Page 24

It had been bothering me for years, even before Liam came into the picture. The reality was that it had been a long time since I’d been aware of the severity of my mom’s financial situation. Things hadn’t been easy for her, and she’d struggled to raise me. The least I could do was make her proud and become successful.

I’d had that mindset for a very long time. When Liam came into my life, it only amplified the feelings I had about my family’s financial situation.

Liam hadn’t ever indicated that he looked down on me or was even truly aware of how rough things were formy mom and me. I couldn’t say that it would change things for him if he ever knew the truth about it, and it honestly bugged me that I made the comparison between us as much as I did.

If only my dad hadn’t left. If only he hadn’t walked out when his family needed him. If only…

“You shouldn’t be worried about it, though,” Liam insisted, breaking into my thoughts. “You still have time to figure it out. Plus, I might be lucky to know what I want to do now, but you’re just as lucky.”

“How so?”

“Because if there’s one thing I know, it’s that you are capable of doing anything you put your mind to.”

I loved Liam and the confidence he had in my capabilities. But I don’t think he could begin to understand how terrifying it felt to be in my position.

“I don’t want to just put my mind to anything, Liam. I want to love what I do. I want to feel the same spark about my career that you feel about the work you do.”

“You will.”

I let out a groan of frustration. “If only I lived somewhere else.”

“What?” His shock was undeniable.

I giggled. “I'm just saying, imagine if we lived in a bigger city. Like Boston or Manhattan. Or even Dallas or Denver. There’d be so much more opportunity.”

“I’d never want to live in a city like that. I love it here. Landing is home, and those spots just feel too far away.”

I got it.

Truly, I understood how he could say that, especially when he already had things figured out.

But a small town was a small town. Sure, people worked here and were successful, but the biggest thing in this town was Westwood’s. Of course, I didn’t hold a grudge about it. I loved it. I loved that Westwood’s was the reason anybody knew this town even existed. But outside of what Liam’s family brought here, I wasn’t sure what was here for me.

“Those big cities have options.”

“Options?”

“Career options,” I clarified. “College seems like a waste of money when I don’t have a clue what I want to do. It’d be foolish to spend thousands of dollars with no direction. But if I lived somewhere that had more industries, I might find something that, again, makes me feel the same excitement about my work and future that you do about yours.”

“I think you have to try things out. There’re plenty of things here in Landing to do. But I’ll be honest with you, Layla.”

“What?”

Liam let go of my hand, rolled to his side, and propped his head on his hand. He used the opposite one to stroke his fingers along my cheek. “It wouldn’t matter what I was doing with myself. There is nothing that’ll make me happier than being able to live my life by your side. No matter where I end up in my future when it comes to work, it’ll mean little without you.”

“You’re so romantic.”

“I’m being honest with you. That’s how important you are to me.”

I smiled at him, feeling a sense of longing move through me. Liam was just as important to me, and I wanted to be a woman of worth for him. I could only hope I’d figure out how to make that happen sometime in the next two years.

6

LAYLA

THREE MONTHS LATER

“Earth to Layla.”