Page 42 of Broken Brothers

And, best of all… Layla.

What more could I say? We’d have to keep up appearances tonight, sure. I couldn’t go up and kiss her, not with her father and my adoptive parents staring at both of us. I’m sure a hug would suffice, although even that might have carried some risks. But once we survived those “awful” four hours… she was mine. She’d be back at my place in no time. And we’d be back to being like animals.

Best of all, there would be no shame, no confusion about what we were. She knew I loved her, and she still kept coming over. She hadn’t said she loved me back yet, but that was fine. Even I knew I had said it quite early, but I valued truth over cliche games. The truth was that I really did love her, and I think I had dodged the worst of the fallout. If she had decided to leave me because I said I loved her so fast, it would have sucked, but it would have been kind of predictable.

That she was still around told me everything I needed to know.

I got a notification on my phone that my ride had shown up. Now, I truly had everything I had ever wanted. Nothing could make me feel better than I did at that very moment.

That was, until I got to the ball, stood in the main atrium, and saw Layla walk in.

Somehow, she had topped herself from when she wore the red dress. She descended from some stairs at the rear, her hand lightly gliding over the railing, and she looked every bit the part of perfection. She moved elegantly, beautiful and strong but not too sexy for the occasion. All the same, I could not help but think of her as the sexiest, most attractive woman I had ever seen.

My heart beat way too fast for the occasion. My palms shook. My hands felt weak. My legs felt like they might buckle. I had tomaintain myself for the sake of composure and appearances for the next few hours, but boy would that prove difficult with her present.

I waited for her to catch my eye. When she did, I smiled and winked at her. I didn’t want to wave and draw awkward, unnecessary attention to her. I had my limits to how bold I would be, especially when I genuinely liked the person.

But to my surprise, she just looked down at the ground, a smile forming but not an especially happy one. She looked… almost sad. Was it because something was going to be announced with her father? Was there some big announcement that would make mine look like a footnote? I didn’t mind because I still had Layla at the end of the night, I just wanted to know what might be happening.

To make sure nothing terrible had happened, I moved forward to her, pretending that this was just a meeting of two young business minds. I told myself not to touch her, as tempting as that was, and to keep the conversation publicly professional and privately… personal, but not flirtatious. There would be a time for that.

When I reached her, though, she showed a giant grin that betrayed no sadness, no feelings of disappointment, no secrets or surprises to come.

“Isn’t this beautiful?” she said, in awe of the place. I had to admit, as much as I hated pomp like this… it was pretty damn beautiful. Mr. Taylor had done rather well with the event and not made it seem grotesquely opulent.

“Not as beautiful as yourself.”

OK, I guess I’m not so good at holding back on the flirting. At least no one else can hear us speak.

“Careful, Chance,” she said, smiling. “Because if you’re not, I’ve got some baby wipes in my purse.”

“Oh my God, you’re never going to live that one down, are you?” I said with a snort. It at least made Layla laugh quite heartily, a much needed sight given how stressed she looked just moments before. “Just remember, you’re as guilty as anyone in that. And also remember, if you keep going on about that… I may not be able to wait until we get home for me to do something about it.”

It was true, so very true. It was so hard to be good and not get hard now. It was easy to think of it from a distance, surrounded by businessmen and their wives. Here? Now?

Forget about it!

I could see her face blushing, heat rising, and my words having the kind of effect I’d hoped to produce. I could see her feeling the temptation to lift her dress up, perhaps revealing nothing underneath. I could see her desiring to run to the bathroom or some private room, to take me by the hand, and press her body into mine.

“Hey, hey, hey!”

I looked over and felt oddly grateful to see John Burnson, looking like he’d had a few drinks, approach us. He swayed and laughed, and normally, I would have felt annoyed. Here, though, it allowed me to put aside my lust for at least a little bit.

“Lookie here, the man who helped get the deal done and the wonderful Layla Taylor,” he said, pausing briefly to hide a belch. “You know, this is a great day for Burnson Investments.”

I played along, agreeing. The alcohol played a role, that much was obvious, given that only a few days before, he had given me much of the credit in the privacy of his office.

I looked to Layla, but to my surprise, she looked a bit uncomfortable. Maybe it was the fact that Burnson had put his arms around both of us, smiling and laughing like a drunken frat boy at a party. I tried to gently pry him away from her, but he hadhis arms around us tight and there was only so much we could do.

“I just, I just want to thank you, Miss Layla, your family’s company is going to go great places with us investing. And, and, Craig Taylor is a true gentleman.”

“That he is,” Layla said, still looking incredibly uncomfortable.

I had thought that his touch was the reason for her discomfort, but it didn’t end even when he took a step back. Instead, she seemed to be looking around, as if trying to find her father so that she wouldn’t have to deal with Mr. Burnson.

I had no idea why she was so disspirited by his presence; I knew he could be a bit much to handle, but at a night like this? It didn’t seem like that would be a factor. If anything, I thought Layla would—

“Ladies and gentlemen, please turn your attention to the main stage for Craig Taylor’s announcement.”