All Layla Foster wants is to launch her own branch off of her parent's fitness company. But how is she supposed to focus on making her one shot a success when her client's brother makes her feel things she swore off a long time ago?
* * * * *
Layla...
His eyebrows furrowed as he turned to face her, matching her pose against the counter. "It's her wedding, of course she is. Aren't you looking forward to yours?"
"I—What?" She blinked once, twice. "Well, I mean, yes. Sort of. In a different way, I guess."
"A different way," he repeated, head cocking to one side. "Meaning...?"
"Meaning... I don't know. Yes, I'm excited. I guess I'm just not as good at expressing it as Kenzie is. That's what I mean."
He didn't mean to let out the laugh that bubbled in his chest. "Are you sure about that?"
The flustered look on her face transformed, brows lowering, lips falling into a straight line. "Yes. If you don't mind me asking, what is it to you?"
He was pretty sure the question was intended to throw him off, but if she knew him better, she'd know that he couldn't deny any invitation to prod. Even when he knew he shouldn't, he couldn't stop himself.
"It's just curious, is all. You sat there at dinner with that gigantic rock on your finger and couldn't think of a single thing to say about love. Which I didn't think too much of, until you essentially just admitted you aren't excited about your wedding."
One look at her face told him plain and simple that he should have kept his mouth shut, which was admittedly something he already knew. But keeping his mouth shut wasn't one of Dawson's strengths—he was pretty sure that was one of the reasons Jack hated his guts.
"As I said, I was unprepared for the toast at dinner—my sincerest apologies that I'm a fitness instructor and not a poet." Her words came quick and fierce, proving that despite her excuse, she was well-spoken at a moments notice. Even in the midst of a fiery anger that had the high points of her cheeks turning pink. "And I'll have you know I'm thrilled about my wedding, not that it's any of your business."
"From 'sort of excited' to 'thrilled' in a matter of thirty seconds is a pretty big jump, no?" Even as he said it, he regretted it. It was bad enough he was poking at a topic that really wasn't any of his business in the first place, but now he was just being an asshole about it.
Her furious expression flared, eyes wide. Then she took a quick breath, and all trace of emotion disappeared from her face. When she spoke, her voice was firm and level. "You know, Kenzie's probably done getting the guest bedroom ready. Goodnight, Dawson."
She turned on her heel and strode out, and the kitchen door was swinging behind her before he could think of any words to mend the situation with. Again, not one of his strong suits. These days, it felt like he didn't have many of those at all.
Layla, on the other hand, had handled the crude conversation with more control than he'd witnessed before in his life. It was like she decided she was done talking and flipped a switch, leaving her emotions behind so she could leave him floundering.
And floundering, he was. He was used to people fighting back with him, used to his excessive prodding causing arguments that could go on for hours. Arguments that resulted in both parties feeling regretful and embarrassed. Not just him.
Judging by her reaction, he was pretty certain he was right about Layla's feelings not falling in the realm of excitement. So he'd gotten the answer he'd been so damn curious about, and the pride of being right. If only it didn't have to come with five hundred pounds of shame for how he'd gone about getting it.
He shook his head as he folded the dish-towel over the arm of the sink. What kind of asshole pokes around in someone's personal life after two five-minute conversations? With a short exhale, he dragged himself over to turn out the lights and considered chasing after her, an idea he quickly shooed away. It'd be better to let her mellow out. Better to let the memory of his idiocy fade as much as possible. He'd apologize tomorrow, when maybe she wouldn't remember just how much of an ass he'd been.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Layla had no intention of forgetting, though. her mind was ablaze with disbelief at the audacity of a relative stranger to question her happiness.
What the hell does he know? She asked herself, storming out to her car to grab her suitcases. Her eyes briefly raised to the night sky at the question, and the fury that engrossed her prevented her from even appreciating how incredible the stars looked, littered across the sky in a way that made her wonder again how this was the same night that was drenched outside her apartment window back home.
The problem was, Dawson seemed to know a hell of a lot. She wasn't sure what irritated her about the situation the most. The fact that someone she barely knew was able to pin her down so easily, his audacity to try to do so in the first place, or the fact that he looked so damn attractive while doing it.
Those brown eyes had seemed to bore right through her in a way that made her feel like he was seeing everything she was trying to hide. She couldn't decide if it made her want to escape or try to keep him looking at her that way forever.
She should've thought to avoid the topic of weddings, should've known her own would eventually come up. Lying about her feelings about marrying Colin already made her stutter in the best of circumstances, let alone when she was doing it to a man who seemed to raise her body temperature just by existing in the same room as her.
Within a day of meeting her, he had her big secret all figured out. If he could see through her that well, she wouldn't be surprised if he could tell how attracted she was to him, either.
Attracted, she thought sternly, as in, past tense. Because there was no way she could still go all jelly-legged for a man who behaved like that.
What was it to him, anyway? Why did he even bother to notice her fumbled response at dinner, or connect a careless statement about Kenzie's excitement back to her own happiness?
As she retrieved her key from the pocket of her pants, she really wished she wouldn't have asked that question. Because the answer, she realized, could be that her inexplicable interest in him wasn't one-sided. The very idea sent a trill to her stomach and a painful stab of hope into her heart, which was exactly the reaction she was trying to avoid.
With a terse sigh, she unlocked her trunk and hauled out her suitcases in one adrenaline-fueled motion. Clearly she was tired and she wasn't thinking straight, because Dawson McAden had made it glaringly obvious with his tactless conversation that he had no interest in her.
And after tonight, she thought with a huff as she slammed the trunk, I have no interest in him.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
apparently this story has text-to-speech now!! how cool 🤩
I can't believe we're already almost halfway through November/NaNoWriMo 😭 Time has seriously been flying this month. But I am IN LOVE with how this series is coming along, and I can't wait to share the rest of Layla and Dawson's story with you guys! 🧡
