I’ll go get
him.”

What the fuck?

Jasmine rushed to hang up
before Liam got on the line. They weren’t together. She didn’t have any right
to be jealous of the fact that he was seeing someone. At least…that’s what she
kept telling herself anyway.

As Jasmine drew closer to her
due date, she tried her best not to focus on the murky details of Liam's
personal life, but it was obvious that things had changed between them.

Liam attributed Jasmine’s
change of mood to her concern about giving birth soon, and he set about in
trying to distract her. “I'm coming over on Friday,” he announced one night
after their latest appointment, not giving her any room to argue.

“What?”

“You heard me. I’m coming down
there to pick you up. You’re going to spend the weekend in Newport with me.
It’s not up for debate.”

Jasmine grimaced. “Liam, I
can’t do that,” she said, latching onto the first excuse she could find. “I
don’t know if you noticed, but I’m huge. I could pop any day down. I need to be
close to home.”

“You're not going to give birth
in Newport. You said so yourself, remember?” Liam said. It was clear that he’d
come prepared with a response for each one of her rebuttals.

Jasmine started to object
further, but she fell silent when she caught sight of the ring on Liam’s
finger. It struck her as odd that this new girlfriend of his hadn’t asked him
to take it off.

“This isn’t up for debate,
Jazz,” Liam continued. “Pack an overnight bag. I’ll be there on Friday to pick
you up.”

Jasmine agreed, but she
wouldn’t let Liam make the drive out to get her. When Friday rolled around, she
packed a bag and had her driver drop her off at the airport instead.

Liam met her outside the
terminal.

“Your parents would never
forgive me if they knew I let you fly,” he remarked, taking hold of her
luggage.

“And that's exactly why we
aren’t going to tell them," Jasmine said.

Liam rolled his eyes and led
her out to his car. They arrived at his place shortly after, and Jasmine was
immediately taken aback by how nice it was. She was expecting a cluttered
bachelor pad, but what she got instead was a lively home a whole lot tidier
than her own.

“I work long hours. I'm not
here enough to trash the place,” Liam remarked, reading Jasmine’s mind. He
nodded towards the stairs and grabbed her luggage. “Come on. There’s something
I want to show you.”

Jasmine followed Liam upstairs
and down a narrow hallway. He opened a door at the very end of it, and her
breath caught in her throat as soon as he turned on the light and stepped
inside the room.

He’d created a nursery.

Chapter fifteen

Jasmine couldn’t get over her
shock.

The walls of the nursery were a
soft shade of yellow that would work for a girl or boy, but the room’s main
feature was a beautiful wooden crib fit with plush linens and a matching
rocking chair and changing station. Liam smiled proudly and began to explain
why he’d chosen each item, but Jasmine was too caught up in her awe to hear what
he was saying. She stepped forward to open the antique wardrobe in the corner
of the room, and her jaw dropped when she saw that it was already stocked full
of diapers and onesies.

Jasmine turned to look at Liam,
allowing her tears to stream freely down her face. “It’s amazing,” she spoke
up, finding her voice. “I can’t believe you did all of this without me
knowing.”

“Well, I did have a little
help,” Liam admitted.

Jasmine’s smile dissipated when
she realized he was probably referring to this new girlfriend of his, but he
didn’t seem to notice the change of air.

“Come here,” Liam said, waving
her over. “I want to show you what else I bought.”

Jasmine swallowed down the lump
in her throat as Liam led her over to the closet, which was packed with bags overflowing
with baby supplies. “How did you afford all of this?” she questioned, bending
down to inspect the price tags.

“I’ve been working a lot of
overtime,” Liam admitted.

No wonder he looked so tired.

“Well, thank you,” Jasmine
said. “I don’t even know what to say. It’s…incredible.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Liam
whispered. For a moment, Jasmine felt sure that he was about to kiss her, but
it quickly passed.

They were watching a movie in
the living room later that evening when Jasmine felt the baby begin to kick
harder than usual. “This kid is going to be a fighter,” she mused, shifting
into a more comfortable position.

Liam smirked and rested a hand
on Jasmine’s stomach, which was barely contained by her tank top. When he
didn't feel anything, he pulled the fabric up and pressed his palm against her
bare flesh.