Chapter 28

I hate that I had to cancel my plans with Layla tonight. It's probably for the best, but I was looking forward to seeing her. An idea strikes me as I'm leaving the facility after my physical therapy appointment later. Dottie would love to meet Layla and Margot. It would brighten her day, and it would be a way to see Layla without the temptation of spilling how I feel. I may be able to wait in the background while she spreads her wings, but I still need to spend time around her, and more than just the few minutes we get to chat at the bakery truck every morning.

I ignore the fact that I saw her last night at her apartment, and that my need is bordering on an addiction that I might not be able to control for much longer.

Lincoln: I know Dottie would love to meet you and it might distract her tonight. Would it be weird if I asked you to come with me to hang out with her?

Layla:Not weird at all! I'd love to meet Mrs. Van Buren. Plus there's something I want to get your opinion on. A theory I have about our poisoning culprit that's better shared in person.

My interest is piqued by that. The sooner we figure out what's happening, the less complicated my cookie-buying can become. And I can bring treats to Dottie again. I've been afraid to bring anything to her the last few weeks after the first incident, even the ones that Dillon has deemed safe.

Lincoln:It's a date then.

I add a winking emoji so she knows I'm just teasing. But maybe she'll read into it exactly what I want her to and give me the go-ahead to date her for real. A guy can hope.

Lincoln:Definitely not replacing our celebration party though. Still count on doing that sometime.

Layla:I'll hold you to that.

Layla:Have you heard from Dillon about the German pancakes?

Lincoln: Yeah. He had some results when I dropped off the scones this morning. He says there was arsenic on them again, but not the crystals like before. It was more saturated into the pancakes AND the filling, so he thought it might have been sprayed on top.

Lincoln: He said he sent the report to Officer Brady. But it sounds like he's no closer to figuring anything out either.

Layla:*crossing fingers emoji* Maybe what I found out will lead to something. See you tonight?

Lincoln:I'll pick you up at six.

Layla: Can't wait!

Six o'clock takes way too long to come. I can't help but get to Layla's apartment a few minutes early, and it's encouraging that she's already got all her stuff ready to go. I grab the car seat for Margot that she has waiting by the door and the gray-and-pink backpack that serves as her diaper bag, throwing it over my shoulder. Layla grins at me.

"What?" I ask, following her as she carries Margot out of the apartment, then standing by while she closes and locks it with a keypad. I notice there's a new doorbell camera next to her door.

She shakes her head at me. "Nothing. I just think it's cute how you have no problem carrying around all the frilly stuff of Margot's."

"I like pink," I say as we head downstairs to my Bronco.

"I like that you like pink."

I want so badly for the way her eyes are dancing to mean something. Like that she sees the way I'm comfortable with Margot's stuff also means I'm comfortable with Margot.

"I see you got a new doorbell camera." I glance back in the direction of her apartment as we exit the building.

"Ordered it last night right after Jack left. Bless Amazon next-day delivery. It's been a lifesaver since I had Margot." She opens the back door of the Bronco, and I slide the car seat in. I wish I could put it in for her, but instead I hold out my hands for Margot so she can get everything secured. "Maybe if I'd had it last night," she says as she ducks inside the Bronco, "he could have just slid the envelope under the door when I didn't answer." She chuckles and makes quick work of putting in the car seat and anchoring it.

I picture driving around in my Bronco with a car seat in there permanently. Hopefully Layla doesn't notice my blush as she reaches for Margot. I'm getting so far ahead of myself, but it's been harder and harder to distract myself from my feelings for Layla and the future I want with her. Football has been the only time that I can keep my mind off her. Inviting her to come hang out tonight isn't helping the issue, but I'd just be at Dottie's thinking about her anyway.

I open Layla's door for her once she has Margot all buckled in, and she smiles at me appreciatively. This whole scenario is so much my little family fantasy that I have to take a few deep breaths as I round the front of the Bronco.

She's texting when I get inside. "Sorry," she says. "Mila and I didn't have a chance to talk today about Jack showing up at my apartment. She wants all the details. Especially since she found out about it on social media."

I laugh. Ella, my social media manager, texted me this morning about my Instagram handle getting tagged in the gossip accounts trying to interpret what Jack showing up at Layla's apartment means and what my relationship with Layla is. None of Layla's neighbors sold pictures with me in them, but they must have let it slip that I did show up. In any case, I think there's some kind of neighbor loyalty there that somehow extends to me.

"You want my publicist to put out a statement that we're just friends?" I ask. I can't think of another way to quash the love-triangle speculation. As far as I know, Layla hasn't said anything on her end either.

She frowns at me, and then the expression disappears. "I'm still fine with them speculating about us. As long as you are," she adds hurriedly.

"Ella thinks it's great for me. And since most people are under the mistaken impression that Jack is some kind of real-life hero, she says they're all invested in the battle of the nice guys."

Layla laughs. "It's so tempting to leak something that shows how not nice of a guy he actually is. But considering my only worry in this social media storm is that they'll connect Margot to him, I'd better keep my mouth shut."

"We could leak that he's trying to get you to take a part in the next Phantom Hex movie and the director sent him over. I know a guy," I offer. If it would send rumors flowing a different direction and protect Layla and Margot, I'll call in a favor with Nick right now.

She tilts her head at me in contemplation. "You know a guy?"

I realize what I've said. I don't want Layla to find out that I talked to Bruno Rattan about her. She still got the part all by herself, but I'd hate for her to second-guess any of it. My pull was so minimal. Miss Sophie did way more than I did when we talked to Bruno. Heck, Layla's fans that did all the shipping on TikTok between Layla's character and Detective Leclair did more than me. I just gave the whole thing a little push.

"My dad has a good friend that works at one of the studios. I have dinner with their family every once in a while."

She nods, still contemplative. Her phone buzzes again, probably Mila, and she looks down at it, distracted from whatever she was thinking. I focus on the road while she texts Mila back.

"Hmmm," she says after a moment, and I glance over at her.

"What's up?" I turn the Bronco into the parking lot for Harmony Homes and round the first building to park on the side of it. This door is closer to Dottie's apartment.

"Dillon told Landon about his theory about the spray, so they went to investigate the bakery truck after we closed today," she says. Her expression is grim. The mention of Dillon reminds me that she had a theory about the poisoning.

"Did they find something?" I ask.

She presses her lips into a fine line. "Dillon's surer than ever that it was a spray. They found traces of it on one of the counters in the truck, like the mist of spray landed just outside where the boxes are packed."

I suck in a breath. "Someone was inside the truck when I got my stuff?"

She puts her hand on my arm. "This kind of confirms what I wanted to talk to you about. To warn you."

I don't comment on her hand on my arm since I don't want her to move it. I also resist the urge to cover it with my hand and then interlace our fingers together. "Warn me about someone trying to poison me?" I raise my eyebrows at her.

She lets out a short chuckle. "I don't know if you've realized, but Astrid has a thing for you. Probably because I pushed football players instead of actors at her so hard that she realized you were the ultimate catch. And …"

She chews on her lip, distracting me from everything she's saying. Something about Astrid being into me, which I can handle more carefully. I do appreciate the heads-up from Layla, but what does it have to do with the poisoning?—

"Wait. You think it might be Astrid?" The words spill out in shock.

"Based on what Landon and Dillon just found, I don't know how else to explain it. It wasn't me or Mila. I'm sorry if you have feelings for Astrid. That sucks to find out." She's chewing on her lip again, but her words have me reeling back.

"You think I might have feelings for Astrid?" I'm not even a tiny bit smooth right now, and all I can think is that I have to make sure Layla understands that I have zero feelings for Astrid. Maybe not even friendly ones if she's trying to hurt me or Mila.

She shrugs a couple times, looking down at her lap, her expression uncomfortable. "I didn't know, really … I just wanted to make sure, just in case."

"I don't have feelings for Astrid at all. I didn't even realize—Layla." Words spill from my mouth, and there's no stopping them. "Layla," I repeat in a rush. "I'm completely in love with you."

She blinks. "In love with me?"

The fact that it surprises her makes me laugh out loud. "Layla, I don't come to the bakery truck every day to support my friend's sister in her business, although that seems to be a perk. Or maybe not, considering everything that's happened. I come to the bakery truck every day to see you. And I know that you might not be ready for a relationship yet, and that you're trying to get on your feet after the mess that Jack made, but I just need you to know that I'm going to be here whenever you are. Days, months, years. Pathetic, I know, but it's true."

She stares at me, and her eyes well with tears. She starts shaking her head vigorously. "Not pathetic, Linc. Not at all." She leans closer. She hasn't said anything yet about how she feels about me, but the emotion that my admission has caused is a good sign, I think. "What else have you done for me?" she asks gently. "Besides being a ridiculously large tipper?"

She arches an eyebrow at me, and her soft expression has turned a little bit sassy. Sassy enough that I'm about three seconds from leaning the rest of the way across the console to meet her lips. She hasn't given me the go-ahead though, so I struggle to hold back.

"Uhhhh," is the best answer I can come up with given the state of my mind.

"Like maybe convincing a director to hire me for LA Hope?" she asks. My turn to blink, but she's almost laughing, so I don't think she's mad about it. She's probably worked in Hollywood long enough to know how insignificant my interference could be.

"Me convince Bruno? Maybe Miss Sophie or your TikTok fans?—"

"But you had something to do with it." Now she's leaning closer too, so that must mean something. "And should I expect that it's just a coincidence that you and Hurley happened to see Jack at a party last week and then he showed up with a check?"

I can't resist her any longer, so I move the last few inches to close the distance between us. She doesn't pull away, and I wait one more second to give her the chance, then kiss her. Her lips are soft, and she tastes like chocolate.

This is not the best place for a first kiss. The stupid console is in the way, so I can only slide my hand to the back of her neck to urge her closer to me. She puts her hands on my cheeks and pulls away a millimeter to study me. Her gaze lights me on fire. I have been dreaming of Layla looking at me like that for months. Now that it's here, it's kind of surreal. But it's also the best thing ever. Even better than scoring the winning touchdown in a football game.

"You're something else," she whispers.

"It was mostly Hurley. I just gave him the opportunity. You know how good I am at charming people," I protest.

She laughs. "I know exactly how good you are at charming people, because I've been slowly falling for you for weeks."

I kiss her again. It's a blessing that I'm a tall guy because it means I can lean over the console and get pretty close to her. I scoop an arm around her back, even though I can't pull her to me, just to feel the weight of her in my arms. She puts her hands on my chest, fingers catching in my T-shirt.

We kiss until a tap at the window on Layla's side makes her jump back from me and whirl around. Dottie is standing there, cane in hand, grinning at me. "I've got a couch that would be a lot more comfortable, young man."

Layla looks back at me, covers her mouth with her hands, and dissolves into giggles. When Margot joins her laughter, there's no doubt that I'm fully gone on both of them.

"I love you, Layla," I say, ignoring the impatient look Dottie is giving me from the other side of the window.

Layla puts her hands on my cheeks again, a soft sheen to her eyes as she looks back at me. "I know," she says meaningfully. "I know, Lincoln."