Page 80 of Masked Sins
“Oh my God, your bird! I completely forgot.”
“Pretty girl,” Earl states, walking closer to the edge of his perch and, therefore, closer to Layla. “Earl missed pretty girl.”
Layla looks at me, and I shrug. “No idea who he’s referring to.”
“Master loves his pretty girl and wants to fill her tight, little f?—”
“That’s enough,” I say quickly, reaching out for him. “Let’s get you back into your aviary, old man.”
Just then, Sparrow comes around the corner, and Earl begins to growl. Because yes, apparently, I have a bird who growls.
A minute later, after putting Earl back in his aviary, I walk back into the kitchen to find Layla on her phone. “Everything okay?”
She nearly drops her phone, quickly placing it back in the pocket of her leggings. “Yeah, just texting someone.”
“I was going to go for a swim. Care to join me?”
Her eyes go wide. “Right. The pool.” She looks around and laughs. “Sorry, this is just so weird for me. You, me,us.Being cordial. Until the other night, I don’t think we’ve spoken this much in…”
“Seven years?” I offer, trying to school my face into something other than veiled pain. “But yeah, it’s weird for me, too.”
She shakes her head. “I’m just trying to wrap my mind around it, that’s all.”
“Go change. There are several guest rooms—pick one. We’ll cool off in the water, and maybe we can get reacquainted with each other.”
Her hazel eyes bloom a bit darker, but she nods once. It looks like she wants to say something, but she grabs her backpack and walks off instead. Once she’s out of sight, I lean over the island on my elbows and rest my head in my hands.
“Fuck,” I mutter.
My phone vibrates, and Kai’s name pops up on my caller ID before I press the answer button.
“What’s up?”
“Just wanted to check on you. How are things?”
“Uh,” I look over my shoulder in the direction Layla went. “Layla is here,” I tell him, my voice low in case she comes back.
“Oh? That’s a new development.”
“Yeah, Scott had a health scare this morning.”
“Oh fuck. Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. How many times do you have to self-flagellate when you swear?” I tease.
“Fuck off.”
I laugh. “You can come over if you want. We’re about to go swimming.”
“And subject myself to the thick, sexual tension? I think not.”
“How are you doing?” I ask, leaning against the counter.
“Fine.”
I wait a few seconds for him to elaborate, but he doesn’t. “Fine? How’s Julian? And his wife?”
I’m grinning as I say it, and I’m sure Kai can tell. “They’re fine.”
