Second Chances: Novella One (10 page)

Evan’s phone began to vibrate again. This time he looked at the screen and decided to answer it.  “Hi, Amber.”

Layla stiffened, but tried to keep her expression unaffected.  She did not want him to mention her presence. The last meeting she’d had with his sister, when they bumped into each other in New York, was far from pleasant. Amber had spouted all kinds of accusations at her. 

Evan’s conversation with his sister was brief. After mentioning that Layla was with him, he handed the phone to her before she had a chance to protest. As he disappeared off to organise a taxi home, she didn’t have much choice but to talk to Amber.  Neither of them bothered to hide their frostiness beyond false pleasantries before bringing the conversation to a swift conclusion.

Evan

After breakfast, Evan donned a pair of designer jeans and a sports top designed exclusively by Hugo Boss, who sponsored his favourite motor-racing team. Unlike the majority of British males, Evan had no interest in the typical Saturday football game, or soccer, as some might call it. He much preferred to chill on the sofa with a beer, watching a race involving strategy and skill. Surprisingly, Layla shared his interests in that type of sport.  In the past, he had flown them over to Monaco and Catalunya to watch the races in person.

They arrived in Ava’s room just as she was being served lunch. As a private hospital that paid extremely high wages to the top specialists within their employment, their customer service was second to none, even to the point of providing meals for visitors. Perhaps the meals were not quite Michelin-star quality, but they were far more palatable than most public health-run kitchens.

Cameron and his toddler, Jess, had been given the room next door to stay in, as part of the service. This particular hospital was more used to dealing with cancer patients and those affected by hereditary illnesses that involved lifelong treatment. Therefore, they aimed to make family visits as easy as possible.

Cameron decided to head off with Evan for a bite to eat at the restaurant downstairs. He was interested in pumping his friend for information on Layla and was also wise to the fact that Ava would be doing her own probing into her sister’s confidences.

As the men settled down at a free table, each armed with a sandwich made from crusty white bread, Cameron began his attack. “So, old man, what is this I hear about horse rides with your beautiful guest?”

Evan rolled his eyes and shrugged casually. “It was a sunny day and they needed the exercise.”

“
Hmm, I bet it wasn't just the horse's exercise you were concerned about,” Cameron teased. “More like getting some of the two-person variety!”

“
Cameron, don’t talk about her like that,” Evan snapped. He knew his friend was only trying to get a rise out of him, but he felt the need to defend Layla's honour.

“
Oh, come on, I know you’ve been pining for her for years. Surely, you’re trying to show her you aren’t the man you once were?”

“
Of course we’ve spoken about the past and we’re getting on adequately,” Evan replied as nonchalantly as he could manage. He knew his friend wouldn’t be fooled, but he was not ready to discuss his plans.

“
So, you’ve made plans to keep seeing her once she moves into her house?” Cameron probed.

“
We have discussed it in passing, yes.”

“
Well, that sounds like a good start, but as her brother by marriage, I must warn you not to do anything to hurt her. I don't think I could keep Ava from maiming you if you did!”

“
I don't have any intention of hurting her, or myself, for that matter,” Evan said firmly, slightly affronted that Cameron could think him capable of it.

“
I’m just saying to take it slow. I know Layla wasn’t entirely blameless last time, and I would be genuinely pleased if you can both make it work, so you can be as happy as Ava and I.”

“
I’ve no plans to rush. By the way, do you know anything about her son?”

“
Nothing of consequence,” Cameron replied, “but Layla had complications during her pregnancy, causing Bennett to be born with hearing problems. He had corrective surgery early on in life.”

Wow, I hadn’t imagined anything like that when I saw the boy yesterday. Come to think of it, Layla hasn’t really said anything about her son.
I wonder why she hasn’t arranged for him to join us.
 

“
Does the father have anything to do with him?” Evan asked.

“
Not that I’m aware of. Certainly, Layla has never said anything.  She seems to avoid mentioning his existence, except for the fact that he was a fling in New York; a rebound thing, from what I gather. “

Evan munched on the rest of his sandwich in silence, considering this newly found information.

Layla

Ava relayed what the doctor had told her about the test results they had been running. As a young teenager, she had been diagnosed with a moderate case of Crohn's disease, and had to have surgery to remove a small area of her intestines. This was accompanied by a daily routine of immunosuppressant medications and periodic flare-ups that involved intravenous treatments of biological therapy, which were highly toxic to her body and often caused an allergic reaction.

“
It seems the drugs I’ve got to take to keep the Crohn's under control are causing a bone-development deficiency,” Ava explained. “Something called osteopenia.”

“
What does that mean?” asked Layla. The idea that her sister had yet another medical illness to add to her list was quite disconcerting.

“
It means my bones are more porous than they should be. Simply put, it makes me more susceptible to fractures than a normal twenty-nine-year-old woman, so no more skiing for a start.”

“
Can it be improved?”

Ava shook her head. “No, and the doctor said I’ve to be careful not to put myself in any high-risk situations where I’m more likely to fall over. I have to increase my intake of certain vitamins and take extra supplements as well.”

“
Can it get any worse?” asked Layla.

“
It shouldn't do, as long as I follow the doctor’s guidance.”

Layla hugged her sister in relief.

“
Anyway, enough about me,” said Ava, becoming excited. “Spill! I want all the details before the guys return.”

Layla smiled shyly. “There isn’t much to tell at the moment. We’ve had some enjoyable moments, but he’s being as cautious as I am. We went riding yesterday, as I told you, and we ended up at this beautiful little meadow clearing we used to go to before, and he kissed me.”

Ava let out a little cry of delight. “Did you kiss him back?”

Layla blushed. “Of course, and it led to us talking a bit about our past misunderstandings, including why he became involved with Caggie when he knew it would hurt me more than an unknown woman.”

“
What did he say to that?”

“
Just that she used to turn up when he felt vulnerable,” Layla explained. “They were drinking partners and then he gave her a job, which he admits was naive, and he agrees that my messages were deleted. But he didn’t know that at the time, not until the night of the christening, but by then she was pregnant and had a drug problem.”

“
He didn’t know about it before?”

“
No, I never told him about it when we were together, and she wasn’t up front about it either. He only knew she drank heavily, which he was doing as well at the time.”

“
So what now?” Ava enquired. “Do you want to be with him?”

“
I do, but we will have to see, once we’ve discussed everything properly.”

Despite Evan appearing to be a better listener than he used to be, Layla was still dreading telling him about the existence of their son, and what his response might be.

“
Did he say anything about Bennett?” asked Ava.

“
I introduced him briefly, while I was talking to him on Skype yesterday, but Evan didn’t ask any questions about him.”

Layla tried to keep the guilt out of her voice, knowing that once she told Evan about Bennett, she would also have to admit to her sister that she’d been concealing the truth from her, too. It was going to hurt Ava to know that Keely already knew, but Layla could only hope she would understand her reasons.

Before the sisters had a chance to continue their conversation, Cameron and Evan re-entered the room. When the latter met her gaze with a concerned smile, Layla guessed that he had been put through a similar grilling on the status of their re-acquaintance. She returned his smile reassuringly as he came to sit beside her on the sofa.

Both couples settled into an easy conversation about their plans for the coming days. Unobserved by the others, Evan's hand found Layla's as he announced that he had a surprise for the next day, beginning with an early car ride.

Feeling shocked and embarrassed by Evan's considerate attitude towards her pending birthday, Layla sat with a silly smile on her face, not saying much. With the outline of the surprise now known to the foursome, and Ava's imminent discharge from the hospital within days, they agreed to meet up then. It was then time for them to say their farewells. Layla kissed her sister gently and gave Cameron a quick hug, before making her way out to the car with Evan.

When they were finally alone in the car, Layla reached for him. “I hope you haven't gone to too much trouble for my birthday,” she said shyly.

Evan smiled teasingly. “I guess you will have to wait and see.”

She kissed him gently on the cheek. “Thank you. I feel all excited now.”

Evan

Evan drew the car slowly into the long driveway that weaved its way up to Winster House. The giant, grey-stone building stood magnificently against the reddish hues of the mid-afternoon sun.

“
Shall I get the dogs and we could go for a little walk around the lake?” he suggested as they got out of the car.

Layla waited out front, perched on a stone bench, until he returned with the three excitable dogs, which went bounding towards her.

“
They are as itchy for a bit of freedom as you,” Evan observed, well aware that Layla’s insatiable appetite for walking in all weathers had remained unquenched since his chauffeur picked her up at the airport.

“
So, are you going to give me any clues as to what you’ve planned for me tomorrow?” she asked hopefully.

Evan smiled. “Only that you’ll need an overnight bag, a casual outfit for travelling in, and something elegant for later.” Pulling her to him, he gave her a quick kiss on her nose.

Layla laughed. “Is that all the clues I get?” she asked, sliding her hands down to his waistband, and up and under his top. 

Evan gasped as her cold fingers glided over his abdominal muscles and began to tickle as they touched the sides of his rib cage.

“
You can punish me as much as you want, but I’ll never tell you until we arrive tomorrow,” he replied, his laughter mixing with hers like a melody.

“
Ha! You’re such a meanie!” Layla feigned a pout, pulling away from him playfully.

“
I’m sure you will forgive me tomorrow,” he said, confidently pulling her back into his arms and kissing her keenly.

“
You’re extremely sure of yourself, Mr. Evan Carter!” she exclaimed jokingly, while appearing to enjoy his embrace.

He kissed Layla again, firmer this time, with one hand caressing the small of her back. The other one twisted a spiral curl, which the wind had blown into her eyes, around two of his fingers as he leaned backwards slightly to look down at her.

The dogs barked impatiently, breaking Evan’s unspoken thoughts and he wondered what she was thinking. Smiling, the couple set off on their walk, occasionally throwing a fallen twig for the dogs to catch and bring back.

Layla

An hour later, she and Evan were back inside the house, using their laptops to go through their email, while making the odd work-related phone call that could not be avoided. Layla knew she had neglected her assistant over the past couple of days, and that she had a deadline to meet in order to aid her submission for a costume-design contract for a film shoot.

Moving into the sunroom, Layla opened up her large sketchpad. Having already completed several designs as part of her bid, she wanted to produce one more before submitting them to the company. Layla’s reputation preceded her, and the production manager had assured her that the submission of designs was merely a matter of protocol as the job was as good as hers already.

Evan had been right all those years ago; fronting the advertising campaign for Pemberley Hotels and then for Carter Media had led to many more offers. Even though those contracts had been for Layla’s looks, rather than her designs, they had helped to lay the foundations for what her clothing brand had become today. While Layla would never get close to the level of remuneration that Evan generated in a year, as his companies had been around for well over a hundred years, since the start of her working career she had been earning in excess of anything she could ever spend.

Layla was excited about winning the new contract because it was for a big blockbuster, portraying a love story in the Regency era. The film locations would include large country estates in England and Italy, as the script involved the characters taking a grand tour of Europe, as was common among the high-society circle of that era.

Several hours later, the clock chimed eight and Layla was finished. Satisfied with what she had accomplished, she wandered off to find Evan.

 “
Evan?” Layla called out as she checked his office, but it was in darkness and the media room was also empty. She could hear the faint echo of a radio coming from the direction of the kitchen, amidst the clattering of plates and cutlery. Standing in the doorway, she observed him for a second. The dogs were lounging on the floor as Evan chopped away at something on the counter. “Do you need any help?” she asked.