Just One Touch: A Black Alcove Novel (The Black Alcove Series Book 3) (21 page)

I’m not a stalker,
but my feelings for her won’t go away in a day and I don’t like
the idea of her driving in this weather. When we were together it was
easy to figure out her schedule, and I know for a fact that she would
have been home ten minutes ago from work. It’s possible she could
have plans after work, but if I know Alex at all, on a night like
this she would cancel. She’s a smart woman.

I flick back the
curtains in the living room once more, peeking up and down the street
in search for any headlights. Nothing.

Earlier, when I saw her
in the hallway, I wanted to believe she was out there because she was
finally coming to me. But she never said anything. When Jake invited
her over, I wanted to join him and beg her to come over and listen to
me or even just be in the same room. Instead, I gave her an easy out.
She hasn’t wanted to be around me since she found out about Heather
being Jake’s mom; I wasn’t about to trick her by using my son.
That, and now that Heather isn’t in the picture, I’m a package
deal with Jake. My heart aches knowing Alex is the one person who
wouldn’t give that idea a second thought.

I look behind me at the
couch that swallows up his small body. He’s sound asleep with not a
care in the world. I haven’t told him about his mom yet. He thinks
she’s on a vacation again. I’ll have to tell him the truth sooner
rather than later, but each time I think this is it, this is the
moment to tell him, my heart breaks. He’s too young to feel this
pain, and I hate his mother more and more every day that she left him
to go through this.

The sound of a car
driving by and splashing water makes me return to the window. It’s
still not Alex. Something isn’t right.

I wrap Jake in a
blanket and carry him to my truck. He wakes for just a moment at the
cold touch of the rain, but once he’s buckled in his seat, he’s
fast asleep.

The gym isn’t too far
from our apartment. If she crashed or ran off the road for whatever
reason, I won’t miss it.

I drive slowly, my
windshield wipers flapping fast, trying to give me a clear view. It
only takes me a couple blocks before I see her. Her car is pulled to
the side with the hazard lights on. When I pull up in front of her, I
see her small figure drenched in a hoodie trying to change her tire.

With the truck running,
I jump out and jog to her.

“Alex, what are you
doing?” I ask when it’s clear I know what she’s doing, but I
don’t understand why she didn’t just call me or come home and
return to this later.

“I’m changing my
tire.” She sniffles. “What does it look like?”

“I see that, but come
on.” I take off my jacket and hold it over our heads as I crouch
down next to her. “Let’s go home and fix this in the morning.”

“I can do it.” She
sniffles again, and I recognize the noise as not from the cold and a
runny nose, but because she’s crying.

“Alex,” I say
calmly.

“No, I’m fine—just
go. I’m going to do it tonight.”

“Alex,” I say
again, this time reaching out to gently grab her chin and force her
to look at me. It takes a moment before her eyes look up. “Let’s
go home.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because nothing else
was supposed to get in the way of us being together. You being in a
hurry this morning was a sign, and now me getting a flat after I told
myself the first thing I was doing after work was coming to talk to
you is another sign that we aren’t supposed to talk. That this
isn’t going to ever work.”

“By this, do you mean
us?” I ask just to be clear.

“Yes, we aren’t
meant to be.” She starts to sob, falling into my shoulder as she
cries.

I want to ask what she
was coming to me to talk about, but I don’t want to make things
worse than the way she sees them right now. Tonight, I’m not
letting her go until we are back together.

“I see it
differently,” I begin, wishing we could have this conversation in
my truck where it’s dry. “I think you were meant to get a flat so
you would come to me sooner. So you had no choice to back out.”

“What?” She pushes
away to look at me.

“Yeah, I think your
life wasn’t about to let you go another day without me, so to prove
it, it decided to remind you how much you need me.”

She blinks, wipes away
the mixture of rain and tears, and then laughs. The sound warms my
entire soul. I thought I’d never see that smile again.

“Your version of my
flat tire is so much better than mine. That right there is why I love
you,” she says and my heart stops.

“You love me?”

She nods, biting her
bottom lip. “I should have told you a long time ago.”

I don’t know if she
planned to say anything else, but I don’t let her. My lips steal
any words she was about to say. I kiss her hard, never letting our
lips part as we stand. When we finally pull away, I wrap her in my
coat and I hold her tightly. There is no way I’m ever letting her
go again.

Alexis

The last couple months
have been better than I ever imagined they could be. I glance over in
the waiting room to see Jake laying on one of the chairs with his
head in Conner’s lap. Conner’s head is tipped back and his eyes
are closed. Yes, it’s late, and yes, I should be sleeping, too, but
I’m too excited to sleep. Any minute now I’m going to be an aunt.
The black coffee I’m sipping on is also helping. I don’t want to
be asleep when Logan finally comes out.

The silence the waiting
room brings to me allows me to reflect on how my life has changed in
the last six months. I moved to a new town, have a relationship with
my brother, met a guy and fell in love with both him and his son, I
have the best of friends, and I’m happier than I ever thought
possible.

We don’t have any
more secrets. Conner told me about Heather right after we got home
that rainy night. The night he told Jake about his mother has been
the only heartbreaking moment since Conner and I got back together.
Jake didn’t cry and he didn’t ask anything other than if I or his
dad was going anywhere, but I wanted to cry for him. I saw relief in
his eyes. We’ll never know what his life was like when he was with
Heather, but we do know that his life will be the best now because he
has me and the best father a kid could ask for.

Jake stirs and his foot
stretches out to kick over Conner’s backpack, knocking a book onto
the floor.

I moved into Conner’s
apartment just before the fall semester started and I switched to
just days at work. At night, while Conner is either at the BA or
taking night classes at the local college, I watch Jake.

Of course, Logan
complained about us rushing things, but we ignored him because we
knew it was right. He still acts weird about the whole Conner and me
thing, but honestly, I think he loves it. He just won’t admit it.

“Hey, what time is
it?” Conner whispers.

I glance at my cell
phone.

“Just after
midnight,” I answer.

Her rubs his sleepy
eyes and flashes me a grin. It’s the same grin that make me blush
every time he looks in my direction. Even now. I lean over the small
table between us and kiss him.

“Seriously? Every
time I see the two of you, you’re kissing. Do you know where that
leads you? Right here, that’s where.” Logan’s father voice is
spot on. “It’s a boy,” he adds proudly.

Another hour later,
with Jake now lying in a chair in Sara’s room, I get to meet the
newest addition to my family.

“I can’t believe
I’m an aunt,” I whisper to Conner as he stands behind me and we
gaze down at my nephew, Brock. He’s sleeping in his blue swaddled
blanket in his spot next to Sara’s bed. She, too, is sleeping, or
pretending, I’m not sure. I don’t blame them. They both had a
rough night.

“It’s a crazy
feeling, huh?” Conner kisses just below my ear as he wraps his arms
around my mid-section and rests his chin on my shoulder. “Almost
feels unreal that you can love someone so much, doesn’t it?”

I nod.

“Just wait until we
have kids. The feeling is multiplied by like a million.”

“Oh, we’re having
kids?”

“Someday, yeah.” I
feel his cheek press against mine as he smiles.

“Can I see?” Jake
comes up behind me, his lips forming an o shape as Conner picks him
up so he can see baby Brock. I hadn’t even realized he woke up, but
he’s in this sneaking around the apartment phase. He also enjoys
scaring me. I hate it, but he’s so cute when he does it.

“Well, aren’t you
the cutest little family,” Logan says from the doorway.

“Congrats again,”
Conner says, shaking Logan’s hand and patting him on the shoulder.
“You’re lucky he’s a cute little thing and got all of Sara’s
looks.”

“Ha ha, funny.”

“I’m serious
though, you’ve got a beautiful family right here,” Conner says,
giving Logan a shoulder squeeze.

“I should be saying
the same thing to you.” Logan grins at him. “I never did
officially tell you how I happy I am you’re the guy my sister ended
up with.”

This earns him a hug
from both me and Conner.

As I stand there,
wrapped in the arms of my brother and the man I love, I know life can
only get better from here.

The day I met Conner
was the day my heart was touched and recharged. Moving to Wind Valley
and meeting him changed my entire life, and even after everything
that’s happened in my past, I wouldn’t change a thing if it means
I end up here. This is where I’m meant to be.

THANK YOU for reading
Just One
Touch
, the third book in the Black Alcove series. I hope
you enjoyed it. Keep an eye out for the next book in the series by
visiting
www.jami-wagner.com
.

This story was my
hardest to write and also my favorite. I faced the most challenges
ever with this story, but once I changed the plot for the third time,
I knew I found Conner and Alexis’s story, and from there I was
swept away. I have a pretty good feeling my family and friends were
just as happy as I was when that final draft was finished.

Most of you may
notice that I include the same group of people in this section. I’d
like to include others and hope to one day do so, but for now, this
is my team. These are the people who want to help me be better in any
way they can. These people are important to me, each in their own
way, and will always remain that way.

Dad, Mom, and
Holly—it feels amazing to know that no matter what, you support me
and believe in me. Thank you.

Dana Volney—you
are mentioned in ALL of my books, and I hope you know how thankful I
am for everything you’ve done for me. You are always there for me
and none of this would be as fun and exciting without you.

Kate Maxwell,
Megan Phillips, Mallori Roth, and Mom—you are the best Beta readers
and you rock. I love how each of you view my stories differently. You
all help me succeed in different ways, and I will never be able to
thank you enough.

Julie Sturgeon—you
sent a pin out that read “I survived Julie’s edits,” but I want
you to know that your edits are easy to survive because you are
thorough and it’s easy to see that you want the authors you work
with to succeed. You make my novels stronger, and I will gladly take
your edits anytime if it means we can continue working together.
Thank you!

Christa Holland—I
am so happy I found you! These covers just keep getting better and
better. Thank you for everything you do.

Jesse Gordon—you
do the best formatting. Thank you for always getting everything back
to me so quickly and in good quality.

Trisha Butcher and
Alyssa Navarro—thank you for reminding me that I can be both a
committed writer and have a social life at the same time. Also, thank
you for allowing me to talk about and fill you in on my writing when
you do finally get me out of the house. Baby steps :)

Grant—thank you
for putting up with me. I may not always show it, but I appreciate
everything you do. Without you being here, I wouldn’t be where I am
today.

And finally, thank
you to the readers, bloggers, and social media fans who are reading
the Black Alcove series and spreading the word. Everything you do to
support me and my dream is amazing!

JAMI WAGNER was born in Wyoming. Still living in the
Cowboy State, Jami and her boyfriend are currently writing their own
love story with their yellow Lab.

Jami enjoys
writing New Adult and published her debut novella,
Date
in the Dark,
in 2015.
Just
One Kiss
, the first novel in her Black Alcove Series, is
available now.

Visit and connect
with Jami at
jami-wagner.com
,
on
Facebook
,
on
Twitter
, and on
Instagram
.