Page 13 of Rejected Heart
“Tomorrow is fine. I really hope you can come. I’ve never asked anyone to go with me, so you’d be the first. And I think you’ll have a good time. There’s food, music, dancing, and lots of people celebrating the holiday. I’ve had fun when I’ve been there on my own, so if we’re there together, I think it’ll be a blast.”
I didn’t know how he did it, but Liam seemed to know just what I needed to hear that would make me feel special. He was the best.
I talked to him for a few more minutes, but since I was so eager to find out if I could go, I didn’t linger on the call with him for much longer.
After ending my call with Liam, I went downstairs and found my mom on the couch, watching television.
She turned the volume down and immediately focused all her attention on me. “Everything okay?”
I nodded and sat down on the loveseat opposite her. “Yes. What did you want to talk to me about?”
Her features softened. “I’ve tried being patient and giving you time to figure things out, but I guess I’m too nosy. I was wondering about this boy who called. Is he the one you went to the pumpkin patch with? Who is he, and is he only a friend?”
No matter how much she trusted me, my mom was eventually going to want some answers. “His name is Liam. And yes, he’s only a friend.”
“Oh. Okay. He’s never called here before, so I was thinking that maybe I had missed something.”
Without thinking, I quickly corrected her. “Liam calls here all the time. It’s just that he usually does it right after school, when you’re still at the shop.”
My mom’s brows shot up. “I didn’t know that.”
There was nothing in her tone that indicated she was upset. If anything, I sensed a bit of excitement there. Realizing I could possibly make her even happier, I shared, “He called me tonight, because he wanted to ask me to attend his family’s Christmas party with him.”
“Oh, Layla, that sounds wonderful. When and where is the party?”
“It’s the Saturday before Christmas, and it’s at The Westwood Hotel.”
She smiled brightly at me. “It sounds fancy.”
I nodded. “Yes, Liam said his family does this every year. It’s a corporate event, I guess, and it’s formal.”
“This boy is your age, right?”
“He just turned fifteen.” I’d been upset when I learned about his October 28thbirthday after the fact. Not that I had any money to get him something extravagant, but I could have brainstormed and come up with an idea to make him feel as special as he’d made me feel recently.
She inclined her head with understanding. “I’m happy that you’ve got a friend, but I guess I’m curious why a fifteen-year-old is going to a corporate Christmas party. Doesn’t that seem odd to you?”
I hadn’t even thought about that being the case, but now that she mentioned it, I guess it was a bit strange. Of course, she didn’t seem to understand the full scope of the situation. “Well, it is a family business, and since Liam does work at Westwood’s in the summer, he is not only part of the family, but he’s part of the team.”
The light switch seemed to flip on in her head. “Wait. Am I understanding this correctly? Is Liam a Westwood?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that changes things, doesn’t it?”
I wasn’t quite sure I understood why that would be the case. “I don’t know. Does it?”
“Of course. You said it was a formal event, but I didn’t realize it was that level of formal. You have dresses in your closet, but I’m not sure any of them will do for a party I suspect they’d be hosting there.”
Although there was nothing in her tone to indicate this would be a problem, I still wanted my mom to have away out of it. “I realize things are tight, so I didn’t accept the invitation yet. I told Liam that I’d need to check to make sure it was okay with you. I don’t have to tell him the truth about not having anything appropriate to wear. I can simply tell him we have holiday plans already.”
I didn’t want my mom to feel embarrassed about anything—she’d been doing the best she could for both of us all on her own. At the same time, I didn’t want Liam to be disappointed. And I suspected he’d be less likely to feel that way if he believed we had a prior engagement.
“Do you want to go?”
My gaze dropped to my lap. I desperately wanted to go. “I understand it’s a lot.”
“That’s not what I asked you. Do you want to go? Have you enjoyed spending time with Liam?”
