by Laura Burton
“What are you doing?” Chris asked from behind her.
Why was he still here? Couldn’t she just wash off the mud in peace? She gasped as she took the first step into the surprisingly cold water. She began wading deeper into the water, but her feet sunk into the sludge and squished between her toes. Her feet were stuck as the mud sucked them into place. She tried to take a step forward, but instead, her entire body tumbled forward.
“Aaack!” she screamed as she put her hands out to break her fall. Water splashed into her face and shot up her nose. “Are you okay?” Chris asked.
She turned her face to the side, sputtering. “I’m fine,” she insisted. The last thing she needed right now was Chris trying to help her. His touch was worse than the sludge at the bottom of the pond. Mud squished between her fingers. She removed her hand from the sticky goo and waved it around in the water to get it off. Then she began wiping off her face and torso as her knees sunk deeper into the tar-like mud.
Just then, she heard the hissing again, and she pivoted her head to see her attacker returning. This time he looked more aggressive than ever. She screamed and scrambled deeper into the pond. But now she was in the enemy’s territory. The mud sucked at her as she fought to get away from the angry animal. But the goose attacked her, biting at her arms and legs. She screamed and flailed, but the goose was relentless.
“Hey! Get away from her!”
Layla turned to the sound of rescue to see Will charging at the goose, running full speed toward them. The goose took flight and honked its way to the other side of the pond as Will chased after it.
“Will!” Layla wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or mortified that he’d shown up.
Taking advantage of Will being busy chasing off the goose, Chris ran into the water, fully clothed to help her stand up.
“Here,” Chris said. “Take my arm.”
She was about to turn him down, but she lost her balance and fell into him. He caught her body and held her against him, stroking her back like he was comforting her. Only it made her feel worse. “Come on, let’s get you out of here,” he said as he escorted her from the pond.
“I have a towel in my car you can use,” Chris said. “Let’s head over there to get you cleaned up. I even have a roll of paper towels in my trunk.”
“I don’t want to ruin your towel,” Layla protested, scrambling to think of some excuse to get away from him. “I’m a huge mess right now.”
“It’s just a towel,” he said, pulling her toward his car. “Don’t worry about it. I can’t believe this stupid park doesn’t have any public restrooms. After we get you toweled off, I’ll take you to my place where you can really get cleaned up. I live just a block away.”
Unexplained panic snaked through Layla’s chest. “No!” Layla said. “Are you kidding me? I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“I’m trying to help you, Layla. Don’t you see that?”
“No, I don’t see that. I’m engaged to Will. It would be inappropriate for me to go home with you.”
“You don’t have to be so rude. I would never suggest that we do anything inappropriate.”
Yeah, right. Somehow, she didn’t believe that for a second. “You know what? I want you to leave me alone. Stop talking to me.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Settle down.” He caressed her arm, like that was supposed to make her calm. It did just the opposite. “I’m not trying to be inappropriate. I just want to be friends, Layla. Is there anything wrong with that?”
“I don’t want to be friends.” She jerked her arm away from him. “So stop talking to me. Don’t call me, don’t text me, and don’t approach me again. Do you understand?”
Chris scowled at her, but before he could say anything, Will came up behind her and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. “I found this in my car and thought you could use it.”
“Thank you, Will.” She turned to him with gratitude in her eyes. “Chris was just leaving.” She turned and gave him a nasty glare.
“I just need to understand why you don’t want to be friends,” Chris said.
“She just told you she doesn’t want you to talk to her,” Will said. “You’d better listen to her.”
“I just need a simple explanation. That’s all I’m asking for,” Chris said.
“Well, you’re not going to get one. You’d better decide you can live with that.”
“This is so ridiculous,” Chris said. “You’re both making something small into something huge. But I can tell when I’m not wanted, so I’ll go.” And he finally did. He made a big show of being a victim by frowning and hanging his head down, and then he retreated to his car. If that was supposed to make Layla feel guilty, it wasn’t working.
“Are you okay?” Will asked her, brushing her hair behind her neck. She shivered beneath his touch, and although she knew he was only acting in case Chris happened to look back at them, it still sent a thrill through her.
“No. Chris is really starting to freak me out.”
“I’m not surprised. I pegged him as a creeper from the first moment I met him. But I’m sorry you had to deal with him like that.”
Layla swallowed down her fear and pulled the blanket around her shoulders tighter.
Will bent down to get a closer look at her painting. “Did you paint this?” he asked.
“Yes. I was painting it until that goose attacked me, and I landed in the mud.”
“You’re very talented.” That was what Chris had said. But for some reason, she believed it more coming from Will. Somehow, it felt more genuine. “Your painting, I mean. But it does take a certain level of talent to get that muddy.”
“You should be jealous of my ability to get muddy,” Layla said, looking up into his handsome face.
“I’m totally not,” Will said with a goofy grin.
“Are you available tomorrow night? My parents have invited us over for dinner.”
“I am. I’d be delighted to come.”
“My mom’s been relentless about me dating him. She still doesn’t believe that you and I are engaged. I almost have to wonder if she sent him over here. How’d he know I was going to be here today?” Layla looked over at Will. “For that matter, how’d you know?”
“I was driving by and saw you painting. I decided to come say hi.”
Layla packed up the last of her painting supplies and stood up. “We’re going to need to up our game to get my mom to believe we really are engaged.”
“Well, hopefully this will help.” Will pulled out a small black box. He opened it to reveal a sparkling ring inside. A large round-cut diamond sat in the center surrounded by swirls of smaller diamonds on either side.
“That is definitely not cubic zirconium,” Layla said.
“No, it’s not.”
Layla looked up at him with a question in her heart.
“It belonged to my grandmother. I’m not sure it will fit you, but I figured it would be more believable than something from the jewelry section of Walmart.”
Layla rinsed her hand off in the pond and then took the ring from him and slipped it onto her finger. It was a little loose, but not enough that it would slip off and get lost. “I’d say that’s a reasonably good fit,” she declared.
“Good. Please take care of it. And I hope you don’t mind, but I want it back after we stage our breakup.”
Layla handed the ring back to him. “Will, I can’t possibly take this ring from you.”
“No, it’s okay. I already told you I wasn’t going through with another marriage. So it doesn’t really matter. But it was my grandma’s, and I want to keep it safe.”
Layla smiled up at him. “I can do that for you. Thank you for trusting me with such a special ring.”
Layla finally got Will’s personal phone number put into her phone. She texted him her mom’s address, and they met at her doorstep on Sunday afternoon. Her parents lived in a beautifully remodeled house that was built in 1914. The front porch had a swing that she’d spen
t her childhood swinging on. It had been a happy home for her. Will took her hand, and she curled her fingers around his. Her heart warmed at his touch. It felt nice, like they belonged together, despite what she knew to be the truth.
The front door swung open, and her mom pulled them in before Layla could even reach for the doorknob.
“Hi, Mom,” Layla said cheerfully. She fought to keep the nervousness out of her voice, but she wasn’t doing the best job.
“It’s good to see you again, Chief Vance,” Layla’s father said.
“Oh, please call me Will.”
Her parents led them to the dining room where the table was laden with her mother’s typical Sunday night dinner. Pot roast, potatoes, carrots, and salad. She also spied her mother’s famous chocolate cake sitting on the counter in the kitchen. Not that she’d be eating it, but it did look beautiful.
Her mom scrutinized her, like she was already imagining how Layla’s genetics would blend with Will’s to make the perfect grandchildren. Panic grabbed at her heart. She just had to get through this one dinner. She pictured Chris Trapp’s hands on her shoulders and shuddered. She loved her mom, but she didn’t appreciate her pushy nature. She had to get her mom to see that she was capable of choosing her own man. And Will was perfect for that.
Will settled on the chair next to hers. “Would you like some iced tea?” she asked him.
“Sure.”
She tried to still her shaking hand as she poured his glass, but she ended up missing his glass entirely, and somehow, the tea landed on his lap instead of in his glass.
“Oh, Will! I’m so sorry.” She grabbed a wad of napkins from her mom’s decorative napkin holder on the table and began frantically dabbing at his lap until she realized what she was doing and how red Will’s face was turning. “Oh, uh, I’m sorry. I’ll just let you clean that yourself.”
She turned to see both her parents staring at her with wide, unblinking eyes. And now she could feel her own face turning red. “Sorry about that. Dad, do you have another pair of pants Will can change into?”
“Sure, I do,” her dad said.
Her dad and Will left the room, leaving her alone with her mother. “Is that your ring?” her mom asked.
“Oh, yeah.” Layla thrust her hand toward her mom.
“This is gorgeous.” She studied it like she couldn’t quite believe it was real. Because that would have to mean that Layla was telling the truth. Supposedly. But Will was awesome enough to hook her up with a decent ring. He really was such a great fake fiancé. Even if he did seem hesitant to help her at first. He was much more pleasant to spend time with when he wasn’t scolding her or handing her yet another speeding ticket.
“How did he propose?” her mom asked.
Shoot. Layla hadn’t thought of that. So she said the first thing that popped into her head. She saw her mom’s crystal bowl of jellybeans sitting on the living room table in the next room. “He took me to the candy shop on Fifth Street. He bought me a bag of pink lemonade jellybeans, and the ring was inside.” Layla sat back in her chair, satisfied with her impromptu proposal story.
“The candy shop?” her mom asked. “You don’t even eat sugar. You’re always on some detox or cleanse.”
“I eat sugar from time to time.” She really didn’t, but her mom didn’t have to know that.
“I haven’t seen you touch my chocolate cake once in the past five years.”
“Well, I’ll have a slice tonight then.”
“What’s this?” Will said as he came back into the room looking between Layla and her mother. He had on a pair of her father’s pants, and they looked ridiculous on him. They were much too big, and her dad had given him a belt to keep the pants from falling to the floor.
“I was just telling my mom that I’m looking forward to eating a slice of her cake tonight. I don’t always avoid sugar, right, baby?” She gave him a huge encouraging smile and hoped he’d catch on.
“That’s true. Sometimes she even drinks soda.”
She didn’t. Ever. And her mom knew it.
“Well, isn’t this such a surprise?” her mother said. She’d been trying to get Layla to loosen up on her strict dietary standards for years. “I happen to have an ice-cold Cherry Coke in the refrigerator with your name on it, Layla.”
“Oh, great!” Layla said, doing her best to keep from cringing. She’d worked tirelessly for years to eat clean, and tonight was going to ruin her streak of five years with no refined sugars. Why, oh, why did she have to say that he’d proposed in the candy store? Of all places!
Her mom set a glass of ice in front of her and made a big show of opening the can of Cherry Coke right in front of her and pouring it over the ice. “There you go, honey. Drink up!”
Layla forced a smile. “Thanks, Mom.” The fizz from the drink hit her in the face as she took a sip. After five years without drinking a single can of soda, other than the unsweetened varieties like flavored club soda, the sweetness of the drink almost knocked her over. She quickly set the drink down and accepted the bowl of potatoes and carrots from her father. She eagerly dished up her plate with the vegetables, ready to get the taste of the soda from her mouth before she decided she liked it. Her mom really was enjoying this way too much. And Will was completely oblivious to the entire situation. He had no idea the lengths she’d gone to just to avoid sugar. The years of saying no, thank you, and rejecting cravings. Her mom thought it was all silly. But Layla loved to run, and eating sugar had only made her body perform at a lower rate.
Will was a perfect gentleman throughout the rest of dinner. He added the perfect amount of touching and loving caresses. By the end of the night, Layla felt the lines of reality beginning to blur. But she knew it wasn’t real. None of it was. They were only acting, and none of Will’s loving touches were coming from his heart. It was only a show. But every time he brushed her hair back from her face or caressed her hand, sparks flew, and she found herself pushing his shoulder playfully and giving him flirty smiles. Eventually, she wasn’t so sure it was fake anymore.
Her mom cut into the chocolate cake and handed Will a slice. He took his fork and gave Layla the first taste from his plate. She locked eyes with him as the delicious flavor of creamy dark chocolate exploded in her mouth. She closed her eyes and moaned. How could she have denied herself this amazing treat for so many years? It was every bit as good as she’d remembered. She opened her eyes to see her mom watching her with a big smile, and for a moment, she wasn’t angry at her mom anymore. She couldn’t quite remember why she’d been so angry. Her mom just wanted her to have the good things in life. Maybe she didn’t necessarily know the right ways to go about it, but she really did have good intentions. Layla had fought her for so long. She’d been so stubborn. She looked at Will who was also watching her. Was it the same with him? Was he only giving her all those speeding tickets because he wanted to keep her safe? Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all. With that realization, a burden lifted from her shoulders, and she felt that she could breathe a bit better. A bit more freely.
Was this what chocolate cake did for people? She looked around the dining room. Everyone looked so happy. She’d spent so many years denying herself this happiness. And for what? To fit in a size two? To hit her lowest time ever on a 5k? Those weren’t necessarily bad things, but maybe it was okay to allow herself to indulge once in a while.
She glanced over at Will. Did that include him? Was it okay to let herself indulge? She looked up at him and found him looking back at her with tenderness in his eyes. Her eyes lingered on his lips, and she found herself wondering what it would be like to kiss him again. Would it be amazing again, or was the last time only a fluke? Just the two of them caught up in the unexpectedness of it all? What would an intentional kiss with Will Vance be like? One where they weren’t playing games.
Her parents collected their dirty plates and took them into the kitchen, and Layla leaned into Will. His eyes locked with hers, and they were only inches apart. Will’s eyes m
oved down to her mouth, and she thought for sure he was going to break the no kissing rule. But, for once she didn’t care at all. The pull to be with him, to feel his lips on hers was overwhelming. She craved it, needed it.
Her father came in from the kitchen, interrupting their moment. “Will, would you like to come see my Mustang in the garage? I’ve been restoring it off and on for the past ten years.”
The moment lost and her nerves on edge, Layla did the unexpected. She grabbed her glass of Cherry Coke and took a big swallow.
Chapter 5
Will tossed and turned in bed all night. The next morning, he went in to work and couldn’t think of anything but Layla. He needed to kiss her once more. Blast her “no kissing” rule. She’d been such a tease last night. He’d thought for sure she was going to kiss him. And maybe she would have if her dad hadn’t interrupted their moment. He struggled to concentrate all morning. Finally, he gave up and made some excuse about needing to work Ryan’s case.
He drove to Fresh Cut Flowers and frowned at seeing Chris through the glass doors, talking to Layla. Didn’t the guy take a hint? Did he hit on married women too? Will pulled open the door to the shop, the chime tinkling as he entered. A coffee and a bagel sat on the counter between them. Had Chris brought her breakfast? That guy had a lot of nerve.
“Layla, I really am sorry for my behavior at the park on Saturday,” Will overheard Chris saying as he came in behind him. “I didn’t mean to upset you at all. I hope you can forgive me. I really don’t want to lose you as a friend.”
“Chris, we aren’t friends. I thought I made that abundantly clear at the park. And we especially aren’t friends because you aren’t respecting my wishes. I told you I don’t want you to approach me, and here you are, standing in my flower shop. I think it’s best you leave now.”
