Blake got tears in her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. The gesture reminded him a lot of her mother. He pulled two tissues from the box on the corner of his desk and handed them to her.
“Thank you.” She held them in her hand and took in a shaky breath, taking a moment to compose herself. “I also know that she had a very hard life growing up. I never knew that before. She told me her mom was not a nice person, and that she was not in her life and I just…I don’t know why I never…why I never asked her about it. I just, she was my mom, I didn’t think about her life before me, which is so stupid.”
“It’s not stupid,” Deacon assured her. “Kids are not supposed to think about their parents’ lives. That’s the parents’ job. If your mom wanted you to know about her childhood, she would have told you.”
“Maybe.” Blake shrugged. “Or maybe she just didn’t think I’d care.”
“No.” Deacon shook his head. “No, your mom knows you love her. Believe me, she knows.”
He wanted to tell her that the first day he met her mom that he’d been there when Blake called and told her momshe loved her, but that would sort of ruin the cover story that they’d just met at trivia night so he couldn’t.
“Anything she didn’t tell you was to protect you.”
“I don’t need protecting,” Blake snapped defensively, another move that was the mirror image of Jenna.
Deacon didn’t respond. It wasn’t his place to.
“It doesn’t matter, that’s not why I’m here.” Blake shook her head, as if she was getting off track. “I’m here because of you.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to tell you something because I trust you, but if you use this information to hurt my mom, my dad is a cop, and I will figure out how to make your life hell.”
“I wouldneverhurt your mom.” He hoped she could see he meant that.
Blake took a deep, shaky breath, and he noticed her hands were shaking. “My mom is in love with you. She doesn’t just love you, she’sinlove with you.”
Deacon shook his head. “I don’t think?—”
“She is,” Blake insisted, cutting him off. “I know my mom. I don’t know exactly what your guy’s deal is, and, honestly, it’s none of my business, but ever since the trivia night, she’s been different. And then you sent the dress, and I thought, okay good, he’s stepping up. But then she wasn’t going, so I thought, okay, maybe he’s a dork. But then she did go and you looked like you were gonna kill that guy. So I thought okay this is good. But then she retreated back into her turtle shell. But then there was the hospital and the Oregon trip, and she agreed to go, so I thought, okay, they’ll figure it out. I mean, I swear, you guys are worse than that old Paula Abdul song two steps forward, two steps back.”
“Opposites attract.”
Her hands flew up in the air. “I don’t care what the reason is?—”
“No, that’s the name of the song,” he clarified.
“Oh.” She smiled, and he was glad to have unintentionally lightened the mood a little. “Well, since you guys got back from Oregon, she’s been in bed every day and night, every second she’s not at the shop she’s watching Dawson’s Creek. And that isnotmy mom. Usually, I can’t get her to sit still for two minutes.”
“Yean, I know, she said she wasn’t feeling well.” He thought she’d been making excuses but now he was worried about her. He should call a doctor and?—
“No!” Blake’s arms went up again in, and there were tears in her eyes again. “She’snotsick! I mean, not physically sick. It’s her emotions. That’s why my dad and her were talking, he was worried about her. He stilllovesher and—” Blake sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes widened, and she reached over the desk, holding her hand out towards him. “Whoa, not like that. They’re just friends. He’smadlyin love with my stepmom.”
Then she was silent. She just stared at him as a smile spread on her face.
“What?” he asked, not sure why she was smiling all of a sudden when two seconds ago she was on the brink of tears.
“Youdolove her. Youreallylove her.”
He didn’t see any point in denying it.
“I do.” His brow furrowed. “Why? Why…how do you know that?”
“Because I just mentioned that my dad still loved her, and your face turned into the Hulk.”
“No, it didn—” He started to deny it but then realized the feeling he had when she’d said it and she was probably right.
She started laughing and then sighed as if a huge weight had been taken off her shoulders. She placed her hands on his desk and leaned forward. “Okay good. So that’s phase one out of the way, now phase two. What are your feelings on marriage?”
