Page 138 of Forgotten Desires

Layla is at Grady’s house because the three kids wanted to have a playdate and she loves her new cousins. Ithoughtmy wife would take this time to rest, but I should’ve known that wouldn’t happen.

I head back to our room, get my shoes on, and we head toward the barn. She wraps her arm around my back, and I drape mine over her shoulder. We walk in silence, and I take in the peace of being out here.

Brynn looks up at me, a soft smile on her face. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

“I know you weren’t comfortable coming out here, but I needed it.”

I kiss the top of her head. “I think Layla and I did too.”

“She seems happy.”

She is. Her life has been upended in the last month and Brynlee and I have worked hard to give her a sense of stability while nothing has felt stable.

“I wish everything didn’t collapse at once,” I say, pulling her a little closer.

“I wish nothing collapsed, but I feel like things worked out in the end.”

“Especially for me.”

Brynn laughs. “How so?”

“I have permanent custody of Layla. I have an amazing wife who loves me beyond reason.”

“Beyond reason?” She cuts me off.

“Absolutely. I’m a catch, Bee. I don’t know if you knew this, but I was once named one of New York’s most eligible bachelors. You really should be impressed with that.”

Her brown eyes find mine. “Oh. So. Impressed. I mean, you are like, top tier, baby.”

I grin. “I’m glad you agree.”

“Well, since you have all the things you want in the world and it seems to all be going your way, what has you so quiet lately?”

When a crisis happens, I tend to shut the world out. I focus on that single thing because it’s what needs all my energy. That’s what I did when Brynn collapsed, and the article was coming out. All the other things sort of fell by the wayside while I worked through what I deemed most important.

Now, that crisis has passed, and all the other things are back to the forefront.

As angry as I am at Ford, a part of me is really fucking hurt. He was my best friend. At least I thought he was.

We haven’t spoken since that day, and I don’t have anything to say, but for years, he’s been my right-hand man.

That’s gone.

I promoted another person to that position, but it’s not the same.

“I think it’s the last few months just coming to a head. I went to call Ford a couple of days ago and then stopped myself. Layla asked about her mom too. We need to figure out how the hell to deal with that.”

Brynn stops walking and faces me. “Can I offer my opinion?”

“Of course,” I say quickly. “When the hell have I ever made you think I don’t want your thoughts?”

“Never, but Layla is your daughter and I never want to overstep.”

I cup her cheeks. “You are my wife, Bee. You aren’t overstepping when we’re raising her together.”

There’s caution in her eyes, but a smile on her lips. “You know that Layla and I share a lot of similarities. I was much older than her though, so I can only hope that Jacqueline gets sober and stays that way and Layla won’t remember this part. I want to believe that somewhere deep, she wants what’s best for her daughter. I kind of think Howie did, and that’s why he signed over custody to Asher when my mom died. I know your marriage and how Layla came to be aren’t happy memories, but Jacqueline’s her mom. No matter what void I fill, she’ll have that hole.”

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