Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 99434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
“Don’t talk. Just listen.”
The fire in her eyes flared. She opened her mouth to say something, then shut it and lifted her arm to look at her watch. “You’ve got one minute.”
I couldn’t resist the urge to touch her any longer. Reaching out, I cupped her face in my hands. She didn’t smack them away, which I thought was a good sign.
“I fucked up. I know. I ended things because I thought it was best for you. Today I realized I didn’t even know what was best for me, so how the hell could I have known what was best for you?”
Her face softened.
“I know you don’t want children. A month ago I might’ve said the same thing. We both come from screwed-up families. But sometimes the unexpected comes along and makes us realize we never really knew what we wanted.”
“You never even asked me if I wanted children.”
I’d forgotten she didn’t know I’d read her list. I looked down at my feet. “When I was looking for takeout menus, you were in the shower. I saw what you wrote.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What I wrote? What are you talking about?”
I had the fucking thing memorized after so many times of playing it back in my mind. “I’ll never be his priority… I’ll get hurt again.… Never really wanted kids.… I deserve more.”
I looked at her and nodded. “I know you deserve more. You deserve exactly what you want. But maybe there’s a chance that what you want could change.”
Layla’s eyes seemed to go unfocused for a minute, as if she was searching for something. Then a look of recognition formed.
“You read one of my notebooks?”
“It wasn’t intentional. But yeah, I did.”
“And that’s why you broke up with me? Because of the list?”
I shook my head. “I should’ve spoken to you about it.”
“Yeah. You should’ve. You know why?”
I nodded. “Because I didn’t have the right to make a choice for you.”
“That’s true. But it also would have given me a chance to tell you what you read wasn’t about you.”
“What?”
“That’s right. I’d like to have kids someday. If you had asked me, I would have told you that. What you read was a list I made probably fifteen years ago—about whether I should forgive my father.”
I stared at her in disbelief.
She ticked off the list on her fingers. “I’ll never be his priority. I’ll get hurt again. Never really wanted kids. I deserve more. I believe that was written when he didn’t show up for my middle school graduation ceremony after he’d promised he’d be there. If I remember correctly, there was also he’s not dependable. Because he wasn’t. Ever.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “Jesus Christ. Are you serious?”
“Based on that alone, you walked away from me. Without a fight?”
“Max said when you spoke to her—”
Layla held up a hand. “Don’t even finish that sentence.”
Shit.
She lifted her wrist and glanced at her watch. “Five seconds. Anything else?”
Shit.
It was now or never. I missed everything about this woman. From the way she smelled to the attitude she gave me to the warm feeling I had in my chest being near her again. My eyes dropped to her nose, and I realized she hadn’t covered her freckles. It gave me the courage I needed to lay my heart on the line.
“I love you. I’ve never been surer of anything in my life. I fucking love you, Layla. We were meant to be together. We both knew it from that very first day. Loving you is like breathing; I can’t stop.”
Her pursed lips tilted upward, but then fell again. “You hurt me, Gray. Twice. I can’t go through that again.”
“I know. And if you let me have another chance, I promise I’ll make it up to you. I won’t doubt things between us again. I can’t. Because I want to grow old with you, Freckles. We both grew up looking at our parents’ relationships and not wanting to repeat what we saw. Ella will grow up wanting what she sees we have. We can break the cycle and do it right.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I’m scared, Gray.”
“Do you love me?”
She nodded. “I couldn’t move on after we split the first time because I didn’t know how to let go. I still don’t.”
“So don’t, babe. Just hold on. And I’ll do the same.” My thumb caught a tear that spilled over.
“I miss Ella,” she said.
It was my turn to get choked up. The only thing that made me happier than hearing she loved me was hearing she loved my daughter, too.
“She wants to paint her room in my house rainbow.”
Layla smiled. “We can do that. When I was a kid, I always wanted white walls with a big rainbow painted on it.”
She said we. I brushed my lips against hers. When she didn’t stop me, I kept going. I licked her lips, urging her to open for me, and she moaned into my mouth. The kiss was more passionate than anything we’d ever shared. So much pent-up emotion zapped between us that it was impossible not to feel the burn. I wrapped her in my arms, holding her flush against me. The smell of her perfume and taste of her sweet kiss had me lost to where I even was. When I lifted her in the air, wanting to wrap her legs around me and back her against the nearest wall, Layla came to her senses.