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Layla smiled her thanks, and a glint of mischief shone in her eyes as she looked up at me. “That’s not what it takes.”
“You want Starz and Netflix too?”
“All of it,” she laughed. “I noticed you even have Disney Plus.”
I winced. “That was Shara’s way of telling me she wanted kidsnow.”
Her name fell heavy in the space between us. Layla looked surprised I’d mentioned her. I hardly ever did. I never talked about why our marriage ended.
Layla struggled up so that she was sitting cross legged on the couch. I sat down next to her. She had some romantic comedy frozen on the screen. “And you didn’t?”
I shook my head slowly. “No. I thought I did, but when it came time to actually have the theoretical children, I don’t know. I fucked up.”
There was a wealth of sympathy in Layla’s blue eyes. I didn’t know if it was for Shara or for me. Maybe it was for both. She leaned into me, resting her head on my shoulder. “I’ll stay,” she said quietly.
I put my arm around her and held her close.
CHAPTER25
LAYLA
Ididn’t know what was up with me, but I was determined not to let it ruin my first trip with Aiden. Maybe it was just an extended work trip where we would be up to our old tricks in a new city, but it was still ourfirst vacation. Besides, whatever was going on with me wasn’t like any cold or flu or food poisoning or allergic reaction I’d ever had. It was waves of nausea that struck at strange times, peaked violently after about half an hour, and left me tired but functional for the rest of the day. For the most part, I could hide it from Aiden. He was busy doing a week’s worth of work in two and a half so we could leave for New York after work on Wednesday.
Because he was so busy, I was home more, and it was Liv who caught me dry heaving in the bathroom one afternoon.
“Whoa,” she said, gingerly placing her hand on my back as if she were considering rubbing it. She changed her mind at a particularly violent retching sound that, as usual, produced nothing. Backing into the doorway, she said, “Um, I think you should go to the doctor.”
I wiped at my lips and accepted the hand towel she offered. “If this keeps up, I’ll go.AfterNew York.”
“You’re really looking forward to this aren’t you?”
“Desperately.” Exhausted, I brushed past her and went back to the nest I’d made on the couch. Liv sat at the other end. I could tell by the look on her face that she wanted to talk, but all I wanted to do was zone out while reality TV droned on comfortingly in the background.
“Bran and I were wondering–how serious do you think this thing with Aiden is?”
I pushed down the blanket from where I had it tucked up to my nose and raised my head so I could stare at her. I didn’t like her careful tone. And I definitely didn’t like the idea that she and my little brother had been discussing my relationship behind my back. “Serious,” I said flatly. “Why?”
Liv tucked her foot under her butt and shifted uncomfortably. “Do you think he’s as serious about it as you are?” She saw the look on my face and hurried on. “We’re just worried. Aiden is a lot older than you, and it’s never a good sign when someone is keeping you a secret.”
“Oh no, kettle?”
She had the decency to blush rather than try to deny it. “That’s different. We’re feeling it out. We’re not sure if it’s serious or not. But you seem like you’re–” she hesitated, then finished lamely, “really serious about Aiden.”
“I am, and he’s serious about me.” I flopped back. I would have been more annoyed, but the nausea was crawling up my throat again. My mouth was starting to water. “He told me that he loves me,” I said thickly. “We’re just waiting for the right time to tell people.”
“It’s been months, Layla. How much longer are you planning to wait?”
Had it really been months? The time had flown by. “It’s complicated,” I muttered, swallowing hard. “My dad. The work situation.”
“I get it, but none of that is going to change, so are you two just going to hide it forever?”
“No, we’re just–ughhh.” I shoved the blanket off and made my way back to the bathroom where some predictably unproductive dry heaving rocked me from the pit of my stomach to the back of my burning throat. Tears squeezed out of my eyes, but I couldn’t seem to rid myself of what my body didn’t want anymore.
Liv was there again with a hand towel and a cautious pat on the back. “We just love you, Layla. We don’t want to see you get hurt.”
I snatched the towel from her and buried my face in it. “I’m not going to get hurt,” I said into the thick fibers. “I’min love.”
And Liv, to her credit, didn’t point out that the two aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.
