31. Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One

Josh

Okay, you can do this. Just be polite, but firm.

I must've repeated these words to myself a hundred times on the way to Layla's parents' house. After Asher gave me his blessing to move forward with my plan, I was pleasantly surprised at how easily it was coming together.

Now, all I need to do is get Layla's parents on board, particularly her dad.

I stand in front of their door, willing my hand to knock. I'm not sure how long I stand here, but if anyone is watching, I'm probably giving murder vibes, so I garner the courage to finally knock.

The door swings open and I'm greeted with a smiling Stella.

"Josh," she says kindly, "what a lovely surprise. Come on in."

I step past her into the house I've been in more times in the last decade than my own parents. "Thank you. I'm sorry for showing up unannounced. "

"That's no problem at all. It seems to be happening a lot lately."

I don't know what she's talking about.

She smiles. "Layla showed up this morning unannounced. First time she's done that in years."

Crap. What could that have been about? Am I too late? Did they already tell her I'm not a good match, and I wasn't there to defend myself?

Stella walks me into the family room where Dan is reading a newspaper on the couch. He lowers it slightly to see who's here.

"Hi, Dan. Nice to see you."

"Josh. What a surprise," he says as he puts the paper down and stands, shaking my hand.

"Why don't you take a seat," Stella says as she gestures for me to sit down on the couch.

Even though every nerve in my body is on high alert and just wants to stand and pace around, I take a seat.

"What brings you by, son?" Dan asks casually.

Neither of them appears to be surprised that I'm here, which is a little strange. I look around the room, struggling to make eye contact with either one of them. I'm afraid to see the truth behind their stares. But I came here for Layla, to make it up to her. I want to put an end to this decade of shit that's been holding me back.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you two about your daughter."

Stella smirks knowingly, but she can't possibly know what I'm about to say. If she did, she wouldn't be smirking .

"What about Layla?" she responds.

My breath comes in shallow, quick bursts. The air around me feels thick with the weight of my unspoken words. My lips part slightly, my throat bobbing with the effort. I cast one last glance at both of them, their expectant gazes a silent encouragement to continue.

"Stella, Dan—I'm in love with your daughter."

There it is. The words are spoken. I can't take them back. My breath hitches in my throat as I wait for their reply.

Dan smiles at Stella who looks almost—happy. That can't be right. There's no way after all of this time, after ten years of agonizing over this, that they would just end up being happy about it.

Then Stella laughs. "We know."

My back stiffens. "I'm sorry?" I ask, wondering if I'm misunderstood.

"Well, it appears you and Layla had the same idea. She came by this morning to tell me about you two."

"She did?"

"I'm going to give you a piece of advice. Never leave a woman who's crazy about you in the dark," Stella says with a calm voice.

"I'm not sure I understand."

Dan chuckles. "It's good you're willing to admit that now, it'll come in handy. Don't feel bad though. It took me years to begin to understand. "

Stella rolls her eyes at Dan. "I know about everything. What happened years ago, the barbeque, William. Firstly, I would like to apologize for our behavior on Saturday. It was never right for us to put that pressure on Layla, and had I known that you two were together…"

I rest my elbows on my knees as I try to comprehend all of this.

Stella continues. "I'm sure it's left you feeling confused and nervous about everything. I certainly hope you aren't second guessing whether you want to be with Layla. I can tell from our conversation this morning that she is crazy about you."

"I want to be with Layla more than anything in the world. I'm not second guessing anything."

She turns her head to the side. "Then why have you been distant from her?"

My head falls forward. I'm screwing this entire thing up. I can't believe that's what she's been feeling from me. Here I am trying to make everything right, and she's been worried that I don't want to be with her.

"I've been scratching my head trying to figure out how to make it all up to her. That night was a mess, and I know it meant a lot to her. I wanted to make it right."

"Well, you can start with treating my daughter a little better and never leave her behind like that," Dan says sternly. "I like you son. You're a good one. William has always bothered me. I've just gone along with it when his parents say shit like that. I never wanted to ruffle any feathers, but from now on, you have my word, I will never allow those remarks again. My daughter's happiness is more important than my business with them. "

The relief that washes over me to hear him say that. The weight that's been sitting on my chest for a decade has suddenly been lifted.

Dan continues. "That's my promise to you. Now you have to promise me from here on out, Layla gets treated the way she deserves."

I nod my head. "Absolutely, sir. That will never happen again."

"Good. Now, tell me how you plan on making it up to her."

I go through my plans, hoping they don't think I'm jumping the gun on this. It's not a marriage proposal, but it might as well be.

To my shock, Stella seems to be fighting tears.

"Wow," she says as her voice betrays her emotions. "That's so romantic."

I smile shyly. "Thanks."

"But can I give you one piece of advice?" she offers.

"Of course."

"You need to do this now. She's devastated and really needs to know why you've been so distant."

"Now? I don't think I can pull that off. I don't have everything worked out."

Dan smiles. "We know people. What needs to be done?"

After an hour, I'm driving to a farmhouse to pick up something I need for the surprise. Dan and Stella have a good friend who was able to help. According to Dan, one of the things that would've taken weeks to obtain can wait. I'm just going to move forward without all my ducks lined up.

The last thing that I need is for Asher and Charlotte to get Layla to the location. I pick up the phone and dial Asher.

"Hello?" his deep voice sounds in my ear.

"Hey, man. Is Charlotte there with you?" I ask.

"Uh, yeah. She's right here."

I take the last left onto the street that I think is my destination. There's a large white farmhouse that looks tiny compared to the land that it sits on.

"Can you put me on speaker? I need to talk to both of you."

I hear him whispering to Charlotte before the background sounds of the house let me know he switched to speakerphone.

"Hey, Josh. What's going on?" Charlotte asks casually.

"I need you guys to help me out. I need Layla brought to an address in the next two hours."

"Ummm…why? Are you planning to murder her?" Charlotte questions.

"What?" I shout. "Geez, Charlotte. No, I'm not going to murder her."

Asher jumps in. "So, go on then. Why do you need us to drop my sister off at some mysterious location in two hours like some kind of Criminal Minds episode?"

"I don't have enough time to explain it all. I have to get something done before I meet her. Just please trust me. "

"Is this something I should tell her to look cute for?" Charlotte asks.

"What the hell kind of questions are these? She always looks beautiful."

Charlotte chuckles. "Nice answer, but you're an idiot. I mean, if this is some kind of romantic thing, she will want to be sure she isn't in yoga pants and an old tank top with no makeup. Women care about these things, Josh. You have a lot to learn."

That's ridiculous. Layla looks beautiful in anything. But Charlotte is her best friend, and a woman, so I should probably listen to her.

"Fine. You can tell her to look cute, but it's not something that's necessary. We aren't going anywhere fancy. Look I have to go. I'll text you guys the address."

I hang up before they can distract me any longer with their questions. This feels kind of crazy that I'm putting this together so last minute, but also, it appears that I'm a moron and didn't even realize I was making Layla even more upset.

I was so focused on making this right, I never thought about how she would feel. But it makes sense. Sure, I've called and texted her every day, but I'm all of a sudden not making any initiative to see her.

Fuck, the more I think about it, the more I realize what I put her through. I really am an idiot.

Well, at least I'm an idiot in love who now has the support of her parents.

I really can't believe how well it went with Dan and Stella. It just goes to show you how much that negative voice in your head can manipulate you if you aren't careful. I let that damn voice tell me I wasn't good enough for ten fucking years.

No more. I'm done listening to those negative thoughts that creep in and tell me it won't work out. Right now, it's time to make up for all the times I listened to that voice.