Page 40 of What She Deserves
He kissed the back of her head, and she played with the curly hairs sprinkled on his forearm.
“When do you want to go up to Lion Mountain Vineyards?” Layla asked.
“Next weekend work for you?”
“I’ll have to check with Ethan, but it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Rashad grunted.
Layla threaded her fingers through his and then tilted her head sideways to look at him. That gave her a good view of the stubborn set to his jaw. “You know there’s nothing going on between me and Ethan, right?”
“Maybe not, but I believe he wants you. He pays for your loft, Layla, and you didn’t have that Cadillac SUV when we were dating, so I already know he bought that for you.”
“He owns the building and lets me stay in the loft for free, so I basically consider that part of my salary. As for the Cadillac, he leased it for me because I have to run errands for him all the time, and he wants me to have a dependable vehicle.”
“He treats everybody like that?” Rashad asked, with a skeptical lift of his right eyebrow.
“Not everybody, but the people he depends on the most. Do you know what he did for his executive assistant, Daria? She’s a single mom, and he covered her son’s college tuition for all four years. Daria was crying in the office, she was so grateful.”
“All right, the man’s a freaking saint,” Rashad grumbled.
“Not a saint, but generous.” Layla resettled against his chest, pulling his arms tighter around her waist. “I’m really looking forward to this weekend trip. Memorial Day weekend in Myrtle Beach was fun, remember?”
“Yeah, that was nice.” Rashad chuckled. “Except for when the guy in the condo next door was hooking up with a woman who wasnothis wife.”
“Oh my goodness, that’s right!” Layla said.
The day before, she and Rashad had run into a couple and their two children in the hall and learned they were staying next door. They chatted for a bit before entering their individual units. The next day, after returning from the beach, she and Rashad went out onto the balcony overlooking the water, and minutes later heard what could only be described as sex noises—gasps of pleasure and feminine cries—coming from next door because the neighbor’s sliding glass door was open. The problem was, she and Rashad had left the wife and kids down on the beach, which meant the husband was having sex with someone else.
“What a slime bag. Who has their mistress meet them in the same place they’re having a family vacation? I wanted to tell his wife so bad. Why did you talk me out of it?”
“Because it was none of our business, and that guy looked like the type to carry a concealed weapon. I wasn’t trying to get shot for snitching.”
Layla burst out laughing, and they argued some more about whether they should have gotten involved. The conversation segued into other vacation spots they wanted to visit, including taking a long cruise to Alaska, which they both longed to do.
They talked for hours, until right before midnight. As raindrops continued to pelt the window, Layla turned on her side and Rashad wrapped his arms around her and shoved a thigh between her legs. Almost immediately, his even breathing signaled he’d fallen asleep, and for her part, sleep burned her eyes. Tonight’s date was a fresh start, and she welcomed the new openness between them, as well as reminiscing about the past, something she used to find difficult to do because of the all the hurt from his rejection.
Layla shifted under the covers. Rashad muttered something in his sleep, and his arms tugged her closer, holding her unusually tight.
That’s how she fell asleep—snuggled in his arms, listening to the pitter patter of raindrops against the window.
