Her Protector: A Braxton Brothers Romance

by Meyer, Anne-Marie

  And that broke his heart. He wanted Layla to be a part of his life, and he was going to fight to keep her. If it meant telling her all of his secrets, he would bare his soul to her. No matter the cost.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Layla sat across from James, trying to focus. Everything had been going so well until Isabel offered her champagne.

  Then all her responsibility came crashing back down on her as she remembered the reason why she had to turn down the alcohol.

  No matter how much she wanted to forget her situation, she couldn’t. And now, James was signing onto a woman who held so much baggage he wasn’t even aware of.

  She was a mess, and James didn’t deserve to be dragged into it.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” James asked again as he leaned over the table to meet her gaze.

  Layla nodded. She wasn’t sure how she was going to tell him. She hadn’t even fully accepted what was happening, so how was she going to explain it to James?

  Thankfully, Isabel came back into the room with the bread. She set it on the table. James ordered fettuccine alfredo, and Layla ordered eggplant parmesan. Isabel wrote it down and left again.

  Layla glanced over at James, who was studying her. From his furrowed brow, he looked worried. She hated that, but she wasn’t sure where to go from here. Wasn’t sure what the future looked like for either of them.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, leaning closer to her.

  Layla nodded as she focused on her water glass. She hated that she was making him feel like this. The last thing she wanted was for him to be upset. She just didn’t know how she was supposed to say, “Guess what, I’m pregnant with your best friend’s baby.”

  The right words just weren’t coming—even though Juan had effectively cut himself out of both their lives.

  James cleared his throat, drawing her attention over.

  “Listen, Layla. I know we’ve only known each other for a short time, but I can’t help but feel drawn to you.” His voice dropped and he swallowed. Layla could see his Adam’s apple bob up and down.

  She hated that he was hurting because of her. She wished her life was simple. That she could love him like she wanted to.

  “We’ve both been hurt, and I know we want to protect ourselves, but I…” He took a deep breath. “I’m starting to care for you. A lot.” He lifted his gaze to meet hers. There was fear there. Like he wasn’t sure what she would say.

  Not wanting to upset him, she reached over the table and held out her hand.

  A relieved smile played on his lips as he engulfed her hand in his. His thumb stroked the back of her hand as he stared down at it.

  “When I was in Afghanistan, I met someone.” His voice softened as he kept his gaze on the table. “We fell in love. I was supposed to…” He squeezed his eyes shut. “I was supposed to protect her.”

  Tears formed on the edges of Layla’s eyes. She wanted to take his pain away. She wanted him to be happy.

  James took a moment before he spoke again. He too had tears in his eyes. Like it was killing him to speak.

  “I sent her out one night to do a sweep of the perimeter. Nothing was supposed to happen. She was supposed to come back.” He blinked, and a tear slipped down his cheek.

  Layla stood and made her way around the table, kneeling down next to him. She grabbed both of his hands in hers. James raised them as he pressed his lips to the back of her hands.

  “Because of me she’s gone. I shouldn’t have…I should have known better.” His voice was so quiet that she could barely hear him.

  “James, you didn’t know,” she said, slipping a hand free and resting it on his cheek.

  He leaned into it before he turned his lips and pressed them into her palm. Layla stared up at him, waiting for him to look at her. She wanted him to see how much she cared about him.

  He closed his eyes as his thumb ran over her other hand. “You don’t hate me?” he asked, his voice breaking.

  Layla placed both hands on his cheeks and brought his face over so he had to look at her. “Look at me,” she demanded.

  James hesitated before he opened his eyes. There was so much fear in his gaze that it took her breath away.

  Without speaking, she crushed his lips against hers. She was going to show him just how much she cared about him.

  At first, his kiss was soft, like he was still worried how she would react. But the more she deepened the kiss, the more confident he got until he pulled her up and set her on his lap.

  Bringing her hands up to the back of his neck, she entangled her fingers in his hair. He responded by pulling her closer to his chest. His hands were firmly planted on her back and hips.

  She could have lost herself in his arms. His lips. But somewhere, through the fog in her mind, she heard someone clear their throat.

  “I’m so sorry to interrupt, but I have your food,” Isabel said.

  Heat rushed across her skin as she tuned to give their waitress an embarrassed smile. “I’m so sorry,” she said as she climbed off of James’s lap and found her way back to her chair.

  James didn’t look embarrassed at all as he sat there with a goofy smile on his face.

  Isabel shook her head. “No need to apologize. I may have subjected James to a few make-out sessions in the past. I guess I was due.”

  James snorted and then thanked her as she set the food down in front of him. “That’s true,” he said as he picked up a fork and pointed it in Isabel’s direction.

  Not sure what to say, Layla just nodded at Isabel as she set Layla’s food in front of her and then left.

  “I’ll give you your privacy back,” she said as she winked at them and slipped from the room.

  Layla glanced up to find James grinning at her. She sighed as she grabbed a knife and began to cut up her eggplant. When she peeked back up at him, she saw James hadn’t moved.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  James chuckled as he began twirling his fork around in his noodles. “Sorry. I’m just…happy.” He glanced up at her and winked.

  Excitement coursed through her as the meaning of his words flooded her mind. He was happy. Because of her.

  Desperate for this feeling to last forever, she smiled at him as she ate. But the feeling of hypocrisy kept poking at her mind. The fact that he’d just told her his secret, and yet, she was still holding onto hers wasn’t lost on her.

  She wanted to tell him, she did. But her secret dealt with their future while his dealt with the past. It wasn’t the same, and she feared what he would say when he found out.

  Call her selfish, but she wanted this contentment to last just a little while longer. Then she’d face her secret. Then she’d figure out what she was going to do about telling James.

  But for now, all that existed in the world was her and James. And that was all she needed.

  They kept their conversation light for the rest of the dinner. Layla found herself laughing as James recounted his childhood growing up here in Honey Grove.

  It was fun watching his face light up as he talked about running on his roof as a kid and getting the cops called on them. Or swimming at the ocean every weekend with his family.

  James was in his element here, and ever since he’d told her about Afghanistan, he seemed lighter. Like a heavy load had been lifted off his shoulders.

  Layla couldn’t help but feel a bit envious about that. She was tired of hiding her secrets. The temptation to tell him all that was weighing on her kept floating back to the surface, but she kept pushing it back down.

  The desire to be happy was winning out over her desire to tell James.

  After dessert, James paid and they headed back to his parent’s house. By the time they got there, the house was quiet. James called out to his mom, but no one answered.

  There was a piece of paper on the kitchen table. James read it out loud. “Over at Beth’s to eat cake with her parents. You have the house to yourselves. Smiley face.” James coughed as he glanced over at
Layla.

  She was watching him as he read the words. She could imagine his mom smiling as she wrote it. “Your mom cracks me up,” she said as she reached out and ran her fingers along the edge of the countertop.

  “Subtle, she is not,” James said as he crumpled up the paper and threw it into the garbage.

  “Is it okay that we missed Jordan’s cake?” she asked, suddenly feeling guilty that she’d monopolized James’s time.

  James shook his head. “Ah, the kid will understand. Plus, I’ll spend some time with him tomorrow. Maybe we can take him to the arcade?”

  Layla chewed her lip as she slowly nodded. No matter how much she wanted to hide out here in Honey Grove and pretend that her past life didn’t exist, she couldn’t.

  James was over to her before she could blink. He peered down at her as if he sensed she was keeping something from him.

  “What’s going on, Layla?” he asked, worry coating his words.

  She forced a smile as she shrugged. “I just…” She closed her lips and took a deep breath. “I don’t want to ruin the night.”

  James grasped both of her hands and tipped his forehead toward hers. “Whatever you’re holding onto, you can tell me. I want to know.” He let go of one of her hands so he could tuck her hair behind her ear.

  Layla’s breath hitched in her throat. She blinked, trying to force her tears to retreat. Then she shook her head. “Let’s watch a movie or something.” Her voice faded off as pain squeezed her chest. “I just need some time.”

  James studied her and then nodded. “Of course.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and guided her to the stairs. “Head up to my room—we’ll watch something on my laptop. I’ll pop some popcorn.”

  Layla nodded. By the time she got to the top of the stairs, she could hear the microwave whirring. After changing into her pajamas, she slipped into James’s room and glanced around. There was a small bed along one of the walls. Faded sports pictures and stickers decorated the space. She couldn’t help but smile as she thought of James growing up here.

  After climbing onto his bed, she reached for a blanket just as James walked in. He growled, causing her to glance over.

  James’s eyes were wide as his gaze swept over her. There was a look in his eye that she hadn’t seen for a long time.

  “You trying to kill me?” he asked as he set the bowl of popcorn down on the nightstand.

  “What?”

  He waved at her. “Those pajamas are going to kill me.”

  Layla’s cheeks burned as she spread the blanket across her lap. She grinned up at him. “Better?”

  He shot her a pained look but then nodded. “Better.”

  After grabbing his laptop, he set it on a pillow and climbed onto the bed next to her. It took some convincing, but she finally got him to rent a chick flick.

  After the opening credits, he settled back against the wall, and Layla lost herself in the absolute contentment she felt lying next to him. She wrapped her arm around his waist and rested her head on his chest. She could hear his heartbeat. It was slow and rhythmic.

  She tried to stay awake, she really did. But finally, she gave up and let her eyes drift closed.

  She felt so completely at peace, lying there in James’s arms. And for the first time in a long time, she was happy.

  * * *

  Layla startled awake.

  Glancing around in the darkness, she clutched her stomach. Something wasn’t right.

  She peered into the darkness, glancing over at the clock.

  1:15am

  James was softly snoring next to her. She carefully climbed over him so she could make it to the bathroom. He shifted but didn’t wake.

  With her feet firmly planted on the floor, she tiptoed into the bathroom and shut the door. Too scared to look, she sat on the toilet. The only light was from the moon shining through the window.

  After she peed, she started to wipe only to stop.

  Blood.

  Tears pricked her eyes as she stared down at it. She didn’t know a lot about being pregnant, but she knew this wasn’t normal. After wadding a bunch of toilet paper in her underwear, she pulled her shorts back on, washed her hands, and made her way back into James’s room.

  She needed to go to the hospital. Now.

  She stared down at his sleeping form. She contemplated just leaving without him, but she couldn’t do that to. Not when he’d confessed what he had at dinner.

  She owed it to him to stick around. And it seemed as if this baby was forcing her hand. She wasn’t going to be able to keep this a secret any longer.

  She hesitated before she reached out and shook James’s shoulder. When he didn’t wake, she shook him harder.

  He growled, and before she knew it, he’d sprung from the bed, his body tense and agitated. He was in a sleepy stupor as he stared at her.

  “What do you want?” he growled.

  Panicked, Layla moved into his line of sight. “James, it’s me.”

  James stared at her for moment before he blinked. Recognition took over as regret filled his gaze. “Layla?”

  He pulled his arm tight into his body so fast, she would have sworn she’d burned him. Now awake, he began to pace.

  “I’m so…I’m so sorry,” he muttered as he stared down at his hands.

  Layla stood and grabbed her purse. “I need you to take me to the hospital.” She forced her voice to remain calm even though she was a wreck inside.

  James stopped moving as he stared at her. “Did I hurt you?”

  Tears threatened to spill as she shook her head. “No, it’s not that. I just need to go. Now.”

  James nodded as he grabbed his wallet and keys and pulled open the door. “Okay,” he whispered.

  He didn’t meet her eye as she walked past him and out the door. And really, she didn’t want him to. Right now, her focus was on what was going on inside of her, not James.

  Once she knew that the baby was safe, she would face what was happening between the two of them.

  They walked in silence as they made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Mrs. Braxton was sitting at the table, wrapped in a robe with her readers on. She had her nose buried in a book. When Layla descended the last stair, she glanced over.

  “Where are you two off to?” she asked as she flipped a page.

  James cleared his throat. “Layla needs to go to the hospital.”

  Mrs. Braxton was out of her chair before Layla could blink.

  “She what? Honey, what’s wrong?” Mrs. Braxton was standing in front of her, inspecting her.

  Layla just wrapped her arms around her chest. “Can we please go?” she asked.

  Truth was, she wasn’t sure how to handle Mrs. Braxton’s concern. They’d only just met. She shouldn’t have that furrowed brow and worried look in her eye. To Mrs. Braxton, she was a nobody.

  “Let me get dressed, and I’ll come with,” Mrs. Braxton said as she began making her way toward her room.

  “Ma, we’ll be fine. Let’s not overwhelm Layla,” James said as he hooked his hand through his mom’s arm to halt her.

  Mrs. Braxton looked up at him. Her lips were parted, and Layla could see her objection written all over her face. She pulled her arm from James’s hand and straightened her robe.

  “Go get Layla settled. I’ll be by later with some coffee and doughnuts.” As James moved to speak, Mrs. Braxton raised her finger. “I won’t be hearing anything different.”

  James growled but nodded. He turned to Layla and gave her a small smile.

  Layla just turned and made her way to the back door. She needed to make sure the baby was okay, then she could deal with everything else. “Let’s go, please,” she said.

  James was right next to her, his hand placed on the small of her back. He guided her from the house and into the car.

  Layla took a deep breath as she buckled herself in and watched James rush around the car and climb into the driver’s side. Once the engine was started, he peele
d out of the driveway and down their street.

  Thankfully, James didn’t say much during the twenty-minute drive to the hospital. As soon as they walked through the sliding doors, Layla turned to James.

  “I can take it from here,” she said.

  James studied her then nodded. He pointed toward an empty chair and made his way over to it.

  Layla took a deep breath as she glanced over at the receptionist and made her way toward the woman with greying hair and a soft smile.

  “What’s going on, sweetie?” she asked, her southern drawl endearing her even more.

  Layla swallowed hard as she leaned in and whispered, “I think I’m losing my baby.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  James sat in the lobby of the emergency room with his hands pressed together. His elbows were resting on his knees and his head was down. For some reason, he was fixated on the stain just under the chair.

  Maybe it was because he still couldn’t believe that he was here with Layla. Or that he’d hurt the one woman he’d grown to love.

  What was he thinking, letting someone in? His destiny was to ruin those he cared about. Why did he think it would be different this time.

  He closed his eyes for a moment, and Layla’s shocked face flashed through his mind. Her panicked, scared expression seemed burned on his eyelids.

  She was hurting, and he was the cause of it.

  What was wrong with him?

  “How is she?”

  James glanced over to see his mom settling into the chair next to him. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun. She had a thermos in one hand and a Tupperware container in the other.

  A mixture of relief and anger rushed through him. He was grateful that his mom was here to support him, but a part of him knew he didn’t deserve it.

  Love wasn’t in the cards for him. The sooner he accepted that, the better.

  But Sondra wasn’t going anywhere, and from the look on her face, she expected a response. He sat back and scrubbed his face.