Chapter 14
Dumbfounded, Layton stared at the groceries on the front porch of her new home several days later. There were six brown bags lined up in a row, recently delivered, and one had a bouquet of flowers peeking out the top. The Hawaiian breeze blew through her hair, soft and fragrant, and she briefly looked around the front yard in confusion. Layton double-checked the house number, making sure her sister hadn’t somehow gone to the wrong address.
Nope. They were definitely at the correct house. It looked exactly like the photos she’d seen online. Layton was renting it for an entire year, and maybe after that, she’d look into buying property on Oahu.
But why was there a grocery delivery waiting for her?
Her daughter raced around in circles in the front yard, giggling with excitement. She was both jet-lagged and overtired, and Layton didn’t want to even guess what time it was back on the East Coast. Emersyn was at the trunk of Aaron’s big SUV, hefting out the first suitcase they’d flown over with. Em’s own compact car wouldn’t have fit all their luggage, and with the guys gone, Emersyn had borrowed Aaron’s vehicle.
“Em?” Layton asked, turning around to look at her sister. “Did you order groceries?”
Emersyn expertly pulled the handle up from the pink suitcase as Layton walked back toward her, new house keys in her hand. “Groceries?”
“Yeah. Look at the front porch.”
Emersyn’s gaze followed hers as she frowned. “No, but you know what? Hudson did ask me for your address before he left.”
“Hudson?” Layton asked in surprise. She looked back to the neatly lined up bags. He could’ve ordered her some groceries, she supposed. But why? They’d barely talked at all since he’d gotten her pregnant. He’d said he wanted to support her, as she recalled, but they’d also planned to talk once they were finally in the same zip code. Face to face.
Layton shook her head. This was unreal. He’d known he was deploying, so he…bought her groceries? He’d scheduled it in advance, she realized. Or arranged for someone else to send them. She grabbed the suitcase from her sister and pulled it to the door, distractedly calling for her daughter.
Bending down to pick up the bouquet of flowers, she blinked in surprise. Mixed in with the colorful, fragrant display was some jasmine. Hudson had told her that night how much he loved the way she smelled—how sexy it was. Layton found herself flushing. It couldn’t be a coincidence that this bouquet contained the very same flower. There was no note, but she knew it was from him. Foolishly growing more excited, her hand trembled as she unlocked the door.
“Caroline! Come on, baby, let’s go inside.”
Her daughter raced over just as Emersyn lifted down another suitcase and brown box from the back of the SUV. “Inflatable mattress,” she called out. Layton was already bending over and grabbing a couple of grocery bags, trying to balance them in her arms.
“Oh, pretty flowers, Mommy!” Caroline said. “Is this really our new house?”
“It is. Hurry on in so we can explore.”
“It’s so empty!” Caroline shrieked excitedly, spinning around the big living room.
Layton set the grocery bags inside and then dragged the suitcase behind her. Her daughter ran back to peek in the bags and started squealing with excitement. Layton looked in disbelief as she spotted a cute little teddy bear wearing a hula skirt. Had Hudson seriously sent this?
Emersyn called out she was bringing more things in, so Layton got everything else into the kitchen. She wanted to cry as she pulled out the groceries and other items, neatly arranging them on the counter. Silly pregnancy hormones. There were several boxes of coffee—regular and decaf. Two kinds of tea. Crackers. Soup. Peanut butter. Applesauce and goldfish crackers for her daughter. “He sent me a coffee maker?” she asked excitedly, lifting the box free from the last bag. “Oh my God.”
“Marry him,” Emersyn quipped, poking her head in the doorway.
“Marry who, Mommy?” Caroline asked as she ran into the kitchen. Layton shot her sister a look, but Emersyn didn’t look too sorry.
“Can’t chat, gotta get the rest of the luggage!” Emersyn said, flashing her a smile. Ugh. She absolutely was in on this, and Layton hardly knew what to think. Was her sister siding with Hudson now? He’d never mentioned wanting to be with her, wanting to actually date and learn more about each other. This should’ve been too much but it honestly felt just right. Hudson had a way of doing that around her—making her feel taken care of and safe. Well, he had right up until she’d announced she was pregnant.
Sighing, she finished unpacking the bags. There was no sense in getting her hopes up over nothing. Not yet, at any rate.
“That’s the last of it!” Emersyn called out, and the front door closed. It echoed loudly through the empty home.
“Did you help Hudson decide what to send?” Layton asked as her sister reappeared in the kitchen.
“Just the kiddie stuff,” Emersyn admitted. “He didn’t know what Caroline would like. I thought it was a sweet idea. He wanted to pick you up at the airport, but the guys were leaving. Aaron said he was pretty pissed about it. I think in his own way, Hudson’s trying to make up for the way he acted.”
Layton’s phone buzzed, and she glanced at the name of the caller and groaned. Good Lord. The same guy was still asking to see the Arlington house again.
“What’s wrong?” Emersyn asked.
Layton brought her up to speed, then turned off her cell. “He’ll get the hint—eventually. I’ve literally moved across the ocean, and that guy is asking me to see the same damn house.”
“Can’t someone else from your office help him?”
“They sure could,” Layton said, shrugging. “He’s just set in his ways and wants to keep working with me. The house is still on the market, but I’ve shown it to him several times. I’m obviously not flying back to the East Coast just to look at a property.”
“Is everyone that picky? I can’t imagine needing to see a house so many times.”
“Some people are extremely picky, yes. It’s not that unusual to see a property twice, especially if you’re trying to decide between two homes, but this is getting to be borderline nuts. Usually when the market is hot, things move quickly. This particular home is very overpriced. That’s the only reason it’s still available.”
The women continued unpacking the bags and putting the refrigerated items away. Caroline had already sat down for a snack—on the floor. Emersyn exchanged a look with her sister. “Let’s buy a patio table to put in here. It can just be an inexpensive plastic one if you want.”
“Good idea. My patio set is being shipped over with my things.”
Emersyn broke into a wide smile. “I still can’t believe you moved here.”
“Maybe we share the same sense of adventure,” Layton joked. “When I came here to help you move, it was like a breath of fresh air—literally and figuratively. I needed to get away from the grind of D.C. and dealing with Caroline’s father. In a weird way, I’m thankful now. I hate that he’s abandoning Caroline,” she said in a low voice, “but we’d have been stuck in that situation for years, shuttling her back and forth between homes. I hated that.”
“I know,” Em said sympathetically. “I hate him for what he did, but I do love that you get to be with her all the time now. Did you get your real estate license transferred or whatever you needed to do?”
“I’m all set. I’m starting with a new agency in a week. I figure Caroline and I need time to settle in, explore the island a bit. I need a rental car until mine arrives. Daycare. Doctors for us both. Gosh. I pretty much need everything. It’s overwhelming, but in a good way.”
“What are you going to do when Hudson comes back?”
A feeling of sadness washed over Layton. “I don’t know. Talk. Work things out. I’m a little confused with him sending me flowers and groceries.”
“I think he’s pretty sorry about the crappy way he handled things,” Emersyn told her.
“Yeah, I get that, and I can even forgive him for that. We weren’t a couple or anything. We hadn’t made each other any promises.”
“I think he’ll come around,” Emersyn said. “This is crazy, but I can see the two of you together.”
“We’re practically strangers.”
“You’re not,” Emersyn countered. “And you know the things about him that really matter.”
Layton pressed her lips together, mulling that over. She did feel like she knew him in many ways. His personality. His drive. But she didn’t know his intentions. None of them could predict the future. Maybe the stars would align and they would somehow end up together, or maybe she’d end up with another broken heart.