Chapter 27
27
ARCHER
W hen I get home, I find Layla in the hallway bathroom. She’s sitting on the floor, quietly singing to Sky as she gives him a bath with bubbles up to his chin. My chest aches at the whole scene. It’s so fucking beautiful. Just a mother caring for her young child.
Layla is such a good mom. She’s so damn selfless. So strong. So patient.Seeing the way she takes care of her child makes me want to take care of her.
But the way I treated her the other night probably conveyed the exact opposite message. I’m still kicking myself for that.
Not wanting to be a creeper, I knock on the open bathroom door. Sky’s whole face lights up when he looks up and spots me. “ Hewo, Mista Musdache !” he exclaims giddily.
But he’s the only one who’s excited to see me today.Layla glances at me over her shoulder and then quickly looks away.
Still, I smile, stepping into the bathroom. “Hi, little man. How’s the bath?”
“I haff bubbles!” he announces, bouncing in the tub and splashing water around.
“Bubbles are the best, right?”
“ Bess !” He mimics with a wide, toothy grin.
I drop to the floor, sitting down fully at the base of the tub and ignoring the spilled lukewarm bath water that soaks into my pants.
I reach into the tub, covering his chin with a handful of white foam. “Ope, don’t move.” I wipe my wet hand on the leg of my pants, grab my phone and snap a picture of him. I turn the screen around to show him. “Look. You have a beard now. Just like mine.”
He loves it. He squeals and giggles, gathering up more bubbles and wiping them on his face.
Sky and I babble on for a bit and he tells me about his day. It’s become a routine for us on the nights that he’s still up when I get home from work. I love hearing all about his snacks and his adventures and his favorite cartoon characters.
As much as he’s enjoying our conversation, he can’t help the big yawn that travels up his chest and spills out of his mouth. “Scoose me.”
A look of affection briefly flutters across Layla’s face. I can’t blame her. The kid is adorable.
“All right, little man, time to let your mama clean you up.”
My eyes find Layla’s before she turns away again. I can’t read her expression. Is she angry? Is she hurt? Or is she just sick of seeing my face?
In any case, I give Sky a little fist bump and rise from the floor. Then I walk out, letting Layla finish up and get her son out of the bath in peace.
When she comes into the kitchen a few minutes later, I’m putting away the groceries I picked up on my way home. I swing the fridge door closed, and turn to hand her a pack of diapers.
“Are these the right size? They were on sale, so I picked up two.”
She grits her teeth together, not answering me. She turns away quickly, but not before I notice her eyes getting watery. She looks upset. But she also looks pissed off.
Dropping the diapers on the counter, I step around her, getting in her face. “Hey, what’s wrong?” With my thumb, I wipe a tear from her eye.
But she pulls away, putting distance between us. “I just…I need you to stop. Stop doing nice things for me, Archer.”
“What…?”That’s not what I was expecting her to say. I don’t think I heard her right.
She lets out a sound of annoyance. “One minute you’re buying diapers and car seats. And you’re rescuing me from spiders and from my asshole ex. But then the next minute, you’re behaving as if I’ve got the cooties and you need to stay the hell away from me. All of it is confusing. It’s giving me whiplash.”
I rub the back of my neck, feeling like an idiot. “I’m not trying to confuse you.”
“But you are! You are confusing me. And when you do nice things for me, I keep forgetting that you’re only nice to me because I’m your sister’s pathetic best friend and that you just feel sorry for me.”She pauses, yanking at the roots of her thick brunette hair. “And this fake relationship isn’t helping matters. You’re really good at pretending you like me. Really good,” she adds in a whisper. “I keep thinking that you might actually be attracted to me, but then—”
“I am, dammit!” I blurt out, no longer able to bury the truth. “I am so fucking attracted to you, Layla. I’m losing my mind trying to keep it under control.”
She stares at me for a long moment while my words echo in the silent kitchen. It’s looking like I’ve only confused her more.
She crinkles up her nose. “So then, what the hell is your problem with me?!”
“There is no problem,” I lie.
She laughs darkly, rolling her pretty brown eyes. “Come on. I’ve tried kissing you twice now. The first time, you literally picked me up and tucked me into bed like a stupid child. And the second time—well—you should remember that one.” Her cheeks turn violently red and her voice drops to an embarrassed whisper. “I was seconds away from coming on your fingers. I was practically begging you. And you rejected me. Are you fucking kidding me, Archer Brighton? I’m humiliated. I feel like such a fool.”
My skin goes tingly and warm at the mere reminder of the intimate moment we shared right here in this kitchen just a few nights ago. But now’s not the time to get all hot and bothered over the memory replaying in my head. Now is the time to fix this.
Layla has completely misinterpreted my actions. But that’s my fault. I haven’t exactly been forthcoming about my feelings for her. Now, more than anything, I want her to understand why I pulled back the way that I did.
I step forward, cupping her cheeks in my hands. I wipe away another tear that’s dripped down to her jaw.“You’ve got it all wrong, Layla.”
“Oh, please.”
I shake my head, done with the games. “For years now, it’s been killing me— fucking killing me —trying to stay away from you. I haven’t ever kissed you because…because…”
“Because what?” she insists quietly.
I try to say the words but I can’t bring myself to get them out. I’ve never been great with this stuff. The ghosts of my failed relationships have got me in a chokehold. I opened myself up in the past and I was the one left broken each and every time.
I pride myself on being a strong man. But I don’t know if I’m strong enough to endure romantic disappointment again.
But Layla is no longer letting me off the hook. “I’m tired of being confused. I’m tired of not knowing where things stand. I need us both to lay everything out on the table even if it means risking my pride. Once and for all, tell me what’s going on between us, Archer. Fake-dating thing aside, am I just imagining that something real is happening here?”
I close my eyes momentarily, trying to figure out how to say this. An image of Layla’s rat bastard ex-boyfriend comes to mind and the words just spill out of my mouth. “I’m a possessive man, Belle. I’ve never kissed you because I know that one taste of you would never be enough. I know that if I kiss you, I’ll need you to be mine. If I kiss you, if I claim you…and then you go back to him…and he hurts you again, I will have his blood on my fucking hands,” I grind out.
Layla’s eyebrows knit together at the gravity of my words. She bites down on her quivering lip as she leans her cheek into my palm like an affection-starved kitten.
I step even closer and the delicate scent of her fruity shampoo rises up all around me. Allowing my fingers to weave into her luscious hair, I revel in the way the silky strands feel to the touch.
“I think you should know by now, I’m not the kind of guy who fucks around. I don’t do one-night stands. I don’t do casual flings. I don’t do that wishy-washy shit.”
My fingers clutch a messy fistful of her hair and I gently tug her head back. My mouth waters when goosebumps sprout along the column of her throat.
“A kiss means something to me.” With my free hand, I trace a fingertip along her rosy mouth. Her chest rises and falls with ragged breaths. “Once I kiss these lips, you’re mine, Layla. There’s no going back. So if you want to get something started between us, you need to make sure that you’re ready for the real deal.”
Then, I release her, quickly turning to walk away before I do something stupid.
Like make the decision for her.