Page 117 of Beautiful Thing

“I’m plenty comfortable with my masculinity,” Nolan argues, marching back into the dressing room and slamming the door. “This just makes me look pale.”

I grunt out a short laugh, while the rest of the guys give Nolan shit for being such a drama queen. I may agree with him a little, but I think Layla will like seeing me in this tuxedo thing, so I don’t bother voicing my complaints out loud.

I wonder if I could convince Layla to let her groom wear jeans at the wedding. Nice jeans, of course. Not my stained denim work pants. But maybe a new pair with a tailored hem and—

Wait. What the…? What the hell is wrong with me? Being my bride is the furthest thing from Layla’s mind, unfortunately for me.

But I miss her, dammit. I haven’t seen her all day. She took the day off from the hardware store because Sky was up with a cold last night. When I called her at lunch time, her voice was hoarse and she seemed to be coming down with the same bug that made the little guy sick.

I immediately called Rainbow and asked if she could have some of her famous miracle cold remedies delivered to my place. Then I ordered chicken soup from one of the restaurants in town and had it delivered as well. Anything to make life easier for Layla. I know the last thing she’d want is to be stuck in bed for days on end.

If it weren’t for this damn tux fitting, I would have closed up early and gone home hours ago. Now I just need to get home to them to see if there’s anything I can do to make them feel better.

Geez. I’m so fucking pussy-whipped I can barely even see straight.

“Felix was right…” I mutter, not realizing that I spoke out loud until my brother perks up beside me.

“Of course I was right,” the asshole preens proudly. “Wait—what was I right about?”

I sigh loudly, staring at the mirror. “I want to be with Layla,” I admit.“Like, for real. Forever or whatever.”

A loud hush floats around the dressing area of the tux store. I catch my brothers all trading looks around me.

“So, why do you look like you just buried your dog?” Darius asks from where he’s seated in the corner, staring at pictures of Ziggy on his phone.

“Because…” I grunt, tugging at my collar again. “It doesn’t matter how I feel. It’s one-sided. She doesn’t love me back.”

I hear a scoff.

Then a chuckle.

Then all the guys break out into laughter.

“Are you serious?” Mason asks, shaking his head.

Nolan blinks at me. “You are fucking blind if you don’t see it.”

Felix elbows me in the ribs. Hard. “Of course she’s in love with you, you big donkey.”

That’s the moment Dad strolls into the back of the tux store, dusting snow off the shoulders of his jacket. “Who’s in love with who?”

“Layla,” Ronan supplies, all too eager to rat me out.

Dad waves a dismissive hand through the air. “Of course that girl’s in love with you, Archer. I can tell just by the way she looks at you.” He gets a weird, far-off look in his eyes. “Back in the early years, your mom used to stare at me the way Layla stares at you. I’d catch her staring at me all the time. But don’t tell her. She thinks she was sweet and subtle about it. But I knew what she wanted…” Dad waggles his brows, motioning at his crotch.

“Ah, gross.”

“I need to go shove pencils in my eardrums now.”

“Come on, Dad. We don’t need to hear that stuff.”

Our father lets out a loud belly laugh as the guys continue groaning and making gagging sounds.

I ignore them all with their bullshit. I get lost in my head and I’m honestly grateful for Dad’s distraction.I don’t want to have this conversation with them. I just want Layla.

I can’t help but think about everyone’s comments, even on my ride home from the tux shop. I just can’t wait to get back to Layla. To see if there’s really a spark in her eyes when she looks at me.

I’m down the hill from my house, when I spot cop cars up ahead. My brows pinch together at the sight of flashing blue and red lights on my street. As I draw closer, my suspicions are confirmed.

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