Page 79 of Totally Off Limits

This was harder than she would have thought—but she had to keep going. “One night in college—”

“Holy shit. He’s Mia’s dad, isn’t he?”

Well…now there would be no denying it.

Grabbing a tiny cup of creamer, she peeled off the lid and poured it in her mug. “Yeah. So now you’ve got some dirt on me to hold over my head.”

Pausing with his cup in midair, he said, “Really? You think I’d sic the parents on you? You went through enough shit with them being an unwed mother. And I’ve been on that end of the stick.”

“Sure, recently. But you’re the golden boy, Layne.”

Shaking his head, he even rolled his eyes as he set the mug down. “You really think that?”

“Seems like it from here.”

“I think you’re confusing me for three young ladies with oddly Christian names.”

Sierra had just taken a sip of her coffee and nearly spat it out. “I’m really sorry, Layne. For some reason, I’d always thought I was the only bug under their microscope.”

“I’d say that makes you a little self-absorbed, but that’s not quite right.”

Sighing, she said, “No, it just emphasizes that I have a bit of a martyr complex, I guess. I always felt like I alone got their full wrath and scrutiny.”

“Nope. And it just got a million times worse after you moved out. Sure, mom picked at you every chance you came around, but I was a better target, because I was around more.” Lifting his cup again, he added, “At least you have Mia to buffer all that shit.”

“Doesn’t Jasper take the edge off?”

“Are you kidding? She just bitches aboutdog hair all over the place.” When he said it just like Rebecca would have, his lips pursed, eyebrows arched, Sierra lost it, laughing until tears streamed down her face. When she stopped, Layne said, “It wasn’tthatfunny.”

Maybe not…but it had been exactly what Sierra needed. “You should have seen yourself.”

“I know what mom looks like when she’s nagging.”

“Chili fries,” the waitress said, appearing suddenly and sliding the plate in front of Layne. “Can I get you anything else?”

“Nope. Looks amazing.”

When the waitress looked at Sierra, she shook her head. She didnotwant a gooey, sloppy, greasy stinking mess like the sham on Layne’s plate. In that regard, she and her mother could agree.

That wasnotfood.

As the waitress walked away, Sierra said, “I don’t know that I can stomach watching you eat it.”

“You’re judging it without even trying.”

“I don’t need to. Half of food’s appeal is the way it looks…and if it looks likeImade it, you have a problem.”

Layne smiled at her joke before lifting a forkful of fries to his mouth. Globs of chili and cheese dripped back onto the plate, and Sierra tried not to think about how gross it looked. While he chewed his food, she said, “So when did it change?”

“What?”

“You were the wonder boy, the kid who could do no wrong. When you graduated high school having earned an associate’s degree at the same time, I knew I’d never have a chance again, the way mom and dad were falling all over themselves. They couldn’t stop talking about how brilliant you were—and maybe they never said it to you, but more than once, I had to hear how you were going to have your Ph.D. before you turned twenty-five.” While he shook his head, eating a few more fries, she said, “They didn’t care that I’d graduated with honors and was a year away from getting my RN.”

“Are you kidding? They were constantly egging me on, telling me I could graduate with you if I played my cards right. Telling me you were excelling and I had a long way to go if I was going to catch up.”

“You could have fooled me. When I got pregnant with Mia, I think they would have sent me to a nunnery if they could’ve.”

Layne laughed. “That’s okay. It seems like we take turns being under fire.” Spearing more fries with his fork, he said, “It was my turn to take the pressure away from you again.”

---