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“I know. I hate this. We’re going to have to tell them soon.”
She stands quickly, glaring.“What?”
“What other choice is there?” I snap, keeping my voice low. “We can’t lie to them forever.”
“Okay, great,” she says sarcastically. “So, we’ll sit them down and explain, ‘Hey, guys! We kissed at your wedding, and Miles went down on me last night.’”
No, I almost tell her. We belong together and have ever since I first laid eyes on her. Nobody can stand between us, not even my brother. We’ll let them know the truth.
“We can’t avoid it forever.”
“I know, but not now. We need more time to think through what we’ll say and how to make them understand. It will be a challenge becauseIdon’t even understand.”
I wonder if that’s a lie. If she understands more than she’s letting on. If she knows there’s a fierce beast in me that will never stop.
“If this changes your feelings about the date, I get it,” she says.
I laugh darkly. “Nothing could change my feelings about that. What time do you finish work tomorrow?”
“Five.”
“Perfect. I’ve got to head into the office. I’m finalizing the details of a few deals. I can pick you up after.”
“But…” Layla looks at the ceiling, where Noah and Elena are probably talking, discussing hiding this big secret. “We’ll have to have, uh, alibis. God, this isbad, isn’t it?”
“Nobody could ever accuse us of being afraid of breaking taboos,” I say, trying to keep my voice level.
“No,” she says, smiling shakily. “I guess you’re right. I should hate myself for being excited about tomorrow, right?”
“You don’t deserve hate from anybody, including yourself.”
Elena and Noah walk downstairs a minute later, Elena striding across the living room and pulling Layla into a hug.
“I don’t want to fight,” she says, “but I can’t discuss this. Please, give me a little time, okay?”
Layla hugs her mom tightly. “Okay, I will. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“But I deserve to know, Mom. Whatever it is.”
“Let me make us all some dinner. How does that sound?”
“I’ll help,” Noah says, following her from the room.
Layla lowers her voice. “Hold off on the private investigator stuff for now. I can’t addanotherbetrayal on top of everything else.”
“Whatever you want,” I tell her.
I’llalwaysdo whatever she wants.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
Layla
“Adate?” Tess says down the phone as I wait down the street from the restaurant, sitting on a bench in the waning sunlight.
“I know. Bring on the judgment.”
