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But there was one small part of me that was jealous. I’d gone from being the guy who thought he was lucky to have found the woman of his dreams so young to being alone. All the plans I’d had for getting married and having a family of my own went right down the drain.

“At this point in my life, there’s nothing I want more, Jules,” Tate answered.

Ava quickly added, “Tate and I are working on it.”

Jules let out a shriek of delight. “Oh, I can’t wait. There’re going to be so many babies.”

My mouth curved into a smile, despite the painful ache of longing I felt in my chest.

“Sorry, Liam,” Tate lamented. “This probably isn’t helping.”

“Actually, it is. More babies in the family are something that I can look forward to. Right now, Rosie is the one thing that puts a smile on my face and makes me feel genuinely happy. So, keep working on it because I’m all for more babies.”

Silence settled over the four of us. And ten minutes later, Marco and Ivy joined us. Over the course of the next thirty minutes, Wyatt and Rhea joined along with Cooper and Skye.

Conversation had successfully drifted away from Layla, which might have seemed like the distraction I needed. But when the fireworks over the lake began an hour later, nostalgia hit me. I thought back to the last summer Layla and I had together and felt a twinge of yearning.

She should have been here.

All these years, she should have been by my side.

And right now, Layla should have been my wife, settled in my lap, and cuddling close as we celebrated together and watched the fireworks light up the summer night sky.

Instead, I was here alone, wondering where she wasand if she ever thought about me even a fraction of the time that I spent thinking about her.

15

LAYLA

“Don’t even think about it.”

I stood in the doorway, staring at my mom. She was sitting there with her best friend, and Carmen was giving me a stern look to match my mother’s words.

“Think about what?” I questioned her, even though I had a feeling she knew what I was thinking of doing.

“You’re not staying here.”

“But…you might need me. I could stay, just to be sure.”

“Carmen’s here, and she’s not leaving for a few hours.”

My eyes slid to the side and noted the way Carmen sat up and grinned. “You’re forbidden from coming back here for at least three hours, but we’d prefer it if you were gone longer.”

Shaking my head, I muttered, “I can’t believe you’re kicking me out.”

“You need some time to yourself, Layla. Now, take it.”

I sighed.

Arguing with the pair of them would be useless.

As it turned out, my mom had finally been discharged from the hospital. She’d been thrilled. We both had.

And for the last four days, I’d been home with my mom, helping her adjust to this temporary life she’d be leading as she healed and recovered from the accident and subsequent surgery.

The past couple of days had been nothing short of challenging. Between helping my mom manage her pain and get around, there was a lot of responsibility. But it didn’t stop there. I was also preparing meals and assisting her with things like bathing.

We were looking at four to six months of recovery time at home, so my mom and I had taken the last few days to work out the kinks and come up with a system that worked for us. The only variable we hadn’t quite worked out yet was the store. Leaving her alone for an extended period at this point just wasn’t possible, but I hoped she’d be in a different place within the next two or three weeks.