Share
Always Yours
Related chapters
Asking for a Friend Touched
LAYTONOn Friday afternoon, I took Marissa out to lunch. We were at a small Mexican restaurant near the office, bundled up in a booth in the back corner. It was below freezing outside again today and we managed to snag a booth near the roaring fireplace.The restaurant was decorated in rich colors and dark brown wood. A Mexican flag hung above the bar and it smelled like tortillas and spice.Marissa had shrugged out of her black coat and was wearing red jeans, black boots and a fitted black shirt with her usual array of jewelry. She was snuggled under my arm in the back of the booth, smiling and raving about the plate of tacos we’d just demolished.“That was incredible,” she told me, staring wistfully at the empty plate in front of us.“We have another order on the way,” I reminded her and was rewarded by a bright smile.“How could I forget?” She buried her face in her hands and shook her head. “That’s the best news I’ve had all day.”“What about the news we got on the Linderman accou
Asking for a Friend My Own Pocket
LAYTONIt was touching that Annie had chosen our day out to draw a picture of, even if she had taken artistic liberty like the rod in Marissa’s hand and the whole basket of fish we caught. I knew it meant something to her and that meant something to me.It didn’t bother me in the least and I wanted to prove it to Marissa. If I got some extra time with Annie out of the deal, that was good with me too.“Tomorrow should be fine,” Marissa agreed, and a warm, excited feeling flooded my insides. Despite what Craig had said about his mom never letting a man in again, there was no doubt that Marissa was letting me in. It felt like we were making progress on a daily basis now. “That’s a great idea. She’s going to be so excited when I tell her.”Our second order of tacos interrupted our conversation and we both dug in. Almost as soon as we were done eating, Marissa let out a little yelp when she saw the time and rushed back to the office to finish a report she promised to get over to one of the
Asking for a Friend Baking
MARISSAGetting home on Friday afternoon, I found Denise and Annie baking cookies in the kitchen. There was flour on every surface, a half melted block of butter next to the microwave, several mixing bowls filled with batter and a bag of chocolate chips on the counter.But it also smelled divine in the house, so at least that was something. I grinned when I found them wearing the novelty aprons I got them for Christmas last year. Denise’s said ‘Queen of Everything’ and Annie’s read, ‘The Remix.’ The one I got for myself read ‘The Original.’ Annie’s and mine were meant to be worn together, so I immediately got mine out of the cupboard and joined in with making the mess.“How was your day, ladies?” I asked, tying the apron’s strings behind my back.Denise cast an eye across the kitchen and jerked her head in the direction of the oven. “We’ve been baking, so it’s been great. We’ve got bran muffins, chocolate chip cookies and oat-crunchies made so far.”“Who was hungry when you got home?”
Asking for a Friend Being Nosy
MARISSADenise stuck her tongue out at me when Annie wasn’t looking and pulled a tray of cookies out of the oven. While I transferred them to the cooling rack, she went to work getting the next batch in. “You know you were curious, too. Besides, I’ve asked him those questions now, I’m not going to ask them again.”“I can think of a few questions you haven’t covered yet,” I teased. Heaven knew, I shuddered to think what she would come up with given half a chance. His underwear size, current bank balance or the phone numbers of his best friends for references came to mind.Denise seemed to know where my thoughts had gone, because she nodded her agreement. “I could be more subtle with the next round of questions.”“Unfortunately,” I winked at Annie. “We’re keeping my dear boss all to ourselves tomorrow. Sorry. We’re going to have our own party with only the three of us being invited.”Annie cheered at that, abandoning her cookie batter in favor of coming to hug me. “I think that’s a fabu
Asking for a Friend Stubborn Mother
LAYTONWhistling cheerfully, I stepped out of the shower. I was due to leave for Marissa’s in twenty minutes and I couldn’t wait to see her and spend some more time with her and Annie.As unlikely as it seemed, I was more excited for the day than I had been for anything in a long time. It sucked that I wouldn’t get to kiss or hold Marissa, or really even touch her while Annie was around, but I was willing to suffer through that particular brand of torture if it meant getting to spend time with them. I told myself there would be plenty of time for all the touching I wanted to do later on. Eventually, I was sure Marissa would feel more comfortable with telling Annie about the true nature of our relationship. All I had to do was be patient.Patience was something I had in spades. I had to learn how to be patient working in the industry that I’d chosen to work in. Having to wait for a building to take shape from the first meeting with a client until the eventual ribbon cutting taught me h
Asking for a Friend I Know Him
LAYTONI was mesmerized by his telling me about my mom. I couldn’t remember hearing him talk about her once. Leaning forward, I got even closer to the screen as I absorbed every word he spoke. “The day I met her, I knew she was special. She wasn’t like anyone I’d ever met before. It would be lying to tell you that I knew it was love. I didn’t. Love doesn’t work that way, at least not for me. All I knew was that I wanted more of her. I wanted to know what made her tick and how she could be so bubbly when she’d been through so much before she even met me.”What? I hadn’t known my mom had gone through anything before she met my dad. On the off occasion I allowed myself to really think about her, I’d not given it more thought beyond acknowledging that she’d had a life before she met him. Everyone did. I’d never thought there would be anything sinister in it, though.“I don’t know how much you remember about your mom, but I imagine it’s not much. The thing is, Layton, by now you’ve already
Asking for a Friend No Show
MARISSALayton was supposed to arrive at our house at eleven in the morning. By ten forty-five, Annie was practically bouncing off the walls from excitement. She’d changed her outfit three times, had two different backpacks packed—one for in case we went fishing and another in case she would need toys and puzzles for where ever we ended up going.I was ready to go, too. I’d paired jeans with comfortable knee high riding boots, my red coat and a camel jersey. Feeling relatively confident that I looked good, I left my hair loose to tumble down my shoulders and kept my makeup to a minimum.My purse was on the table in the entrance hall and I had stocked the fridge, just in case we decided it was too miserable to go out and stayed here instead. My eyes dropped to my watch for the fifth time in as many minutes, only to note that Layton was now yet another minute later than he had been a minute ago.That made him twenty-two minutes late in total. In all the time I’d known Layton, I’d known
Asking for a Friend Deadbeat
LAYTON“Welcome to New York, sir. We hope you’ll be traveling with us again soon.” A perky flight attendant said with a winning smile. Her name tag told me her name was Cindy.I hadn’t seen her during the flight, but that hardly meant anything. I spent the entire time rehearsing what I would say to Brice when I finally saw him, alternating between all-consuming rage and total confusion. “Thank you, Cindy,” I told her absently, disembarking the plane in a city I hadn’t been to for a long time. I couldn’t believe I was returning here for Brice, of all people.After my father’s video, shock kept me immobile for a couple of hours. I paced up and down, may have turned over a few tables, and finally, decided to take Dad’s advice. For once.If Marissa had a dark and battered past because of Brice, I needed to talk to him. To do the right thing, so to speak. I should have spoken to Marissa, but by the time I realized I’d long since missed our date, I didn’t know what to say to her.I was wor
Latest chapter
Asking for a Friend Epilogue Part 2
Asking for a Friend Epilogue Part 1
Asking for a Friend Tiny Dancer
Asking for a Friend Sixth Months of Heaven
Asking for a Friend Living the Dream
Asking for a Friend We're a Family
Asking for a Friend Tasting Him
Asking for a Friend Raw
Asking for a Friend Prove It To Her
