Chapter 6
“ W hat time did you say he was supposed to be here?” Carlos asked, checking his phone for what felt like the millionth time to Layla.
She was surprised he even agreed to meet Andres, but had she known he was going to have an attitude when he arrived, she wouldn’t have invited him.
It was Andres’s suggestion that she keep Carlos updated on the plans she was making for their daughter.
Though Layla knew that was the responsible and considerate thing to do, she had absolutely no desire to include him.
As far as she was concerned, he’d proven that he wasn’t interested in what was happening with either one of them anymore.
His promise to spend the evenings home with Dior and his nights with Jasmine didn’t last longer than it took the words to come out of his mouth.
This was the first time she’d seen him since their meeting at the park.
“Six.”
Carlos sighed and ran his hand down his face, as if Andres was late, but it wasn’t six yet.
“I got shit to do. I came over right after work. I’m ready to go home and unwind.”
Her heart squeezed and burned.
Already, he was considering Jasmine’s place his home.
It took everything within Layla not to remind him that this was his home.
But was it really?
“Would you like me to get you a drink or something?” Layla offered.
“Yeah.”
Layla stood and headed to the dining room.
After pouring him two fingers of Scotch, she placed the bottle back in the white and gold china cabinet she’d restored and headed back to the living room.
Carlos had grabbed the remote and began to shift through the apps on the smart TV in search of something to watch.
The last thing she wanted to do was nag him, but Layla couldn’t help but want to question him.
He’d been there for fifteen minutes and had yet to go and greet Dior.
True, she could have called for Dior to come into the living room to speak to her father, but for once…
Layla wanted Carlos to take the initiative.
Trying to calm her nerves, she fiddled with her medium length, coffin shaped press on nails.
Very rarely did she take the time to go and get her nails done, so custom press on nails had become a bit of an addiction.
Relief washed over Layla at the sound of the doorbell.
She stood quickly and fluffed her natural, blown out hair before heading to the door to let Andres in.
As soon as she set eyes on him and inhaled his woodsy, citrusy scent…
her body relaxed and nerves settled.
It was taking every bit of self-control she had not to kiss the patch of freckles on his nose.
“Hey,” she greeted, unable to rein her smile in.
“Good evening, Layla. How are you?”
“I’m good.” Now .
“How are you?”
“I’m good. Am I too early?”
“Not at all. I’m actually glad you came early.”
The sooner Carlos met him, the sooner he could leave and take his bad vibes with him.
Stepping to the side, Layla allowed Andres entrance.
“You look beautiful,” he complimented, taking his round glasses off and placing them in the pocket of his button-down shirt.
The first three buttons were undone, exposing enough of his chest for her to want to kiss it.
Its light blue sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, exposing large veins across his forearms.
“Thank you,” Layla replied, looking down at the simple, orange jumpsuit she had on.
There wasn’t anything special to her about it, but if he liked it she loved it.
“Dior’s in her room, and her father is in the living room.”
Andres’s brows bunched but he nodded silently.
“Cool. I’ll speak with the man of the house first.”
Layla chuckled but remained silent as she led him down the entry hallway.
At the sight of them, Carlos tossed the remote onto the cream leather sofa and stood.
Andres extended his arm and they shook hands.
For whatever reason, Carlos’s eyes were locked on Layla.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet me,” Andres spoke.
“I wanted to meet you so you’d know who was working with your wife and daughter. I have a three-person team that will be helping at the center as well, but I’m the one that will be making house visits. That’s why I wanted you here for my first trip.”
Carlos nodded.
“We’re separated, but I appreciate that. You got a card or something on you?”
With a nod, Andres pulled a business card out of his wallet.
“Do you have any questions about my program? I’m sure Layla shared the details with you.”
“Nah, she didn’t. I hadn’t asked.” Carlos grabbed his phone from the couch and stuffed it into his back pocket.
“Look, just help my baby girl out. I don’t need the details of how. How much is this going to cost? I’ll cover any fees you have.”
Andres chuckled softly before licking his lips.
Layla’s heart picked up pace, hoping Carlos’s dismissive attitude didn’t have Andres reconsidering working with them.
It took a lot for Layla to even want to agree to help, but now that she had, she was looking forward to it—for both her and Dior.
“As I told your wi—Layla, I’m taking care of the fees.” Andres shifted closer to Layla.
“If you don’t have any questions for me, you can go.”
Layla’s brows lifted and mouth twisted to the side as she pulled her arms behind her back.
She wasn’t expecting Andres to give off an alpha presence in her home, but she also couldn’t deny enjoying it.
“I’ll leave whenever the fuck I damn well please.”
Stepping between the two men, Layla reminded Carlos, “You said you were ready to get home, so you can go. I don’t want to keep you any longer than I have to.”
Carlos’s eyes shifted from one to the other.
“Cool.”
“Are you going to at least say goodbye to your daughter since you didn’t speak when you arrived?”
“For what?” Carlos headed out of the living room.
“She don’t give a fuck about me being here. If she did, she would have come out to say hello.” He looked back, locking eyes with Andres briefly to say, “You need to teach that girl some manners while you at it.”
“I could, but I shouldn’t have to,” Andres countered, causing Carlos to stop walking.
“There’s no reason you, an adult, sat here for any length of time without going to speak to your daughter. Whether she has difficulty communicating with people or not, that’s rude as hell. And the fact that she does have socialization issues is all the more reason for you to have taken the initiative. If I teach her to greet people, it will be because she wants to take that first step, not to appease lazy adults like you.”
“Who the fuck you think you talking to?” Carlos asked, charging back over to them.
Andres smiled softly, not bothering to move an inch as he neared.
Layla stepped between them, pressing both hands into Carlos’s chest.
“Will you just leave? Please?”
“Nah. I’m not about to let no nigga disrespect me in my own home.”
“This isn’t your home,” Layla reminded.
“You just said that, remember?”
The frown that covered Carlos’s face slowly began to fade the longer he looked at her.
“I’m paying the bills in here, so it is my home.”
“Does Jasmine know that?”
Carlos chuckled and pinched his chin.
“I’m not about to do this shit with you, Layla. You got it.”
Layla didn’t realize she was standing there, frozen, until Andres took her hand into his.
“Are you alright?” he asked, his normally deep voice light.
She nodded before any words were able to come out.
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry about that. That was disrespectful of me, but I have to be honest with you, I don’t like his ass.” Layla chuckled, and it lingered because of the serious expression on Andres’s face.
“It’s some about his energy that doesn’t sit well with me.”
“I understand, and I apologize for him. I don’t know why I thought he would show interest in what was going on. I should have just told you that I didn’t think him being here was a good idea.”
Andres released a long breath and her hand.
“It’s cool. That’s the customary way we begin these programs. Sometimes the parents overcare and sometimes they undercare. It is what it is. Shall we get started?”
She nodded, allowing him to take the lead.
First, he went to speak to Dior and see how her room was set up.
Aside from the million toy stuffed animals, the rest of her room was filled with books, fiction and nonfiction, puzzles, and art supplies.
Just recently she’d asked for a TV, but she only watched about an hour of it a day.
Her small dining table was where she spent the most of her time.
It wasn’t just where she ate; it was where she studied and did her art projects too.
Layla showed Andres the rest of the house, including their daily schedule on the refrigerator.
The last place they went was out to the backyard, where her greenhouse was.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t tended to her plants or garden in a year…
ever since Carlos told her he needed space.
“I just come out here for a glass of wine from time to time now,” Layla shared.
“Do you want to start back up with your gardening?”
“I would love to, but I really don’t think I’ll have the time. Dior has her days. Sometimes she won’t want to be bothered at all and others she’s under me talking my ear off and needing all of my attention. She is self-sufficient to a certain extent, but it hasn’t just been her that’s been on my plate. She’s taken a lot of it, but I’ve been maintaining our household as well. Carlos is gone now, so it would have been easier with just me and Dior, but now I have to start working, and I haven’t done that in over a decade. I’m not sure how long it’s going to take me to get back used to working on top of doing the cooking and cleaning and caring for my daughter. Gardening will be the last thing on my mind.”
“Remember what I told you,” Andres started, running his fingers across the withered petals on her roses.
“The better you treat yourself, the happier you will be. Dior will respond and feed off that. If she’s like the rest of my kids with A.S., she might feel more empathy than you realize and just isn’t able to express it... yet. I want you to give yourself the same time, attention, and care that you give her. You deserve that shit, aight?”
Layla chuckled softly as she nodded.
Her head hung briefly, causing him to head over in her direction.
“That’s a lot easier said than done.”
“Not anymore. You got me now. I’m going to free up some time for you to care for yourself as long as you let me.”
All Layla could do was nod.
She was tired of being a ball of feelings every time she was in his presence, so she didn’t want to reply or cry.
Honestly, she didn’t see how she was going to have time for herself when she started working, but Andres seemed to be confident that with his help, that would be the case.
The more she saw Carlos’s true character unfold, the more parts of Layla wanted to enjoy life for herself just as he was doing.
If Andres’s presence in their life would be the key to that…
Layla was looking forward to everything he had in store.