“I don’t know—we haven’t discussed that.”
“When you figure it out, let me know and I’ll get to work. Why don’t you ask her? Blake should do the same with his grandpa and find out his opinion on the matter.”
“We’ve been waiting for them to tell us on their own. Neither of them is exactly flexible, and we don’t want to get on their bad sides. Our hopes are that they’ll tell us when they’re ready.”
“If they don’t?”
“We’ll keep strategizing.” The thought of her and Blake figuring out what to do together tied Vi up in knots. She wasn’t at all sure she wanted to see or talk to him.
“You look like you swallowed a bug,” Carmie said. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m a mess. I have so much to tell you.” Vi lowered her voice and shared about the kisses both in Blake’s car and the previous night.
Carmie smiled and shook her head. “You two don’t waste any time.”
Vi set the croissant down and wiped her fingers with her napkin. “Both times were a mistake. Blake mentioned that he dates a lot of women and hasn’t had many girlfriends. He was engaged once, but he and his then fiancée called off the wedding.”
“He’s honest. That’s good.”
Vi agreed. “From what he says, he doesn’t stay with a woman for long. I don’t want to be another female he sweet talks into bed and then moves on to someone else.”
“Hey, you do the same thing.”
“Not sexually. I happen to be testing the waters and trying to find the right person.”
“Pot calling the kettle?”
“No way. Blake’s a player. I’m not.”
“I get the feeling his behavior reminds you of Devin. If you know that, why mess around with him?”
“I ask myself the same question. The truth is, he’s not easy to resist.”
“So that’s how it is. What’s your plan?”
“After we finish dealing with the grandparents thing, I’ll stop seeing him.” And meanwhile, keep a respectable distance from him, no matter how challenging it was.
“When do you think that will be?”
“Soon, I hope. Blake’s visiting his grandfather now. I’m going to stop in at Gran’s in an hour or so. We’ll compare notes and go from there.” Staying well out of touching distance. “Wish us luck.”
CHAPTER 13
As soon as Blake opened his eyes Saturday morning, he thought about Vi’s parting words the night before.You flit from one woman to another, and I refuse to be one of them. Not again.She made him sound like a real jerk who dated women solely to get them into bed. He liked sex but wasn’t like that and never had been. What made her think he was?
From what she hinted at, he figured some creep had treated her that way. Not him, ever. He needed to set her straight and would when they met up later in the day.
When he was almost at the 709, he phoned Grandpop and let him know he was coming.
His grandfather answered in his usual terse voice. “Blake.”
Not wanting the man to tell him not to come, he kept the call short. “I’m on my way to visit and will be at your place in five.”
After he parked and signed in, he rode the elevator up, then knocked at the door.
“Come in,” Grandpop said. He was seated in his La-Z-Boy facing the TV with a scowl on his face. Not in a good mood, then. The bruise on his cheek looked almost as nasty as it had the day after the accident, and he was still a little pale. Pain was a real mood downer.
Wanting to cheer him up, Blake showed him a bag. “I brought you a treat. Lox, bagels and cream cheese, a favorite of yours. There are two here, one for today and another for tomorrow.”
