Page 45 of The Only Time

“Hey, you’re back,” Layla pops up enthusiastically. “We were just wondering when you would be back.”

“Oh, yeah? Here I am,” I say as I pop open the bottle.

“You feeling alright?” Mia’s voice echoes behind me etched with concern.

I don’t turn around to answer. Hoping that not looking directly at her will help even though all I want to do at the moment is bury my face into her chest and have her rub my head. It scares the shit out of me that that’s what would make me feel better in this moment.

“I’m fine. Just a headache. I’m gonna turn in early.”

I walk out of the room to Layla shouting at me to feel better. Just as I’m getting to the bottom of the stairs, I feel a warm hand grab mine.

“Hey,” Mia looks at me with concern. “Are you sure you’re okay? You were acting kind of weird all day today. Kind of seemed distant. Is it okay that Layla is spending the weekend?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. Actually, it probably works out for the best.”

Her head falls to the side. “What do you mean?”

“I just think we were heading into dangerous territory. Maybe with my sister here, it can be like a reset button. You can spend the nights with her, and we can go back to having a more platonic relationship.”

Her shoulders sink and she looks away from me, clearing her throat. “I see,” she says as her eyes meet mine again, now filled with moisture. “A platonic relationship. Got it. I hope you feel better, Eric.”

She backs away from me, giving me the space I wanted. But for some reason, I don’t feel relieved. The breath I thought would come easier with the distance is now becoming harder to take.

Chapter Seventeen

Mia

My head is pounding. I roll over in my bed where Layla and I both ended up passing out last night. I told her how I’m not sleeping too well on my own lately, so she agreed to spend the night with me.

Despite the pounding in my head, my brain brings me right back to the moment at the bottom of the stairs with Eric last night. It was like a punch to the gut. I didn’t see it coming. Here I thought we were finally letting go and enjoying each other’s company. We literally just had sex the night before and he already called it off not even twenty-four hours later.

What does that say about me? Is that all I’m worth to him—to all men?

Aside from my psychotic ex who wants to control me, all the men I’ve been with have found very little reason to stay with me. I want what my brothers have with their wives. I want someonewho will fight like hell to be with me. To stand up to the world and tell them that I’m the one they love.

But my brothers were morons at first. It always took some convincing on my part to make them see the light and chase after the women they love. Who’s going to be there to convince a man to do that for me?

More importantly, why would someone need convincing?

“Ugh, my throat is so dry,” Layla whines next to me.

At least I have her here to distract me from her idiot brother. Maybe I can ask her some questions about him. Find out more about why he’s so afraid of commitment.

“I think that’s a wine hangover,” I croak. “Did we drink any water with dinner last night?”

“Is there water in wine?” she asks.

I chuckle slightly. “Yes, I think there is.”

“Then yes, we drank water, but I need real water right now.”

We somehow manage to drag ourselves out of bed and downstairs. I catch a glimpse of Eric in his office but have no interest in saying anything to him. Maybe it’s the wine hangover, but I’m feeling pissed at the world right now.

“I think we should order breakfast,” Layla suggests in the kitchen as we both gulp down water like we’ve been lost in the desert. “We could have biscuits and gravy, pancakes, cheesy grits.”

“Mmm, I think I’d like some biscuits and gravy.”

“Biscuits and gravy it is.”

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