Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 99434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
“I’d actually rather stay in, if you don’t mind.”
I lifted her hand to my mouth and kissed it. “Whatever you prefer. While I love the idea of showing you off in a sexy dress, I’m a big proponent of naked Chinese, too.”
I wasn’t even sure if she’d heard me. Layla seemed off in another place. She looked out the window and then turned to me. “Ella is amazing.”
I smiled wide enough for both of us. “Am I a conceited bastard if I say I agree?”
She genuinely smiled this time. “Not at all.”
We pulled up outside of her apartment building, and I jogged around to her side of the car to open the door. Then I told my driver to take the rest of the night off.
Helping Layla from the car, I explained. “I don’t plan on leaving tonight, unless you kick me out. And if that happens, I can take a cab.”
Once we were upstairs, Layla disappeared into the bathroom, and I opened a bottle of wine and poured two glasses. Something about the way she was acting still seemed off to me, but I thought perhaps I was over-examining everything at this point because of the shit Max had planted in my head. That woman was pure fucking evil.
I handed Layla a glass of wine when she came back to the kitchen. “Are you hungry? You didn’t eat much of anything this afternoon except that ice cream. Why don’t I order us something?”
She sipped. “Sure. That sounds good.”
“What are you in the mood for?”
“Whatever. You can pick.”
I took her wine glass from her hand and set it down on the kitchen counter, along with mine. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I pulled her against me. “If you’re allowing me to pick whatever I’m in the mood for, you might go hungry.”
I brushed her hair back from her face and waited until our eyes met. “Thank you for today. It meant a lot to me to get to spend time with my two girls together. But I’ll admit, as much as I enjoyed it and wouldn’t trade it for the world, I’m glad I have you all to myself right now.”
“It won’t be that way when…I mean, it won’t be that way when Ella is living with you.”
“I’ll have to soundproof the bedroom walls.” When she didn’t smile, I pulled back in order to examine her expressions better. “Talk to me. What’s bothering you?”
“Nothing.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. I just got my period, so I’m feeling a little moody, I guess. Plus, I’m tired. My iron is probably a little low.”
I wanted to believe it was nothing, so I didn’t push. After our wine, Layla took a shower and left me to pick out something to order for dinner. She’d directed me to the menu stack in her desk drawer and told me to be careful because the drawer was sometimes wobbly.
Wobbly was an understatement. I pulled out the drawer, and the entire thing derailed from the track. The wooden bottom popped out, and the contents dumped all over the floor. At least twenty pounds of crap had been crammed into a drawer only meant to hold a few hanging files. I laughed and went to the kitchen to search for a screwdriver and some pliers.
The fix was simple. Two screws had come loose that held in the bottom panel, and the drawer had been “wobbly” because one of the wheels that was supposed to roll along the track had come off. I put it all back together and started to pile the shit she had stored inside back in. There were some papers, manila folders, and a stack of notebooks. The top notebook had toppled off the stack and flipped over, landing with the back page open. Thinking nothing of it, I went to grab it, but one of the sentences on the page caught my attention.
He lies.
What the fuck was this now?
I should have just closed the notebook and kept my nose out of Layla’s business. But I couldn’t shut it after seeing the word He. I’m a man—a possessive and jealous one, no less. So, like an asshole, I kept reading.
He’s not dependable.
My heart sank. Fuck.
I’d landed right on one of her pros and cons lists. That had to be what all of the notebooks were. This one was right at the top, and the last damn page. It had to be recent.
I reasoned with myself. It’s probably about something else. I’m jumping to conclusions.
I’ll never be his priority.
My hope dwindled as I continued.
I’ll get hurt again.
Fuck.
Any hope that the list wasn’t about me went out the window when I read the last two.
Never really wanted kids.
I deserve more.
Fuck. I stared at the paper and reread the last part again.
I deserve more.
She did. Layla deserved more than an ex-con with an ex-wife who’d just sprung a kid on him.