When Love Is Unexpected: A Sweet Fake Relationship Friends To Lovers Romance

26. Chapter 26

Ihaven”t seen Laila in almost two months. She moved to Boston and is starting her residency in a few weeks.

I had planned to sell the art studio to Justin”s parents, but I”ve decided to keep it. I hope they understand my reasons.

A month ago, I returned to Athens to close that chapter of my life for good.

Now I”m back in Cold Spring to see Loren and meet her son.

When she opens the door and smiles, I”m reminded that she still believes in me.

”Sam!” she exclaims, giving me a hug.

”Let me look at you,” I say, giving her a quick twirl. ”You look amazing. Motherhood definitely suits you.”

”Thank you,” she says. ”Do you want to meet Peter?”

”Of course,” I say. ”Where is the little guy?”

I sit on the couch and wait for her to return with two-month-old Peter in her arms.

”He looks like Aaron,” I say, noticing the dimples, ”but he has your eyes.” Laila”s eyes, I think.

”We thought his eyes were hazel like Aaron”s, but they”ve only gotten greener with time.”

”Can I hold him?” I ask.

She puts the baby in my arms. I lift him in the air and start talking baby talk with him. ”You”re so cute! Yes, you are.”

He smiles and puts his whole fist in his mouth, deepening the dimples. I declare myself victorious right before I see a long, wet string of drool escape his mouth and land right on my face.

”Oh no!” says Loren, reaching for the baby.

I start laughing and give her the baby back before wiping the drool off my face with my sleeve.

”Let me get you a tissue,” says Loren. ”I”m so sorry.”

”I think I can consider myself christened.”

Later, when the baby is down for a nap, Loren and I sit to drink some lemonade.

”Where”s Aaron?” I ask.

”He”s at the office,” says Loren. ”He and Adam work at the office three days a week and two from home.”

”What about Holly?”

”She”s with Peter and Christina. She”ll be starting second grade next month.”

”That”s great,” I say. ”And Laila? How is she doing?”

”She”s excited,” she says. ”New city, new job, new friends.”

”Is she seeing anyone?”

”Sam,” she says, giving me a look.

”I”m sorry,” I say, ”but I have to know.”

”Do you want more lemonade?” she asks, avoiding my gaze.

”Loren, please.”

”No,” she says, ”she”s not seeing anyone.”

”I emailed her,” I say. ”Do you know if she ever saw my email?”

”Sam,” she says.

”I love her, Loren. I love your sister. I”ve let her have her space. I”ve kept my distance. I haven”t tried to contact her. How much time does she need before she lets me explain things?”

”I don”t know,” she says.

”I need to see her.”

Silence.

Does she know I”m here?”

Silence.

”Loren, does your sister know I”m here?”

”Yes. I let her know you”d be here.”

”Thank you,” I say before getting up to leave.

I watch Loren walk to the kitchen and retrieve a familiar set of keys from a drawer.

Smiling, she hands me the keys and says, ”Welcome home.”

I hug her goodbye and walk across the lawn to my new, permanent home next door.

The next day, I meet Laura and Charles Clay for lunch.

”And you plan to keep it as is?” asks Charles.

”Yes, Sir,” I say. ”The studio will stay open, as is, with the same name: Just In Clay Ceramics. I might expand it if I can buy the space next door.”

”Can you tell us why you won”t sell?” asks Mrs. Clay.

”This is where I met Laila. I don”t want it to change either.”

”So sentimental reasons,” says Laura.

”Yes, ma”am. Exactly.”

”I never knew you and Laila were seeing each other,” says Laura.

”I”m working on it,” I say.

”Okay, Son,” says Mr. Clay, reaching to shake my hand, ”good luck.”

”Thank you, Sir.”

When I contacted Jon six weeks ago, I expected him to hang up on me.

”I”m returning to Athens in two weeks,” I said. ”I”d like to stop by before I leave to speak to you and Sharon.”

”Son,” he said, ”You”re always welcome in our home. I hope you know that.”

”Thank you,” I said.

I sat with them in their kitchen and explained everything, going over every detail of the last twelve years of my life.

”I love Laila,” I said.

”So why are you leaving?” asked Sharon.

”I won”t be gone that long,” I said. ”I have to take care of some things before I return for good.”

”Back to San Diego?” she asked.

”No,” I said, ”I”m coming back here. I just opened escrow on Loren”s old house.

”You”re buying Loren”s house?” asked Jon.

”Yes, Sir.”

Jon nodded, and Sharon smiled. I took that as approval.

Now, I”m sitting in my new living room, trying to figure out how I”m going to get Laila to talk to me.

When the doorbell rings, I get up to answer it, thinking it might be Loren. No one else knows I”m here.

I open the door and find Aaron and Adam standing there.

”You”ve got to be kidding,” I say, waving them in. ”By all means, come in.”

Aaron is wearing his World”s Best Bro-In-Law T-shirt, and Adam is wearing his. It reads World”s Best Brother.

They come in and make themselves comfortable on the couch.

”Just tell me,” I say, ”am I about to get Ericked?”

”Well,” says Adam, ”that all depends.”

”Depends on what?” I ask.

”On whether you want to do this the easy way or the hard way.”

Aaron doesn”t say a word. He sits back on the couch and crosses his arms, as Eric so accurately described it: ”Letting his biceps do all the talking.”

”Do you guys mind waiting for just a minute?” I ask.

”Take as long as you need,” says Adam, popping his knuckles.

When I return two minutes later, I stand in front of them and wait. When they both look up at me, and realization registers on their faces, I cross my arms, doing my best Aaron impression. Aaron instantly breaks character, throws his head back, and lets out a roar of laughter that fills the entire house. Adam starts clapping and laughing so hard that it quickly turns into a hilarious snort followed by laugh-crying.

They both get up, still laughing, pat me on the back, and leave, shaking their heads and without saying another word.

”Good night, gentlemen,” I say before shutting the door.

I walk into the bathroom and look at my reflection in the mirror, trying to read the words on my T-shirt in reverse; World”s Best Kisser.

Over the next two weeks, I establish a routine that includes running six miles four times a week and joining a gym. I”m at the studio by ten on the days I run, helping Zoe prepare for the groups we have scheduled and putting together an advertising strategy for the upcoming holidays. On the days I don”t run, I meet Jon for coffee and work on my freelancing projects for the rest of the day. I meet Aaron, Adam, and some guys from their office to play basketball a couple of times a week.

Before leaving San Diego, I started attending church again. For obvious reasons, not my old church, but a church Pastor Duncan highly recommended. I asked God to forgive me for blaming Him for my mistakes and thanked Him for letting me meet Loren and her family, especially Laila.

”I love her, God,” I said. ”Please give us another chance. Open the doors so I can see her again. To explain and ask her to forgive me.”

I felt He was asking me to grant forgiveness, too, so I met Patricia for coffee once. I let her talk, never mentioning my conversation with Jim.

”I thought you were going to tell me you still love me,” she said.

”I love Laila,” I said.

”She forgave you for kissing me?”

”You kissed me,” I reminded her. ”My love for Laila is not contingent upon her loving me back.”

”You sound like a lawyer,” she said, smiling. ”I asked if she forgave you.”

”If she loves me, she”ll forgive me, and I know she loves me.”

”You forgive me?” she asked.

”I forgive you,” I said, ”but I don”t love you—not the way you want me to, not anymore.”

”I”ve been offered a job as an examiner in a patent office in Eureka. I want you to come with me. We can start over.”

”Patricia,” I said.

”Tricia,” she corrected me.

”Tricia, I don”t love you.”

”I don”t believe you.”

”You”re in denial,” I said, ”but let”s call it agreeing to disagree.”

I wished her the best. That was the last time I saw or spoke to her. There haven”t been any more emails from her either. I even checked my junk folder to make sure.

My family was more disappointed in me for what happened with Laila than Laila”s own family.

When I told Mom, she shook her head. ”I”m speechless,” she said. ”What the heck were you thinking? Oh, that”s right. You weren”t thinking.”

”Alice,” Grandma Janice said, ”don”t be so hard on our boy. He”ll learn from his mistakes.”

”I expected him to learn from his last mistake,” said Mom.

”Grandma,” I said, addressing Ruth, ”what do you think?”

”When I met Laila, I told her you would love her forever if she let you.”

That”s what she”d whispered in Laila”s ear the day they met.

”I think it”ll all work out if it”s God”s will for you two to be together,” Grandma continued. ”It”s what you should be praying for.”

”I have been praying,” I said. ”I have.”

My sisters called me an idiot. ”Tell me something I don”t know,” I said.

”She deserves better,” said Abby. ”She loves you, and you couldn”t even be honest with her.”

”The only thing I lied about was Patricia, and it was a lie of omission, sort of.”

”Ugh,” exclaimed Emma before walking away and yelling, ”Figure it out, Sam. Or else!”

The ”or else” is never good.

Dad and Grandpa both told me to get on the first plane to New York and make it right, but I took Loren”s advice and waited.

Pops gave me the best advice. ”Get all your ducks in a row, Son, so when she”s ready to talk, you”ll be there, ready to listen.”

So, I”ve been here, in Cold Spring, ready to listen for the past two weeks.

After I get home from the gym, I call for takeout before showering and changing into sweats and a T-shirt. I”m sitting on the couch answering emails when the doorbell rings. I grab the money off the counter and open the door, expecting it to be my sesame chicken and fried rice.

”Laila,” I say, staring into those beautiful green eyes I”ve missed so much.