Page 36 of Beautiful Thing

Even now, my parents are constantly on the road, Mom following Dad around for all of his work obligations. Yet he always seems indifferent to her presence. Like her being around or not being around means nothing to him, either way.

I say Dad is emotionally unavailable, and Mom needs to grow a backbone. Like I had to.

Now and then, I have to remind myself that I turned out pretty okay for someone who basically had to raise myself from the time I was old enough to cook packaged mac and cheese on my own.

“Well, whatever the case, you need to fight for that man,” she dishes out her dreadful advice as usual, “because there will never be another man out there for you and Sky. He’s the father of your child. You need to hang onto what you have and quit overthinking every little thing. It’s petty, Layla.”

None of what I’m going through is easy, and my mom is only making things more difficult by stacking all the blame on my shoulders.

Yes, I was the one who ended things with Razor. Buthewas the shitty partner,hewas the shitty parent,hewas the shitty person. Now that I’ve mustered up the self-respect to leave him, it’s not fair that I’m the one who’s made to walk around with the shame.

I sigh, snatching a random dress off a hanger and closing the closet door with a little more force than necessary. “Mom, I know you’re one of those people who thinks a woman should stick with her man at all costs. But this is more than him just cheating on me. This is more than all his drunken nights. This is more than him never treating me like a human being. I left because my child’s life was put in danger due to Razor’s negligence. That’s not a price I’m willing to pay.”

Fine. I’m still living with the consequences of some of the younger Layla’s poor decisions—namely, choosing an imbecile to be the father of my child. But I’ll be damned if I allow Razor to ruin Sky’s life the way I allowed him to ruin mine.

I hear my mother start to argue from the other end, but I quickly speak over her. “I’ve got to go. Tell Dad ‘hello’.” Then I hang up the phone and struggle to pull myself together.

I drop down onto the bed, shutting my eyes and doing some deep breathing. I can hear Sky giggling in the living room with Archer, and I’m grateful to have a few minutes to myself. I don’t have much time before we head out, and I need to try to get rid of all the negative energy I’m holding inside my chest. It would be terrible to bring these bad vibes to dinner tonight.

Now that Felix and Daphne’s wedding is only a few weeks away, the older Brightons are finally back in town. Karli was kind enough to call and invite Sky and me to join tonight’s familydinner at the Brighton ranch. Initially, I turned down her offer, but I should have known she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Because moments later, Archer was standing in the doorway to my bedroom with Karli on his phone. He asked me why I wasn’t coming to dinner and I insisted that the family probably needed time to catch up after so many months apart. At that point, he simply announced that Sky and I are part of the family and that we need to be ready to leave the house by 5:30.

Then he strolled away. End of discussion.

Karli and her oldest brother are both equally bossy and annoying. It must be genetic.

But I can’t deny that they make me feel loved. And in this era of my life, I need all the love I can get.

So if Karli and Archer insist on making Sky and me a part of their family dinner, we’ll be there. I just need to make sure I don’t bring all my problems along with me.

I love the Brighton parents and grandparents. Ever since Karli and I were kids, they’ve always treated me like one of their own, and I’m looking forward to seeing them again after all this time.

But I have to admit that I’m a bit embarrassed for Dr. and Mrs. Brighton to see that Istilldon't have my shit together.In fact, I’m even more of a hot mess now than I was before they jetted off to Europe.

Before they left town, I was an unwed mother with a lousy boyfriend. Now, I’m notjusta single mom—I’m ahomelesssingle mom, living off the generosity of their last eligible son.

I can’t imagine what they’re going to think of me.Their opinions probably won’t be very positive and that makes me nervous. But since I’m not getting out of going to dinner, I’m going to have to fake some confidence tonight.

Pushing my jitters aside, I absentmindedly throw on my dress, run a brush through my hair and smack on a glob oflipgloss. I’m about to rush off but I pause and take a moment to slip on my favorite pair of earrings. That’s all the glam I have time for, especially since I don’t want to make Archer late.

Grabbing Sky’s diaper bag, I hustle toward the living room. A rush of tingles races through me at the sight that awaits me. I find Archer crouched down on the floor, focused on building a tower of plastic blocks with my son.

And—oh my god—how is it legal for one man to be so good-looking?

He’s wearing a black T-shirt and a pair of dark jeans, looking very much like a Calvin Klein model—lumberjack edition. His nearly-black waves look ridiculously sexy under the overhead lights and his beard is freshly groomed.

I can’t control the first thought that enters my brain as I look at him.Holy shit—I’d love to ride that beard.

I give my head a brisk shake.Stop it, Layla. He’s more than a hot, growly, yummy-smelling, tatted-up hunk of muscle that I’d love to grind on. He’s a person. A whole person. With feelings and everything. Objectifying the poor man is wrong.

I pull myself together and step into the living room. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” I say.

When Archer looks up and sees me coming, he wobbles and falls on his ass. “Whoa…” he says under his breath, blinking slowly at me.

“Wh-what?” I mutter, self-consciously smoothing a palm over my hair.

“Uh…nothing.” He quickly turns his attention away from me to focus on his tower of blocks.

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