by Piper Rayne
I wave my hand for Payne to come back to me. He does, but in doing that Via has her eyes on what’s going on. She runs right into the room.
“Stay here.” I place my hand on Payne’s chest and run after her.
Seconds before I enter the room I hear her giggling.
I step into the room and see the back of a man bending down to pick up my little girl. I’d know the back of this man anywhere—that short blond hair and those strong shoulders. Carver slowly turns, flashing me what started as his ‘get in my pants’ smile and over the years of his bad behavior morphed into his ‘get out of jail free’ smile.
“Layla.” His voice is laced with the sweetness he uses when he wants forgiveness.
“Carver,” I return, my voice laced with annoyance.
“No welcome home hug?” he asks. Via wraps her two arms around his neck, squeezing him tight.
I stare in disbelief, wondering why the hell he’s back, when Payne’s hand slowly slides into mine, reminding me that for his and Via’s sake, I have to play nice.
Chapter 20
Vance
“So, all in all this weekend was pretty kickass.” Jagger sits down across from me at the restaurant in the airport. “I think Hannah’s smitten with you.” He smiles over the rim of his mug.
“She’s loving her single life,” Leo says while he adds about an inch of jelly to his toast.
“She’s only in her thirties and got hosed for all that fucking money in the divorce. I think she’s doing what she wants now and it’s a smart decision on her part to invest in films.” Jagger places his hand on my shoulder. “This guy’s film to be specific.”
I smile and snap a piece of bacon, popping it in my mouth.
The weekend was a success and I fully believe Hannah will work with me with or without Layla, but obviously she has her heart set on Layla starring in the film.
“Just so you’re aware, I’m taking Layla out tonight and confessing my sins.” I eye Jagger.
He rolls his eyes and blows out a breath. “I don’t understand why you’re going through all this for a girl you’ll probably be broken up with in a month or two.”
“Jag.” Leo shakes his head, piling another forkful of eggs into his mouth.
“Leo, you’ve dated enough actresses to know. There’s no settling down long term with them,” Jagger says.
Leo shrugs, looks over to me. “Why burst the bubble now? Let them have their fun.”
I shoot him a ‘what the fuck’ look. I thought the guy was on my side?
“He’s putting the entire film on the stove with the gas on. One tiny spark and the whole thing combusts.”
I stand up, forcefully shoving my chair back from the table and stalking away. I’ve never seen Jagger be this big a dick before. Correction: I’ve never seen Jagger be this big a dick to me before.
Fifteen minutes later, Jagger sits next to me at the gate. Our plane is here, but we’re not allowed to board yet.
“I’m sorry,” he says, tapping his legs.
“Just forget it. My business is my business from this point on.”
I spy Leo in the gift shop across the way, probably trying to give Jagger and I time to figure this shit out.
“I don’t want that. I like picking on you.” He nudges me with his shoulder.
“I’m over it, Jag. I’m with Layla and I know you don’t agree, but speaking your displeasure at every turn is getting pretty fuckin’ old.”
He nods slowly a few times. “Yeah, okay. I’ll keep my mouth shut. I just want you to seize this opportunity, you know? The script is great. Not to mention, when it comes to you and Leo, I’ve always considered myself the big brother of the group, watching out for you guys in the cesspool that can be L.A. life.” His lips turn down at the corners and I can see that he’s sincere.
Jagger was a lifesaver to Leo and me when we first arrived. Everyone knows everyone in this town and things don’t work like they do everywhere else in the world. Maybe he’s failed to see we’ve grown up. We’re not those wide-eyed guys looking at the hookers and dealers on Sunset anymore. He needs to trust us that we each know what’s good for us.
“I like her… a lot.” I face him head on so he can see how important this is to me.
It’s been a short time, but there’s something with Layla that just fits. I can’t lie, the fact her son told me he loved me on the phone did knock me off balance a little, but he’s four and it’s pretty cool to think he likes me enough to say that.
“Okay then. My lips are sealed.” He stands up, walking backwards away from me. “I won’t even razz you when and if it blows up.” He winks with his classic grin and then he joins Leo in the gift shop.
Leo looks back at me, eyebrows raised, silently asking if all is well again. I nod.
All this talk about Layla makes me miss her.
I pull out my phone as the flight attendant tells us that the plane will begin boarding in a few minutes. Since we’re first class I know we’ll be called soon.
Me: Were you able to get a babysitter for tonight?
Layla: Looks like it.
Me: Great, I’ll pick you up at seven.
Layla: Why don’t I meet you at your place for a change?
Me: This is a date. I’ll pick you up. ;)
Layla: Can you talk?
The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
Me: I’m about to board. Something up?
Layla: No. I just have to tell you something. It can wait until tonight.
Me: Great. Me, too. See you at seven.
Layla: I’ll wear a dress. ;)
Me: Easy access. I like how you’re thinking. I’ll go commando. ;)
Layla: Be careful with those zippers.
Me: Don’t worry about me, I’m a pro.
Leo smacks me on the shoulder. “Let’s get home.” During all the texting I must have missed our announcement to board.
Me: Boarding now. See you tonight. <3
Layla: Can’t wait.
I step out of my car and walk up to the front door. By the time I got home, showered, and changed I had no time to relax, but I was able to catch up on sleep on the flight home.
When we separated, Jagger and Leo wished me good luck with telling Layla the truth tonight. I thanked them because I need all the luck I can get. I’m praying tonight ends with my mouth on her pussy, not her foot up my ass.
I wipe my clammy hands down my jeans and ring the doorbell.
Small footsteps sound from the other side and my heart warms knowing that Payne is going to be on the other side of the door to greet me.
“Never answer the door on your own,” a male voice says and the footsteps stop.
What the fuck? She hired a guy babysitter? It better be her father or a brother I don’t know about.
The door opens and my stomach drops to my feet, nausea sweeping in fast and furious. My worst fear just came true.
“Holy shit. Layla’s going out with you?”
“Carver?” My eyes have to be playing tricks on me. Her ex-husband is here and he’s answering the door like he fucking lives here?
“I haven’t seen you since that guest role on Abandoned.” He shakes my hand, a little firmer than I remember.
“Yeah,” is all I manage given that I’m still in a state of shock.
“Are you guys in production right now?” he asks and my gaze moves to Payne, who is standing in the doorway of the foyer and living room.
“Hey, buddy.” I raise my hand for a high-five and Payne comes over and smacks it.
“Yeah, Payne was telling me about how much he likes you. So, did you leave executive producing for nannying?” Carver laughs, ushering me into the house.
He continues to walk into the living room and I follow him since he’s yet to stop talking.
“I had no idea you went by a different name.” He sits down on the couch, Via nowhere to be found.
“Um…” I glance around, seeing no sign of Layla. “Yeah, I used a dif
ferent name for all my production credits.”
He nods. “You and me both. My real name isn’t Carver Sterling.”
Go figure. I never even asked Layla if it’s her real name. Maybe it’s not and she’ll understand.
“Hey.” He leans in closer. “Does Layla know?”
I avoid his question and respond by saying, “I’m no longer with Abandoned.”
He chuckles. “No shit.” Then he holds his hands up. “I mean, news travels fast over pillow talk.”
I nod. Of course, he knows all about why I got fired when he’s been banging the instigator in question. I should have known better than to think Gwen would keep her trap shut.
“But does she know about you being executive producer of Abandoned? Does she know you’re Ryder Stone?” The smirk playing on his lips can’t be mistaken for anything but a power trip over the fact that he has something over me.
“What?” Layla’s voice appears behind me. “This is Vance Rose, Carver.”
I turn around and all the breath in my lungs rushes out. She’s wearing a cute flower dress with a jean jacket and a pair of flats, her legs long and tanned. I hate the fact that Carver is getting to see her looking so amazing, too.
“You sure about that? Guess it’s my mistake.” Carver laughs and sits down on the couch, grabbing his beer like the lights just flickered and it’s time for the show to start.
And from Layla’s confused face, I know it’s going to be a show.
“Hey, can we talk?” I whisper, reaching out for her hand.
She eyes me suspiciously and then glances at Carver, but her gaze travels back to me.
“You sure you’re good with the kids?” she asks him.
Payne is sitting on the couch playing with the iPad.
“Yeah, Olivia’s down for the count for the night and me and this guy are gonna watch the fight.” Carver uses his foot to get Payne’s attention, but Payne never looks up from the iPad.
“Call me if you need me.” She moves over to the chair and kisses Payne on the top of the head. “Be good for Daddy, okay?”
Payne nods.
“Nice seeing you again, Carver.” I hold my hand out to Carver and he shakes it, his smug look still in place.
“You too, Stone.” He winks.
Layla bunches up her forehead and turns to look at her son. “Payne, baby, do me a favor and go upstairs.”
Payne ignores her.
“Layla, let’s go talk,” I say.
She shakes her head. “Payne!” For the first time since I’ve known her she raises her voice to him.
It works as intended, garnering his attention.
“Upstairs, now.” She points to the stairs.
“What did I do?” He looks between his mom and dad, then lastly my way.
“Nothing. I’m sorry for yelling. We just need a little adult time.”
Payne stands and she kisses the top of his head again before he runs upstairs with the iPad.
“Layla, let’s go.” The last thing I want is to have this conversation with her shitty ex taking notes from the sideline.
She stares up toward the stairs. Payne’s door shuts and her head slowly swivels toward me, her eyes firing cannonballs in my direction.
“Why is Carver calling you Stone?”
Carver laughs.
“Quit it, Carver.” Her head snaps back and forth between the two of us.
“Can we talk about this alone?” I ask.
She crosses her arms, inhales a deep breath, and then storms into the kitchen.
“Good luck, man. There’s a reason we’re getting divorced,” Carver says.
I flip up my middle finger as I walk into the next room.
She’s pacing back and forth in front of the kitchen counter when I get there, but her shoes stop clicking on the hardwood floor as soon as I enter.
She stares back at me and dread fills my veins. “Answer the question. What is your real name?”
“My name is Vance Rose, but—”
“Tell me, Vance.” She crosses her arms and cocks a hip to the side.
“Let me explain from the beginning,” I plead.
“Answer the question and I’ll decide if you should explain or not.”
Her lips are already turned down, her eyes about to throw fire my direction. Which seems fair. I already burnt her in the past, suppose she should do the same. My shoulders sag with remorse, not only for what I did to her in the past, but for hurting her again now.
“I was an executive producer under the name Ryder Stone.” My fists are clenched at my sides as I wait for her reaction.
Her arm extends, her finger pointed toward the door. “Get out.” Her nostrils are flaring, her arms shaking.
“Let me explain.” Panic grips me and makes it hard to breathe because I cannot lose this woman. Or her kids. They mean too much to me.
“You walked into this house, into my life. You hugged my kids all while knowing you were lying. You’re a bastard, whoever the fuck you are. Now get out of my house and out of my life.” She faces the doorway and when I glance behind me, Carver’s leaning against the doorframe, his beer at his lips.
There’s no way this conversation can happen while that fucker is here.
I stare at her for a minute and she’s so disgusted that she can’t even keep her gaze on me and she looks away. Pain lances through my chest knowing that I did this to myself. I have no one else to blame. The devastation and self-hatred I’m feeling make me want to lash out and it’s all I can do to keep a hold of myself.
I’m not letting her go without a fight. I refuse.
“When you’re ready for me to explain, call me.”
I step back and walk through the house and out the door with tears stinging the corner of my eyes. Will this be the last time I set foot in this house? That thought is too painful to bear and has me wiping at my eyes.
I’ll give her the space she needs tonight, but I’m not done fighting for us.
Chapter 21
Layla
Thump.
My head hits the kitchen table when the door shuts. He’s gone.
“What an asshole.” Carver sits down at the table.
I grab his beer and swig down a hefty amount. “And you’re not?” I ask, but the question is mumbled into my sleeve.
“I was. Past tense.”
I peek my eyes up above my sleeve. He’s got to be kidding me. Sitting up straight in my chair, I cross my arms and look him over. He’s his usual put-together self with a new haircut and shave. No stains on his clothes or dark circles under his eyes from partying all the time. “Why are you here?”
His face distorts into an expression that flashes hurt for a second and then it’s gone. Like always, he diverts his gaze, stands and tosses one beer in the recycling and grabs another one from the fridge.
“Carver.” I wait for him to answer.
There was a time he intimidated me. He’s a few years older and in my eyes, he knew everything. He’d come up through the same big platform I had and I thought he’d protect me, understand me. Instead, I have two kids and a cheating almost ex-husband. This is not how I imagined my life at twenty-six.
“Truth?” he says.
“If you think you can tell me without bursting into flames.”
His lips turn up. Mine remain straight. His flirtatiousness won’t work on me anymore.
“I saw the tabloids.” He shrugs.
“You saw what?” The press haven’t been able to get a visual of Vance besides the back of his head yet. Hence the reason his lie lasted so long.
“When I saw you were seeing someone… I didn’t like it. The fact he turned out to be the guy who got you fired and so you tossed his ass was just a bonus.”
I clench my teeth together. This man has some nerve after everything he’s put me through. Did he give any thought to how I might feel as his wife when he was balls deep in other women? “I’m not going to discuss my personal life with you. Regardless, you’re a fa
ther of two children—you better start acting like it. Payne feels uncomfortable around you.”
“Why? I’m his father.”
My hand smacks the table. “Donating sperm doesn’t mean that you’re forever in his heart. You have to be here, Carver. Spend time with him, kiss his boo-boos, play superheroes with him, plan birthday gifts, take him to the movies, read him books, make him feel like he matters. That’s being a father.”
I take a deep breath after letting all the frustration that’s been welling up inside me for months escape. Carter looks on wide-eyed, knowing better than to try to interject when I’m like this.
“I know this industry makes some things impossible, that there’ll be times you’re away filming, but you’re not even trying.”
He picks at the label of his beer bottle, staring at his handiwork for a moment after removing it without any residue.
“Carver.” I sigh.
“I know. I know.” He breathes in deeply again, and his eyes finally meet mine. “I know.”
“You can’t have it both ways.” Needing a drink of my own, I grab a wine glass and a bottle from the refrigerator, pouring myself a healthy amount.
Carver comes up behind me, his hands on my waist, his lips on my neck. For a moment I remember how much I once loved him. But now his lips feel cold and his hands make me shrink.
I slip away from him.
“What the fuck?” he says.
His head tilts to the side, a questioning look on his face. He’s gorgeous, there’s no refuting, but he doesn’t have an honest bone in his body. At least when it comes to me. Quite simply, he’s not the type of man I need or want in my life.
“I thought maybe with that jackass out of the picture, we could give it another go.” He approaches and I step back until the cool metal of the fridge hits my back. “We were good together. Hollywood’s number one up-and-coming couple. Fans rooted for us.” He cages me in, his arms on either side of my head while he peers down at me. “You haven’t forgotten how good we were in bed, have you?” He bends down again, but I crouch under his arm and grab my wine glass from the counter.