Page 26 of The Playboy's Playbook

“Nah, it’s Lunch with Dad at the boys’ school today and I volunteered to be a stand-in dad, so I’m about to head out now so I freshen up and be there on time. Can you make sure things are closed up here when you get back?”

“Sure thing.” I walk to my truck and drive to Emeline’s Sandwiches. At this point, they should name a sandwich after me for how much I stop by.

While driving, my mind goes back to Laila and that’s when I get an idea, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the perspective and outcome. From my perspective, it’s a good idea because I’m hoping the outcome is positive. I have no idea how she’ll feel about it.

I take out my phone and set it up on the phone holder that’s attached to my dash and keep driving until I see the familiar, small brick building coming into my view. Once I park in the shop’s parking lot, I click on the tiny camera that’s next to Laila’s name. The phone rings for a minute, then two minutes. Just when I’m about to hang up, the call connects and Laila’s face fills the screen.

“To what do I owe this phone call, Matthew?” Her eyes shine with wonder.

She’s sitting outside on a swing and has her hair pulled up into a high bun. She doesn’t have makeup on, so I can see her tiny freckles through the screen. Her skin is glowing and she looks so radiant.

“I was on my lunch break and wanted to talk to you. I know we haven’t really talked about calling each other, but I…” I trail off, not wanting to tell her that I’ve missed her and needed to hear her voice.

I think she knows what I want to say because she smiles softly at me before shifting and setting the camera down in front of her.

“Where are you going for lunch?” she asks, resting her head in her hand.

“There’s this sandwich shop in Meadowbrook near the university. It’s called –”

“Emeline’s Sandwiches,” we say at the same time and smile at each other.

Laila nods her head. “I stopped there when my flight landed.” She lifts a notebook onto her lap and pops her reading glasses on her face.

“More schoolwork?”

“Why I decided to torture myself by going back to school, I’ll never know. But, I’ll be done by the end of next year, so it’s not too bad,” she says, looking over at what I’m assuming is her laptop.

“You’ve always been so smart,” I say softly, my eyes trailing her face. She puts her pink pen between her lips as she leans over and begins typing on her laptop. She then starts writing in her notebook, banging the pen against the table.

“Stupid pen!” she shouts.

“What’d the pen do?” I question, laughing at her as she tosses the pen aside in frustration.

“It’s my favorite pink gel pen and it’s almost out of ink. I refuse to buy another one until I use every last drop.”

“Well, if I see another pack of pink, fluffy gel pens, I’ll buy them for you.”

She looks at me and a kind smile breaks across her face. She’s so breathtaking, it’s a miracle I’m still able to sit and watch her.

God, I wish I wasn’t in Meadowbrook right now.

“I don’t think Luke would appreciate you leaving work early, Matthew,” Laila chuckles. I close my eyes and face plant onto the steering wheel.

“I didn’t mean to say that out loud,” I groan, earning another soft chuckle from Laila.

“It’s okay. Nola! Do not dig in that hole! Ugh, hold on.” Laila throws her notebook down and jumps from the seat to run over and stop Nola from whatever trouble she’s about to find herself in. A few seconds later, Laila sits back down while she’s holding Nola in air jail, much to the puppy’s dismay.

“Where’d I put your leash?” Laila asks out loud, speaking more to herself than to me. She finds the leash and then attaches it to Nola’s pink collar before setting her down on the swing cushion. “Now you have to sit in time out because you didn’t listen,” Laila scolds.

I swear Nola pouts as she lays her head down on the pillow she’s sitting on.

“She’s like your child,” I chuckle.

“She’s a handful, I’ll tell you that much. Nola, look at Matthew.”

Nola perks her head up and studies me through the screen before deciding she’s not interested in me. She lays her head back down and closes her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

“She’s such a drama queen.” Laila rolls her eyes as she pets Nola softly on her tiny head.

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