LAYLA ABRAHAM

Alejandro's mama and sister-in-law were very talkative women and Layla found the conversation to flow easily when she was in their presence. Both women were hilarious and especially hospitable, but she didn't miss the knowing glances they would occasionally send each other as well as the lingering hug his mama had given her before she was whisked away by some friends.

She didn't have the heart to rain on their parade.

Layla smiled and turned to Hailey. "Where did Max go?" She asked, referring to Hailey's son and not one of the Serrano brothers. She still couldn't get over with how their parents had managed 5 boys growing up, especially ones that looked and acted like they did. Just one of them was a handful, and then some.

She found herself struggling with only one of the Serrano boys. When the thought entered her mind, she couldn't help but laugh softly.

Hailey sent her a weird look but didn't question it. "Maximiliano took him to play football with some of the other kids."

"What's going on between you two?" She asked curiously.

Hailey scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Absolutely nothing. We just met."

"Didn't look like nothing to me." Layla smirked and crossed her arms over her chest.

"He offered Max a chocolate and then I thanked him." Hailey shrugged, hoping to appear indifferent.

"That was an awful lot of time to be thanking someone."

Hailey grinned, guilty. "He's attractive, okay? And he's really good with Max." She laughed softly. "Max was so confused when he introduced himself as Max too."

Layla laughed. "He's also one of Alejandro's brothers."

She hummed. "I suspected that. The resemblance was obvious."

"That sweetens the deal, huh?"

"Stop it! I bet he has a girlfriend, anyway. A man as gorgeous as that, there's no way he's single."

Layla wiggled her eyebrows teasingly. "I could find out for you."

Hailey bit her lip as she played around with the thought in her head. "As tempting as that sounds, I think I'm going to have to pass."

"What? Why? He seemed really into you."

"I'm in my late twenties and a single mother." She sighed.

"So?" Layla huffed. "I always tell you to stop putting yourself down like that. Any man would be lucky to have you and Max. If he doesn't see that then it's his loss."

"I guess." She shrugged, not really paying heed to her friend's words. "I'm not really in the right mindset for a relationship right now, I think." She played with a strand of hair as she replied thoughtfully. "I just want to focus on Max and me for now."

"Which Max?" Layla teased and Hailey scoffed. "Friends with benefits never hurts."

"Layla!" Hailey gasped and looked around to check if anyone had overheard them, but she couldn't hold back the laugh that bubbled to the surface. "I'm not looking to be friends with benefits with anyone." She whispered in hushed tones. "Especially not with someone who looks as hot as he does. I wouldn't know what to do with him!" She giggled, her eyes searching the crowd for him subconsciously.

She smiled but decided to drop the topic. Perfect timing too as their duo turned into a trio when a pretty blond woman walked up to them with a bright smile on her face.

"I'm Sarah." She introduced herself. "I haven't seen you ladies around."

Hailey smiled back. "I'm Hailey and this is Layla."

"Layla?" She turned to face the woman in question. "You're the woman Alejandro is protecting right now?"

"Guilty." She joked.

"You're the woman held hostage at the bank last month?"

Layla nodded and forced a smile on her face. She wasn't exactly fond of being reminded what had happened to her, especially by strangers who knew absolutely nothing about her.

"That would be me."

She reached out and lay a gentle, reassuring hand on Layla's shoulder, her grip firm but soft. "I heard about it from Alejandro's mother. I'm so sorry for what happened to you."

"Thank you." She replied awkwardly.

While the news had covered everything that happened and was currently doing updates on the case once or twice a week, their identities had been kept hidden for safety reasons.

"I can't imagine what you went through. You didn't deserve any of it."

She glanced at Hailey desperately, hoping her friend would save her from the uncomfortable conversation that was bound to ensue but her friend sent her an apologetic look before she excused herself to go to her son who had tripped over and grazed his knee, crying softly and calling out for his mum.

Layla wanted to go with her but Sarah wasn't finished with the conversation.

She forced a smile on her face. "I don't really like talking about it." She admitted in a small voice in hopes that Sarah would drop the subject. Her eyes fleeting around until they landed on Alejandro, sat on a bench with his brother, just as she had left him earlier.

She considered making an excuse to head over to him to escape what would most likely be a painful set of twenty questions about what she had went through with the bank robbery.

How was she expected to answer all those questions when she didn't know the answer to them herself?

"He's absolutely gorgeous, isn't he?" Sarah sighed as she openly ogled the dark-haired male specimen, not at all worried about attracting attention or getting caught.

Layla laughed, her eyes once again drifting to Alejandro who was now holding his nephew. She was quick to look away before he noticed.

"I guess you could say that." She tried to play it off cool but she had never been good at that sort of thing.

"You're so lucky he's your bodyguard." Sarah gushed.

"Yeah, he's great at his job." She praised him.

"That's not what I meant." She winked. "You get to spend the whole day with him?"

Layla nodded, not too sure what the other woman was trying to get at. "His job includes staying with me at all times."

"How do you resist him?"

Layla chuckled softly, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. She hadn't been able to resist him, but she very well couldn't admit that to anyone, not until the case was over anyway. Plus, she wasn't even sure that they were exclusively seeing each other, or even what they were, for that matter. She had been too afraid to ask him and every time she had tried, she found herself chickening out and changing the topic swiftly. Usually by throwing herself at him. Literally.

They had sleeping around and having mind blowing sex nearly every day, sometimes even multiple times a day, for the past month but it hadn't really been more than that. He had never indicated that he wanted anything more than easy and convenient sex.

Her being his client and willing to spread her legs for him made the job very convenient.

She suddenly found it difficult to swallow as the negative thought swirled around in her mind. She hated thinking like that but even more than that, she was afraid to ponder over the notion that she wanted more than just casual sex from Alejandro, her bodyguard.

Layla found herself yearning for a future with him. Was that even possible? Did he want the same thing?

"I would never be able to."

Layla had missed what Sarah had said though as she had been too busy lost in her own thoughts. "Sorry, what?"

"I mean, I've been trying to get him to sleep with me quite a while now but the man loves to play hard to get."

"Hard to get?" She voiced aloud, a little confused.

Sarah nodded and smirked. "Alejandro has never been one to stick with one girl. My parents and his parents have been friends for years now so we kind of grew up together."

"That's sweet."

"In all the time that I've known him, he's never had a girlfriend."

"None?"

"Nope. None. Well, if you don't count one-night stands and casual flings, that is."

Layla didn't.

"And you still want to sleep with him even after knowing all that?"

She shrugged, as if to say what can you do? Closely followed by something along the lines of the heart wants what it wants.

"He hasn't been sleeping around much these past couple years, well, not that I know of. I never pursued him when he was going through his fuck boy phase but now, he's like a whole new man and I, along with so many other girls just can't resist. You couldn't do me a favour, could you?"

Layla chuckled softly, the sound higher than usual and tight. "What kind of favour?"

"You couldn't talk me up to him, could you?"

Layla frowned but the expression was lost on Sarah. "What do you mean exactly?"

"Mention my name the next time you're with him. Maybe that'll finally give me a chance with him."

"Oh, I don't know about that."

"Why not? You don't like him, do you?"

Layla shook her head frantically. "No." She denied, attempting to cover the lie with a shrill laugh.

"Great." Sarah giggled. "It would be very messed up if you did."

"Messed up?"

"Yeah. He's your bodyguard. Couldn't he get fired for having a relationship with you? That's messed up."

She gulped. "Well, it's a good thing we're not involved then, isn't it?" She asked rhetorically, her voice more bitter than she had intended it to be.

"Totally."

Layla forced a smile. "If you'll excuse me, I need to use the bathroom."

Sarah grinned, completely unaware of the effect her words had on the woman in front of her, too busy gushing over how she couldn't wait to get into Alejandro's pants.

"But you'll speak to Alejandro for me? Set us up?" She asked, completely oblivious how much her words actually hurt. If the woman actually opened her eyes and stopped talking for a second. She would have realised that she was speaking to the wrong woman about as Layla was already in his pants and intended to stay there for the unforeseeable future.

Layla merely pursed her lips and nodded softly before she turned around and walked in the direction of the house.

She was vaguely aware that Alejandro had called out to her when she passed him, but she didn't bother stopping. She didn't want to attract any attention to herself so she slipped into the house and made a beeline for a door she had passed earlier in the hallway.

A sigh of relief passed her lips as she pressed down on the handle to open up the downstairs bathroom. When she stepped in and attempted to close the door behind her, a foot stuck itself inside and pushed on it.

Layla huffed and let him have his way. A recurring pattern now.

Quick on her feet, she turned around to glare at the man who was determined to torment her in not only her thoughts, but in real life too.

She stepped back as he stepped inside the bathroom and closed the door behind him, his eyes not once wavering from hers as it locked shut with a soft click.

She shuddered as he reached out and ran his thumb down her cheek. When he pulled his hand back, she looked down and noticed the tear on the tip of his thumb. She hadn't realised she was crying.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

-

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Layla Knight

26.05.2020