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“It’s more than that, Mom.” Layla looks at me. “Isn’t it?”
I nod slowly, knowing this could end everything, but there’s no other choice. There’s no reality where I can let go of Layla and forget her and this feeling between us.
“Your daughter is everything to me,” I say. “I know this is the last thing you expected. I know it could change how you feel about me forever, both of you.”
I look at Noah, then go on. “But this is the truth. When I saw Layla at the wedding, I immediately fell for her. Not just physically but emotionally. It was like I’d been spending all my life looking for the perfect woman,mywoman, and there she was.”
“I felt the same,” Layla murmurs. “Seriously, I thought I was going crazy. I looked at Miles and thought,Yes, he’s the one for me. I want to have his babies.”
Elena gasps. “Hisbabies?”
“I know how it sounds. I’ve always wanted kids but never found somebody I can imagine having them with. When I saw Miles, I didn’t even have to speak to him to know. It’s hard to explain. It’s this feeling inside, like a puzzle piece slotting into place.”
“Suddenly, it all made sense,” I go on. “When I saw her, I knew I could have a family, experience love, a life, marriage, all of it.”
“With your niece,” Elena says.
“Step-niece,” Noah cuts in.
Elena sighs. “Fine, step-niece, but that doesn’t mean it’s normal. That doesn’t mean people will understand. If what you’re saying is true—”
“Itistrue,” Layla says. “I’ve never felt so sure about anything in my entire life.”
“In all your twenty long years,” Elena snaps.
“Fine, yes, I’m younger than him, but don’t act like I’mtoo young. We both know I had to grow up fast after Dad passed away. We both know I’ve been independent, and I can make my own decisions.”
Elena waves a hand. “If it’s true, it doesn’t mean your life will be easy. How do you think people will react when they learn your boyfriend is your step-uncle?”
“I don’t care what people think.”
Layla’s voice gets louder, infused with mother-bear ferocity. I’d smile with pride if the situation weren’t so tense. I don’t want to disrespect Noah or Elena.
“What about you?” Noah says, looking at me. “Don’t you care?”
“What people think?” I say, and he nods. “No, I don’t give a damn. The only people whose opinions I care about are sitting around this table. Maybe if I’d known Layla when she was a kid and helped raise her. Maybe there’d be a problem then, but I saw a woman and knew she was the one for me. She just happened to be your stepdaughter.”
Elena groans. “So, you want to marry her one day?”
“Yes,” I answer without hesitation, resisting the urge to addsoon.
“And have children?”
“Yes.”
“And you’ve talked about this?”
“We have,” Layla says.
“Let me get this straight.” Elena leans forward, animated. “For one week, you’ve been sneaking around, being together, and discussing having a family and marriage.”
Layla nods.
“In aweek,you’ve decided that this is what you want.”
“We’ve been together for a week,” Layla says, “but it didn’t start then. It started at the wedding when we first kissed.”
“I’m sorry for doing it there, Noah.” When I clap my hand on his shoulder, he doesn’t flinch or lean away, and that causes my heart to soar. “It was disrespectful, just like sneaking around was disrespectful.”
