Double The Love (BWWM Pregnancy Romance Novel) (14 page)

 
“What can I say?” Andrea said, flashing her a smile. “I work
fast when it comes to things I’m passionate about.”

Jasmine clicked play on the
first song again, and the music was still playing when Liam returned home from
work later that evening. “This is really good,” he announced, entering the
kitchen. “Who is it?”

Jasmine smirked. “Me,
actually,” she said with a newfound confidence. “It’s nothing, really. Just a
little side project I’ve been working on with Andrea. Did you know she went to
Julliard?”

Liam looked shocked. “Wait,
this is you?”

Jasmine gave him a dirty look.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like
that,” he clarified. “It’s just…it’s a lot different than your usual stuff.”

“That’s all Andrea,” Jasmine
explained. “She really knows what to do with my voice. She’s one of the best
producers I’ve ever come across, and I’ve worked with ones with million dollar
salaries.”

“Well, I like it,” Liam said as
he approached the fridge and grabbed a beer. “You should send it to Century.
They’d be crazy not to do something with it.”

Jasmine gave him an amused
look. “Yeah right. They’d never go for it. It’s not a marketable enough sound.”

“Well you never know,” Liam
said, making his way towards the door. “They might surprise you.”

Jasmine watched him go before
turning her attention back to her computer. The following morning, she was
tidying up the house when she realized that her flash drive was missing, and
her suspicions were confirmed when Liam arrived home from work and handed it
over to her.

Jasmine pushed him for an
explanation, but he refused to give her one, and she didn’t think about it
again until she got a letter from her record label in the mail about a month
later. It was an invitation to a meeting with a few execs. They claimed to have
heard a sample of her latest work, which they apparently loved, and they wanted
to have a sit down with her to discuss her second album.

Liam flashed Jasmine a proud
smile as he read over the letter himself. “See?” he exclaimed, meeting her
gaze. “I told you they’d love it.”

Jasmine shrugged. She didn’t
want to get herself all worked up with excitement just to be let down. “I don’t
know,” she managed. “I mean…who knows if anything will even come of it.”

Liam was insistent. “Something
will,” he remarked. “They're interested, I can tell.”

“Well I’m taking Andrea with
me,” Jasmine said, already sliding into planning mode. “This is just as much
her work as it is mine.”

Chapter twenty-four

Jasmine was sick of waiting
around for Liam to walk through the door. He’d been gone all night, and it was
really starting to take its toll on her sanity. She had already gotten through
Maya’s bedtime routine, cleaned the entire house, and organized her closet.

Now all she could do was sit
around and think.

Ever since Liam announced his
intention to be in Maya’s life for the long-term, Jasmine spent one too many
nights lying awake overanalyzing their relationship. She ached for something a
little less like friendship with him, but she forced herself to push those
feelings aside for Maya’s sake. Too much would be on the line if they didn’t
work out, and she had never been very good with risks.

It was why Jasmine had made the
decision to set Liam up on the blind date he was on now. She silently
rationalized that it would be easier for her to get over him if he had another
woman in his life, and though he vehemently protested the idea at first, it
didn’t take long for him to relent.

Of course, that wasn’t to say
that setting the love of your life up with someone else was an easy feat. When
Jasmine first met Aisha at her gym, she took one look at the bubbly woman and
decided she’d be perfect for Liam, but she hadn’t thought through the
implications or the many emotions she would feel when their date finally
happened. By the time the clock struck midnight, she was cursing herself for
coming up with the idea to begin with.

Jasmine swallowed down a
mouthful of vodka and clenched her jaw at the burn. Try as she might, she couldn’t
focus on anything other than what Liam was probably doing right now. She
couldn't watch TV, she couldn’t read, and she definitely couldn’t sleep, so she
resorted on comforting herself with memories instead.

The night Maya was conceived
stood out in perfect clarity in Jasmine’s memory bank. The murmured promises,
the hesitant kisses, the way Liam grunted when he entered her…it was all there
in vivid detail. Jasmine’s eyes drifted shut as she recalled it all, and she
was sound asleep by the time Liam returned home an hour later.

Liam pried the empty bottle of
vodka from Jasmine’s hand before leaning forward to press a kiss against her
forehead. “I'm home,” he whispered, causing her to stir awake. “Why aren't you
in bed?”

Jasmine rubbed her eyes and groggily
looked up at him. “I wanted to wait up to see how your date went,” she lied.

Liam smirked. He could tell
that she was jealous, and he couldn’t help but relish in it considering this
whole date thing had been her idea in the first place. It was only when she sat
up that he was able to get a proper look at her, and his expression quickly
darkened. Her eyes were bloodshot, the sleeves of her robe were soiled from
wiping away tears, and there was a vulnerable aspect to her that he wasn’t used
to. She looked as though her entire world was slowly crumbling in on her.

Liam immediately abandoned the
idea of toying with her. “Jazz, the date ended as soon as it began,” he
admitted, forcing her to meet his gaze. “I’ve been over at Jason’s all night.”

Jasmine didn’t say anything at
first, but a relived look surfaced on her face when she realized he was telling
her the truth.

 
“Come on,” Liam said with a yawn, holding out his hand to her
and nodding towards the stairs. “Its late.”

Jasmine followed him into his
room at his request and sat on the edge of his bed, trying her best not to look
as he began to shed himself of his clothing.

Liam smirked when he caught
sight of her stealing a glance at his bare chest. He didn’t see much of a point
in being modest. They had a child together, after all.

Liam returned from brushing his
teeth a few minutes later and pulled Jasmine down beside him in bed. “I don’t
ever want you setting me up on a date ever again, alright?” he said in a firm
tone, giving her a disapproving look. “I hurt a perfectly nice woman’s feelings
tonight. That can’t happen again.”

Jasmine’s expression gave way
to how awful she felt. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I don’t know what I was
thinking.”

“Me either,” Liam said.

“What exactly happened?”
Jasmine questioned. “I mean…if you don’t mind sharing.”

“More like what
didn’t
happen,” Liam corrected. “We were five minutes into things when I told her I
didn’t feel right and bailed. I tried, I really did, but I just couldn’t do
it.”

Jasmine winced. “I’m sorry,”
she said again, idly wondering if she should call Aisha and apologize to her as
well. On second thought, it didn’t seem like a very good idea.

“It’s cool,” Liam said with a
shrug, holding Jasmine’s gaze. “I mean…I hate that I probably hurt her
feelings…but she wasn’t my type anyway.”

Jasmine swallowed hard when she
realized that he was insinuating that Aisha wasn’t her. Her breath caught in
her throat when she felt his large fingers graze her own, and her heartbeat
quickened when he tightened his hold on her waist. They were all the effects
his touch usually had on her, but something about this felt different.

This was going somewhere.

Jasmine’s limbs moved on their
own accord, and Liam obliged by pulling her on top of him. She tensed when she
felt his dick begin to inflate against her womanhood, but he buried his fingers
in her hair and planted a desperate kiss against her mouth before she could get
any second thoughts.

Jasmine protests dissolved into
throaty moans as Liam’s tongue made hot contact with her neck. He rushed to rid
her of her clothing, and it wasn’t long before she was forcing his t-shirt over
his head. “Just promise me this won’t complicate things,” she gasped, keeping her
eyes steadied on his in the darkness.

“It won’t,” Liam lied, pulling
her into a passionate kiss to keep her from saying anything further.

Jasmine gasped and trailed her
fingers down his chest, inspecting the tight columns of his muscles as the last
of her hesitancy dissolved with her moans.

Chapter twenty-five

There was no telling a toddler
that you needed to sleep in. It didn't matter if you were up all night in the
troughs of intense lovemaking. When Maya started crying bright and early the
following morning, Liam and Jasmine were forced to get up.

“I’ll get her,” Liam mumbled,
switching off the baby monitor on his way out the door. He entered Maya’s room
and found her standing up in her crib. Her entire face lit up as soon as she
saw him, and she extended chubby arms to be picked up.

Liam was exhausted, but he
couldn't help but smile. As much as he still wanted to be in bed, there were
few things capable of pulling at his heartstrings the way his daughter did. It
gave him great pride to lift her into his arms and give her a good morning
kiss.

When Liam brought Maya into the
living room to play while he got ready, he was surprised to find Jasmine on the
couch flipping through the morning paper. The smirk she gave him brought him
back to the events that had unfolded the previous night, and suddenly he felt
like an awkward teenage boy in the presence of his first crush.

Jasmine smiled and took a sip
of her coffee, remaining quiet as she watched Maya waddle over to her toy box
and begin to play. The television was on in background, and some kids show with
a bunch of singing characters quickly caught her attention.

“So…last night…” Liam began,
cautiously testing the lay of the land.

“Was nice,” Jasmine finished
for him, keeping her tone lighthearted. “But that doesn’t mean it can happen
again.”

 
“Of course not,” Liam teased, holding up his hands.

“I just wouldn’t want to get
addicted or anything,” Jasmine said, continuing the charade. “You know what
they say about too much of a good thing…”

Liam smirked. “Right,” he said.
“Smart thinking.”

Jasmine snickered and rubbed
her thumb along the edge of her coffee mug to remove the residue. Liam could
tell she was stalling. “What is it?” he questioned, suddenly serious.

 
Jasmine frowned and met his gaze before straightening up and
waving a hand in the air. “Nothing…it’s just...you don’t think lighting can
strike twice in the same place do you?”

Liam was quiet as he tried to
figure out what she was angling at. He was staring at Maya when it finally
clicked. “You mean do I think I got you pregnant again?” he questioned in an
amused tone, grabbing Jasmine’s hand and forcing her to look at him. “No, I
don’t. We were safe this time. I checked the condom and everything.”

Jasmine looked relieved and
immediately lightened up, but she quickly became tense again when Liam
attempted to lean in and kiss her. “We shouldn’t,” she whispered, pressing her
hand against his chest. “Not in front of Maya. I don’t want to confuse her.”