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  “Better?” she replied truthfully then let out a tiny giggle.

  “Good,” he said. “Don’t even think about that again. Promise me.”

  “Okay,” she uttered.

  “Goodnight, Layla,” he said, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing her fingers.

  “Goodnight,” she said a little too dreamily and opened the door.

  Layla walked passed her mother and James on her way to the stairs. “Did you have a good night?” her mom called out, stopping her in her tracks.

  “Yes,” she replied, trying to wipe the silly smile off her face. “I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

  She made her way to her room, changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. She put her hand up to her lips and sighed deeply, remembering every detail of the heavenly kiss.

  And then slowly, as if to dampen her happy mood, the argument that she’d overheard came back to her full force. ‘There’s no place in our world for a girl like that.’ She felt irritation stir inside.

  As she began to drift off to sleep, something else surfaced in her mind, something that she hadn’t been completely aware of until that moment. There had been something else said, something that she vaguely registered as she hurried back to the dining room feeling hurt and bewildered, something that she would forget by the morning. ‘If she finds out the truth about you, we’re all screwed.’

  Chapter 6

  Layla walked down the stairs feeling groggy from a night of restless sleep. She made her way into the kitchen to find her mother and James sitting at the breakfast bar sipping coffee. She walked to the coffee pot and poured herself a mug then joined them.

  “How did you sleep?” her mother asked.

  “Okay, I guess,” Layla answered.

  James had his face stuck in a tiny, portable TV at the edge of the counter.

  “Good morning, James,” Layla said, rolling her eyes behind his back.

  Her mother laughed.

  Layla suddenly remembered the strange conversation that she’d overheard two nights ago and wondered if her mother had gathered any information about that. But now that some time had passed, Layla began to wonder if she hadn’t made a bigger deal out of it than necessary.

  “Morning,” he mumbled, not really paying any attention to her.

  “I saw him two nights before he was reported missing…” A man said into a microphone held by a cable news reporter.

  “They still haven’t found that guy?” Layla said absentmindedly, looking over James’ shoulder.

  “It’s only a matter of time,” James replied without looking at her.

  “Why don’t they at least show a picture of him?” she asked. “How would anyone even know if they were standing beside him on line at Walmart? Do they ever show his face?”

  “Arthur Vallen is very elusive,” James answered. “No one has ever seen him outside a small group of friends and associates, along with the staff of Vallen Enterprises, but they don’t talk much…some sort of stipulation in their employment contract. It appears that the media hasn’t considered the same question you just did. That, or they’ve been paid a fortune to forget that little detail.”

  Something bothered Layla suddenly, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. Her phone ringing dragged her from her pondering. She looked at the screen and saw it was Jay. She answered the phone quickly and walked into the other room.

  “Hey,” she said, smiling broadly.

  “Hi, Layla,” he answered. “How are you feeling today?”

  “Better. Listen, I’m really sorry about last night. I don’t know why I got so emotional.”

  “No, that’s fine,” he replied. “I hope you don’t mind, but I had a word with Ben. He feels terrible that you overheard him.”

  “Oh, God,” Layla moaned. She didn’t want to face that guy again ever.

  She heard quiet arguing on the other end, and then a voice that wasn’t Jays. “Hi, Layla, this is Ben,” he said.

  “Hi, Ben,” she answered awkwardly.

  “I’m really sorry about last night. Jay told me that you overheard us, and I feel terrible about the whole thing. I guess I was just being possessive of my best friend. I’d like to make it up to you if I can.”

  “What did you have in mind?” she said. “Not that it’s necessary. I’m not one to hold a grudge.”

  “I’m sending Jay over to pick you up. Then I’m going to make brunch for you, and you have my full permission to throw it in my face if you want. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been pelted with food.”

  “Layla, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” Jay said down the line, obviously having wrestled his phone back, “although I’d like you too. And besides, Issy wants to see you again.”

  “Give me a half-hour to get dressed,” she requested.

  By the time she was ready, Jay’s text was already on her phone, telling her he was waiting outside.

  She ran out the door after yelling goodbye to her mother, and down the driveway.

  She motioned for Jay to stay in the car, but he shook his head and hopped out. They raced to the passenger-side door, Jay reaching it a split-second before her. He opened the door with a smug smirk.

  Layla shook her head with feigned disapproval and climbed in.

  “Get used to it,” Jay said firmly.

  “It really isn’t necessary for Ben to go out of his way for me,” she said as they drove down the road.

  “He wants to do it,” Jay replied. “I know you probably think differently now, but he’s a great guy, one of the best people I’ve ever met.”

  “I don’t doubt it,” she said. “We probably just got off on the wrong foot.”

  As soon as she walked into Jay’s house, Issy ran forth and hugged her. “Layla, I’m so sorry for my stupid man and his big mouth,” she said.

  “It’s okay,” Layla responded just as Ben turned the corner with a long-stemmed rose in his hand.

  “For you, lovely Layla,” he said, wearing a rueful expression. “And my double apologies, as I’ve royally screwed-up brunch.”

  “Because you can’t cook to save your life,” Issy said. “I told you that I’d do it for you.”

  “Yes, but that wouldn’t be the same,” Ben argued. “This is supposed to be my apology, not yours.”

  “What did you do to my kitchen?” Jay asked apprehensively. He walked quickly through the house, everyone else following behind. “Oh, wow,” he huffed, surveying the damage. “How did you manage to burn two pans and set the toaster on fire?”

  “You’re surprised?” Issy questioned. “You know it’s a disaster waiting to happen anytime Ben gets too close to appliances.”

  “I was attempting to make melted cheese on toast. I thought that you could melt cheese in toasters,” Ben said innocently. “Issy does it all the time.”

  “In a toaster oven, yes,” Issy explained. “Not in one of these pop-up kinds of toasters.”

  “Well, how was I supposed to know?” Ben answered defensively. “And the pans weren’t my fault; they were broken. Everything just stuck to the bottom.”

  “Did you try putting some cooking oil on them first?” Jay queried.

  “What’s cooking oil?” Ben asked.

  “Never mind,” Jay mumbled, rolling his eyes. He threw the pans into the sink, turned on the tap then faced Layla. “Well, it looks like I’m going to be making brunch for you.”

  “It’s really not necessary,” she answered, pressing her lips together to smother a laugh.

  “You have to eat,” Jay argued.

  “Listen, Jay, why don’t you order a pizza while I clean up the kitchen,” Issy suggested.

  “That’s a great idea,” Layla agreed. “I’ll help you, Issy.”

  “No, that’s not—”

  “It’s fine, Jay,” Layla insisted, cutting him off. “I really don’t mind.”

  “Ben, back out of the kitchen slowly,” Issy warned. “Don’t even think about touching another thing.
”

  As Layla and Issy scrubbed the pans and wiped sludge off the countertops, they picked up their conversation from the night before, the incident with Ben the previous evening all but forgotten.

  When the pizza arrived, they sat around the living room floor to eat, resting the pizza box on the coffee table.

  “What do you guys want to do for the day?” Joey questioned, throwing his paper napkin into the empty container.

  “Anyone up for a board game?” Ben suggested.

  They spent the remainder of the afternoon and early evening playing Pictionary, boys against girls. Layla and Issy were unbeatable.

  Joey flicked on the TV momentarily, claiming he wanted to check the weather for the following day. As usual, the cable news channel soon got around to the missing billionaire. This time the news anchor was explaining that the prolonged disappearance of the CEO was causing a major sell-off of stocks.

  “Do they ever stop with this?” Layla said under her breath. “My mother’s boyfriend is obsessed with this story.”

  Joey chuckled. “Is he? Does he have stocks in that company or something?”

  “Nah, he is in the same business,” she explained. “James owns a small pharmaceutical company on Long Island. It was his and my dad’s, actually.”

  “Really?” Ben responded, a suspicious look gracing his features momentarily. “Tell me Layla, what’s James’ last name?”

  Jay looked down at the coffee table he was sitting crossed-legged in front of, tapping it with his knuckles.

  “Morganson,” Layla answered. “Why?” she added when she noticed the way Ben was glaring at Jay, and Jay was purposely avoiding eye contact.

  Jay coughed and put his fist sideways against his mouth.

  “Nothing,” Ben said, smiling warmly. “One more game, winner takes all,” he added light-heartedly. “Joey, turn off the TV.”

  “Takes all what?” Issy asked.

  “Whatever team wins the next game shall be supreme winners of the day,” Ben announced. He turned to Joey. “And you, get on your game, my friend.”

  “I think it’s already been established who the supreme winners of the day are,” Issy stated. “My girl, Layla, and I have won every single game so far.”

  “If your brother had gotten his genius head out of the clouds, we could have taken you easily,” Ben contradicted.

  Issy and Ben continued to banter back and forth while the others looked on.

  Jay raised his eyebrows and shook his head, his tongue pushed against his cheek. “Alright, already,” he finally piped in. “One more game.”

  Layla and Issy kicked butt easily. After a few minutes of immature gloating and reminding the guys that females are the supreme gender, Layla decided that she needed to go home.

  “I’ll be back soon,” Jay told the other three.

  “How long are you guys staying for?” Layla asked. “Will I get to see you again?”

  “Joey and I are leaving tomorrow, but we’ll be back in a couple of weeks, probably the Friday before Thanksgiving,” Issy said. “So be prepared to slaughter them again.”

  “Go team!” Layla blurted out, fist pumping Issy.

  “You know it, my friend,” Issy said, smiling warmly.

  “Why are you leaving so soon, though?” Layla asked. “I thought you were staying longer.”

  “Something came up, and Joey is needed back at work,” Issy explained.

  “Don’t I get a farewell hug?” Joey asked. Layla walked over and threw her arms around him loosely. “I’ll see you before Thanksgiving, Layla,” he said warmly.

  Layla smiled, delighted by the way the twins were so sure she’d still be around in a couple of more weeks. All things considered, this was one of the better weekends she’d ever had.

  Chapter 7

  Layla rushed out the door to Julie’s car, a few choice words silently running across her mind. Once again, it was going to be humiliation walking into Schultz’s class.

  “I want every single detail,” Julie demanded. “Why were you over there the entire weekend?”

  “Well, I can tell you that we still haven’t started our project yet,” Layla said, smirking.

  “So what did you do?” Julie pushed.

  “Mostly hung out. Jay has some friends in town, so we spent most of the weekend with them.”

  “So, are you like an item now?” Julie asked.

  “I think so,” Layla replied, hardly believing the turn of events over the weekend. “We’re involved, whatever that means.”

  “I’d say it means you’re an item,” Julie confirmed.

  They rushed into Schultz’s class and breathed a sigh of relief when they noticed he wasn’t there. Layla and Julie took the first two desks, threw their book bags on the ground after taking out their textbooks and looked more than settled by the time Schultz returned. Thank heaven for small miracles.

  When the bell finally rang at the end of the class, Layla shoved her textbook back in her bag and stood to leave. Jay was next to her in an instant. “Walk you to your next class?” he asked.

  “Sure,” she responded, smiling sweetly.

  “See you at lunch,” Julie butted in, giving Layla a knowing smirk.

  “I’ll save you a seat,” Layla called after her.

  As they walked down the hall, Layla had a sneaking suspicion that something was bothering Jay, as though there was something he was reluctant to say. “Is everything alright?” she asked apprehensively.

  “No…yes.” He shook his head as though trying to clear his thoughts. “Everything is fine, it’s just, we never did start our project yet, and I was wondering when would be a good time for you to work on it.”

  “Anytime,” she said. “How about you?”

  “I’m not sure about today or tomorrow. Can I get back to you about it?” He looked straight ahead, walking stiffly, not bothering to keep pace with her.

  Layla felt her heart sink. The easy, comfortable way that she and Jay were together all weekend seemed to be gone. He was like an awkward stranger to her somehow. She felt a sharp pain in her gut, wondering if maybe he had a change of heart about their new relationship status. This was what she had feared most, the understanding that if a romance between them was to fail, it would ruin the friendship that they both seemed to enjoy.

  To make matters worse, when he left her in front of her next class, he barely said good-bye before walking away without looking at her.

  ‘What was the point of that?’ she thought bitterly. He offers to walk her to her next class then barely says a word. Maybe he was reluctant to say whatever it was that was on his mind. She felt a bout of nervous anticipation. She bit on her lip, stared after him, then squared her shoulders and walked into her next class, knowing that she was too distracted to pay much attention.

  Running Jay’s strange behavior over and over in her mind, Layla was relieved when it was time for lunch, so that she could confide her fears in Julie.

  She entered the cafeteria and looked around for her friend. Seeing Julie wasn’t there yet, Layla picked a deserted table to the side of the room and sat down with her tray. She pulled out her phone and was responding to a text from her mother when she heard the chair in front of her screech. Looking up to smile at Julie, she felt instant agitation. It was not Julie in front of her; it was Kevin Hartley. She put her phone away and tried to smile as sincerely as she could, but her heart just wasn’t in it. She needed Julie there fast.

  “How was your weekend?” Kevin asked. “Did you miss me?”

  “I was too busy to miss anyone,” Layla said, wishing to all that was holy that he’d just go away. She really didn’t have the patience at the moment.

  “So do you know if you’re going to New York for Thanksgiving yet?” he asked.

  “We haven’t really decided yet,” Layla answered truthfully. “My mom was going to decide this morning after she talked to her sister and tell me later today.”

  “Well, in that case, I was thinking…” Hartley
trailed off and squared his shoulders slightly. “If you don’t go to New York, why don’t you go to the Thanksgiving dance with me?”

  “Because she’ll be going with me,” a voice said from behind Layla. She turned to see Jay towering over the table, glaring at Kevin.

  “I will?” Layla asked, looking at Jay with confusion. That was counterintuitive to what she had worried about for the last two classes.

  Jay must have misjudged her expression because he suddenly looked awkward and regretful. “Well, assuming I asked you very, very politely, and that you graciously agreed,” he said ruefully.

  Layla giggled at his response.

  Kevin looked back and forth between Jay and Layla, scowling. “I’ll just mosey along then,” he said with utter disgust, standing up from the table. “Later, Layla,” he added before walking away.

  “That was incredibly rude of me,” Jay said apologetically. “Not to mention, presumptuous.” He walked to the far side of the table and sat in the seat that Hartley had just vacated.

  “Yes, it was,” Layla said firmly, but then a smile broke on her lips. “But under the circumstances, you’re forgiven.”

  “Circumstances?”

  “Hartley was acting like his typical conceited self, as though I should have been thrilled that he asked.” She didn’t bother telling him that the rest of the circumstances were due to her misunderstanding his previous demeanor and assuming that he wanted to end their relationship so soon.

  “Sorry,” Jay said again.

  “No, that’s okay, but did you have something you’d like to ask me?”

  “No…” Jay said, looking confused.

  “Really?” she replied, widening her eyes.

  “Ah!” Jay blurted out, the penny dropping. “Would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the Thanksgiving dance?”

  “What a gentlemanly proposal,” Layla said. “I’m impressed.”

  “So is that a yes then?” Jay questioned.

  “While I was impressed by your delivery, I still need to weigh up my options,” Layla said light-heartedly.