I pushed her hand off my leg and sat up straighter. Changing the subject, I asked, “Do you need help getting lunch ready, Mum?”
She stood up and said, “No, it’s all ready. You two stay there while I get it out.” The look of pure happiness she gave me caused my heart to constrict. My mother had missed out on so much in her life. Seeing me happy with someone had been one of those things. To be able to give her that now made me even more determined to make this relationship with Layla work.
As she left us to go to get lunch, Layla leaned into me and said, “I like your Mum.”
I smiled at her. “I can tell.”
“Thank you,” she said softly.
I frowned. “What for, sweetheart?”
“For this . . . For letting me into your family. I know I’ve only just met your Mum today, but I can already tell she’s special and different to my family. And because I’ve never had that, it means even more to me. It’s the best gift you could ever give me.”
Fuck.
I curled my hand around her neck and pulled her to me. Pressing my lips to hers, I whispered, “I love you.” As the words left my lips, calmness descended on me.
Peace.
Fuck, that elusive fucking feeling I’d been searching years for.
It was right here.
It was Layla’s gift to me.
“I love you, too,” she said, and fuck if that didn’t hit me right in the chest.
We sat staring at each other for a while before I finally said, “You know I’m fucking kicking myself for wasting a year, don’t you?”
She smiled that smile of hers that pressed all my buttons. “Yeah, baby, but maybe we both needed that extra year. Life happens in her own good time. Our job is just to be open to it so that when it happens, we can catch it and not let it pass us by.”
Fuck.
She amazed me.
I was going to crack myself wide fucking open so I didn’t miss a damn thing this woman was offering me. Life wasn’t going to pass me by anymore. And although I had a lot of demons still to put to bed, I knew she’d be there right by my side, helping me.
I brushed my lips over hers again. Tightening my grip on her neck, I said, “Thank you for the gift you’ve given me.”
Confusion flickered on her face. “What gift?”
“You accepted me for who I am. Unconditionally. And you’ve stuck by me, even when most women wouldn’t.”
She placed her hand against my cheek and whispered, “I love you, flaws and all, Donovan Brookes, and don’t you ever forget it.”
THE END