Keeping Her Love by Tiger Hill Page A

 
    “What do you want me to tell you?” She asked, finishing off her rum and coke with a swig. “He wanted my affection. I gave it to him. He’s never had a real girlfriend before, and he’s lonely. He puts himself in that place, you know. Max is the quiet type. He can be a very sweet, caring person, but it can be hard for him to break that hard exterior. He’s my twin, and he trusts me. He looks to me for love when he feels that everything else around him is dark and cold. Layla is hard to love, but he knew he could have her if he wanted. He needs to break it off with her. It’s brought him nothing but heartache to be with someone he has no connection with.”
    Rhett sat back in his chair, thinking about her words. “Okay. Next, your parents and Layla. I don’t have much of a problem with them, particularly your father because he keeps his business to himself most of the time. But Layla and your mother have been driving you crazy with this wedding business. You have a soft heart, and I think they’re going to pummel you with how they beat you down about this stuff.”
    She sighed, playing with her napkin. “They can be a bother, yes. They do it because they care.”
    “And because they like weddings. Let’s be honest—is your mother trying to have the wedding she wants, or the one you want? Same goes for Layla.”
    She let out a little laugh. “My mother… Her own wedding wasn’t anything fancy. My dad and her basically tied the knot in a backyard. And Layla… She loves those wedding shows. My mom is helping to pay for a lot of this, so it feels like she should have a lot more say in what goes on.”
    “How much is she paying?”
    “For the dress and the cake.”
    “The things that are highly stylized? Am I right on that?”
    “Perhaps,” she said with a smirk.  
    “She hasn’t paid for those things yet, has she?”
    “No, she but sends me a lot of ‘hints.’ We were supposed to go look at dresses next weekend with Layla.”
    Rhett almost wanted to vomit into his beer. “Do you have to do it with them?”
    “Well, it would probably create some bad blood if I cut them out, yes. It’s supposed to be something you invite your close female relatives to. It’s almost like a tradition for the family to help choose a wedding dress.”
    “If you can’t disinvite them, tell your mom that she doesn’t need to pay for the dress anymore. I’m tired of those hens telling you what to do. No disrespect.”
    Instead of being offended, Tula seemed amused by his comment. “Easier said than done. My mother is a sweet woman, but she doesn’t like being trifled with.”
    Their food was served, and they paused the conversation for a moment to dig into their food. Both of them audibly let known their culinary pleasure as they consumed those first few bites.
    “Look,” began Rhett, his fork tilted towards her. “I’ll be straight with you. This whole idea to move in with your family probably wasn’t a great one. I mean, I was worried this whole time that I would make a bad impression on them, and I believe that I didn’t, which is good. But they have a habit of muddling with things, and I’m not entirely comfortable with how events have been going down the past few months. I don’t want to offend them, and I like the extra money we save every month, but I’m tired of this. I want to move back out and into a place with you.”
    She thought about this, looking down at her plate as she chewed her food. “To be honest, I agree with you. I don’t think you clash with my family at all. You’ve been a perfect gentleman, and they’ve told me in private that they like you. And, you know, my family is nice enough—even Max and Layla—but there’s some… I don’t know. Things just get uncomfortable because of their personalities. It’s just better when we’re all apart, huh? You have to keep some distance with some people because too much familiarity breeds complacency.”
    “Right, exactly what I