An Unexpected Love (Women's Fiction/BWWM Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

I’m not in love with
him, and I haven’t been for a long time.” She put her hands behind her back. “I
don’t regret the divorce, if that’s what you’re asking.”
    He pointed to the wrinkled crayon drawing
with macaroni stuck to it, which hung on her wall.
    “That’s cute,” he said, walking to it.
    “That’s my daughter’s.” Layla stood beside
him. “Aliyah did this when she was in the third grade.”
    “It’s adorable.” He touched the blue-and-green
crayon scribbles. “‘I love you, Mommy,’” he read.
    “Every time I come to treatment, I bring
it with me and hang it up. I had this room once before, by the way.” She walked
to the window, pulled the blinds back, and opened the terrace door. “I used to
sit out here all the time.” She sniffed the scent of fresh flowers and grass.
“I usually just stay in my room when I’m at Wellington. I always thought it
would make the time go faster.”
    Cross smiled.
    “You know what’s funny?” She walked over
to him. “I don’t feel that way this time, and I don’t know why.” She put her
hands in her pockets. “I feel like this time is different. I feel powerful…like
the real Layla.”
    She sat on the bed with a heavy sigh.
    “And who is the real Layla?”
    He stood over her and touched a strand of
her hair. Layla hesitated, “Uh…”
    “I shouldn’t have done that.” He moved
away from the bed. “I apologize.”
    She stood. “Cross, I…”
    He held out his hands. “I don’t want you
thinking I’m some creep that goes around molesting all the beautiful women in
here.”
    She shivered. “Beautiful?”
    “I’m sure you know that you’re very beautiful.” He blushed. “You’re
schizophrenic, not blind.”
    She laughed. “Thank you. It’s been a long
time since I got a compliment.”
    He pointed toward the door. “You gonna
come outside?”
      “No.”
She grabbed her Kindle from the end table. “I’m gonna read a little bit. I love
to read.”
    She sat back on the bed and he seemed to
contemplate her statement.
    “Umm…okay. I’m gonna go outside. I can’t
stand being inside all the time. I’m an outdoors person.”
    She put her Kindle on her lap. “Is that
what you do for a living? Something outdoors?”
    He held his waist. “No, I’m a math teacher.”
    “A math teacher? Wow. I didn’t guess
that.”
    “Yeah, I teach at Johnston Middle School.
I live by Meyerland .”
    “Really? Small world. I stay in Bellaire… Braeswood .”
    “We live by each other, then.” A smile
took over his face. “It definitely is a small world. I heard you have an MBA
from Harvard Business School. I’m impressed.”
    “Thanks.”
    “Since you live on Braeswood ,
do your daughters go to Lamar High School or…”
    “Yep. Shanti is a straight-A student.”
Layla crossed her feet at the ankles. “I’m so proud of her. She has everything
planned out. She wants to go to Texas Southern University for her bachelor’s and
then be a teacher.” She pointed at Cross. “A math teacher, to be exact.”
    He leaned back. “Ah, I like Shanti
already.”
    “Yeah, she loves kids and helping people. So
what would be a better career than being a teacher?”
    “What about your older daughter?”
    Layla’s enthusiasm faded. “The road hasn’t
been as straight and narrow for Aliyah. While Shanti does everything right,
Aliyah does everything wrong…on purpose.”
    “That’s a teenager for you.”
    “She’s gonna be a senior next year. It’ll
probably be a miracle if she ever graduates…with her grades.”
    Cross held a compassionate expression. “I’m
sorry.”
    “She’s so smart and beautiful. She could
be anything. She used to get good grades and be just as good as Shanti. But
she’s changed all the way around. If it doesn’t have a penis attached to it,
then Aliyah ain’t interested.”
    “Really?”
    “I hate to say it.” Layla’s stomach filled
with butterflies. “My daughter is fast, and I’m so worried