Broken (36 page)

Olivia gave me the dirtiest look I thought she could muster. “Layton, it was good seeing you.” She looked around at everyone else and shook her head. “Have a good day, everyone.”

I watched as she walked toward her BMW. I rolled my eyes and turned back to look at everyone staring at me.

Kate walked up to me and pulled on my shirt. “So, you don’t have a baby growing in your tummy?”

I bent down and took her hands in mine. “No, sweetheart, at least not yet, but I hope to someday soon.”

I looked up at a smiling Layton. The butterflies in my stomach were going crazy. I almost fell back on my ass just from the smile on his face. I was going to have to talk to him about his reaction to all of this.

“So, are we still going out for my birthday tonight?” she asked me with the cutest smile.

“Of course, we are! This is your day.”

Jen walked up and took Kate’s hand. “Speaking of your day, birthday girl, come on. We have to go shopping for a new birthday dress for tonight.”

Kate jumped up and down and ran to give Reed a hug good-bye. Then, she hugged Layton, smiled at Mitch, and said good-bye to Courtney before running back to Jen.

After they left, I started laughing. “You’re going to have to keep a close eye on her, Layton. That girl likes to flirt.”

Everyone started laughing.

I looked at Courtney.

Her smile faded for a quick second before she took a deep breath and smiled. “So, Mitch and I are taking a drive toward Fredericksburg. He wants to take me to Enchanted Rock.”

“Oh, I want to go there!” I glanced back at Layton, who was looking at Reed.

“Reed, I didn’t think you would be here so early this morning,” Layton said with a wink.

Reed quickly looked at Courtney, who had walked up and put her arm around Mitch. The hurt on his face about gutted me.

“Well, Anna spent the night last night, and she had to be up early to get ready for work this morning. Since I was up, I thought I’d head on over.”

Oh, Reed, why would you say that?

I took a peek at Courtney. I could tell she was trying to hide her disappointment in finding out that Anna had spent the night with Reed.

Layton, Reed, and Mitch started talking about the cattle, so I took Court by the arm and led her into the house.

Once we were inside, I poured her a cup of coffee and handed it to her. I was just about to ask her about last night when she let out a laugh.

“I can’t believe she spent the night with him! What a total slut. I mean, they haven’t seen each other in how many years? And he has the nerve to call me names!”

Ah hell. She is totally not over her feelings for Reed.

“Court—”

The sound of the back door opening and Layton and Reed arguing stopped me from saying anything else.

“Reed, you don’t know what in the hell you’re talking about,” Layton said as he grabbed a coffee cup out of the cabinet.

“I disagree with you, Layton. I do know what I’m talking about. You’re making a mistake by not getting rid of it.”

Courtney rolled her eyes, and Reed saw her.

Reed walked up to Courtney and leaned down. “You have something to say there, Miss High and Mighty?”

Courtney sat up straight and smiled. “Yes. Yes, I do, King of all Assholes.”

“Let’s hear it.”

Courtney stood up and put her game face on.

“Uh, Court, how about you and I head on up to, um…the guest room?” I glanced at Layton, who was shaking his head. I shrugged my shoulders. “What? I’m not good at spur-of-the-moment things.”

Courtney walked up and started poking Reed in the chest. “You and your I-know-everything bullshit. You don’t know shit, Reed Moore. You run off at the mouth and then turn around and sleep with exactly what you were accusing me of.”

“Oh shit,” Layton and I both said at the same time.

“
What?
What in the fuck are you even talking about? I’m talking to Layton about some damn plants his cows are eating. What in the hell are you going off on?”

Then, it hit Reed what Court was talking about. He took a step back and looked at Courtney. “Are you fucking kidding me? Are you talking about Anna staying with me last night? Last I checked, Courtney, what I did was none of your business.”

Courtney laughed and shook her head a few times. “Why can you call me a whore, but then you turn around and fuck a girl you haven’t even seen since high school? Who’s the whore now?”

“I tried to apologize to you a million times, Courtney, but you never let me. I was drunk and also…”

Courtney’s head tilted, and her eyebrows went up. “You were also, what? Come on, Reed. You’re always so quick to run off at the damn mouth. What were you? You certainly weren’t having any trouble calling me names. So, what was it, Reed? Drunk and what?”

Reed just stared at Courtney. His fists balled up as he started to back away from her. “Nothing. I already said I was sorry for the things I said!” he shouted.

Courtney jumped from the sound of him yelling.

“And what in the hell do you care what I do with Anna or any other girl for that matter? You’re one to talk. You’re sleeping with Mitch, and you seem to be pretty damn happy with him, so I think you can just mind your own business. I’ll fuck whoever I want to fuck.”

Courtney’s eyes started to fill with tears as Reed turned and walked toward the back door.

He looked back at Courtney as he opened the door. “I was drunk and also jealous. It killed me, seeing you and Mitch together, and the only reason I fucked Anna was so I could forget about you. Are you happy now, Courtney?” Reed spun around, walked out the door, and slammed it shut behind him.

Layton walked out of the kitchen as I ran up to Courtney. She practically collapsed into my arms, crying.

“Court, why? Why are you with Mitch if you have feelings for Reed?” I asked as we both slowly sat down on the kitchen chairs.

Courtney was sobbing hysterically now. I got up and went into the half bathroom to grab some tissues as Courtney settled herself down.

“Court, talk to me.”

She looked up at me and tried to smile. “I can’t…a guy like Reed Moore will only end up hurting me. You heard what he just said.”

My mouth dropped open. “What? Why in the world do you say that?”

“Because it’s true, Whit. He’s all talk, and he’s such an asshole. He’s rude, he’s a know-it-all, and he always argues with me.”

I shook my head. “Okay, first off, I’ve never seen Reed be rude to anyone…well, anyone besides you. I think the two of you bring out the worst in each other because you’re both fighting this attraction that you clearly have for one another. Neither one of y’all have ever been in a serious long-term relationship. Do you think that scares you maybe?”

“No! I want to be with someone, Whitley. I want what I’ve read about in all those damn books.”

“That’s the problem, honey. You’re comparing Reed to all your book boyfriends. You never even gave him a chance. What makes Mitch different from Reed?”

Courtney smiled. “Mitch is…just Mitch.”

“Um…that’s not really an answer.”

“He’s safe, and he’s polite. He always tells me how much he cares about me and how beautiful I am. He makes me feel special.”

“Reed’s not safe?”

“Fuck no, Reed’s not safe. I mean, come on, Whitley, you heard what he just said. He slept with Anna to forget me? Who does that? Asshole men who don’t care if they hurt you or not.”

“I don’t think he’s like that, Court. I mean, he just admitted he has feelings for you.”

Courtney laughed. “He also admitted to sleeping with Anna to forget about me. If I’m that easy to forget, what does that tell you about him?” She stood and tried to dry her eyes. “It doesn’t matter anyway. He just tries to make me upset every time he sees me. He is always saying something to make me mad.”

I thought about last night at the game when Courtney had come back upset. “What did he say last night when y’all were both getting drinks?”

Courtney stopped and looked at me. “What?”

“Last night at the football game, when you came back, you were clearly hurt, and Reed was following you. He seemed to be upset also. What did y’all say to each other?”

Courtney just stood there, staring at me.

“Court? Hello? What in the hell is wrong with you?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. It doesn’t matter. It was a mistake.”

I looked at her with the same look my mother used to give me when she had pumped me for information. “Courtney…”

“Um…well, he, um…he pulled me to the side and told me I looked really good. When I told him to let me go, he, um…he—”

“For Christ’s sake, Courtney, spit it the hell out!”

She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “He asked me if I was sure.”

“Sure about what?”

“Mitch. He asked me if I was sure of my feelings for Mitch. He was standing so close to me, and all I could smell was his cologne. And his eyes—they were looking right into mine. My head was spinning, and I was so confused as to why he was asking me that.”

“What did you say?”

Her eyes filled with tears. “I told him yes, that I’d never been so sure of something in my entire life.”

“Oh, Courtney. Don’t you see what he was doing? He wouldn’t have been with Anna last night if you had just told him the truth. Courtney, you have to be honest with your feelings—not only for Reed but also think about Mitch.”

Courtney’s head snapped up as she looked me in the eyes. “I care about Mitch—a lot.”

“Do you love him?”

Her eyes started to tear up again. “I think I’m falling in love with him. Yes.”

“Do you love Reed?”

She shook her head and looked away from me.

“Court, do you love Reed also?”

She looked up at me as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Yes,” she whispered.

“Courtney…oh no.” I sat there in the kitchen, holding my best friend in my arms, as she cried hysterically.

“Court, you have to listen to your heart, not your head. Who does your heart tell you to follow?”

Courtney stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. She took a calming deep breath and smiled. “Thank you, Whitley, for letting me get all that off my chest. I need to go find Mitch. I’m sure he’s ready to head out. Have fun today with Layton and tonight with Jen and Kate. Give her a big birthday kiss from me.” She smiled as she gave me a hug, and then she turned to leave.

“Court?”

She stopped and glanced back at me. “Yeah?”

“Please follow your heart, babe.”

She gave me a weak smile and walked out the door.

I sat there for a few minutes before I felt Layton’s hands on my shoulders. The moment he touched me, I felt a sense of peace.

I stood and turned to him. “Will you make love to me?”

He smiled as he reached down and picked me up. The whole way to his bedroom, he just kept telling me how much he loved me.

As he laid me down on the bed, I smiled at him. “I still have the vibrator in my overnight bag, you know.”

The smile that spread across his face caused me to instantly blush.

“Ah, hell yeah, let’s make up for last night!”

I laughed as I watched him practically rip off his clothes. My heart was filled with so much love for him.

I thought of Courtney and said a quick prayer that she would follow her heart and not her head.

Layton started to take off my jeans oh-so slowly.

Oh God…the feel of his hands on me is pure heaven.

“I’m going to make the sweetest, most passionate love to you, Whitley.”

Oh my, I can’t breathe.

“Yes,” was all I could manage to get out of my mouth as I felt his lips all over my body.

I grabbed the sheets with my hands as I felt his hot breath against my clit. It didn’t take long before I was screaming out his name with one of the most intense orgasms ever.

God, the way he makes me feel when he does that…

As I slowly came back down, I had the feeling we were being watched. It quickly disappeared when I felt Layton slowly enter my body.

I closed my eyes and got lost in Layton’s lovemaking.

“I love you, Whitley. I want to be with you forever.”

I felt a tear roll down my face as I pulled him closer to me. I needed to feel him closer…deeper inside me.

“I’ll love you always, Layton.”

As Whitley and I lay in bed, I had the strangest feeling we were being watched.

Fuck, I really need to get that alarm system fixed.
I’m all paranoid now.

“Baby, are you and Courtney using the alarm system I had put in at your house?”

“Mmm…”

I smiled as I felt her warm body up against mine.

“Was that a yes?”

“Mmhmm.”

I let out a small laugh. I had been thinking all night about how I was going to ask her to marry me, and I finally figured it out.

Whitley might be from New York, but she is a simple country girl at heart.

I needed to keep it simple. My heart started pounding. Four more days, and I was going to ask her to be my wife.

“Layton?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Can I ask you something?” Whitley rolled over to look at me.

“Always.”

“Earlier today, when everyone started freaking out because they thought I was pregnant, you seemed…well, you almost seemed like you were disappointed when I said I wasn’t. I mean, I might have been reading it all wrong, and that’s okay if I was. It’s just that it kind of confused me, and I—”