Chapter 13

My apartment is unpacked by about ten a.m. on Friday morning. I squeeze in as many videos as I can while Margot naps, and then I grab a handful throughout the day when she's playing. By late afternoon though, I pack Margot into her stroller, and we head for Landon's.

I'm still a little giddy over going out last night. I've forgotten how much social interaction like that fills my battery. I've been hanging out mostly with Landon and Mila and then sometimes Court and Eli since I found out I was pregnant with Margot. Dressing up and going out on the town, so to speak, was what I needed to put a skip in my step. And then waking up to all the speculating pictures that tagged me and labeled me as "Actress Layla Delaford" has me on a high I can't explain. Lincoln is worried about it, but I keep grinning over every single one that pops up (most of them variations of us walking into the restaurant and when he put his arm around the back of my chair when dessert arrived, but some are of all of us laughing and talking over dinner). I've saved a bunch to my phone because they remind me that it was fun and that I am Actress Layla Delaford.

I mean, I was. And last night I was again, and it was fun to relive the memories.

Also, there are actual TikToks of me and Lincoln. Dozens of them. Videos from my stint on LA Lights mashed up with videos of him playing football or off the field and then the pictures from last night added in. If TikTok is to be believed, we'll be announcing our wedding any day now. I laugh to myself, and Margot copies me, making me laugh harder.

Just as I reach Landon's building, my phone dings with a text, and surprisingly, it's my agent.

Zora: I'm getting requests to comment on your relationship with Lincoln Knight. What do you want me to say?

I laugh out loud, and once again, Margot echoes me. I haven't spoken to Zora in months. She pushed to keep me acting, even when I found out I was pregnant with Margot. She kept telling me I was on the brink. She wanted to use my relationship with The Super-Not-Hero to catapult my name into directors' heads. I was a great actress, she kept insisting. We were right there. We just needed to get my name out there, and this was an opportunity. She respected me when I told her no way, and then pretty soon she had to focus on other clients. I don't blame her. I wasn't making her money, and by my own admission I didn't plan to anytime soon.

Layla: Do we have to say anything? We're just friends, but the speculation is kind of fun.

Zora: You know I'm happy to let people talk about you all they want.

Zora: The network is developing an LA Lights spinoff. Should I let them know you're interested?

I catch my breath and stare at the message. Back when I did those episodes, I kept hoping the writers would keep me in. People were so invested in my character's relationship with Detective Leclair, I thought for sure that would sway the executives. I don't want to have to manage my expectations again for something I can't even do.

I stew for several minutes. I type no about twelve times and then delete it. I don't want to cut off this opportunity, but it doesn't matter, right? I'm not going to get it, and there's Margot to think about.

But a little voice says that I'm not spending hours in auditions for this. I might have to meet with the director or something, do a screen test, but I won't be sitting around all day for general auditions like I did when I first got the part. It would almost be like a normal job.

Am I justifying? Probably.

Layla:I'm not acting right now.

That's not exactly a no. It's not a yes. It's what I can live with. Zora sends a thumbs-up, and I take Margot up the elevator to Landon's floor.

Mila's there, of course, when I get there, and even though she just saw Margot the night before, she still scoops her right up when we walk in the door.

"Have you heard from Dillon yet?" I ask, looking over to the kitchen where Landon is getting dinner ready. Something with chicken, by the looks of it. He's already pulling another chicken breast from the package, and I have to grin at him including me automatically in their dinner plans.

Until Mila catches my eye with a glare. "There was arsenic on the cookies."

My mouth drops open. "What? Arsenic?"

Mila nods. "Yeah, sprinkles of it on top of the frosting. It looked like little, clear sugar sprinkles."

I look between her and Landon a few times. "That … someone put that there on purpose. Why would someone do that?"

"It sounds preposterous," Mila says, shaking her head in confusion. "Maybe it was a prank to make the bakery truck look bad. Arsenic doesn't just accidentally get on frosting. But Dillon also said it was a very small amount. Only enough to make someone kind of sick." She shrugs, and the way she's bouncing up and down with Margot is getting a little too … well, bouncy.

I hurry toward her and wrap my arms around her and Margot. "Someone must have snuck in when we were setting up that morning." I keep a hand on her arm when I pull away, chewing on my lip as I try to remember if I saw anyone skulking around after we parked.

"But who?" Mila asks. "Have there been any threatening messages you haven't told me about? Trying to save me from knowing or something?"

I shake my head. "Absolutely not. I would tell you, especially if I thought it would lead to this, but everyone loves your bakery truck, Mila. They rave about it all the time." I squeeze her arm. "We'll figure this out, okay? Don't worry. It's someone who's jealous of your success. It probably seems like you just got lucky or something."

"Yeah," she says quietly, and her bouncing calms. "Well, we're going to open back up tomorrow. And Eli is hiring a bodyguard for the truck." She rolls her eyes. "I shouldn't have told him. He wouldn't take no for an answer."

"It's not a bad idea," I say, and she snuggles Margot up against her cheeks. Really, that's the best way to calm anyone. "Everything's going to be fine," I reassure her again.

She takes a long breath and closes her eyes. "I know. I just … it's just so crazy to think that someone would want to do this to me."

Landon and I both nod in the same bewilderment. Mila is the best friend anyone could ask for. She's sweet and kind to everyone. We got off to a rocky start considering Phantom Jerk-Face played us both, but she supported me from day one. The minute her food truck was up and going, she called and asked if I could help. And she might roll her eyes at Eli, but she's just as protective of her people.

"Meanwhile, everyone on the internet thinks you're dating Lincoln," Landon says in a very abrupt subject change. Speaking of protective … My cousin has always been Mr. Take-Care-Of-Everyone, but it's a whole other level with Mila. He raises his eyebrows at me.

"Just friends," I say, but I have to rein in a grin. Those pictures are cute. I won't deny it. "Remember, I don't date."

"Lincoln is a good guy," Mila says. What did I tell you about loyalty? Lincoln has been a regular at Eli's barbecues and get-togethers. Of course Mila considers him a good friend now. "He would never treat you the way that?—"

I hold up a hand. I know where she's headed. "I know that. Dating is just a bad idea for me right now." Or ever, but if I say that, Mila will launch into some big lecture about how I have to learn to trust guys again, that they're not all total idiots. But you know how I can promise myself I won't get caught up in something and get burned again? Not dating. I need to focus on Margot and get our life in order. Maybe someday I'll think about dating again, but today is not that day.

"I'm just saying," Landon goes on, "the internet is saying otherwise."

I shrug. "It doesn't matter to me what the internet says. If Lincoln doesn't care that everyone thinks I'm his girlfriend, I don't either."

Landon and Mila share a look that states they think I'm being crazy.

"We're just friends," I reiterate.

Finally, Landon shrugs and starts pounding the chicken. Mila settles on the couch with Margot, singing her a song with a lot of exaggerated movements that has Margot giggling. I plop down into a new rocker recliner that Landon bought to replace the one he insisted on moving to my new apartment.

But instead of pulling up all the internet photos of me and Lincoln and smiling over them, I type "LA Lights spinoff" into the search bar. Just as a fan, you know? Who knows what direction the show is going in? Seeing that it won't be logical to include my character will help me shift the idea aside and stop justifying why it would be okay to take an acting job despite the fact that I quit acting.

It doesn't help, since the rumors all say that it's going to be a medical show and my character was a nurse. She'd fit perfectly! This is what you're good at, that voice says, the one that wants me to throw my responsibilities to the wind and chase after my dream. Yeah, maybe I was on the road to being the next Jennifer Aniston, but I swerved off and ended up heading a different direction. That's okay. I look over at Margot to remind myself why I chose to step away. I live in the golden age of social media videos. I can live a part of my dream by making videos like that along with the ads I make for the games. Maybe my dream should be to figure out how to make a living at home with Margot with the skills I gained in my old life.

That can totally be enough for me.