Page 22 of Rejected Heart (The Westwoods #5)

LAYLA

“It’s been quiet without you here.”

A hint of a smile played on my lips. It was comforting to hear a friendly voice, even if I knew the words weren’t entirely true. I was the more reserved one of the two of us, so it wasn’t me who was bringing the excitement anywhere. “Oh, it’s so good to hear from you, Frankie.”

Something that had been wound tight at the center of my chest over the last few days had released just a touch.

Frankie was my closest—and only—friend and roommate.

We lived together and had formed a friendship almost immediately.

She worked at a bridal shop in the city, and I could admit I allowed my thoughts to linger to the engagement I’d passed up whenever she talked to me about brides that came in looking for their wedding gowns.

Though we didn’t work together, we occasionally took lunch breaks together.

And when we weren’t at work, we spent time with one another.

We’d had plenty of nights when one of us would need to vent, and we’d have a girls’ night in.

Of course, being the city, it was virtually impossible not to have some nights out together, too.

I’d called Frankie when I was on my way from New York to Pennsylvania the day I’d gotten the call about my mom. I wanted her to know where I was, so she wouldn’t worry unnecessarily. Apparently, Frankie was no longer interested in waiting for me to reach out to her.

“I would have called sooner, Layla, but after I got your text the day you left about needing to be gone for a few weeks, I figured you’d need a couple of days to sort things out,” she said. “How’s your mom doing?”

“I appreciate you being patient with me, Frankie. There’s been a lot to deal with since I got back here.

” I ignored the vision of Liam that flashed into my mind almost immediately.

No matter how many things I had on my plate, my encounter with Liam was the one thing that seemed to be taking up the most space in my head.

“My mom is doing a little bit better. She has more energy now than she did when I first arrived, and she’d just come out of surgery. ”

“Is she out of the hospital yet?”

“Not yet. I’m driving there now to go see her before visiting hours are over.”

As I pulled to a stop at a red light, Frankie asked, “Oh, so were you out grabbing dinner?”

It took massive effort not to burst into tears.

I wished I’d been out getting dinner. Sadly, I’d already been on edge merely coming to Landing. After my encounter with Liam, I felt even more unsettled. Food was the last thing on my mind.

The light changed, and I began driving again.

“Actually, I’ve been spending my days at my mom’s store. I visit with her first thing in the morning and every evening after I close the shop,” I explained.

“Oh, wow. And here I thought this would have been like a little vacation for you. Wait. Sorry. That didn’t come out right.

Obviously, I never thought your mom being in this accident and needing help was going to be fun and games.

I just meant that you wouldn’t need to go through your normal routine of work here. That’s all.”

Laughter spilled out of me. “I know what you meant by that. But yeah, it’s not going to be pleasant when she’s out of the hospital.

With the amount of damage done in the accident, she’s got a lot of painful and difficult days of recovery and rehabilitation ahead.

I’m hoping we’ll get an answer today about when they expect she’ll be discharged to go home, but no matter when it is, things are going to be particularly challenging for both her and me. ”

“If there’s anything I can do to help, you know you can call me.”

More warmth spread through me. “I do. Thanks, Frankie. It means everything to me to know I can count on you. So, how’s it going there? Anything to report from work?”

She sighed audibly. “That depends on whether you’re asking about the specifics of the actual job, or if you want to know more about the gossip.”

I would take any possible distraction I could get. “The gossip, please,” I begged. “Any crazed brides come in over the last few days?”

For the remainder of my drive to the hospital, Frankie gave me the reprieve I needed. She filled me in on the latest gossip and even threw in a story about our cranky elderly neighbor, too. It was just what I needed after the last few days.

Before I knew it, I had ended my call with my dear friend and was making my way through the hospital parking lot toward the front entrance. Minutes later, I walked into my mom’s room.

She was awake and alert, spotting me almost as soon as I stepped over the threshold. “Hey, Mom.”

She smiled at me. “Hi, Layla.”

“How are you feeling today?”

“I’m doing okay. Did you see Carmen?”

My brows knit together. “Carmen? No. Why?”

My mom lifted her hand and pointed at the door. “She just left. In fact, when you walked in, I thought it was her coming back for something.”

I shook my head. “No. I didn’t see her. Maybe she stopped off in the bathroom or hopped on the other elevator as I got off.”

Nodding, she agreed. “Yeah, you’re probably right. How was your day?”

My feet carried me to the chair beside her bed. After I sat down and let out a sigh, I offered a small smile. “ It was good. There were quite a few people who stopped into the store today.”

“I really can’t thank you enough for going over there and taking that on for me.”

I reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I don’t mind. And anyway, with it being so busy today, the day passed in a flash. It didn’t even feel like work.”

Before she could respond, the nurse walked in to take my mom’s vitals. As she did that and chatted with my mom, I allowed my thoughts to drift. And all the work Frankie had done to help me forget about the one thing that was weighing the most heavily on my mind went out the window.

It had been more than twenty-four hours now since I saw him.

I hadn’t been able to sort through all that I felt after he walked out of the store. Part of me wanted to run and hide. To head right back to New York and pretend none of this had happened.

But there was a much bigger part of me that felt the opposite. That part of me felt overwhelming longing and regret and sadness. And all I wanted to do was find a way to fix what I’d destroyed.

Because that much had been made clear.

I obliterated Liam.

Obviously, I’d known that rejecting his proposal was going to be difficult for him to take, but I hadn’t anticipated there being such a tremendous response to seeing me all these years later.

Maybe that was na?ve .

Maybe I should have expected that much.

But somewhere deep inside, I truly believed he would have moved on and all but forgotten I’d existed.

Perhaps that was what I was telling myself to ease the guilt and lessen the burden on my shoulders for what I’d done to such a good man.

“Layla?”

I blinked my eyes and shook my head, as though needing to physically remove the thoughts from my mind.

Turning my attention to my mother again, I noticed the nurse had left.

Had I been that caught up in what was going on inside my head that I hadn’t even realized a human had walked out of the room?

“Sorry. I was distracted.”

“I’ve noticed.”

I sat up taller as my head tipped to the side. “What?”

For a few beats, my mom simply stared at me without saying a word. The expression on her face was enough for me to know that I was about to endure a healthy dose of questioning that would likely be mixed with the advice that only a loving mother could give.

“I saw it yesterday, but I thought it was possible you were just dealing with the all the recent changes,” she finally shared. “Now, I know that’s not it. You’re my daughter, Layla. I know you, and I know something’s wrong.”

Evidently, I hadn’t been doing such a good job of hiding the distress. I should have known that if anyone was going to see right through me, it would be the woman who raised me.

Even though I wanted her focused solely on her physical well-being and recovery, I wasn’t going to lie to my mom. Plus, I figured it could help for her to have something that might distract her from what she was facing with her injuries.

I licked my lips. “I saw Jules.”

“Jules? You mean?—”

“Liam’s sister,” I confirmed, although there wasn’t another Jules that my mom knew.

“When did this happen?”

“Two days ago. It was the first day I went to the store. She happened to be in the area, and she saw me as I was heading inside,” I revealed.

Nodding slowly, allowing the details to register, my mom didn’t take her eyes off me. “How did it go?”

I shrugged. “It was okay. Awkward, I guess. But Jules was as sweet as ever. She didn’t expect to see me here, so it’s safe to say she was curious about what was going on.

I told her about your accident. And I’m sorry, I should have told you about it sooner, because she wanted me to extend well wishes and a speedy recovery to you. ”

Though I shouldn’t have imagined any differently, my mom wasn’t upset. If anything, she was contemplative as she took me in, her warm eyes roaming over me carefully. A small smile formed on her face. “I always liked Jules.”

I had, too.

Jules and I had become great friends when Liam and I were together. Though it didn’t compare to the way I felt about him, I couldn’t say I didn’t miss her, too.

I offered a slight smile in return. “You can’t believe how much she’s changed. She’s still Jules, still as gorgeous and sweet as ever, but she’s all grown up now. And she’s got her very own bakery, too.”

A bit of longing flashed in my mother’s expression. It was difficult not to feel just a twinge of guilt over what I’d taken, not just from Liam and his family, but from my mom as well.