Page 2 of Layla Meets Her Match

I flip through the email and note down the time. “Friday at 10 a.m. Is that going to be a problem? That’s right in the middle of the brunch rush.” I cringe. I hate it when I leave Mila in a tight spot. She pays me way more than any other food truck owner would pay their employees. The truck is doing well, but I know she’s sacrificing for me.

“Any time of day is a rush,” Landon says with a grin.

Mila shrugs. She can’t deny it. Wherever she’s parked these days, we’re serving the tastiest treats LA has to offer at a steady pace.

“I don’t have class during that time. Have you already posted where you’re going to be on Friday? If you park down by campus, I can come help,” Landon offers.

Mila claps her hands. “Perfect. I love working with you.”

He shakes his head and laughs. “Because all the orders I mess up make for an exciting day?”

She throws her arms around his neck. “Stop it.” She kisses him, and I turn my attention back to the game.

I will not be jealous.

There’s no point. A handsome, caring guy who’ll bend over backwards for me the way Landon does for Mila (and for me, if we’re being honest) is not going to just fall into my lap. That would be nice, but it’s unrealistic. I don’t have time for a relationship. And on the off chance that Mr. Amazing did happen upon me, how would I know he wasn’t Jack 2.0? I scowl at the thought of his name, which I try not to ever think. But the fact is, he was charming and smooth and I thought we had forever together. I don’t want to fall for a lie again. It hurts.

I turn my attention to the game. The Rays have the ball, and a player is lined up next to Eli. Number 48. I can tell who Eli is on the field without looking at his number, but not anyone else. Number 48 is Lincoln Knight. We see him all the time at the food truck, so he’s getting easier to pick out when I watch games, but this is only the second one of the season, so I’m out of practice.

Eli tosses the ball toward him, and Lincoln darts through some guys, doing a cool sidestepping move that makes one of the defenders just miss him. He gets a bunch of yards.

“Yeah, first down!” Landon says, grinning at the screen. My cousin wasn’t always into football, but he’s best friends with a quarterback now, so of course he’s studied up and become pretty much an expert. I’m trying to understand, but it’s going to take a lot more watching to figure out this game.

“Go, Lincoln!” I add in my quiet cheering voice.

Landon heads out on the deck to get the burgers started, and Mila comes into the living room, standing next to me. “Can I hold Margie?” she says with an exaggerated pleading face.

“Not if you keep calling her that.”

Mila just smirks at me and holds out her arms.

“You’re going to spoil her,” I murmur. That’s exactly what I was doing. I carefully transfer Margot anyway. How bad can it be for a baby to be so loved that she doesn’t sleep in her small crib if someone is awake to hold her?

I hop out of the rocker and move to the couch so Mila can take my spot there. Landon comes in from the deck while the burgers are grilling and sits on the couch next to me to watch. The Rays make another first down, according to him, and then the other team calls a timeout. The broadcast goes to commercial, and the first is a teaser for the new Phantom Hex movie.

Ugh. I pick up my phone right away. I know this footage has to be from when they filmed the last movie, because the new one is still in preproduction. They haven’t even cast everyone yet. Thankfully, it only includes shots of Phantom Hex in his superhero costume and none of the man who plays him. Still, if I’m going to have to deal with this through the whole game, I’m not sure I want to watch.

I shift and stand up. “I’m going to go work for a while since you have Margot,” I say to Mila. She glances up at the TV and grimaces, nodding in understanding. I wave her off. Those video ads are not going to make themselves. I need to put a roof over my daughter’s head, so to speak, and sharing rent with Landon is (hopefully) coming to an end.

“I’ll bring your burger in when it’s done,” Landon says, muting the TV, even though the Phantom Hex commercial is over.

“Thanks.” I stop next to Mila before I leave the living room, leaning over to give Margot a light kiss and run my fingers gently over her silky hair. Then I head down the hall to my room. I pull out the thick foam sheets I found for cheap on a local Facebook group—the ones that Landon thinks I got to muffle the sounds of the city for Margot to sleep. We’ve also hung thick blankets around the walls as well. It makes for decent soundproofing on the cheap. And it works well for my videos and for helping my daughter get good sleep in with a bustling apartment building around her.

I settle in at my laptop and set up my phone on the stand, hooking up the ring light on the desk and flipping it on. I pull up my list of orders and get to work. If I’m lucky, I can knock out six or seven before Mila brings Margot in to go to bed.

I’m going to miss the convenience of Landon and Mila being right here, but it’s time for a fresh start. I shoot up a little prayer that I’ll get the apartment and then get to work.

CHAPTER 2

LINCOLN

I look down at my watch, then up at the ten or so people in front of me at Mila’s Sweet Kisses food truck. I was running late this morning already, and I should have skipped my usual stop at the food truck, but I can’t help myself. Today would be the day that things are moving slow.

I scan the line in front of me again and then the line snaking behind me. There’re no more customers than usual, but each order is taking a little bit longer.

I lean around the woman standing in front of me and pushing a stroller. The woman taking orders at the counter is blond, so she might be new. My heart sinks. Is Layla not working today? I consider skipping out and just heading to the facility. I even have one foot out of line, ready to jog back to my Bronco, and I stop. Maybe Mila hired a second employee and Layla is here.

It’s pathetic, but I can’t take the chance.

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