Hollywood Triplets - Layla Valentine

Chapter 1

“More wine, Annalise?”

Annalise held her wine glass out to her brother-in-law, Raúl. “Thanks,” she said. “It’s a really good one.”

Her twin sister Janette grinned. “It’s okay that you don’t know anything about wine, Annalise,” she said. “You don’t have to pretend for Raúl’s sake. He’s used to picking wines for me.”

Annalise grinned. “It’s true,” she admitted. “When I buy a bottle of wine, It’s usually a ten-dollar white from the grocery store. I don’t know anything about fine wines.”

“Well, don’t worry about that,” Raúl said. “Just enjoy it. That’s why you come here, right? For the five-star meals?”

The three of them laughed together. Although Raúl had—as usual—opened a nice bottle of wine for the occasion, dinner wasn’t exactly fine dining. Janette had made a pot of macaroni and cheese, and Raúl had fried up some sausages to stir into the dish. It tasted wonderful, and Annalise adored having a home-cooked meal with family. But it wasn’t fancy.

“How’s work been?” her sister asked her, tucking her chin-length hair behind her ear.

Annalise was always a little bit impressed when she spent time with Janette. Although her sister was only seventeen minutes older than she was, Janette seemed to have her life together in ways Annalise didn’t.

That expensive haircut was just the tip of the iceberg. There was also the fact that Janette was married—she and Raúl had tied the knot a little over a year ago—and the fact that she owned her own home, which she and her husband had built themselves. Janette was a successful architect, and she had really put her skills to work designing their house. Raúl, meanwhile, owned a contracting company, so they’d been able to get the work done without breaking the bank.

It was so different from Annalise’s life. Which wasn’t to say that she didn’t love her life—she did—but she often felt much more immature than her twin sister.

“Work’s okay,” she said. “We just started a unit on the makeup of the cell.”

Raúl laughed. “Sixth grade never changes, I guess,” he said. “I remember doing that when I was in school. Are you making the kids build their own cells out of gelatin?”

“Yup,” Annalise said. “Building a cell out of gelatin is a rite of passage.”

Janette grinned. “I’m honestly jealous of your job sometimes, Annalise. You get to be creative, and you have such a good time.”

“I do,” Annalise said. “Teaching has always been the right fit for me, and I’ve never regretted it. But it’s hard work.”

“I can tell,” Janette said. “I’ve been trying to get you to come over and have dinner with us for almost a month, but you’ve been so busy!”

“Sometimes I think they should pay teachers by the hour,” Raúl said. “All that extra classroom prep time you put in outside of school hours—you deserve to be compensated for that.”

“I do it because I love the kids,” Annalise said. “That’s enough of a reason for me.”

She didn’t mention the reason her love of the kids was such a motivating force for her. She didn’t want to bring her sister and brother-in-law down. But she knew that, even left unsaid, the fact that she couldn’t have children of her own was at the forefront of everyone’s mind.

Annalise had always wanted to be a mother. She had always loved children and had dreamed of raising her own. That was why her diagnosis of severe endometriosis at seventeen had been so devastating. Even at such a young age, she’d been destroyed when the doctors told her she’d never be able to have children.

She had gone through a period of envying her sister. Janette had received a similar diagnosis, but her condition was less severe, and the doctors had told her that her fertility most likely wouldn’t be affected.

But in her mid-twenties, Annalise had gotten over that envy. If she couldn’t have a child, she was extremely glad that Janette could. At least one of them would be able to achieve her dreams of motherhood. And Annalise would be able to be an aunt. That was certainly better than nothing.

Now, Janette and Raúl were looking at each other awkwardly.

“What?” Annalise asked. “Why are you being weird?”

Janette hesitated, then spoke. “There’s a reason we wanted to invite you over,” she said. “There’s something we wanted to talk to you about.”

Annalise gasped. “You’re pregnant!”

Raúl burst out laughing.

Janette grinned. “No,” she said. “Not yet. But we’re trying.”

“Oh, Janette, that’s wonderful!” Annalise exclaimed. “I wondered when you would, but I didn’t want to put pressure on you.”

“We wanted to

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