Page 42 of Rejected Heart (The Westwoods #5)

LAYLA

This might be bad.

They could kick me out. Scream, sneer, throw things at me. Demand I leave and never come back.

That would be the worst-case scenario. And this was the Westwood family. Would I need to consider the worst-case scenario?

My palms felt sweaty, and I couldn’t stop swallowing.

It was insane that I was even feeling this way. I had just accomplished what I thought would be my biggest hurdle ever. I should have been able to let out a sigh of relief. To some degree, I guess I had.

Liam and I had taken the first steps toward reconciliation.

I wasn’t so foolish to believe everything would be fine from this point forward, that we could just go back and pick up where we left off.

But at least he was willing to give me a chance, to give us a chance, to fix things between us.

I was going to do everything I could to make it right.

But even if I felt good about the direction things were heading between him and me, there was still a fair amount of concern I felt about his family.

And that was a strange phenomenon. Because I’d never felt anxious around the Westwoods, especially never in a setting like this.

“Wait. Wait. Something’s not right.”

Liam and I had been walking back from the lake to join his family at the house so we could celebrate his niece’s birthday with them. But at those words, he’d ground to a halt and turned to face me.

“What do you mean?”

His eyes roamed over my face, searching for something with questions in his gaze. “You’re tense. Unsettled. What’s going on?”

Of course, I was.

I shouldn’t have been surprised that Liam knew I was struggling with anything, only by having my hand in his as we walked along.

“This is your family,” I declared. “What if they hold a grudge? What if they hate me for how I left?”

It seemed crazy to even say those words to Liam, but I refused to lie to him about how I was feeling. I’d hidden far too much from him as it was. If I intended to fix what I’d broken between us, I couldn’t start by lying to him.

His features softened, and he took both of my hands in his. “That’s not going to happen.”

“It could. They have every reason to feel that way, and I honestly can’t say I’d blame them if that was the case.”

“They don’t hate you. And they aren’t going to hold a grudge. You’re here, and that’s all that’s going to matter.”

I desperately wanted to believe that was the truth. Liam wasn’t a liar, which gave me hope. But I couldn’t help fearing the worst. I didn’t deserve much grace from them after what I’d put him through.

“Do you think… Should I trust that Cooper meant what he said? Do you think he told the truth?”

A crease formed between his brows. “What did my brother say to you?”

I licked my lips, recalling that tense encounter with Cooper a week ago. “When he stopped in at the store to confront me and, ultimately, invite me to this party, he said that you, along with the rest of the family, would love to see me here, where I should have been all along. Was that true?”

Something washed over Liam’s expression.

He seemed to go from being concerned to feeling relieved.

And perhaps a touch appreciative. Clearly, he approved of what Cooper had said to me.

He hesitated for half of a beat before he confirmed that was the case.

“Yes. Without a doubt, I can confirm that’s the truth.

I’ve always believed that you should have been here all along.

It’s what I wanted, Layla. And my family wants me to be happy.

If you being here now makes that happen, they’d never do anything to make you feel uncomfortable. ”

“But do you think they’d want to?” I pressed, shifting nervously on my feet. “Is it possible they’ll harbor a grudge without acting on it? I know I screwed up, Liam, and as much as I know I need to work to prove to you how sorry I am, I’ll do anything for their forgiveness, too.”

He lifted our hands to his lips and kissed my knuckles.

“This is my family.” My knees wobbled at the tenderness in his voice.

“Jules invited you to Westwood’s the first day she saw you.

And Cooper invited you here. While I won’t say that my family wasn’t upset about what happened between us, I can promise you, they’ve never spoken badly about you.

Not once in all these years. If you feel it’s necessary, apologize to them.

But trust me, Layla, you’ve got nothing to be worried about. ”

Liam was right. I knew this family like they were my own, and they weren’t the kind of people who would do any of what I was fearing they might. The reality was that I likely felt far too much guilt for how I’d hurt all of them that I was fearing the worst because of it.

“Okay. You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

After squeezing my hands, Liam wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly. “Not that I expect they’d ever do anything like what you were imagining, but you’ve got to know how I feel about you. I think you know I’d never stand by and watch as anyone treated you poorly.”

With my arms wrapped firmly around his waist and my face against his chest, I inhaled deeply. Why had I ever walked away from this, from him? “I guess I know that’s true, but there’s this part of me that realizes I’d deserve it after what I did to hurt you. ”

Liam drove his hand into my hair, tugged back, and urged me to look up at him.

When his eyes were on mine, he said, “You need to forgive yourself, Layla. If there’s any hope of us making this work, you can’t continue to punish yourself or think you don’t deserve to be treated with respect.

I know there’s a lot we need to work through, but that’s between you and me.

And we’ll do it. It’s going to be hard. I realize that.

Like I said, if you want to apologize to them, I don’t think they’d be upset about it.

But beyond that, especially for today, we’re celebrating my favorite little girl in the world, and that’s all that today needs to be about. ”

I let out a sigh and nodded. “I think I’m ready now.”

He smiled at me and gave me a kiss on the lips. “Good. Because I’m starved, and I’m willing to bet the food is ready.”

Liam released his hold on me, took me by the hand, and led me back to the party with him. I couldn’t say I wasn’t nervous, but I felt better than I had been mere minutes ago.

The closer we got, the more members of the Westwood family noticed we were making our approach. The conversation died down to the point nobody was speaking by the time Liam brought us to a halt.

My eyes moved through the crowd. I recognized mostly everybody, and what I saw in the faces of the people who’d once been like a second family to me was hope. I wasn’t quite sure anyone was breathing as their eyes darted between Liam, me, and our connected hands .

Malcolm was the first to break the silence. “Is everything okay?”

Liam looked down at me, his eyes bright and a smile on his face. Then he turned his attention to his dad. “Yeah, everything’s great, Dad. Layla’s going to be staying for the rest of Rosie’s party.”

There was a collective sigh of relief, more smiles than I could count, and Evelyn Westwood rushing toward me. I barely had the chance to register what was happening by the time she threw her arms around me. “Oh, it’s so good to see you, Layla. We’ve missed you.”

Liam let go of my hand so I could hug his mom. “I’ve missed you, too. And I’m sorry.”

Her body froze, and she stepped back. Placing her hands on the outer caps of my shoulders, she asked, “Sorry for what?”

She was such a gracious woman. I tipped my head to the side and offered an apologetic smile, noting how most of the family had moved in our direction.

“I’m sorry for leaving the way I did. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I know I hurt a lot of people.

I never meant to hurt anyone like I did, and I want you to know how sorry I am for it. ”

Evelyn offered a sympathetic look in return. Surprisingly, it was Tate who spoke up. “Layla, I think you and Liam need to each grab a plate of food before you sit down. We’ve got years of mistakes that we’ve all made to fill you in on. I’ll go first, if you want.”

“Yeah, Tate probably should kick things off. His mistakes were far worse than mine,” Wyatt teased, a twinkle in his eyes .

“Oh, shut up, Wyatt,” Tate fired back. “I’m sure Rhea has plenty of stories to share of your shortcomings.”

Laughter filled the air as someone pushed their way to the front of the crowd. Ivy came toward me. “Are you here to stay?”

My brows pulled together. “For the party?”

“For good.”

My eyes darted to Liam’s again. His danced, just like they used to all those years ago. And that smile of his that made my heart beat just a little bit faster was on full display.

Returning my attention to Ivy, I recalled just how fierce of a woman she was. In so many ways, she was the complete opposite of me, especially back then. It seemed that hadn’t changed, and I was glad she had approached me the way she had. No doubt she was looking out for Liam’s well-being.

Wanting to ease those fears for her, I spoke softly. “I intend to stay as long as Liam wants me around.”

Her lips curved into a slow smile before she pulled me in for a hug. “It’s so good to have you back, Layla. We’ve missed you so much.”

Tears filled my eyes.

Just like that, this family had accepted me back. It only proved Cooper hadn’t been exaggerating when he said this was where everyone had wanted me to be all along.

I squeezed Ivy back. “I’ve missed you, too.”

When she stepped back, she reached her hand out to the side and said, “I think you might remember my husband, Marco.”

My eyes widened in shock. “What?”

Ivy beamed at me. “Marco and I got married. It’ll be a year this New Year’s Eve.”