He lets out a snort of derision. “Yeah, no shit.”
I sweep my gaze around the kitchen and dining area in search of my daughter but all I see is Owen sitting at the table scrolling through his iPad, MJ lapping water from her bowl, and Blake whisking batter at the stove.
“I guess Ava hasn’t surfaced yet?” I ask no one in particular.
“I’m sure it’s only a matter of time once I start cooking,” Blake says wryly.
The crepes are, of course, incredible and once we’re done eating the kids and I take care of the clean-up.
“I hope you guys are all packed,” I comment, my gazeflicking to the wall clock as I tug the crepe pan from the sudsy water and hand it to Ava to dry. “We’ll need to leave for the station in?—”
“Hey, Damon!” I hear Blake calling from down in the foyer. “Can you come down here a minute?”
I frown in confusion; the doorbell rang a minute ago but I can’t imagine who the hell would be at the door for me…
Shaking my head, I tug off my rubber gloves and exit the kitchen, dashing down the stairs to the foyer.
My confusion grows as I near the bottom and fail to catch sight of any visitor. Or Blake for that matter.
“Where the fuck are you?” I demand, swiveling my head back and forth as I wander the foyer area.
“Here,” Blake says, prompting me to almost jump out of my skin when I flick my gaze to find he’s leaning against the edge ofthe wall that opens into the living room. I swear to god he wasn’t there a few seconds ago when I last looked in that direction.
“What the fuck? Why are you hiding?”
“I wasn’thiding, I was waiting.” He lifts a hand and gestures for me to come forward. “Over here. I need to talk to you.”
Wariness curls inside me as I slowly close the distance between us. The easy, open expression I’m so used to seeing on Blake’s face is missing at the moment, and it makes me feel as though he’s about to call me out for something. Shit—what if he knows what I’ve been getting up to with Jazz? Maybe someone’s managed to get a hold of that video and is trying to blackmail Blake?
Jesus Christ.
“What’s going on?” I press, glad when my voice comes out far steadier than I feel right now. “Who was at the door?”
“A woman delivering the order you made today,” he says gruffly. “The extra special one that absolutelyhadto arrive today.”
“Huh?”
Blake moves deeper into the living room and collects a small black and red carry bag from where it’s been sitting on the end table near the sofa. He holds it out to me. “Here.”
Confusion and curiosity burning through me, I move closer so I can take the bag.
“Look, don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that you’re getting back out there,” Blake tells me, the stony demeanor slipping away; he could never hold his temper for long. “And I’m sure the kids will be too, but is this really the way you want them to find out you’re seeing someone? Getting lingerie delivered to the house?”
I just stare at him in complete bafflement. There is no part of anything that he’s said since I arrived in the living room that makes any sort of sense. Now I’m trying to figure out if I’m theone who’s lost the ability to comprehend English, or if Blake’s lost the ability to speak.
“What are youtalkingabout?”
Blake sighs. “Damon, I’m not judging you. Like I said, I think it’s great that you’re seeing someone?—”
“But I’m not?—”
He holds a hand up. “Don’t worry, I promise I won’t say anything until you’re ready. But if your secret did come out it’d be your own damn fault for pulling this shit today. I mean, you could have at least got them to wrap it in tissue paper and put it in a bag that doesn’t have “sex kitten” written all over it and little cartoon cats in handcuffs.”
“WHAT?”
I’ve been so distracted by Blake and trying to figure out what’s suddenly sent him off the deep end that I haven’t even looked at the bag in my hand yet. I yank it up to my face and see Blake is correct. It’s a blood-red bag with the words “sex kitten” and a kinky cat design printed all over it in black.
And it’s finally occurring to me that the video was a decoy to lull me into a false sense of security, and thatthisis the attack Jazz had planned all along.
