by Jo Briggs
“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 enj
oy 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.
“Ha, I could have done with that offer half an hour ago,” he replied with a laugh. “I hope you’re hungry.”
She smiled. “I am.”
Evan had made a simple, soft-dough pizza, laden with mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and basil.
Over dinner, the couple discussed the costume designs Layla had put forward, and how winning the job would involve her being away, on and off, for a couple of months, once the film went into pre-production.
Evan
While Evan knew Layla’s absence would not be for some time yet, he was made nervous by how the news of the film job was affecting him already. He realised the intense feelings he’d always felt for Layla were still alive and burning brightly, and he so wanted to re-establish himself in her life, but he also knew he needed to be realistic about how he went about it.
One nagging doubt kept pushing to the front of his consciousness. Could I raise a child that she’s had with someone else? I’m not sure. Evan had to laugh at the irony of that doubt because, realistically, he was already doing that with Lily, as he lacked absolute proof that she was his. He just needed time to get used to the idea of Bennett, he convinced himself in the end.
“Do you know whether they have finalised all their location shoots taking place over here?” Evan asked, having a sudden brainwave.
“I’m not entirely sure. I’ve only met the location manager a couple of times before, when attending the early introduction meetings.”
“I could always offer The Hall as a location. It would be perfect in my eyes for a Regency era-based film.”
The Hall, which was the Carters’ ancestral home, had been converted into the first Carter Hotel decades earlier, so the exorbitant conservation bills could be paid for by utilising the house more. The Carter family had moved their principal residence to Winster House, located on the outskirts of The Hall’s grounds, once the hotel became popular in the 1940s.
However, when his father passed away and Evan took over the management of the family’s mass of companies, he closed the hotel to refurbish it back to its former glory. The intention, once complete, was to centralise all of the operating headquarters of Carter Holdings and the subsidiaries of the Carter Media hotel chain, along with Cameron’s internet enterprise, in one place at The Hall, rather than having them scattered throughout Europe.
Layla looked at him in surprise.
“Who is the name of the director?” Evan continued when Layla remained silent.
“Philip Elton.”
Evan had met the man before on numerous occasions. As a director of several well-received films, Philip had approached Carter Media to help him fund a project he had been trying to get off the ground. Evan had been interested, but the film did not go into production due to other problems.
“I’ve met him before,” Evan replied. “I’ll discuss the idea with him and his location manager.”
“Are you sure you would want all those people filming on your property for weeks on end?” Layla asked.
“I wouldn’t mind if it meant you would be nearby, instead of being away for so long.”
“Evan, please don’t offer this just for me. If you truly want to do it, let it be for your own interest rather than mine,” Laura asks cautiously, her body language rather stiff as if she is not totally bought on the idea. He knew they had a history of her thinking he was trying to buy her affection, especially in the early days when he was both pursuing her both a personal and professional relationship.
“Layla, it would be for my own interest in many ways. Yes, it would mean you’d be closer, but it would also bring in funds to renovate the house much quicker than I had planned.”
“Okay, well, if you’re sure, I can give you the contact details if yours are out of date.”
Evan smiled. “Great, that will be helpful.”
After dinner, Evan led Layla into the media room, where they snuggled up on the sofa. They were watching a movie when his mobile started to ring. Shifting slightly to view the screen, where Adam's name was flashing, he sighed, but took the call.
“Adam, what can I do for you?” Evan tried not to sound too irritated by the interruption as he knew his friend was probably calling to give him an update on the photo debacle.
“Are you alone?” Adam asked.
“Umm, no, not quite, but I can go into the office. Hold on,” he replied. Frowning slightly, he shot Layla a quick, apologetic glance and moved into the office, closing the door gently behind him.
“What the hell is wrong?” he finally demanded when he was alone.
“In one word, Caggie,” Adam sighed in an unusually exasperated tone.
“What on earth has she been up to now?” Evan's hand began to clench against the desk he was leaning up against. More than anything, he did not want Caggie’s antics to destroy any long-term chance of a full reconciliation with Layla. “Has this got anything to do with the photos of Layla and me?”
“She may have got a whiff of it. Everyone was willing to negotiate buying the photo back, except for one.”
“Don’t tell me – Greg frigging Ashley?”
Greg Ashley was a particularly nasty piece of work; a scummy newspaper reporter with a taste for drug-dealing on the side. He had always refused any request for unsubstantiated gossip regarding the Carters to not be published. Greg’s hatred of the family, and in particular Evan, seemed to have come from a failed opportunity to attain a job within the newsp
aper arm of Carter Media. Ever since, the man had sought every opportunity to dig up any piece of dirt on Evan and Layla when they were together, and if there wasn’t any, he just made some up. Now Caggie seemed to be his regular informant.
“Yes, the latest is that she is threatening to give him a video of you two together, during a rather intimate bedroom moment, unless you increase her monthly allowance,” Adam said quietly.
“She what?” Evan shouted, his voice rising to a higher volume than he had meant.
“Could there even be such a video in existence?” Adam enquired.
Evan went quiet. He’d had so many hazy moments during the drink-binge phases that he did not know for sure. “To be honest, I don’t know, but I thought you went over all her electronic devices the last time she tried to pull this stunt?” Evan said in a quieter tone. “I’m truly going to make this woman pay. She has attempted to blackmail me for the last time.”
“We did go over everything we found in her apartment, but I guess she could have hidden a USB stick. Anyway, Evan, you should concentrate on Layla. I know you wanted this handled discreetly the last time, but I insist we discuss this with our legal team now. You need to warn Layla about everything. I can give you a couple of day's grace before we start playing hard ball with Caggie.
“Okay,” Evan sighed, knowing there was no turning back now.
His overwhelming urge to have a connection with Layla, no matter how small, during the past five years had driven him to make the biggest mistake of his life. Now it was all about to blow up in his face publicly, and God knows what Layla was going to think of him then.
“Evan, just be honest with her. She’ll understand.”
“Let me know when it’s done, but I won’t be contactable tomorrow,” Evan replied slowly.
Ending the conversation, he took a deep breath and tried his best to regain his composure before heading back into the media room. Layla smiled as he walked in, and he resettled on the couch with her to watch the rest of the movie.
Layla
Although she never mentioned the call, Layla had heard Evan's outburst and noticed his tense posture when he walked back in the room. Something was bothering him, but guessing it was a business problem, she didn’t enquire about it at that point.