#Chapter 27 - A Needed Distraction

Aldo Morning sunlight filtered through the tall windows of my study, illuminating the cluttered desk I’d been ignoring for hours. Reports and files lay scattered across the wooden tabletop, each representing something vitally important that demanded my attention. And yet, I’d given no thought to any of them. My mind was elsewhere. Well, to be more specific, my mind was on Layla. No matter how hard I tried to stay away—physically and mentally—my thoughts kept circling back to her and Eli. I kept seeing them, over and over, like a montage of movie scenes. Eli by the boat, dropping into the sand. Layla rushing across the beach towards him. Layla, hands covered in blood, steadily stitching up a bullet wound. Layla in a white dress, a crown of daylilies woven through white-blonde hair. I leaned back in my oversized chair, tugged a hand through my hair. “This isn’t working.” I’d promised to stay away. Give her space to build back her life without me hovering over it like a