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

  Just One Touch –

  Leo & Jasmine

  by

  Melanie Shawn

  Melanie Shawn © 2020

  Kindle Edition

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this book. No part of this may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission in writing from Melanie Shawn. Exceptions are limited to reviewers who may use brief quotations in connection with reviews. No part of this book can be transmitted, scanned, reproduced, or distributed in any written or electronic form without written permission from Melanie Shawn.

  This book is a work of fiction. Places, names, characters and events are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Disclaimer: The material in this book is for mature audiences only and contains graphic content. It is intended only for those aged 18 and older.

  Cover Design by Wildcat Dezigns

  Book Design by BB eBooks

  Published by Red Hot Reads Publishing

  Rev. 1.0

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Crossroads Spinoff Series

  Excerpt from Whisper of Love

  Wishing Well, Texas

  Excerpt from Teasing Destiny

  A Note From Melanie and Shawna

  Other Titles by Melanie Shawn

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Jasmine Bell’s heart raced wildly and she closed her eyes to focus on her breathing. She shifted uncomfortably on the examination table, causing the paper that lined it to crinkle loudly. The sound only added to her growing discomfort. She’d never been officially diagnosed with iatrophobia, which was the fear of going to the doctors, but the anxiety she experienced during these visits was definitely more intense than the average person.

  Whenever anyone found out about her aversion to seeing a physician, they were confused because she worked in the medical field. She was a part-time vet tech at Riverwalk Veterinary Clinic and was going to school to be a veterinarian.

  But, in her mind, that was very different for two reasons. First, at the clinic, her patients were animals. And second, as a vet tech, she was in charge.

  It was very difficult for her to be the patient. But this appointment came every three months and it couldn’t be missed.

  She was here to get her birth control shot, and, since she didn’t plan on starting a family for at least five years, it was unavoidable.

  Her phone buzzed in her purse and she grabbed it like a lifeline. Anything to distract her from the pit of dread in her stomach.

  The text was from Leah, who, along with her twin sister Bea, owned the pet boutique where Jasmine worked part time.

  Leah: Just heard the good news! Congrats, hon! It’s about damn time he put a ring on it!

  Below the message was a GIF of Etta James singing “At Last!”

  She smiled as she read her friend’s message.

  It was common knowledge that Jasmine had been waiting for Corbin to pop the question. They’d gotten together when they were fourteen and moved in together at eighteen. Now, at twenty-six, she had started to think he was never going to propose…but he had. Three days ago. And, well…it had been anti-climactic.

  The truth was, she’d built up the moment in her own head. For the past four years, every birthday, every anniversary, every vacation—hell, every date night—she’d been absolutely sure he was going to pop the question. And every birthday, anniversary, vacation, and date night, she’d been disappointed.

  Until last Friday night. Out of the blue, her boyfriend of twelve years had handed her a ring over a plate of spaghetti. No getting on one knee. No declaration of love. Just a ring.

  She looked down at the diamond sitting on her left hand. As a child who’d grown up in the foster care system, she didn’t believe in Prince Charming or any other fairytale. She knew “happily ever after” was just a fantasy, and she was a realist. If she wanted something, she had to work for it. And relationships were work. They took patience and sacrifice.

  Still, she had hoped that the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with would’ve at least asked if she wanted to marry him, even if he knew that the answer would be yes.

  A loud knock on the door sounded a second before Dr. Kent entered the room carrying a medical file. Jasmine pushed her phone back in her purse and inhaled slowly through her nose.

  He took a seat on a rolling stool as he flipped through the pages. “Hello, Ms. Bell.”

  “Hi, Dr. Kent.” Just having the doctor in the room caused Jasmine’s pulse to skyrocket and her breath to grow shallow. Her mouth watered and her palms dampened, and her skin was suddenly very, very hot.

  Using a technique she’d seen on YouTube, she focused on little details in an effort to calm herself. Her eyes zeroed in on the tiny crack in the corner of his lenses. She noted the overhead light shining off the bald top of his head, and the halo of white hair that wrapped around it from ear to ear.

  She examined the single dab of yellow on his bright red tie that she assumed was mustard, and wondered if it had gotten there while he’d been eating a hot dog or a hamburger. Or maybe a turkey sandwich.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked, his head still down, eyes scanning the file.

  Anxious!

  “I’m tired, but that’s nothing new,” she chuckled nervously.

  Tired was her baseline. She worked several jobs and was going to school to finish her veterinary medicine degree.

  Monday, Wednesday, and Friday she worked at the vet. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday she had school, and also worked part time at Barks, Balls & Bellyrubs.

  And, on top of that, she taught classes at the community center four nights a week. Tonight, she was teaching yoga, and she was already looking forward to shavasana.

  Now that she thought about it, though, she had been feeling considerably more fatigued than usual lately. She hoped that wasn’t anything to worry about.

  “Hmm.” He nodded as he concentrated on the papers in the folder, flipping each one up as he finished reading. “Well, that’s common for women in your condition.”

  “My condition?” Jasmine repeated, unsure what he was referring to.

  “You’re pregnant.” Dr. Kent stated bluntly, finally lifting his head.

  “What?” She shook her head, knowing there must be some mistake. “No, that’s not possible.”

  “I’m afraid it is.”

  “No, I’m not pregnant. I’ve been on the shot since I was sixteen. That’s why I’m here. I’m here to get the shot.”

  “I’m afraid no birth control is one hundred percent effective. I’m ordering a blood panel, but your urine sample is conclusive. You are pregnant.”<
br />
  Pregnant?

  Jasmine’s mind went blank. Her ears were ringing and her head was spinning. Her shortness of breath, clammy palms, and dizziness amplified—and now it had nothing to do with fear of her surroundings.

  She did her best to listen to the information Dr. Kent gave her, but it was like his voice was far away, muffled and distant. Like they were underwater.

  Finally, his mouth stopped moving. Jasmine knew that this was her chance to talk, to deny his claim, but when she opened her mouth, no words came out. She was speechless.

  “You look like this came as a shock.”

  A shock? Yeah. You could say that. In fact, she couldn’t imagine anything shocking her more.

  “From your reaction, I’m assuming this was not planned.”

  “No,” she managed to push that one word out over the lump lodged in her throat.

  “Well, there are options. You can termin—”

  “No,” she interrupted him, holding up her hand. “If I’m pregnant, I’m keeping it.”

  Jasmine was placed in foster care when she was two years old, after her biological mother went to jail for possession with intent to distribute. She’d spent ten years in the system before her final foster mom, Nanette, had adopted her when she was twelve.

  Once she turned eighteen, she’d looked for her biological parents, only to find out that her mother had suffered from mental health issues and passed away from an overdose years earlier, and there was no information on her father’s identity.

  In her entire life, she’d never looked into the eyes of a person who shared her DNA.

  Having a baby would be her opportunity to have someone in the world with the same genetic makeup she had. Even if this was unplanned, there was no way she was going to pass up the chance to have a blood relative.

  The rest of the appointment went by in a blur. Dr. Kent was speaking, but all Jasmine could hear was white noise. The nurse came back in and took her blood, then gave her a prescription for prenatal vitamins. Jasmine set up her next appointment and walked to her car in a state of shock.

  Since she was a little girl, she’d dreamed of getting married and having a baby of her own. She’d always wanted a family. And now it seemed that her dreams were coming true.

  She had a ring on her finger, and she was pregnant—and she didn’t feel any of the things she’d hoped to feel. She just felt…alone. More alone now, in fact, than she’d ever felt in her life.

  How was that possible?

  Maybe it was because it wasn’t real to her yet. Yeah. Maybe that was it. Maybe once she told Corbin about the baby she’d be flooded with joy and belonging. Maybe then she wouldn’t feel so alone. Maybe then she could get excited about the engagement and the pregnancy.

  Maybe.

  A tear trickled down her cheek and she wiped it away, looking at the time. Damn! She was due at work in fifteen minutes. She’d never been late to work. Not ever. Not even when she fell down the stairs of her apartment on her way to work. She’d clocked in on time and worked an entire shift at the Cluck Cluck Chicken drive-through before going to urgent care.

  But this was different. This was more serious than a broken bone, at least in her mind.

  After leaving a message at the vet clinic to let them know she was running late, she called her fiancé. Corbin’s phone went straight to voicemail, so she tried again. Straight to voicemail again.

  He was either still in the Monday morning meeting or he’d forgotten to charge his cell. She was constantly reminding him to do that, especially since, as a real estate agent, his business depended on clients and potential clients being able to get ahold of him.

  She’d even bought him several charging stations, one of which sat on his nightstand. With that one, he didn’t even have to plug the phone in. All he had to do was set the damn phone on top of it every night and it would charge wirelessly. But had that worked? No. No, it hadn’t.

  She couldn’t count the amount of times she’d found his phone sitting right beside the charging station.

  Not able to reach him, she dialed his office. After two rings, the office manager answered. “Matthews Real Estate, this is Fraya. How can I help you?”

  “Hey, Fraya, it’s Jasmine, Can I speak to Corbin?”

  “Oh, hey doll! It’s Monday.”

  “Right, the meeting. Can you grab him for me? It’s important.”

  There was a beat of silence on the line and Jasmine thought the call might’ve dropped.

  “Um…” Fraya hesitated before explaining, “Corbin works from home on Mondays.”

  He does?

  “Oh…yeah…right.” Jasmine scrambled to cover her confusion. “I must’ve had my days mixed up. Thanks.”

  She disconnected the call as uneasiness settled low in her belly. She’d had no idea that Corbin worked from home on Mondays. And beyond that, he’d told her that the reason he couldn’t take her to the doctor today—which she’d begged him to do because of how much she hated doctor’s offices—was because he had to run the weekly Monday morning meeting.

  What the hell is going on?

  She shook off the unsettled feeling and told herself that this was actually for the best. This was the kind of news that should be shared in the privacy of one’s home. She’d been calling him to meet her there, so this just saved one step.

  On the short drive to their house, she tried to figure out how she was going to tell him the big news. In the past, she’d been known to fall down the rabbit hole of YouTube pregnancy reveals on more than one occasion. So it wasn’t like she hadn’t given the moment some thought. She had.

  It was just…she’d planned on it being five years from now, after she and Corbin had been married for three years. She’d even factored in an additional year in case it took her a few months to conceive. This screwed up her entire timeline. Now she had no clue how to tell him!

  “Corbin, I’m pregnant,” she said aloud, testing the words.

  Nope. Too boring.

  She could hand him an envelope with her test results and as he looked at them, in her best Maury Povich voice, point at him and say, “Corbin Matthews, you are the father.”

  Uh…no.

  If this had been planned, maybe she could take a more lighthearted approach. But having kids was not something that either of them had wanted right now.

  She had to take into consideration the very real, very understandable chance that Corbin would not be thrilled with this news. So delivering it with a playful and teasing tone might not be the most considerate way to go.

  She cleared her throat and tested out a different approach.

  First, she’d make sure that he was sitting down, and then she’d calmly explain what happened to her at the doctor’s office.

  “Dr. Kent wasn’t able to give me the Depo shot today because, guess what, I’m pregnant.”

  No, dammit! That was complete shit, too.

  As she pulled into the carport at the back of the house, she realized that, even though she liked to script things in her head, today she might just have to wing it.

  And speaking of wings, butterflies with dragon-sized wings fluttered rapidly in her belly as she leaned down to grab her purse, which had slid down onto the passenger side floorboard. As she straightened back up, she tried one last option.

  “Corbin, you always say that I can’t plan out everything in my life, and guess what? You were right. I’d planned on us having a baby in five years, but it turns out we’re going to do that much sooner than I thought.”

  Then she’d take a dramatic pause to let the idea sink in. She’d watch him closely and when she could see that he’d puzzled the riddle out, she’d spring it on him. “I’m pregnant. We’re going to have a baby.”

  Yep. That was the one.

  With renewed confidence and a game plan firmly in place, she rushed up the back steps. She was pulling out her keys when she heard a noise.

  When she lifted her head, she saw two people in a state of undress on her
kitchen table. Her first instinct was to look away, which she did. But then the realization of what she’d just witnessed hit her like a Mack truck and she turned back.

  It seemed like everything was going in slow motion. It took a moment for her brain to process what her eyes were seeing. Corbin’s back was to her and his pants were down around his ankles as he hovered over a woman lying on her back on the solid oak kitchen table they’d—or, more accurately, she’d—bought from Wayfair.

  It was the same table that the two of them had been sitting at three days ago, eating spaghetti, when Corbin had handed her the ring she was wearing.

  She couldn’t see the woman’s face, but long blonde hair fanned out on the oak top and two very long, very tanned legs were wrapped around Corbin’s waist. On one of the ankles there was a bright tattoo—a butterfly with purple wings, a hot pink body, and turquoise antennas.

  Jasmine recognized that tattoo. Jessica Kaplan, a loan officer that Corbin worked with posted about getting it a few months back. She’d seen that Corbin had liked the picture on Instagram, but she hadn’t thought anything of it. Now, that she thought about it, he’d liked several of Jessica’s pictures on the social media site.

  She watched the X-rated scene play out for several seconds before her fight or flight instinct kicked in. She chose flight.

  As she hurried back to her car, she felt tears pool in her eyes, but she sniffed them back. This wasn’t the time to cry. She feared if she even let one tear fall, she’d never be able to stop.

  As she started the car, the realization hit her: from this moment forward, nothing in her life was going to be the same.

  The strange part was, that didn’t devastate her the way she would have predicted it would have. Not even close.

  Chapter 2

  “One year.”

  Leo Taylor was crisply wrapping up his conference call as he pulled into the back parking lot of his grandfather’s veterinary clinic.

  “Are you sure you don’t need more time?” Selena asked. She was on the board of directors of his non-profit, Vets Across the Globe, and it wasn’t the first time she’d posed the question.