Ever After Awaits (Layla) novel Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Layla POV

As the seconds pass and Xavier isn’t answering me, my anxiety starts growing.

I honestly was trying to be the bigger person by inviting him over – it is his house as well, after all. The fact that I also can’t read his facial expressions right now, is not helping.

The guys all look at each other and just as I’m contemplating withdrawing my offer, Cade speaks up, “Come on dude, join us? Maybe we can bribe Moira into baking us her famous sugar cookies with the

caramel drizzle like in the old days?” His exuberant comment is infectious, and I can’t help smiling at him.

Xavier’s lips hitch up in a subtle smile and his shoulders lose some of its tension. He quickly cuts his gaze at me, and I give him a delicate nod to confirm that I’m OK if he wants to join.

“Sure, why not? I’ll meet you guys there,” he says before he turns around and walks off in the opposite direction, presumably towards his car.

Hunter looks between us and then a huge smile spreads across his face, that one dimple on his right cheek making an appearance, and my heart skips a beat.

“Well, well, well, who would have known.” Hunter’s mysterious comment has my one eyebrow hiking up in question and he chuckles at me.

“It’s been ages since Xavier deigned to have a movie night with us. According to him, it wasn’t “cool” anymore.” Hunter makes finger–quote motions when he says cool, and I snicker at him.

AJ is next to give his two cents, “I wonder if it has anything to do with who invited him.” As he puts extra emphasis on who, he waggles his eyebrows at me, and I stick my tongue out at him.

As we stroll back to the car, the guys ribbing me about getting Xavier to join us, I can’t help but wonder what has caused this sudden change in his attitude towards me. I’m apprehensive but ultimately decide to

be optimistic.

As we near my car, AJ steps up to the passenger door, opening it with one hand and offering his other hand to me. “I remember a certain someone promising me that she would sit next to me on the way home.” He smirks at me, and I roll my eyes at him as I slip my hand into his.

He suddenly pulls me against him and my breath hitches as I’m pressed up against his chest, my other hand gets caught between us as I try to steady myself, inadvertently landing on his stomach. His very taught, very muscular stomach. Is that a six–pack I feel? Yes, please!

His next words rumble through me, and the air around us is suddenly charged, “Did you just roll your eyes at me, Cupcake?”

Everywhere our bodies touch, my nerve endings feel as if they have been set alight. My core pulls tight, and I can feel a sudden dampness at the apex of my thighs. His hand, which was on the car door, slips to

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Chapter 27: Layla POV

my hip and he pulls my lower half even closer to him.

“Because that’s not something a good girl would do, and you want to be my good girl, right?” His voice, which has dipped in volume and timbre, has the blood in my veins heating up to a boiling level.

Holy mother of all things pickled. *

His eyes are hooded as they peer down at me, and I feel him getting hard against my lower abdomen. I squirm against him to try and relieve some of the tension between my legs but realize my mistake when he growls at me.

“If you don’t want me to bend you over right here, right now, you might want to stop doing that, Cupcake,” he rumbles, and I immediately go as still as a deer caught in headlights.

The honking of a car, a couple of spaces down from us, breaks the spell we were under, and I step away from him before I slide into my seat. He closes my door and walks around the front of the car. He catches my eye through the windscreen, adjusts himself, and then winks at me. I dip my head in embarrassment, a grin playing at the corners of my mouth, and reach for my seatbelt.

“Everything okay there, Sunshine?” Cade’s teasing voice comes from behind me, and I startle – when did they get in the backseat?

“Asshat,” I throw over my shoulder at him, making him and Hunter chuckle.

AJ gets in, buckles up, and sets off toward my house. As if it is the most natural thing in the world, his hand slips onto my thigh and he slides it more towards the inside seam of my jeans as well as upwards, stopping just below where the ache is that he caused. It’s intimate and teasing but not overtly sexual.

On the rest of the way home, my left hand lightly plays with the skin on the back of his upper hand and wrist as I peer out the side window, the guys‘ banter background noise to my internal thoughts of how happy I am for the first time in a long time.

Xavier’s Charger is in the driveway as we pull up and the front door has been left open, presumably in anticipation of our arrival.

Moira and Xavier’s voices can be heard as we walk inside. Moira giggles at something he says, and I smile, glad to hear they are on better terms again after their little spat that morning in the kitchen when Bianca was here.

As we round the corner into the kitchen, my phone rings and I pull it from my back pocket. My mom’s name flashes on my screen and my stomach drops. What now?

I step to the side towards the patio doors, turn my back to the room, and slide my finger over the screen to

answer the call.

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Chapter 27: Layla POV

“Hi Mom, how’s the honeymoon?”

I hear everyone behind me go quiet, most likely to listen in on my call, nosy bastards.

“Hey Layla, the honeymoon was good, we just landed and we’re on the way home. Make sure you’re there. We have things to discuss.”

Before I even have a chance to reply, the phone goes dead in my ear. I’m so stupefied at her rudeness and bluntness, that it takes almost 20 seconds for me to come to my senses and pull the phone away from my

ear.

I hear someone’s phone chime in the background, and I feel a hand lightly pressing between my shoulder

blades.

“Everything OK, Beautiful?” Hunter asks, concern evident in his tone.

I slowly turn my head in his direction, ready to tell him I’m fine, but then Xavier lets out an irritated “fuck” and storms out of the room.

Cade is hot on his heels, likely to find out what happened and to calm him down. I go over to the fridge and pull a bottle of water out, unscrew it, and take a big gulp, all to give me a few seconds to wrangle my thoughts.

As I turn back to face the others, they all have various looks of concern in their eyes. AJ is seated on a barstool at the island and his right leg is bouncing up and down with anxiety. Join the club, buddy.

“My mom and Michael are on their way home. I need to make sure I’m here because we have things to discuss her words, not mine.”

A hush falls over the kitchen and I groan. Knowing my mom, she is about to screw with my life. Again.

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