Page 16 of Rejected Heart

I looked up at my mom and saw her contemplating her answer. “Oh, I’ve never had to do this, so I hadn’t even considered it. I don’t want to ruin the fun. I really want Layla to have a good time tonight. Is 10:30 okay?”

Malcolm nodded. “That’s perfectly fine. We’ll have her home by then. Liam will keep track of the time.”

My mom placed her hands on my shoulders. “Would you like me to put those flowers in some water for you.”

I handed them to her. “Yes, please.”

“Have a wonderful time tonight.”

“I will, Mom. See you later.”

Liam took me by the hand and led me toward his parents’ car. Him holding my hand was already enough to have me jittery, but then he opened my door for me, the same as his dad did for his mom, and I was a mess.

The drive to the hotel wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as I suspected it might be, with this being my first meeting of Liam’s parents. They’d asked a few questions about my school break and if I was excited about the upcoming Christmas holiday, but they didn’t keep the focus solely on me. Liam shared some specifics about Christmas with his family and how his mom had this Christmas tradition of buying at least one new nutcracker decoration to add to her collection every year. Apparently, his dad hated nutcrackers, and it had been a running joke in their lives since their first Christmas together.

The shift in the conversation helped to ease a lot of the nerves I’d been feeling, and before I knew it, we’d arrived at the hotel. Once we were there, both Malcom and Liam had done the chivalrous thing and opened the doors for Evelyn and me.

We’d made it to just outside the front door of the hotel when Liam’s parents turned toward us with bright smiles on their faces, and Evelyn said, “Have a great time tonight, kids.”

I smiled back at her as Malcolm pinned his focus on Liam. “Keep track of the time, and find me when it’s time to head out.”

“I will, Dad.”

With one final look at each other, the four of us stepped through the entrance and into The Westwood Hotel. Malcolm and Evelyn didn’t stop there. Their feet carried them forward to what I assumed had to be the ballroom where the party was being hosted.

Liam had been making the effort to follow them, but he only got two or three steps ahead of me before he realized I wasn’t moving.

I couldn’t.

My eyes were roaming over the space, scanning every surface, as I took in the sheer opulence of the place. It was beautiful, of course. I hadn’t ever seen something so grand. But if standing inside the front entrance to the hotel taught me anything, it was that Liam and I lived very different lives.

His family owned this hotel, which was just one small part of the entire Westwood’s campus. My mom and I couldn’t ever dream of staying in a single room here. What would I find as we journeyed deeper into the place?

If this was just the hotel the family owned, what did their home look like?

I’d never given much thought to where I lived. My mom worked her tail off to provide the very best she could for us. And I had everything I needed—maybe more, if I counted this dress—so there was nothing for me to feel bad about.

But standing in this place, I cringed to think what Liam and his parents must have thought when they stood at the front door to my house.

They had to have had thoughts. Nobody alive would be able to miss the very stark difference between the wealth of our two families.

“Is everything okay?”

Liam’s concerned voice broke through the unwelcomethoughts I’d been having. I saw the hint of worry in his expression, felt terrible for getting so distracted, and offered a genuine smile in return. “Yes, everything is great. I just… This place is beautiful.”

He looked around and shrugged. “I guess. It’s nothing like what you’ll find in the ballroom, though. I haven’t seen how they decorated tonight, but it’s always incredible. Ivy played a big role in it this year.”

“Ivy?”

“My older sister. She’s a senior this year, and she’s planning to attend college after she graduates, but the hotel is where she intends to be. Just like I’ve spent my summers working in the park, Ivy has spent her time in the hotel.”

“I assume your sister will be here tonight.”

“Both of them will be. My whole family doesn’t miss this.”

“Your whole family? How many of you are there?”

Laughter spilled out of him. “I guess that depends on what you want to know. There’s my immediate family, which includes my parents and my five brothers and sisters. I’ve got three older brothers, one older sister, and one younger sister. But there’s also my grandparents, my aunt, her husband, and their five kids, too.”

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