Fishing For A Dream [Book Three]

Chapter 42 - Step Inside Love

2020 - March

Harry

The sound of the buzzer alerted me that Layla had arrived and that she was driving through the gates. Giving dinner one last check, I took a generous gulp of my red wine for some Dutch courage and went to greet her.

It wasn't often that we'd spend the night at my house. I'd been away working a lot, and when I was home we usually stayed at Layla's so it was easier for her to get to work and so Stan wasn't left alone. Or at least that was the reason she gave, but I suspected there were parts of the house that still brought back the memories of some awful times between us. Usually, I was completely fine with that, it made little difference to me because I loved being in her space, but with some persuasion, I managed to convince her to come to mine for the night - soon to be ours if dinner went well.

Opening the front door, I watched as she grabbed her bags from the boot of the car and I instantly knew she was irritated about something. As soon as she saw me approach to help with her stuff, she told me she didn't need any and launched into a rant about the traffic, then about one of her clients deciding at the last minute that they wanted real snow at their 'Christmas in July' event. I listened as she spoke, waiting for her to run out of steam, and enjoyed how when she was especially annoyed about something, the Scouse accent would make an appearance.

Layla dropped her bags to the floor, then huffed loudly before looking at me with a guilty grimace. "Sorry, I was ranting wasn't I? I've been threatened with death at least ten times today because I've been so grumpy, so be warned."

"You were, but only a little, so it's okay." Seeing her smile and the way her stretchy, black dress clung to her curves as she shrugged off her camel-coloured coat, my heart began to race. She had always taken my breath away, but no more than in the time since she'd come back into my life. I loved her more and more every day. "Rough day?"

"No, not really, I'm just being a naggy cow. I'm tired, and the day seemed to drag on forever," Layla guiltily chuckled and came close to me, wrapping her arms around my waist as she laid her head on my chest. I felt her relax her body against mine, she then tilted her head back and sniffed the air before saying, with what sounded like cautious surprise, "Did you cook? It smells so... good?"

I stroked a hand down her back and smiled, pleased the first phase of my plan seemed to be working. "I have cooked, and hopefully you'll like it. Although, I'm not sure if I should be offended or not about you being surprised that my cooking would smell good."

"That's not what I meant and you know it," she replied, rolling her eyes and leaning up to kiss me. "So, what's on the menu, Chef?"

"Mmm, why did I just get a little turned on by that?"

"Because you're a pervert."

Sliding an arm around her shoulder as she giggled, we strolled into the kitchen just as the timer sounded that dinner was ready. Layla offered her help with anything, but when I told her I didn't need any, she went to sit at the table and took a long drink of water from the glass I'd filled for her. It still gave me a rush of excitement to see her in the house, looking comfortable, looking like she belonged.