19. The Predicament
CHAPTER NINETEEN
THE PREDICAMENT
Layla
Present
My heart continues to race in my chest when the elevator doors open to the parking garage of Orion’s building. I’m just about to walk to the sidewalk outside, heading for a nearby café or anywhere that’s not his apartment when I see a man exit a white Audi in the parking spot closest to me.
Malakai Ravage. Technically one of my five stepbrothers.
He closes his door and locks his car, walking over to where I’m standing.
“Hey, Layla,” he says, bending down and pulling me into a friendly hug. “You okay?” he asks when he pulls away.
I open and close my mouth. “Uhh…”
His gray eyes bore into mine, flicking between them as he slowly realizes that I’m most definitely not okay.
“I was just about to get a coffee down the street,” he says gently. “Care to join me?”
I nod. “Sure.”
We walk in tandem, and the blistering heat makes me feel even more nauseous than I was feeling before.
Before—when I found an engagement ring in Orion’s closet, and then kissed him.
Fortunately, there’s a coffee shop in the next building over, and the small space is cool and blasting the AC.
“What’s your order?” he asks, pulling his wallet out.
I shrug. “Something decaf. I’ve had way too much coffee already today.”
Malakai smirks as he walks over to the counter to place our order. I zone out until he walks back with two smoothies and what looks like two blueberry muffins.
“Got this, too,” he says, sliding one of the muffins over to me.
“Thanks.” I take a sip of the smoothie, and just as I ask what flavor it is, a child’s voice cuts through the ambient noise of the café.
“Miss Rivers?”
I turn my head to see Bradleigh grinning at me from a nearby table. Before I can react, she jumps up from her seat and runs over to me, wrapping her arms around me.
“Hey, you,” I say, my voice cracking with emotion as she pulls away. I’m reminded of the fact that she hasn’t attended ballet intensive all week, but before I can ask her about it, her eyes catch on Malakai, and she smiles even wider.
“Wow! You know Headmaster Ravage?” she asks, rushing over to Malakai.
I laugh. “He’s actually my stepbrother. My dad married his mom.”
Bradleigh beams up at Malakai. “Wow. That’s cool.”
I wave at Bradleigh’s mom, who’s watching us with a gentle smile. It takes me a second to realize that Bradleigh must go to St. Helena Academy, where Malakai is the headmaster.
“How are you doing? Are you practicing your pirouettes?” I ask, opting not to bring up her absence in case she doesn’t want to talk about it.
Her face falls. “Not really.”
I swallow and look over at her mom. She shrugs, nodding toward the corner of the coffee shop.
“I’m sorry to hear that. Hey, I’m going to talk to your mom really quick, okay?”
Malakai jumps in and offers Bradleigh his muffin. “Go nuts, kid. Let’s get you all sugared up for your mom.”
I walk over to Bradleigh’s mom, and we go to the other side of the room. “Everything okay?”
Her mom is young and pretty. From what I know, she’s a single mom who works hard to make sure Bradleigh has everything she needs.
“Bradleigh is being bullied in school, and she hasn’t really been up for ballet intensive,” she begins. “And I’m sorry, I meant to email you, but work is really busy. I haven’t had a moment to breathe, and?—”
I reach a hand out, taking her hand in mine. “How can I help?” Her lower lip wobbles, and that’s when I see the dark bags under her eyes. The sweatpants. The messy hair. She’s barely hanging on, and I’m sure Bradleigh’s predicament isn’t helping. “What if I took Bradleigh out for a bit this weekend? We could go to the dance store, or maybe we could go get our nails done. Or we could go shopping?” I offer.
Relief washes over her. “That would be amazing, but you really don’t have to?—”
“Does this weekend work? I have a performance on Friday and Saturday night, but maybe I can take her out on Saturday morning?”
Bradleigh’s mom’s eyes glisten with tears. “Oh my God, that would be great. I just need some extra sleep, to be honest. It’s hard doing this alone sometimes.”
I give her a gentle smile, reaching into my pocket for my phone. “I can’t even imagine. What’s your number? I’ll call you on Friday, and we can coordinate.”
We exchange numbers, and then walk back to the table, where Malakai and Bradleigh are playing rock, paper, scissors.
“Come on, sweetie. Time to go. If you get all of your homework done, I told Ms. Rivers that the two of you could go to the mall this weekend.”
Bradleigh’s brown eyes light up. “Really?”
“Only if you finish your homework,” I tell her.
She hugs me, and then they say goodbye. Bradleigh’s mom mouths thank you over her shoulder before they walk out of the coffee shop. I sigh as I sit down across from Malakai, who clears his throat.
“She got bullied pretty badly last week,” Malakai tells me. “Some of the girls in her class were calling her names.”
I wince. “Of course.”
“They were immediately suspended, and if there are any more incidents, they’ll be expelled.”
I snap my eyes to Malakai. “Good. I mean, I know they’re kids, but?—”
“St. Helena has a zero-tolerance policy for that kind of shit. You remember what Chase did for Jackson Parker, right?”
I squint at him as I take another sip. “Kind of. Didn’t he join the board so Jackson wouldn’t be discriminated against?”
Malakai nods. “Anyway, it’s important to me that children learn that love is love, you know? Bradleigh adores you,” he adds.
“She’s my favorite,” I whisper.
Malakai laughs. “She’s lucky to have you.”
We eat our muffins in silence for several minutes—after Malakai gets another one, that is.
“So,” Malakai says, rubbing his hands together and sitting back.
“So,” I mimic, giving him an angelic smile.
Before Orion and I stopped talking, I wasn’t very close to my other stepbrothers. In fact, I hardly knew them since they didn’t need to live at home. But of course they came to visit Felicity often, and despite being the closest to Orion, I still considered them family. And then when Orion and I stopped talking, I got really close to Zoe and sort of latched onto her, and by proxy, Liam Ravage. They all treated me like their little sister—coming to my ballets, taking care of my dad after Felicity died, and checking in with me.
So while Malakai and I aren’t the best of friends, I’m comfortable around him.
They all sort of feel like uncles more than stepbrothers.
“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong, or am I going to have to guess?”
“I’d love to hear your guesses,” I reply, smiling as I take another sip of my smoothie. “But if you must know.”
I brace myself.
If Liam told Zoe about the kiss he saw between Orion and me at their rehearsal dinner, there’s a good chance he told his other brothers.
“I kissed Orion.”
Malakai arches a brow as he takes a long, deep sip of his smoothie. “Oh?” he asks several seconds later.
I narrow my eyes. “Did Liam tell you?”
Malakai chuckles. “No, but what does Liam know that I don’t?”
My cheeks burn. “Orion kissed me at their rehearsal dinner. And today, I kissed him.”
Malakai nods. “Oh, yeah, I did know about that,” he teases. I kick him under the table, and he laughs. “Sorry, couldn’t help it. And how are you feeling about the kiss?”
I push my glasses higher on my nose. “I liked it?”
Malakai snorts. “Well, I gathered that. Considering the way you act around each other, that doesn’t surprise me.”
“What do you mean?”
Malakai leans forward, and I glance down at his clasped hands. He has a cross tattoo on his right, middle finger, and it always struck me as odd for a pastor to have a tattoo.
“Forgive me for saying this, Layla, but you and Orion have been obvious about your feelings for years. It’s sort of a running joke between me and the other brothers. And Stella. And Zoe. And recently, Juliet.”
My mouth drops open. “Obvious how?”
He grins. “Well, for one, you both look for the other whenever you enter a room. You mimic each other’s body language. You fight like cats and dogs, but it’s not malicious—it’s like there’s tension clouding your judgment. You know?”
I scoff. “I do now, thanks.”
“Before, I asked you how you felt about it, not if you liked it. What does this mean for the two of you?”
That same anguish from earlier fills me. “It can’t mean anything. Right before I kissed him, I found an engagement ring meant for the woman he’s seeing.”
Malakai has zero reaction, even when I study his expression for several seconds afterward.
“Are you sure it was meant for who he’s seeing? It could be something passed down from our mom, or maybe he’s holding it for a friend. I know Liam hid his ring for Zoe at my house so she wouldn’t find it.”
I hadn’t considered that.
My mouth opens and closes, but it still doesn’t make sense.
“Even if it’s not meant for the woman he’s seeing, he’s still seeing someone. And so am I. I shouldn’t have kissed him.”
Malakai leans forward. “Seems like you need to make a choice. The guy you’re seeing… or Orion. I know who he’d choose.”
I look down at the table, playing with the paper from the muffin. “He seems to really like her. I think you’re giving me too much credit.”
“Trust me, Layla. You’ll always be Orion’s first choice.”
I should know better than to think you would ever admit how you really feel about me.
Those words had haunted me for months, as did his hurt expression. He knew I had feelings for him that night, even before I could admit it to myself.
And earlier… the look on his face…
Malakai’s words send butterflies skittering through me, and I can’t help but feel my lips lift into a smile.
“Okay, so I have to choose. That will be so easy.”
“Who’s the other guy?” Malakai asks.
“He’s someone I met online. We haven’t actually met in person. But we—the connection is intense.”
Malakai shrugs. “Then meet him in person and see which connection is stronger. Listen to your heart.”
I smirk as I look back up at him. “Thanks. Yeah, I guess I shouldn’t decide until I meet the other guy.” Several seconds pass before I ask my next question. “What about you?”
Malakai instantly goes still. “What about me?”
“What’s new with you? Are you seeing anyone?”
“Romantically?” he asks, narrowing his eyes.
“Yes?” I answer, laughing.
He shakes his head, but something secretive passes over his expression. “No. I’ve been too busy. Today’s my first morning off in weeks.”
“Doing what? At St. Helena?”
“No. I had a friend move back from London and buy a fixer-upper just outside of town. It needs a lot of work, so I’m helping him with some of the small stuff.”
“Pastor, handyman, therapist. Is there anything you can’t do?”
He shakes his head and looks down at the table. “There’s a lot I can’t do. But enough about me. What’s the plan?”
I shrug. “I guess to meet with the online guy and make my choice after that.”
He nods before standing. “I suppose my opinion doesn’t matter?”
“No, it does.”
We walk out into the blinding heat together, and when we get to the entrance to Orion’s building, he turns to face me.
“You asked for it,” he teases, crossing his arms. “My opinion? You have to look at compatibility, too. Shared interests, morals, where you see yourself in five or ten years. Because sometimes you can have all the chemistry but no future. And speaking from experience, nothing is more heartbreaking than forming a connection with someone physically while knowing it can never go further.”
I digest his words as I begin to sweat, eager to get back into the air-conditioned building.
“Speaking from experience?” I ask him, smiling ruefully before looking down at my shoes.
“Trust me, Layla. It’s the worst kind of torture to want someone you can’t be with long term.”
I swallow. “I can see that.” Looking up at him, I take in his furrowed brows and crossed arms. A small part of me wonders who he’s talking about—and what happened—but before I can ask, he pulls me into a quick brotherly hug.
“I’ll see you soon, okay?”
I look at the door of the building. “Did you want to come up? I’m sure Orion would love to see you.”
He grimaces. “Nah. I should get back to Julian and Sophie.”
“Sophie?”
Something dark flashes behind Malakai’s eyes. “Julian’s wife.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize Julian was married,” I say slowly, watching his reaction.
“Yep. It was sort of arranged from a young age, I guess. They both come from old money in England. Anyway, I should go. Good luck with everything, Layla.”
“Yeah, you too.”
I open the door to the building, and once inside, Malakai walks around to the parking garage to his car.
When I turn around, I come face-to-face with the security guard. Shoot. We’d entered through the garage earlier, bypassing security.
“Oh, hi. I’m here with Orion Ravage?—”
“The infamous Layla Rivers,” he says, smiling jovially.
My brows shoot up. “You know who I am?”
“You’re famous around here.”
“I am?”
“Yep. You’re on the list of Mr. Ravage’s pre-approved visitors.”
“Oh—”
“The funny thing is, you’re the only one on the list.”
My mouth opens and closes as he walks over to the elevator, pressing some kind of badge against the keypad, which I assume gives him—and me—access to the penthouse.
“Have a nice day, Ms. Rivers.”