Second Chances: Novella One (3 page)

After speaking briefly to the receptionist for directions, Layla took a deep breath before making her way down an immaculately clean corridor, boasting well-dressed visitors and staff alike. The sound of a rumbling chuckle coming from inside the room stopped Layla in her tracks, a few feet away from the partially open door. It sent a tingling sensation running down her spine.
His laugh.
 

As she walked through the doorway, the owner of the laugh was standing in front of her; that dark-haired Evan Carter that she could never forget. The same man who used to take her breath away every time he uttered her name. He would be about thirty-two now, she guessed. Even in her Louboutin heels, which added a few inches to her five foot, eleven frame, he was still taller.

With his back to the middle of the room, Evan was looking out of the window at the side of Ava’s bed while chatting to Cameron. He wore a well-cut pair of navy chinos, with the hint of a cream, knitted collar beneath his fitted, mocha suede jacket.
Each item designer has an equally exclusive price tag, no doubt.
 

Swallowing hard, Layla smoothed her clammy hands over her electric-blue, halter-neck dress and stepped further into the room. Even though she’d had the drive over from the airport to prepare for meeting Evan here, she wasn’t prepared for the effect that his presence still had on her.

Cameron’s face broke into a bright smile when he noticed her, but Layla only had eyes for the other man in the room. A rush of long-buried emotion bubbled to the surface

Evan

Noticing Cameron change the direction of his gaze in the reflection in the window, Evan turned around to fully face her, the woman he’d lost all those years ago. It was a loss he thought he’d die from as it hurt so deeply and profoundly.

Evan didn’t trust himself to say anything at first and an awkward smile curved over his mouth in greeting. Neither could his eyes meet hers directly at first; instead they slid over her curvaceous body. Layla’s dress was gathered at the bust, enhancing the firm bosom. Lower down, the diamanté-detailed waist feature nipped in her slim waist before the skirt cascaded down over her shapely thighs.

His inspection lasted but a few seconds before he managed to compose myself enough to engage Layla’s gaze calmly, not showing any emotion or sign of what he might be feeling. Inside he was trembling. Being in the same room with her made him breathless still. A raw ache thundered in his chest as the pain of what he’d lost swelled where his heart once lived.

Layla smiled back slightly and said, "Hi Evan, thank you for sending your car to pick me up."

Evan stepped forward to take the luggage handle of her case from her, planning to place it alongside his, for when they were ready to depart. "It’s the least I could do under the circumstances." At first, he could feel Layla’s resistance at his attempt to take her luggage from her grasp, but she seemed to think better of it when she caught his frown, and released it without further comment.

His gaze followed her every movement as she stepped over to Cameron, greeting him with a kiss on the cheek. "How are things?” she asked. “What has the doctor said?"

"He wants to keep her in for a couple of days, to make sure the wound caused by the bone breaking through the skin doesn’t pick up an infection." Both of them turned to look at the still sleeping Ava. "They think she’ll doze through the rest of the night due to the sedation."

Layla nodded as her eyes suddenly darted to where Evan was standing. Her gaze on him was so unexpected that he did not have time to neutralise his stare. Embarrassed at being caught watching her so blatantly, Evan glanced away as he tried to coach his expression to be devoid of any emotion. His ego could not bear for her to know how much of an effect she still had on him.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
 

Her eyes flickered in surprise.

Air, I need air
.
I didn’t expect playing the indifferent ex to be this hard.
Evan turned to the others. "I’m going to make a quick phone call and get a drink from the machine. Want me to get any of you something?" he asked.

Both declined. Evan caught Cameron giving him a strange look as he almost sprinted from the room.
If she
guesses how strongly I still feel for her, she may never agree to be friends.
 

Five years was more than long enough to not have the woman in his life. Now that he’d discovered she was moving closer, Evan was determined to make her his again. Friendship was the first step.

Layla

When she was sure Evan had gone, Layla turned to her brother-in-law and questioned him in puzzlement, "Cameron, why is he here?"

He smiled. "Evan helped me get Ava a bed here urgently. He is close friends with the orthopaedic surgeon who operated on her, and he’s the best in the country. The doctors in Canada were concerned the leg wouldn’t heal properly due to the brittleness of her bones. This surgeon is experienced with dealing with such a problem. If it weren’t for Evan’s help, I don’t know what I would’ve done as there is a high demand for this doctor’s time.”

Layla sat down on the couch that was pushed against the wall, overwhelmed by the reality that Evan had gone out of his way to help in order to give Ava the best chance of a full recovery. He must have done it out of his deep camaraderie for Cameron, rather than because of herself, Layla decided, feeling a sudden sadness that Evan would probably never do anything for her again. She knew it was a selfish thought to have but she couldn’t help herself. She just wanted him to love her again.

Cameron began again, "I know you were expecting to stay with us until your house is completed, but I’ll now be sleeping here, so Evan has offered to let you stay with him until Ava comes out of hospital, rather than you being bored in our big, old house alone."

Layla’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and her heart raced at the idea. It did make sense to stay there, rather than burdening an already occupied Cameron, but her mind was a whirl with trying to fathom why Evan would offer such a thing.

She had been so continuously rude to him, before discovering the truth about Caggie’s dirty tricks to keep them apart, that she couldn’t imagine him wanting her in his house for an extended period of time. Layla wondered if he had discovered Caggie’s deception? Could she dare to hope that he had helped Cameron get Ava into the hospital, so he’d have an excuse to offer her a place to stay, giving them some time alone to talk properly? She didn’t have time to consider the possibilities further as Evan re-entered the room.

Layla thought he must have guessed they had been talking about him because his eyes shifted to her face. Though Evan’s expression was unreadable, his body language held a hint of stiffness. He probably believed she hated the idea of spending time with him and wanted to retract the offer. 

In a bid to reassure him, Layla ran her finger over her nose. It was a simple, yet effective gesture that she knew he would understand instantly, without any words passing between them. Years ago, when they had to attend business and charity dinners together, they had thought up a signal she could use to reassure Evan that she was fine and didn’t feel out of her depth.

"I understand from Cameron that you’ve offered to put me up while Ava is in here. If you’re sure it won’t be putting you out, I’ll gladly accept,” she told him.

Evan’s eyes flickered in recognition of her signal. "You won’t be putting me out." Despite his stiff body language, his voice was soft.

The three of them chatted about trivial things for the next thirty minutes or so, until Layla could no longer fight her jetlag and stifled a yawn. Taking her cue, Evan asked, "Shall we go?"

"Sure," she answered, trying her best to remain calm.

Collecting their luggage, Layla and Evan bid farewell to Cameron, after he reassured her that he would call in the morning with an update on Ava.

Evan led the way out, pulling Layla’s case on its wheels. Giving Cameron a backward glance, he gave her a thumbs-up sign. Rolling her eyes in response, Layla took a deep breath and followed Evan out the door.

Evan

His initial nerves getting the better of him, Evan walked ahead taking long strides. All he could think about was the chance to be alone with Layla, with her long bare legs in that dress. The same legs he had caressed countless times when he’d woken up to find them entangled with his own.

He had barely been able to concentrate earlier, with the safety of a third person in the room. Now it was just the two of them, Evan was going to have to school his train of thought on to less dangerous ground; otherwise it was going to be a very uncomfortable few days.

Yes, emotional distance was what he needed.
Be polite and friendly, but reserved for now.
How hard could it be?
 

As they approached Evan’s Jaguar XKR-S, he clicked the remote for the central-locking system remote so that Layla could settle into the passenger seat. A whistling sound drew his attention to her lips.

“
Nice wheels,” she said. “I see your penchant for flashy two-seaters hasn’t dwindled.”

Evan could not hold back a smirk. It had been a standing joke between them that he never bought anything but these sports cars. “Not strictly true. Edward picked you up in a normal car, did he not?”

“
Okay, so you have one normal car in your fleet of... how many is it these days?” 

“
Hmm, at the last count ten were sitting in the garage.”

Layla laughed.

To Evan, it almost felt like old times, back before all the unpleasantness. For the most part, their relationship had been easy-going and low maintenance. Looking at how her sister behaved, anyone would think that Layla would also be one of those divas who expected attention and lavish gifts all the time, but she wasn’t at all. She was as chilled out as they come. He had never seen her angry, except when Caggie Barker had done or said something offensive.

Buckling his seatbelt, Evan started the engine, which purred gently into life. He thought of the speech he’d rehearsed earlier and now seemed as good a time as any to say it.

"I know staying with me might be awkward, but I thought it better than you being alone at their place. We did look into hotel rooms for you, but they were overflowing. Even my private suite at the Carter has been commandeered due to the lack of rooms.” An apologetic smile played on his lips.

Layla turned and smiled, but her eyes remained inscrutable. "Thank you for at least trying. I genuinely appreciate it," she said softly. "As unplanned as all this is, I’d like to see the house once again"

Evan looked at her intently for a second, trying to gauge whether she was as nervous as he was.  The word house seemed to catch in her throat for a second and her usually expressive eyes flickered with something, but he couldn’t distinguish it in the dim evening light.

Casting a silent nod of understanding in her direction, he reversed out of the parking space and soon joined the network of roads beyond the hospital.

Layla

Glancing at her watch, Layla noted it was nearly nine. Winster House was over an hour’s drive from the airport and it would be pitch-black outside when they arrived.

Following her restless flight, she was unable to resist closing her tired eyes and taking a short nap. It was also the perfect excuse to avoid a conversation with Evan, who was sitting so close, and she would probably only make a fool of herself. She needed a good night’s sleep before trusting herself to relax fully in his company.

Evan’s smooth driving soon lulled her into snooze land. Layla dozed in and out for quite a while before she become aware of a periodical warmth pressing against the side of her right knee. At first she wasn’t sure where the sensation was coming from, but as her brain fog cleared, she sensed the vehicle was still moving. Opening her eyes partially, Layla saw Evan’s hand brush against my knee as he changed gear. Her heart fluttered at this briefest of contact. As dangerous as she knew it was to hope that he still felt something for her, she could not bring herself to move away.

Layla gave him a sideways glance. Evan’s features were schooled in an emotionless expression. It was a mask she’d seen him wear countless times before when he didn’t want anyone to know what he was thinking. And she had also seen it towards the end of their relationship, mostly due to her pushing him away whenever he tried to offer comfort as she went through the grieving process.

At that time it wasn’t that Layla missed her parents. If truth be told, they had always treated her badly while she was growing up. By the time she moved to London at seventeen, her self-esteem had hit rock bottom. It was only when a model agency scout told her she had the potential to make it big that Layla gained a well-needed confidence boost.

Her pain came from not being able to confront them about their treatment, so that she could close that part of her life and move on to the next one. This lack of closure, and the all-too-real grief of losing her baby, had rocked her and Evan’s relationship to its foundations.

Layla had taken it out on Evan and then deserted him for a new life in New York. Even now she still feel mortified by her past behaviour towards him, the worst part being her behaviour at her niece’s christening eighteen months earlier.  Back then she had countered his every effort of polite civility with cold contempt.

She remembered it all as clearly as if it had happened yesterday.

“
Don’t worry, I’ll be at your side for support,” Keely added as they exited the cab and made their way into the large entrance hall, where Ava and Cameron were greeting their long stream of guests. They had just arrived from the christening ceremony, where Layla had successfully evaded talking to Evan, but she knew this after-party would be a different scenario altogether.

Wrapped up in the moment, Ava embraced both girls in unison, her usually cool exterior replaced by one of warmth. “I was starting to think you’d disappeared after the ceremony!” she told them.