“Do you think Lucky and I could stay at your place tonight?” Blake asks. I look up into his bright blue eyes, at the quiet sadness they hold. My heart clenches at the sight. “I think your brother might kill me in my sleep if he gets the chance.”
“Levi’s squeamish around blood, so you’ll probably see him coming,” I say, though the look on his face tells me my lame joke isn’t working. “Don’t worry, I’ll talk some sense into him.”
Blake’s thumb runs along my cheekbone. “You know, this might be the only upside of not being with you during winter break; he might warm up to the idea of us. If he doesn’t change your mind about me first.’’
“You really think I can be persuaded that easily?” I scan his face, searching for any hint that he’s joking. Does he really think that little of me?
“I hope not,” Blake says quietly. “But we never really discussed…”
He pulls me out of the way just in time to avoid a collision with a couple who clearly need their eyes checked. Noticing the cameras drawing closer, Blake leads me closer to the center of the pond and twirls me to avoid suspicion, though more than one of the other couples roll their eyes at us. Afraid to be upstaged, I guess.
“I know I said I wouldn’t be scared off by your silence, Alexis, and I still mean that.” His hand moves to rest on my jaw, his thumb running along my cheekbone. “But I need to know if you see any kind of future for us as a couple. Because if deep down you can’t see yourself falling in love with me…I’ll honor my promises, but I would need to take a step back from you. To protect my heart.”
I meet his gaze, taking in the heartbreak in his eyes, the five-o-clock shadow on his jaw. Like a mantra, I hear my sister’s voice in my head.To live your life to the fullest and truly be happy, you have to learn to be selfish.
Those gorgeous blues are still staring at me as I raise my hand to his chest and slide it to my favorite place—his heart. “If I didn’t love you, Blake, I wouldn’t be here with you now. I would have run, hard and fast, and hid in my room like I used to. I never would have had sex with you—especially not in public, and you would never have known who I am. I might not be able to say the words yet, but the feelings are there. I am yours, Blake Taylor, as you are mine.”
Relief washes over his body as he blows out a breath, the tension easing from his muscles until that goofy grin appears in its place.
Did he think I was leading him on? That it would be too hard to fall in love with him? Because it’s not hard at all. The hard part was resisting it all those years, pretending there was no invisible string pulling us together.
I glide my hand up to his neck and pull him down, raking my teeth over his lower lip before kissing him.
Blake is mine. I am his. Irrevocably and unconditionally his.
“Aren’t you going to ask?” I whisper against his lips, but his fingers tangle my hair, pulling me closer to him with every breath until we’re forced to come up for air.
“Ask what, Sunshine?” Blake asks, and adds with a wink, “If it’s a proposal you’re after, you’ll have to wait a bit longer.”
I roll my eyes, and his grin gets wider at the sight. “To go home with me, weirdo. To spend Christmas together like one of those couples that can’t be apart for more than five minutes. No presents, no obligations. Just you, me, and the entire Moore family doing whatever they can to embarrass the hell out of me.”
“Are you sure you trust me enough to bring me home with you, Alexis? I mean, for all you know I could be an ax murderer.”
I smile at the callback to our first date, when I jumped out of his moving car and he told me he was mine and mine alone. I took it as a joke when he said it, of course I did. There was no reason for me to think, tohopehe meant it. That night, I wanted to get away from him as fast as I could, afraid of my feelings and the possible dangers of having him in my life. But now…I don’t want to be without him for a second.
“The only danger of this trip would be you and Levi sharing a car. But that can easily be avoided by driving up together, just the two of us.” The thought of those two giants having to be polite to each other, handing one another snacks and juice boxes while cramped in a small space, is enough to make my smile bigger. They would not even make it halfway before pulling over to fight.
A shy smile pulls at his lips, and for a fleeting moment, I think he might look away. “Can you believe I’ve never been invited to meet someone’s parents before?”
“Then this will be a first for both of us.” I pull his scarf again, pulling him closer and closer until his breath tickles my nose. “You better be a keeper, Taylor.”
He grins, and the sight of it steals my breath. “Sunshine, you and I both know I can bethe one.”
Chapter 27
Blake
Despite my careful planning,Alexis and I pull up to the house at the same time Levi and Alissa do.
We took a different route, made extra stops to get Alexis’ favorite snacks and tea, and even had lunch at a roadside diner. Hell, I pretended to be lost just to avoid the guy, wanting to preserve the peace and lightness Alexis brings to my day. But it seems like some problems must be faced head-on.
Anger flashes in his eyes as he glances my way, though he doesn’t say a word. He merely grabs his bag from the trunk and heads inside. Alissa is at my car before I can say a word, blocking the door so Alexis can’t get out.
“You better watch your back, Taylor, ‘cause that guy ispissed.” Alissa blows out a breath like she needed to get that off her chest. “Misplaced aggression if you ask me—I think you guys are great for each other. I mean, she’s out of your league, but you make it work.”
This might be the first time Alissa has said anything remotely nice about me. It’s an odd feeling, and I cannot shake the thought that it might be some sort of trap. But the approval from Alexis’s best friend is nice either way.
“Thanks, Lis. I think we’re pretty amazing, too. Not sure why Levi suddenly resents me for doing what he asked of me.”
