We headed around the farmhouse out towards the strawberry fields. ‘What do you want, Daisy?’ Blake asked me then.
I let that question sink in as we reached the archway. Blake dropped the tarpaulin and together, we covered up the arch. I thought about my mum and how much she had loved being a mother, how much she’d loved my dad, their pretty house in the village, and how much she had loved her flower shop…
I turned to Blake with fire in my eyes. ‘I want someone who makes me feel certain. I want to be excited for the future, not scared by it. I want to love and feel loved. I don’t want to be alone. But I don’t want to be with someone just because I’m lonely. I want to feel passionate about my life. I want to make my parents proud of me. I don’t want to feel anxious or to panic. I want to be able to breathe. I want to be happy. I want to just be…’ I said, all in a rush, my chest heaving. I sucked in a breath as I looked at Blake, who was watching me like there was nothing else that was more important to look at right now. ‘I want to just be me.’
‘Daisy…’ he said huskily, stepping closer to me. He touched my cheek gently with his fingertips, his eyes searching mine for something. ‘I want that too. All of it. I have felt so lost. I thought it was ever since I walked in and found Sarah withhim, but I think it’s been since I left my hometown and my dad and his shop and my sister for this life that I’m not sure I want. But weirdly, standing here right now with you, I don’t feel as lost any more.’
My heart soared inside my chest. I looked up at him and smiled as realisation hit me. ‘I don’t feel as lost right now either.’
Blake leaned down so slowly, so cautiously, his eyes fixed on mine like he was waiting for me to pull back, to stop him, to look away, to do anything, but I didn’t want to move or speak or hide from his gaze. I wanted him to see me. I wanted to see him. I wanted this moment, whatever it was.
When his face was finally close enough, he brushed his lips against mine. Just once. So soft. So gentle. So delicate. And yet I felt it…
Everywhere.
20
Blake pulled back to look at me. ‘Was that okay?’ he asked anxiously.
‘No,’ I said.
‘Shit, I’m?—’
‘I need more,’ I interrupted before he could spiral and step away from me.
Blake’s lips curved into a small smile. His eyes shone in the golden-hour light round us. ‘More, huh? I think I can oblige…’ He leaned back down and touched my lips again. His kiss was still soft and careful but it sent a sweet heat through my body. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I stood on tiptoes so I could put mine around his broad shoulders as I kissed him back, enjoying his lips like they were sweet, juicy strawberries. And they tasted just as delicious. Blake was tall and he felt strong but he touched me so gently, I felt weirdly like I could cry. Which would have been really embarrassing.
Blake leaned back again and reached out to touch my hair. ‘I thought when I first saw you in that wedding dress, you had been sent by the universe to torture me,’ he said in that same gruff voice he had said my name in. It sent another thrilling shiver through my body.
‘Torture you how?’ I asked, unable to hold back a smile after that great kiss. My body hummed with the feel-good energy from it. I felt lighter on my feet suddenly. And brighter too. Like somehow, things might actually be okay if you could have a kiss like that.
‘You looked… perfect. Like the woman I’d always dreamed of marrying. In a freaking wedding dress. And I felt so broken, it didn’t feel fair. I assumed you were someone else’s and that pissed me off in an irrational way considering I didn’t even know you.’
I reached up instantly and pressed my lips against his, earning a surprised smile from him. ‘How can you say you don’t know how to talk to women after telling me that?!’ I cried, grinning giddily at his words.
Blake looked sheepish. ‘I don’t know. It’s just easy to talk to you. I like telling you things. I like being honest with you. Even when it’s embarrassing.’
‘That was not embarrassing,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘It was beautiful. I thought you were judging me. I know now, I was judging myself. But I also wanted you to approve of me in a way I hadn’t really felt about a stranger before. And earlier today, when I saw you over there with your shirt off…’ I bit my lip as my cheeks flushed. Blake was grinning now too, his dimples on full show, making him look young and carefree. ‘I thought I’d picked a damn good guy to fake date.’
‘You think this is fake?’ Blake reached down and pulled me into his chest again. This time, his kiss wasn’t gentle. He kissed me with hunger like now he’d had a taste, he wanted the whole thing. And I was right there with him. I clung tightly to Blake as his tongue caressed mine and I murmured contently as he cupped the back of my head, his fingertips tangling with my hair. His hands were on my waist then he moved them to my back. I slipped mine down to his shoulders. The world around us faded as I lost myself in Blake’s kiss. My body was full of heat. I thought about how easy it would be to pull his shirt up over his head. How much I wanted him to slip his fingers under my top. How I needed his touch. I murmured against his mouth and was about to suggest that we did all those things when Blake abruptly pulled away from me, leaving me breathless.
Blake’s breathing was as rapid as my own. ‘I’m sorry, I’m getting carried away,’ he said, reaching out to touch my cheek. ‘But there’s nothing fake about our kisses, Daisy.’
I nodded. ‘I feel it too.’ My heart was hammering inside my chest now, desperate to escape and jump right into Blake’s heart.
‘What’s going on? Our exes are still here, wanting us back. We were pretending to date but this is feeling real.’
‘Even though Henry doesn’t believe it,’ I said lightly.
‘I think Sarah can see there is something between us, and we were pretending to begin with, but she’s right, isn’t she?’
‘Yes,’ I whispered. ‘I’m still wearing Henry’s ring, though.’ I stepped fully out of his embrace. ‘What do we do?’
‘See what this space away from them does. Decide what our hearts are saying.’
The problem wasn’t knowing what my heart was saying; it was having the courage to listen to it. I nodded, though. ‘Okay.’
He sighed, running a hand through his hair as I sucked in a calming breath. ‘So, want to take the ponies in?’
