“I tried to apologize to you a million times, Courtney, but you never let me. I was drunk and also…”

Courtney’s head tilted, and her eyebrows went up. “You were also, what? Come on, Reed. You’re always so quick to run off at the damn mouth. What were you? You certainly weren’t having any trouble calling me names. So, what was it, Reed? Drunk and what?”

Reed just stared at Courtney. His fists balled up as he started to back away from her. “Nothing. I already said I was sorry for the things I said!” he shouted.

Courtney jumped from the sound of him yelling.

“And what in the hell do you care what I do with Anna or any other girl for that matter? You’re one to talk. You’re sleeping with Mitch, and you seem to be pretty damn happy with him, so I think you can just mind your own business. I’ll fuck whoever I want to fuck.”

Courtney’s eyes started to fill with tears as Reed turned and walked toward the back door.

He looked back at Courtney as he opened the door. “I was drunk and also jealous. It killed me, seeing you and Mitch together, and the only reason I fucked Anna was so I could forget about you. Are you happy now, Courtney?” Reed spun around, walked out the door, and slammed it shut behind him.

Layton walked out of the kitchen as I ran up to Courtney. She practically collapsed into my arms, crying.

“Court, why? Why are you with Mitch if you have feelings for Reed?” I asked as we both slowly sat down on the kitchen chairs.

Courtney was sobbing hysterically now. I got up and went into the half bathroom to grab some tissues as Courtney settled herself down.

“Court, talk to me.”

She looked up at me and tried to smile. “I can’t…a guy like Reed Moore will only end up hurting me. You heard what he just said.”

My mouth dropped open. “What? Why in the world do you say that?”

“Because it’s true, Whit. He’s all talk, and he’s such an asshole. He’s rude, he’s a know-it-all, and he always argues with me.”

I shook my head. “Okay, first off, I’ve never seen Reed be rude to anyone…well, anyone besides you. I think the two of you bring out the worst in each other because you’re both fighting this attraction that you clearly have for one another. Neither one of y’all have ever been in a serious long-term relationship. Do you think that scares you maybe?”

“No! I want to be with someone, Whitley. I want what I’ve read about in all those damn books.”

“That’s the problem, honey. You’re comparing Reed to all your book boyfriends. You never even gave him a chance. What makes Mitch different from Reed?”

Courtney smiled. “Mitch is…just Mitch.”

“Um…that’s not really an answer.”

“He’s safe, and he’s polite. He always tells me how much he cares about me and how beautiful I am. He makes me feel special.”

“Reed’s not safe?”

“Fuck no, Reed’s not safe. I mean, come on, Whitley, you heard what he just said. He slept with Anna to forget me? Who does that? Asshole men who don’t care if they hurt you or not.”

“I don’t think he’s like that, Court. I mean, he just admitted he has feelings for you.”

Courtney laughed. “He also admitted to sleeping with Anna to forget about me. If I’m that easy to forget, what does that tell you about him?” She stood and tried to dry her eyes. “It doesn’t matter anyway. He just tries to make me upset every time he sees me. He is always saying something to make me mad.”

I thought about last night at the game when Courtney had come back upset. “What did he say last night when y’all were both getting drinks?”

Courtney stopped and looked at me. “What?”

“Last night at the football game, when you came back, you were clearly hurt, and Reed was following you. He seemed to be upset also. What did y’all say to each other?”

Courtney just stood there, staring at me.

“Court? Hello? What in the hell is wrong with you?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. It doesn’t matter. It was a mistake.”

I looked at her with the same look my mother used to give me when she had pumped me for information. “Courtney…”

“Um…well, he, um…he pulled me to the side and told me I looked really good. When I told him to let me go, he, um…he—”

“For Christ’s sake, Courtney, spit it the hell out!”

She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “He asked me if I was sure.”

“Sure about what?”

“Mitch. He asked me if I was sure of my feelings for Mitch. He was standing so close to me, and all I could smell was his cologne. And his eyes—they were looking right into mine. My head was spinning, and I was so confused as to why he was asking me that.”

“What did you say?”

Her eyes filled with tears. “I told him yes, that I’d never been so sure of something in my entire life.”

“Oh, Courtney. Don’t you see what he was doing? He wouldn’t have been with Anna last night if you had just told him the truth. Courtney, you have to be honest with your feelings—not only for Reed but also think about Mitch.”

Courtney’s head snapped up as she looked me in the eyes. “I care about Mitch—a lot.”

“Do you love him?”

Her eyes started to tear up again. “I think I’m falling in love with him. Yes.”

“Do you love Reed?”

She shook her head and looked away from me.

“Court, do you love Reed also?”

She looked up at me as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Yes,” she whispered.

“Courtney…oh no.” I sat there in the kitchen, holding my best friend in my arms, as she cried hysterically.

“Court, you have to listen to your heart, not your head. Who does your heart tell you to follow?”

Courtney stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. She took a calming deep breath and smiled. “Thank you, Whitley, for letting me get all that off my chest. I need to go find Mitch. I’m sure he’s ready to head out. Have fun today with Layton and tonight with Jen and Kate. Give her a big birthday kiss from me.” She smiled as she gave me a hug, and then she turned to leave.

“Court?”

She stopped and glanced back at me. “Yeah?”

“Please follow your heart, babe.”

She gave me a weak smile and walked out the door.

I sat there for a few minutes before I felt Layton’s hands on my shoulders. The moment he touched me, I felt a sense of peace.

I stood and turned to him. “Will you make love to me?”

He smiled as he reached down and picked me up. The whole way to his bedroom, he just kept telling me how much he loved me.

As he laid me down on the bed, I smiled at him. “I still have the vibrator in my overnight bag, you know.”

The smile that spread across his face caused me to instantly blush.

“Ah, hell yeah, let’s make up for last night!”

I laughed as I watched him practically rip off his clothes. My heart was filled with so much love for him.

I thought of Courtney and said a quick prayer that she would follow her heart and not her head.

Layton started to take off my jeans oh-so slowly.

Oh God…the feel of his hands on me is pure heaven.

“I’m going to make the sweetest, most passionate love to you, Whitley.”

Oh my, I can’t breathe.

“Yes,” was all I could manage to get out of my mouth as I felt his lips all over my body.

I grabbed the sheets with my hands as I felt his hot breath against my clit. It didn’t take long before I was screaming out his name with one of the most intense orgasms ever.

God, the way he makes me feel when he does that…

As I slowly came back down, I had the feeling we were being watched. It quickly disappeared when I felt Layton slowly enter my body.

I closed my eyes and got lost in Layton’s lovemaking.

“I love you, Whitley. I want to be with you forever.”

I felt a tear roll down my face as I pulled him closer to me. I needed to feel him closer…deeper inside me.

“I’ll love you always, Layton.”

Chapter Twenty-Four: Layton

As Whitley and I lay in bed, I had the strangest feeling we were being watched.

Fuck, I really need to get that alarm system fixed. I’m all paranoid now.

“Baby, are you and Courtney using the alarm system I had put in at your house?”

“Mmm…”

I smiled as I felt her warm body up against mine.

“Was that a yes?”

“Mmhmm.”

I let out a small laugh. I had been thinking all night about how I was going to ask her to marry me, and I finally figured it out.

Whitley might be from New York, but she is a simple country girl at heart.

I needed to keep it simple. My heart started pounding. Four more days, and I was going to ask her to be my wife.

“Layton?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Can I ask you something?” Whitley rolled over to look at me.

“Always.”

“Earlier today, when everyone started freaking out because they thought I was pregnant, you seemed…well, you almost seemed like you were disappointed when I said I wasn’t. I mean, I might have been reading it all wrong, and that’s okay if I was. It’s just that it kind of confused me, and I—”

I put my finger up to her lips to quiet her. “Whitley, I’m not going to lie to you. For a brief few moments, I was thrilled with the idea of you carrying our child.”

She slowly let a smile play across her face.

“But I want to do things right. I want to get married and spend time with you. I want to spoil you and make love to you anytime I want. I don’t think we can really do that with a little one. I want to discover everything about you. Then, I’d like to have a baby…or two.”

She giggled as she wiped away her tears. “I want the same thing, Layton. I’ve never been so happy in my entire life.”

I gently kissed her as I reached over and grabbed the little black bag with her vibrator. I took it out of the bag and turned it on. She smiled against my lips and turned her head away from me.

“Don’t turn away from me, Whitley.”

When she turned back and looked at me, I almost had to suck in a breath of air.

My God, her eyes are beautiful and filled with nothing but love and passion.

“Layton…”

“I love it when you say my name. It sounds so beautiful coming from your lips.”

I turned on the vibrator and put it up against one of her nipples. It instantly got hard as she let out a small moan. I took the other nipple into my mouth and sucked and lightly bit on it.

“Oh God, Layton!”

I moved the vibrator down to her stomach. I wanted to watch her use it on herself, but I wasn’t sure how she would react to that request.

“Take the vibrator, Whitley.”

Her eyes snapped over to mine. I saw fear and lust mixed together.

She slowly moved her hands down and took it from me. I put two fingers inside her and then pulled them out. I put her wetness onto the vibrator. I pulled my eyes from hers and watched as she started to put the vibrator inside her before she stopped.