Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Flipping her dark ponytail over her shoulder, Hannah lifted her pointed chin. “You’ve had your chance. You’ve had three years to make a move. Three years to stop stringing her along. Three years to stop secretly scaring off any guy who showed interest in her out of nothing but petty jealousy. You can’t have her, so you don’t want anyone else to have her, either.”
“That’s not why I got rid of those guys,” I flat out lied.
What Hannah was saying was true, and the truth fucking hurt.
Seeing me all too clearly, Hannah put one hand on her hip. “You obviously don’t want her enough to deal with your own bullshit. Layla needs someone to be her champion, to protect her and love her. She needs someone to help her heal, to tell her every day that she’s beautiful, to make her believe in her own worth. She needs to know—without a doubt—that she’s loved. Layla needs a man who puts her before everything else because he realizes what an absolute treasure she is. If you don’t plan on being the man to give her what she needs, you have to clear the way for someone else. We have a few men in mind who would love the opportunity to sweep Layla off her feet and treat her like a queen.”
Unable to help myself, I yelled, “Stay out of her life! She doesn’t need anyone messing around in it.”
“Messing around with her life? You’re such a hypocrite,” Hannah shouted from behind her growling husband’s broad back. “You interfere with every aspect of her life. Don’t try that crap with me, Mark. You bought every house near hers and only rented them out to people you deemed ‘safe’ enough to live near her. You have cameras on her property, you hack into her computer, and you make sure every aspect of her life goes as smoothly as possible—all without her knowing a thing. So, don’t tell me about boundaries. At least we’re up front with her. At least we don’t lie to her about who we are.”
I threw my hands out in disbelief. “Really? You’re totally upfront with her about your life. Really. She knows that Joy is married to a cartel lord? She knows that your husband is the Cordova’s torture master? She knows that Joy shot a guy last year then laughed at his cries for mercy then shot him in the face after he tried to kidnap her? Or that many of your ‘friends’ are part of the biggest criminal dynasties in the world?”
She flushed and looked away, her hands falling to her sides. “Okay, maybe I’m not totally honest with her.”
“Yet you call me a hypocrite.”
Hannah opened her mouth, no doubt to argue with me some more, but Leo stopped her. “Love, go check on our daughter. I think I hear her fussing.”
“I have the baby monitor on my phone and—” He stopped her with a look, the kind shared between couples that says a million words. “Fine. I’ll go—” She made air quotes. “Check on Tiffany. But seriously, Mark, you love Layla. She loves you. She’s an amazing woman, and I just know you could make her incredibly happy. She needs you, and you would be so good together. Stop being such a doofus and do something before you lose her forever.”
After she left, and while the maid cleaned up the broken glass, Leo made us both a drink from the bar in the corner of the room. We sipped in silence until the maid closed the door, leaving us once again alone. It was getting late, but I lived a four-minute drive down the hill in my own house on Leo’s vast property, so I wasn’t worried about getting drunk and staggering back. Hell, I had a permanent guest room in the house that I could use if I got too fucked up.
Right then, getting fucked up sounded pretty good.
My chest felt like someone had kicked a hole in it, the guilt and sorrow I’d been trying to ignore pouring into the empty space left by Layla’s presence.
Fuck, I missed her. More than I ever thought I would. I thought I could handle her ignoring me, that I’d wait until her temper cooled then we’d go on just like we always had. Instead, I’d done what I’d been trying to do for years—make Layla strong enough to stand on her own two feet. I just didn’t realize I was making her strong enough to leave me.
Fuck.
I rubbed my chest, trying to make the hurt go away.
“Enough of this bullshit, Mark. What are you going to do about Layla?” Leo finally asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Could you really live with yourself if Mrs. Cordova manages to find a good man for Layla? Could you watch her fall in love with someone else?”