Текст книги "Taking Chances"
Автор книги: Molly McAdams
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Текущая страница: 25 (всего у книги 27 страниц)
He shrugged, “Needless to say, that marriage didn’t work out.”
“Oh, I wonder why?” I winked and a smile stretched across my face briefly before faltering when I saw the pissed off expressions on most the people that had just walked through the back door. Brandon was first, shrugging off Konrad’s halting arm with one hand, the other had his phone pressed to his ear. Bree, Jeremy and Aubrey followed behind him, the first two brooding, Aubrey was nervously looking between Brandon and me. “Babe?”
“Let me call you right back.” He said quietly and slid his phone into his pocket, “Harper, I gotta talk to you.”
“No, you don’t!” Konrad said harshly and my eyes widened in surprise.
“I can’t believe you’re even considering this, you arrogant asshole!” Bree shoved him roughly from behind, Brandon didn’t even spare a glance at her.
“Sweetheart, that was –”
“You’re smiling?! Are you kidding me?” Jeremy’s face was bright red as his voice continued to rise, “How can you be happy right now? You’re going to destroy her!” He grabbed Brandon’s collar as he started walking toward the back door again.
“Back off Jer.” Brandon growled and roughly removed his brother’s hand before turning back to me.
“What are we missing?” Carter leaned over and half-whispered to me.
“I have no idea.” My eyes went even wider as Jeremy tried to put Brandon in a headlock.
“I said back the fuck off!” Brandon maneuvered out of the hold and shoved Jeremy into the wall, Jeremy charged Brandon again but Konrad caught him and held him back.
“Brandon Taylor!” I hissed, mortified, “What is wrong with you?”
Even with Konrad holding Jeremy back, Brandon stepped right up to Jeremy, their noses touching as they stared each other down.
“Stop!” I hopped off the tall chair and forced my way between them, both hands on Brandon’s chest, “Everyone calm down!” Once Konrad released Jeremy and Brandon was finally looking at me, I narrowed my eyes at my husband and spoke softly, “Apologize to Jeremy.”
Brandon scoffed, but after registering my expression muttered an apology.
“Now tell me what’s going on.”
“That was Scarecrow on the phone.” Brandon’s face stretched into a smile again.
“Okay, and…?” Everyone’s anger and Brandon’s hopeful expression suddenly clicked and I recoiled from him, “Oh my God, you’re not serious, are you?”
“Harper, just hear me out.” He reached his arms to me and I stepped back until I ran into either Konrad or Jeremy.
“You’re serious?!”
“What is going on?” Carter asked exasperated.
“Sweetheart, please just listen. They want a re-match, his people alone are offering double for a re-match. That plus whatever else from the bets, do you know how much I could bring in?”
“His people? Who is he?” But I had a sinking feeling I already knew who. There aren’t many people who would want to go up against Brandon again.
“Demon.”
“NO!”
“I would make eight grand off his trainers and manager! Eight grand Harper!”
I shook my head and stared at him incredulously, “We don’t need that money Brandon.”
“It wouldn’t hurt either, five minutes and I could walk out with an easy ten thousand dollars. Maybe more.”
“Why are you doing this?” My voice broke at the end and he stepped toward me again, this time succeeding in wrapping his arms around me.
“What’s going on?” Someone asked from the back door.
“Great question.” Carter sounded annoyed.
“He got a call to go fight.” Konrad said softly.
“Well what’s wrong with that?” Carter eyed me warily before facing Konrad again, “He hadn’t lost a match when I used to hang out with you, right?”
“He’s never lost, period. But the last one, the guy he fought wasn’t happy that he lost, so he went after Brandon again, hit him so hard it almost caused severe damage. Doctors said he wouldn’t be so lucky next time he got another hit to the head. This fight’s against the same guy.”
Hearing Konrad gloss over that awful night gave me chills, Brandon brought me back to his chest, kissing the top of my head.
“Let’s just talk about this.” Brandon whispered against my hair.
I pushed back and looked up at him, searching his gray eyes, my heart broke at the determination there. “You’ve already made up your mind.”
Brandon grimaced, “Nothing bad will happen, I promise.”
Shaking my head, I stepped out of his embrace, “Then go Brandon. If you’re so sure about this, just go.”
“Sweetheart, don’t be like that.”
“I said go.” Without another glance in his direction, I pushed past the group of people in the dining room and walked toward the bedrooms. Stopping in the nursery, I barely made it over to the chair before my legs gave out and the sobs shook my body. I could hear yelling from the dining and living room for a few minutes before Brandon came into the room, picking me up off the chair and wrapping his arms around me tight.
“Please don’t be mad at me.”
Was he serious? Did he expect me to just be okay with this? “Why would you do this? To Liam and me? To our baby? Why!”
“I’m sorry, but that’s a lot of money. I would be stupid to just pass on that. Please come with me, I need you there.”
“There is no way I would go back to an Underground fight! Not after what I saw last time. Don’t do this,” I begged, “what if something happens to you? Do you not care about us at all?”
He stepped back, looking like I’d slapped him, “How could you even ask me something like that?”
“Brandon! Do you not remember what happened after your last fight at all? You promised me you wouldn’t fight again. You swore you would never do something that could risk us losing you. And one phone call from Crow and you’re just going to jump back into it? This isn’t some ridiculous excuse for a fight, this is Demon. Demon! I’d never been more terrified watching you fight someone than I was that night, he was good then and I have no doubt he’s been training.”
Brandon’s eyes narrowed slightly, “I beat him once, I ca–”
“I wasn’t saying you weren’t good, or that you can’t still win a fight. But damn it babe! Does none of this just scream bad idea to you? Liam will be one in less than a week, your last fight was a year ago tomorrow. Doesn’t that seem like a bad omen?”
He breathed heavily through his nose, “It’s one fight. It’ll be over before you know it.”
“Brandon –”
“I need to do this Harper.” If the finality of his tone hadn’t broken through, the expression on his face would have let me know this discussion was over.
Biting back a sob, I somehow managed to nod my head and keep the next wave of tears back until he kissed me chastely and said he’d call me as soon as it was over. He hadn’t heard one word I’d said. Did he really miss fighting that bad? Was it just because it was Demon? Because I knew it wasn’t for the money.
Konrad and Jeremy opened our bedroom door before shutting it and barging into the nursery, closely followed by Bree.
“He’s going?” She asked softly as she sat on the glider’s ottoman.
Nodding, I eyed the boys, “Will you please go to the fight? Make sure nothing happens to him?”
“We’re staying with you.” Bree answered for the three of them.
“I need to be alone right now, and I need you there in case it gets bad. Please keep me updated.”
Konrad’s phone chimed and he cleared his throat, “Fight’s confirmed, it’s already going around who’s fighting and where.”
“Go.” I pleaded.
The boys hugged me before walking out, but Bree lingered.
“I want to know who won as soon as it’s over. Okay?” When she didn’t say anything I hugged her tightly and walked her out to the hallway, “Can you apologize to Carter for me? Tell him I’ll talk to him later.”
Bree sighed, but kissed my cheek and made her way to the living room while I went to the bedroom and started packing a few things. Grabbing money, my toiletries, pajamas, a change of clothes and everything Liam would need for two days, I was out of the house ten minutes after everyone left. Mom was surprised to see me, but after saying everyone was having a good time at our place, and I didn’t want to pick up Liam too late, she gave me a quick kiss and sent me on my way with my son. Bree texted me that the fight had started only ten minutes after I had us settled into a hotel room and I held Liam tight as I paced back and forth for twelve excruciatingly long minutes. As soon as she let me know that Brandon won, and all of them were safely in their cars and headed back to our house; I powered down my phone and curled onto the bed, letting loose the flood of tears that had been threatening to spill over since I walked out my door.
21
Looking at Liam in my rear view mirror, I bit my bottom lip nervously as I tried to calm my body’s shaking. It was Monday afternoon, and in the day and a half since I’d been gone, I still had yet to turn on my phone or speak to anyone and was now five minutes from the house. Brandon was supposed to be working today, but I had a feeling he’d be home when we got there, and I was trying to mentally prepare myself for whatever was waiting for me there.
I knew it was stupid to leave the way I did, and not leave a way for anyone to get ahold of me. But I had known I wouldn’t be gone more than two days, and I needed time for Brandon and myself to think separately. The fact that he was so willing to go back to fighting after everything we went through last year, and all his promises, killed me. And I still had no idea what I thought about it, or why I thought he had done it. My mind kept screaming at me that if he would do this, then our family really didn’t mean that much to him, but I knew that wasn’t true. Brandon loved us fiercely. Which kept leading me to the question that had been bothering me, why would he risk getting hurt, or worse, if he cared about us as much as I knew he did?
My stomach dropped when I saw Brandon’s Jeep in the driveway. Not bothering with the garage, in case I felt the need to make a hasty retreat again, I put my Expedition in park and just stared at the door. He was going to be so pissed. The few times I’d ever seen him truly angry were terrifying, and his anger hadn’t even been directed at me. Glancing down to my knotted hands in my lap, I was surprised when a tear fell onto my arm. Brushing the wetness from my cheeks I took a deep shuddering breath and got Liam and myself out of the car. I’d barely shut the front door when I heard Brandon running down the hallway. He skidded to a stop when he saw us and I inhaled a gasp. He wasn’t pissed, but he looked terrible. His eyes were puffy and bloodshot with dark half circles underneath. One hand was steadying himself against the wall while the other was clutching at his bare chest, rising and falling quickly with labored breaths.
“You – you’re –” He cursed softly and pressed his lips tightly together.
Liam started wiggling against me and asking for his dad, so I set him on the floor, watching as he quickly crawled toward Brandon. Brandon dropped hard to his knees and scooped him up in a tight hug, a sob breaking out of his chest. My chest tightened, I’d seen Brandon cry before, but he was always silent and as controlled as could be during those times. To watch his shoulders shake mercilessly and hear him continue to choke on his tears broke my heart worse than I thought possible. He rolled over until he was propped up against the wall and curled his body around Liam, murmuring things too low for me to hear.
On shaky legs, I walked into the hall and sat down against the wall opposite them, my knees barely brushing Brandon’s feet. At the contact, he abruptly stood up with our son and walked into the nursery. A wave of nausea rolled through me, but with the lack of morning sickness this pregnancy, I figured it had a lot more to do with the fact that I’d screwed up this situation even more, than with the pregnancy itself. The nursery door shut some time later, and Brandon’s hand stopped in front of me in offering. Placing my hand in his, I let him help me up, where he proceeded to lift me into his arms and carry me to our bedroom. Each step was careful as his brown eyes bore into my gray ones, when we reached the bed he laid me down so gently, as if he thought I would break from anything more. Without breaking contact from my eyes, he crawled in next to me, and rolled me onto my side so we were facing each other. I reached up to brush the remaining tears from his face, and traced the shadows under his eyes. Catching my hand, he kissed my palm, then the tattoo on my wrist before releasing my hand so he could cradle my face.
“Brandon, I –”
He brushed his thumb over my lips and slowly shook his head, “I was stupid.” His voice was soft but rougher than usual, “So stupid. I missed fighting, and hated that people thought I stopped because I was scared. When he called –” his eyes briefly left mine as he tried to search for words, “it was like what happened last year was nothing, just another minor injury. I felt like I needed to prove something to myself, to Scarecrow, to Demon…everyone. I knew leaving was about the worst thing I could do, and I knew you would hate me when I got home, but I couldn’t stop. I had to go, I had to fight.
“I felt sick as soon as the fight was over, I knew I’d fucked up. I should have felt that the minute you stepped away from me when you realized what was happening, but I’d been too wrapped up in it all to even absorb what you were saying to me until it was done. I got here as fast as possible, ready to get on my knees and beg you to forgive me for doing that to you…it never occurred to me you’d be gone.” The pain in his eyes was tearing at me and he had to take a few deep breaths before continuing, “We tried calling you dozens of times, Jeremy went to Mom’s house to look for you, the rest of us went to Robert and Claire’s. Claire lost it when she realized she’d let both of you just leave. No one had any idea where you would have gone. God Harper, I thought I’d never see you or Liam again. You, Liam and the baby are my world. I don’t know how to live without you. I know I messed up, I know I hurt you, but please don’t do that to me again. I love you more than my own life Harper. I’m so sorry for hurting you.”
I studied his face as I spoke, “I felt like you didn’t care about us enough, if you would go and do something like that, without a thought as to how it could hurt our family.”
Brandon’s eyes shut tight and he dropped his head into the crook of my neck, breathing in deep. “That couldn’t be fur–”
“Brandon? Harper?!”
We sat up at Bree’s shrill voice and were off the bed before she got to the room. Taking four long steps toward us, her palm connected with my face before I even registered her hand swinging back.
“Breanna!” Konrad yelled and reached for her.
Brandon cupped my cheeks gently, his eyes wide with shock, fear and anger. Before he could say or do anything, Bree was pulling me into her arms for a too-tight embrace.
“You can’t do that.” She cried and clutched me even tighter, “You can’t leave. We thought – we thought you were gone for good. You made me go so you could leave! Why wouldn’t you tell me? You’re my sister, you can’t just leave. I’ve been going crazy looking for you, Mom and Dad are so upset –” She continued to ramble until her body was shaking.
“Shh.” I ran my hand through her short hair, “It’s okay Bree. I’m not going anywhere.” After sitting both of us on the bed, I rubbed small circles on her back and let her cry. Looking at Konrad and Brandon, I realized how much every one of us in our ever-growing, mismatched family needed each other. There was so much loss for everyone that we all clung to each other for one reason or another. Anything we did immediately affected the rest of us, something I should have taken into consideration before trying to avoid my husband for a little over a day.
Bree sobs turned to hiccups not long after and she pulled back to look at me, “I’m sorry for slapping you, I can’t believe I did that.”
The corners of my mouth tilted up, “I think I deserved that one friend.”
“Okay, yeah. You really did.” She made a weak attempt at laughing, “When did you come back?”
“About half an hour before you showed up. Sorry for worrying all of you.”
“Oh! We have to call Mom and Dad!” She started scrambling around for her purse.
“I let them know.” Konrad said from the doorjamb where he was talking to Brandon.
“Mom and Jer know too.” Brandon added, “I’m guessing we have another twenty or so minutes before they all start getting here to talk to you. Would you two give us a minute?”
Bree took Konrad’s outstretched hand before turning back to look at me, “Where’s Liam?”
“He’s napping.” Brandon answered and said something low to Konrad, who nodded and led Bree from the room.
Walking to me slowly, he brushed his fingers across the cheek that still stung and pressed his lips there softly. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Are you?”
“You’re back, so yes I am.” His fingers gently tilted my head back so I was looking into his eyes, “I love you Harper Taylor, and I love our family. Please don’t ever doubt that again.”
I wrapped my hands around his neck and brought his face closer to mine, “I won’t.” My body buzzed when I pressed my lips to his for the first time since Saturday.
Brandon lowered us onto the bed, careful to keep most of his weight off me while still pressing his firm body to mine. He grabbed my left hand with his right, placing our intertwined fingers above my head, his lips moving down to my neck. When I reached for his shirt with my free hand, he rolled so I couldn’t move it and whispered against my skin, “Just let me convince myself that you’re here.”
My arm wrapped around his broad shoulders when his mouth covered mine again, and we continued to lay there kissing soft and slow until our families started arriving. With one last lingering kiss, we left the comfort of our bedroom and went to face our extremely upset families.
And I’d thought Bree had been mad.
After thirty minutes of Carrie, Jeremy, Dad and Mom yelling at me for leaving the way I did, then crying that I was back, everyone finally calmed down enough to actually talk things out rationally. Apparently Brandon had been ripped into by every member of our family Saturday night and yesterday for being stupid enough for even considering the fight, let alone going. No one cared that he won or that he’d made a lot of money, the risk of him getting hit in the face again was just too great for him to have taken so carelessly. And I was glad I wasn’t the only one who seemed to be pissed off at him for taking it. But my disappearance had taken over most of everyone’s anger as they all searched for me and Liam.
They’d looked early into the morning Sunday, and Brandon continued to every motel and hotel in the immediate area until the family gathered again early Sunday afternoon. After dividing up the lists of numbers, each person called the same places he’d checked, as well as the rest of the hotels, motels, inns and bed and breakfasts within one hundred miles. By the time the family left again Sunday night, Brandon went back out looking for my car because he guessed correctly that by using cash I’d gotten a room under an alias. When that still brought no results, he’d called Carter and driven by his house to see if he’d been lying when he informed Brandon he hadn’t heard from me. Coming up empty again, he’d come back home at ten this morning and had been lying on the floor of Liam’s bedroom calling my phone every five minutes, waiting for it to be turned back on. He hadn’t slept since Friday night, and it showed in everything he was currently doing.
Seeing his exhaustion, our family started trickling out of the house, each one feeling the need to reprimand Brandon and me one last time for both being careless. After going back and forth with Carrie, she finally got her way and took a sleeping Liam home with her for the night. Brandon panicked at the thought of his son being gone from him again, but Carrie looked up at Brandon with an I’m still your mother don’t mess with me face and told him after we’d gotten some much needed sleep, she’d be back in the morning with him. Konrad told Brandon he’d take care of the gym tomorrow, and with a final hug from him and Bree, we were alone.
I grabbed my husband’s hand and led him to our bedroom, he hadn’t put a shirt on when everyone got here, so after undressing myself and helping him out of his jeans, I helped him fall onto the bed and climbed in beside him. He threw an arm over my waist and buried his head into my neck, pressing a soft kiss there. The muscles in his back and shoulders relaxed when I began running the tips of my fingers over his buzzed head and down his neck, with a muffled “I love you”, he was sound asleep within a minute. His deep rhythmic breathing had my eyes heavy and closing not long after.
***
My body jerked awake and I sat up confused when I didn’t hear Liam crying, either of our phones going off, and Brandon’s breaths were still heavy and relaxed. Being careful not to move Brandon, I crept down the hall to Liam’s room and almost had a heart attack when his crib was empty. Before I could scream for Brandon, I remembered Carrie took him home this afternoon and started back for my bed. I froze when I heard the door knocker, and my already increased heart rate took off in a dead sprint. Tiptoeing to the bedroom and throwing on one of Brandon’s shirts, I crept back down the hall and warily took a peak at the side windows.
“Jesus Carter,” I sighed and swung the door open, “you scared the crap out o–.” my words and breath rushed out when he squeezed me tightly.
“Thank God you’re okay.”
I tapped his shoulder until he let me go with an awkward grin, “I’m fine. What are you doing here? What time is it?” It wasn’t fully dark outside, but that didn’t help much.
“Almost eight?” He looked at me like I should know this.
“Brandon and I were sleeping, your knocking woke me up.”
“Is he still asleep?”
“Mhmm.” Which reminds me…I’m standing in a darkened house with Carter in nothing but a shirt. No bra, no underwear. Just a shirt that grazes the top of my thighs. Folding my arms somewhat under, but still over my chest, I looked down to make sure the rest of me was still covered and asked again, “What are you doing here Carter?”
“I wanted to talk to you, alone if that’s okay.”
Mashing my lips together, I stepped out of the way and waved him in. I led him to the living room, turning on a few lamps on the way and sat on the chair opposite the sofa he was seated on. “So let’s talk.”
“Are you okay?”
“Carter, I told you I’m fine.”
“Okay, I know. But you were really upset Saturday night, and then you just disappear? Obviously this fight was something Brandon shouldn’t have done if you’d leave, so I was surprised when Konrad said you were back.”
“Leaving was a really immature thing to do.”
“But you did it Blaze. And that’s why I need to talk to you.”
Oh no.
“Look,” he began again and rested his elbows on his knees, “I know I said I wouldn’t do anything since you’re married, but if you feel like you need to get out Blaze, I’ll help you with that. If you’re afraid of Brandon, all you have to do is tell me and I’ll do everything I can to get you away from here.”
“Oh my God. Carter. You have taken this way out of proportion. I do not want to get out of my marriage and I definitely don’t want to leave Brandon.”
“You left. People don’t just leave their husbands unless something is wrong Blaze.”
I wanted to tell him he should know, but I kept that back, “I didn’t leave Brandon, I just needed a minute to think.”
“About how bad he is for you? He hurt you, that was extremely apparent Saturday night. And did you see him throw his brother into the wall? I know we’ve talked about this before, but he’s dangerous Harper. He’s a fucking bomb just waiting to explode.”
“You’re wrong.” I whispered and shook my head, “You’re so wrong Carter. The few times you’ve hung out with him haven’t been the best times, but even you should see how wrong you are. That night at the party, he didn’t hit you when he had every right to. He let you become a member at his gym and invited you to our home for a barbecue. I have the sweetest, most caring and selfless husband in the world. Yes, he likes to fight, and yes he’s extremely protective of his family. But I love that he is.”
“Blaze, the way he is with you –”
I held up my hand to stop him, “Don’t finish that. Do you not remember me telling you I cheated on him and got pregnant with his friend and housemate? He didn’t even yell at me when he found out Carter. He was devastated, but he didn’t raise his voice or call me a million things that I was already calling myself. Then he took care of me when I wouldn’t take care of myself, and despite everything I did to him, he’s still here with me.”
“So that’s it. You’re with him out of guilt? You feel like you owe him something?”
“Of course not!” I hissed and narrowed my eyes at him, “I love him more than anything. He is everything to me. When we broke up, I felt so lost. I tried moving on with my life the way I knew I should, and I would have happily, had Chase not died. But no matter what, being happy with Chase or not, a few months without Brandon by my side was painful and incomplete. I couldn’t even imagine a life without him.”
“Alright, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that. But that doesn’t change the way he is with you. He doesn’t let a guy even come near you without threatening to beat him to a pulp.”
I rolled my eyes at his dramatics, “Not true, only you and Chase. You know how I am Carter, I need to be surrounded by guys. And not in a slutty way. Growing up with hundreds of brothers, it was only natural for me to find all that here. Other than Bree and the girls in her and Brandon’s families, I don’t have female friends. They are all male, and Brandon doesn’t have a problem with that because he knows that’s home for me. There have even been a few that have flirted, and Brandon didn’t do anything other than laugh about it. But you? Well you openly admitted to everyone that you followed me across the country and that you were in love with me. Even if you lied about it, and I bought it, he knew from the beginning what was going on. And to make it worse, he and Chase were already constantly fighting over me. Which I also had no idea about. I found that out not long ago by accident.” Taking a deep breath, I sank into the cushions and covered myself with a blanket, “So he tried to keep the two guys that also loved me away from me, what boyfriend wouldn’t?”
“He’s possessive. That can be dangerous.”
I made a pfft sound and smirked at him, “Possessive? Hardly. He knew I didn’t like you in that way, so he made sure to keep you the hell off me, which I really appreciated. If you want to take that as possessive, be my guest. But he had every right to at least punch you that night, and he didn’t do anything other than keep you away. And you know what? He knew I was in love with Chase too, and without even confronting Chase, he quietly stepped back so we could be together. I’m pretty sure that’s the exact opposite of a possessive man.”
“Seriously?”
I nodded and smiled at his taken aback expression.
He thought for a few minutes and finally blurted out, “Did you have to marry a damn saint Blaze?”
“Saint, huh? I thought he was a possessive ticking time bomb?”
“Well, it was supposed to help my argument.” He winked and laughed softly.
“Oh, Carter. What am I going to do with you?”
“Love me?”
“Uh…no.” I laughed at his playfully hurt expression, “Nice try though.” When our laughter quieted, I said in a soft voice, “He really is amazing Carter.”
“I know.” The corner of his mouth tilted up in a sad smile, “I wish it were me Blaze. I’ll always wish it was me instead of him. But I know he’s good for you and your baby.”
“Babies.”
“What? You’re pregnant again?” His face was pained through his smile for me, “Well damn. I guess I really don’t have a shot with you now.”
I knew he was joking, but I stayed serious, “You need to find someone who is good for you too. I know she’s out there somewhere.”
“But all I see is you. For the last three years, all I’ve seen was you Blaze.”
“You have to stop. You need to know that it’s never going to happen between us, and start living your life for you. And not a life where you wait for something to separate Brandon and me, because that will never happen. Get out there, date some girls, and find the one that was meant for you. I do love you Carter, but it’s never been the way you want it. So find someone that you love, and loves you the way Brandon and I love each other.”
“Maybe one day I will.” He said doubtfully.
“I hope you do.” I yawned and got off the couch, wrapping the blanket tighter around me, “Now get out of my house so I can go back to sleep with my husband or I’ll kick your ass.”
“Puh-lease. Preggos aren’t supposed to kick ass. Isn’t it bad for the baby or something?”
“Well fine, then I’ll let Brandon do it.”
“Alright, alright. I’m leaving!” He hugged me close, and kept me in his arms a little too long for comfort, “I really am glad you’re happy Blaze. Believe it or not, that’s all I really want for you.”
“I want that for you too.”
“Maybe someday.” Kissing the top of my head, he released me and grabbed the doorknob. “Will I get to see you again soon?”
“We’re having Liam’s birthday party Saturday at two.”
He smiled and chuckled, “Birthday party, alright sounds good.”
“Kate will be there.”
“Yeah?” His eyes flashed and his smile changed into something I’d seen thousands of times from Chase and Brandon, “I uh – I got her number. Would that bother you if I called her?”
“Why else do you think I’d invite you to a family party?”
His eyes unfocused for a minute, when they came back to me, he grimaced, “Blaze…”
“Don’t Carter. If you have no interest in Kate, that’s fine and don’t feel forced to come on Saturday. But you need to start moving on.”
“I do. Like her, I mean. She was great to hang out with, she’s really funny and gorgeous. But – never mind. You’re right. I’ll be here Saturday.” With one last longing glance, he half waved and opened the door, “Night Blaze.”
