Only One for Me (15 page)

She hadn’t realized just how much he’d
contributed to the medical field. She knew it was important to him
because of his family background, but seeing him on the
documentaries helping children with infectious diseases, made her
see that she’d made the best decision in letting him go.

A few days before he was scheduled to
leave, she’d received a voicemail from Cannon telling her that he
loved her and he wouldn’t go to Brazil for a year if she really
didn’t want him to. She played the message almost a hundred times
over the course of two days before deleting it without returning
his phone call. She loved him dearly, but she wasn’t going to be
selfish and stand in his way of his dreams.

Sometimes, over the years she’d
regretted her decision for she hated being without him. She missed
the little things, like sitting in his lap and resting her head on
his chest just to hear her favorite song—his heartbeat. Or gliding
her finger along the scar on the left side of his chest. He’d
gotten it as a child from a bike accident and if it had just been a
few inches deeper, it could have pierced his heart. That always
haunted her for she couldn’t imagine life without him even if he
was only in it for a few years. She swallowed remembering the way
she used to be obsessed over it. He always found it funny, but
never complained when she would kiss, lick, or run her finger
around the scar.

Nevertheless, when she saw the
documentaries a few years ago, she knew she had made the right
decision in not calling him back, for if she had heard his voice in
her ear or seen him in person, she would’ve begged him not to go.
Even though she no longer regretted letting him go—well
sometimes—it hurt like hell to be without him.

Now here he was back in her life, and
she didn’t know what to do with her roller coaster of emotions.
Tonight he reminded her just how much she loved and missed him, but
she was scared. She had to remember, despite her feelings for him,
he still hurt her by pushing aside their wedding plans just as he
had done everything else while they were together.

The vibrating of her cell phone
startled her out of her thoughts. She was relieved to see that it
was Sherika and not Cannon.

“
Hey, girl!”

“
Hey, Yaz. I got the
pictures of the floral arrangements and emailed Zaria back. I love
them so much!”

“
I’m glad it all worked
out.” The warmth of the hot chocolate was wearing off, so Yasmine
went back inside and sat in front of the lit fireplace.

“
I’ll say! You and Cannon
just saved me $700. Please, tell him thank you the next time you
see or talk to him.”

“
Uh … sure. Sure
will.”

“
Oh oh. What
happened?”

Yasmine laughed nervously. “Nothing.
So what else do you need me to do?” Yasmine grabbed her notepad
from the coffee table that had her things to do list.

“
Girl, even though I’m
completely stressing over this wedding, I still care about what is
going on with you and Cannon. I know planning this wedding with him
has to be hard.”

“
We agreed to be cordial
and everything was going okay, but then I let my guard down, and he
kissed me and it felt so good to be in his arms again with his lips
on mine. I didn’t know just how much I missed being with him,
smelling him, touching him.” Tears welled up in her eyes again, but
she brushed them away. She hadn’t cried over him in years, and she
didn’t feel like starting now.

“
Oh my goodness! This is
wonderful. Wait? Is he there now? Am I disturbing
something?”

“
No. I … um … sort of
pushed him off of me, got in my car, and left him standing in the
parking lot with a puzzled look on his face.”

“
Girl, what am I going to
do with you? You know Cannon still loves you. Doug said he never
got over you, but like you, he went on with his life. I think if
there is still something there to pursue, then do it. Doug and I
were friends for years after we dated for a few months, but when he
moved to New York last year, we just knew we were meant to be. I
can’t imagine being without him.”

“
Your story is different.
Doug never hurt you, and he wants you to go with him to Madrid.
Cannon never asked me to go to Brazil with him. He just brushed off
our wedding and said we could get married anytime after he
returned.”

“
Would you have gone if
he’d asked?”

“
Sherika, I don’t know.
What would I have done over there?”

“
Teach and be with your
man. But that’s coulda woulda shoulda. The question is what are you
going to do now that he’s back in your life and apparently still
has feelings for you?”

“
I don’t know. Let’s
change the subject.”

“
Okay. You have your pen
and paper ready?”

Yasmine laughed and positioned her pen
to write. “I’m ready, bridezilla.”

“
So, after looking at the
pictures Zaria sent, I’ve decided to go with all white flowers tied
in fuchsia ribbons for me, you, and the bridesmaids. Also, I’ve
decided that I want you and the bridesmaids to wear white dresses
as well.”

“
So everyone is wearing
white?” Yasmine hated asking the question as if Sherika was out of
her mind, but it was her wedding.

“
Not everyone. The groom
and his party will still wear black tuxedos, but instead of the
fuchsia vest and rosebud, they will be white.”

“
Cool. I believe the
groomsmen will be happy about not having to wear pink
vests.”

“
Yeah, I know. That’s what
Doug said. I’m going to email you some dresses to look
at.”

“
Okay. I’m meeting your
cousins next week at the bridal shop you picked to get measured and
try on dresses.”

“
Mmmm … I believe Cannon
and Doug’s brothers are going to the tuxedo shop next door. The
wedding coordinator said the shops are owned by the same person and
that the wedding party is receiving fifteen percent
off.”

“
Lovely, I get to possibly
see Cannon again,” Yasmine said sarcastically.

“
Maybe not.”

“
Trust me. He’ll be there
looking at me through the window.”

“
Whatever, Yaz. You know
you love it.”

“
I know I love my peace of
mind that I haven’t had lately. Instead, it’s crowded with thoughts
of Cannon.”

“
That’s nothing new.
Anyway, Doug and I will be there in a few weeks to meet with the
coordinator, do the reception tasting and meet with the pastor in
person. We’ve been Skyping our counseling sessions.”

“
So glad you’re coming.
Think we’ll have time to go to the spa? My treat.”

“
Yes, I could use a
massage and apparently you can as well. Of course you’d rather have
your massage from Cannon.”

“
I’m ignoring you.
Anything else, Madame Bride?”

“
Nope, that’s it for now.
Going to go cuddle with Doug. Maybe if you made a phone call, you
could be cuddling, too.”

After she hung up the phone with
Sherika, Yasmine grabbed a glass of wine and soaked in a bubble
bath, hoping that would ease her mind and body from her long day.
Unfortunately, every time she closed her eyes, all she saw was
Cannon kissing her and roaming his hands aggressively over her body
how she needed him to.

Chapter Seven

The phone ringing jolted Yasmine from
under the covers even though she wasn’t getting any sleep. She’d
tossed and turned all night over that stupid kiss in the parking
lot. Her heart was angry for leaving him because she wanted him
just as much as he wanted her, but her head kept telling her to be
sensible. Now she wished she’d listened to her heart.

She answered her cell phone not
recognizing the number on the screen. She kind of hoped it was
Cannon.

“
Hello?”

“
Hi, Yasmine?” an
unfamiliar female’s voice asked.

“
Yes?”

“
This is Lacy, your
mother’s mentee.”

“
Oh, hello, Lacy.” Yasmine
was sort of disappointed it wasn’t Cannon. She’d met Lacy a few
times while she’d been back in Memphis. Lacy was a twenty-two year
old single mother with a five year old daughter. Yasmine’s mother
had taken Lacy under her wing through a mentoring program sponsored
by her sorority.

She got out of the bed and headed
downstairs to make a pot of coffee since there was no point in
staying in the bed any longer. “How are you?”

“
Not good. I called your
mother forgetting she was out of town, and she suggested I call you
and gave me your cell number.”

“
No problem. What’s
wrong?”

“
It’s my daughter. She has
a high fever and can’t keep any food down.”

“
Perhaps you should take
her to the emergency room. What hospital are you near? I can meet
you there.”

“
I don’t have any
insurance, and I’m low on cash at the moment. But there’s a clinic
that allows walk-ins and doesn’t charge too much. I can take the
bus there.”

“
No, I’ll come get you.”
She paused, thinking about a better solution. “You know what? Let
me call you right back, but still get ready.”

After she hung up with Lacy, Yasmine
took a deep breath and called the only pediatrician she
knew.

“
Hello?” he
answered.

“
Hey, it’s me,” she said
in a quiet tone. She almost felt bad about calling him, considering
she’d left him in the cold last night, but she knew the kind of man
he was and would put aside their differences to help someone in
need.

“
Well … hey there,
me
. I wasn’t expecting
to hear from you.”

“
Are you busy?”

“
No. Just sitting here
wondering why you sped off last night.”

“
I didn’t call to discuss
that, but I promise we will soon. Right now, I have a medical
emergency.”

“
What’s wrong, Angel
face?”

She smiled at the urgency and
sincerity in his voice as well as the nickname he used to call her.
“No, not me. My mother’s mentee’s daughter has a really high fever
and can’t keep any food down. She doesn’t have insurance, and she
mentioned a clinic but that could take hours.”

“
Enough said. Tell her to
meet me at Arrington Family Specialists. I’ll leave here in ten
minutes and should be there in about twenty to thirty
minutes.”

“
She doesn’t have a car so
I’m picking them up. It may be an hour before we get
there.”

“
No problem. Where do they
live?”

“
I remember my mom saying
the Channing Hill area. I’ll find out when I call back.”

“
No, you’re not going over
there by yourself. I’m coming to get you. I keep an emergency bag
in my car so I’ll just exam her there.”

“
Cannon, I’ll be fine.”
She shrugged as she walked back upstairs to get dressed. She didn’t
see the big deal. She used to visit friends in that area all the
time in high school and never had any problems.

“
Yasmine, you haven’t
lived here in years. The Channing area has gotten
worse.”

“
But—”

“
It’s not up for debate,”
he said in a concise tone. “I’ll be at your house in twenty
minutes.”

She smiled to herself as she
remembered him always saying “it’s not up for debate” to imply the
conversation had ended, and it was going to be his way or no way.
His take charge attitude had always made her feel protected so she
trusted that he knew what he was doing in this
situation.

While she waited for Cannon, she
called her mother so she wouldn’t be worried about Lacy and her
daughter.

“
So, you called Cannon?”
Emma Dubose asked inquisitively. She’d been very saddened by their
break up because Cannon had been like a son to her when he was in
high school. When Yasmine had told her she was dating him and then
engaged, Mrs. Dubose was ecstatic to learn that he would officially
be part of the family.

“
Yes, Mother. He’s on his
way to pick me up.” Yasmine flipped through the clothes in her
closet for something quick to throw on. She decided on jeans and a
sweater with tennis shoes. She took off her satin cap, ran her
hands through her pixie cut, and then jetted downstairs to wait for
Cannon. She had a feeling he’d be on time.

“
Oh really? I see he’s
still the chivalrous rescuer.”

“
Mother, this isn’t about
us. It’s about helping Lacy.”

“
Well, I’m glad Cannon was
available.”

“
Me too.”

“
So are you two getting
along in planning the wedding?”

“
Just can’t wait for it to
be over with.”

“
Well … you seem a little
happier that he’s back in your life.”

“
Mom …” She really didn’t
want to have this conversation with her mother. She knew her mom
would be overjoyed if they got back together, considering she’d
hinted at it since she found out they would help plan Sherika’s
wedding.