Leif
It’s amazing how one week can change your life. I didn’t realize how much I was missing until Layla
arrived and shook everything to its foundations.
For the next two weeks, my life is a dream. I throw myself into my work—both the final throes of the
Lusso apartment block and the new development in Newark. We’re so close to breaking ground, with just
one final, stubborn old couple standing in the way.
I send a plumber to Layla’s old place and ask one of my construction supervisors to take a look at
those cracks. When he r eports back with a grim shake of his head, it only takes me a moment to put in a
call to city officials. I won’t have Layla and her sister living in an unsafe place.
After work, I spend time with Isla, Harriet, and most days with Layla, too. When Harriet goes home
for the evening and Isla goes to bed, Layla and I snuggle on the couch, talk about her plans for my
mother’s wedding anniversary, watch TV, and do everything a normal couple would do together.
I make love to her often and hungrily. The TV room at my townhouse becomes an unholy place. The
first time Layla gets on her knees and puts my cock in her mouth is in that room. The first time she
straddles me and rides me
to orgasm is in that room. I’m slowly but surely losing my mind, and I couldn’t be happier.
For the first time since Abby walked away without looking back, it feels like I have a family. A real
family.
Best of all, Isla thrives. When she draws pictures, she always draws Layla with her long legs and
golden hair. When she needs her hair tied up, she asks Layla to do it. The three of us end up going to the
ballet together, going to movies, going for walks in the park. When Emma can join, it makes four.
My life feels... rich. Richer than any money could provide.
The one thing we don’t often have are sle epovers. In those two weeks, I only get to wake up next to
Layla once, when Isla is at my mother’s house and Emma is at the library until late. I want more, but I
know not to push. We’ve only known each other a short time. Still, I want to wake up next to her, kiss her,
love her.
So, we fall into a routine that makes me realize how much I’ve been missing.
My mother notices, too. When I visit her two weeks before her party, she shows me the plans that
Layla has come up with, but her eyes are sharp as she looks me over.
“You look better, Leif.” “I wasn’t aware I looked bad before.” My mother just rolls her eyes. “That’s
not what I meant and you know it. You’re smiling more. You look... happy.”
I feel happy. Three words I never thought I’d say again. “Would this have anything to do with my new
event planner?” My mother grabs her tablet from the coffee table between us and flicks her finger over the
screen to unlock it. “Isla told me she’s been living in your Midtown apartment.”
“Did she, now,” I answer, leaning back on the leather sofa to stretch my arms across the back. “My
daughter loves to talk.”
She turns to her tablet. “Layla sent through a proposed menu, and somehow she’s managed to make
every course an ode to my marriage to your father.” She spins the screen around. “Look. She drew from
the trips we’ve taken over the years to inspire every course. The first course is a tiny bite of what I ate at
my wedding.”
I nod, impressed. My mother leans toward me. “She’s good, Leif.” “I know. She planned the best
birthday party Isla’s ever had in only a few days.”
“I’m going to offer to invest in her. I think she should have her own business.”
I sit back, staring at my mother, unable to formulate words.
My mother holds my gaze, that steely expression unshakeable. “Do you have a problem with that? I
know you and she have... something going on.”
Snapping out of my stupor, I shake my head. “I’m upset I didn’t think of it first.”
My mother’s lips quirk. We talk for a few more minutes until it’s time for me to leave. When my
mom wraps her arms around me and squeezes me tight, a strange, unfamiliar ball of emotion clogs my
throat. She pulls back, holding my shoulders, and looks me in the eyes.
“It’s good to see you happy, Leif. I’ve been worried about you. You carry your pain on the inside, but
now...” She smiles, pushing a strand of hair back from my forehead. “It feels like I’ve finally gotten my
son back.”