Page 6 of Layla Meets Her Match

“Wait,” Mila says, pausing in her scraping out brownie batter into a pan. “Kipp Avery. Why does that sound familiar? What does he look like?”

Oh, thank heavens. At least I can give Mila the benefit of the doubt for changing the subject.

Astrid pulls her phone from her pocket. “He was a regular on LA Lights last season before they killed him off,” she murmurs, tapping around on her phone.

“Actor,” I say, as though the word tastes like the cookies a barbecue truck at one of our regular spot made to try and keep customers from heading over to Mila’s for dessert. Smoked. At least they were on brand.

Astrid glances at me, confused, before holding up her phone to show us a headshot of a guy with short dark hair and a pretty-boy face that will get him cast as the charming hero every single time.

Mila squints at the phone and looks back at me. “Didn’t you do an episode of LA Lights with him?” she asks.

“Yeah.” I’m a big fan of the crime procedural that’s set in LA. It’s very popular, and everyone in our apartment had auditioned for various roles at some point. I landed the part of a next-door neighbor who becomes an instrumental witness in bringing down the murderer. I had so much fun. Acting is a lot of tedious work, but I somehow thrive in it. I’ve always loved pretending.

Maybe that’s how I ended up believing That Guy Who Fathered My Daughter loved me.

Unfortunately, that’s not a career I can pursue with a daughter in tow. Not when I want to be there for her to make up for the fact that her father never will be. If my agent could just hand me roles and tell me to show up somewhere, I’d go back to acting in a heartbeat, but hustling after auditions all the time isn’t something I can do anymore.

“Wasn’t Kipp amazing?” Astrid says.

I shrug. “Sure.” I didn’t do a lot of scenes with him. My part had more interaction with the main detective of the series. I thought the writers might bring me back, because there was solid on-screen chemistry between me and the actor who played him, but I never got the call.

One of the students that’s been milling around the truck steps forward, and for a few minutes I’m taking orders.

When there’s a break again, I turn to Astrid. “You don’t want to get mixed up with an actor.”

She scrunches her nose. “Why not?”

I look up at Mila, waiting for her backup, but she busies herself with scrubbing out her mixing bowl. “They’re flaky.” I wish Margot was here for me to nod at as the prime example. “Listen, I can set you up with someone even better. Someone who won’t run off when the next big part comes along. I’m basically the reason Mila and Landon got together.”

Mila bursts into laughter. “Oh, really?”

“I had help from Eli and Court, of course, but I was the main one to push you two together.”

“The flu was the major instigator in getting us together,” Mila counters.

I wave her off. “If I hadn’t sacrificed and gone to my parents’ house for Christmas, Landon could have never spent all that time with you.”

She shakes her head but doesn’t contradict me.

“Trust me,” I say to Astrid. “Kipp Avery and any other actor is no good for you.”

Astrid nods slowly, her eyes wide. “Okay.”

I grin. This could be all the fun of dating (okay, vicariously) without any of the heartbreak.

CHAPTER 4

LINCOLN

Practice on Friday is long and hard. We have the Denver Devils on Sunday, and Coach doesn’t want us overlooking them just because they haven’t won a game yet this year. What I want to do when I get home is to lounge on my couch and binge-watch several episodes of a new crime show I found on Netflix, but Eli’s text changes my plans.

Eli: Guys night at my house.

Eli: Okay, it’s actually team babysitting because Court, Mila, and Layla are doing girls night and Landon and I are in charge of Margot. We’re calling in reinforcements.

Eli: It will still be fun. I promise.

I laugh and send a text saying I’ll be there. And not just because there’s a chance I’ll see Layla when she picks up Margot. If Landon doesn’t just take her home with him, that is. It’s still a chance. Even if it’s a small one. And like Eli said today, Layla needs to see me showing up and sticking around.

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