Celine was quiet for a moment. “Have you told him any of that?”
Blair looked up. “No.”
“Then maybe that’s where you start.”
Blair stared at her glass. “What if he can’t give me what I need?”
“Then you’ll know,” Celine said it gently but without flinching. “But you won’t know until you actually have that conversation. Really have it. Not the surface version where you’re both being careful with each other.”
“I’m not good at that. Saying what I actually feel out loud.”
“I know. Neither was I.” Celine smiled. “But Killian was worth the discomfort of being honest and look where we ended up.” She nodded toward the hallway where the faint sound of his keyboard drifted through. “You deserve someone who wants to be there in the morning. Someone who chooses you on purpose.”
Blair felt the back of her throat tighten. “What if he’s just not capable of it?”
“Then you walk away knowing you gave it a real chance. That’s better than wondering.” Celine squeezed her hand. “But I’ve seen the way Hud looks at you. At the diner that day, he walked over to our table. I noticed it before you did.”
“You never told me that.”
“You weren’t ready to hear it.” Celine refilled their glasses. “Give him the chance to explain himself. Ifhe blows it I will personally help you move on. But I don’t think he’s going to blow it.”
Blair looked at her. “You have a lot of faith in a man who left me alone in my own bed.”
Celine laughed. “I have a lot of faith in the way he looked at you.”
“I just want him to talk to me. Tell me what he actually wants from this, beyond the obvious.” Blair shook her head. “The sex is great, but I need more than that. I’m on the edge of falling in love with him, Celine, and if all he’s looking for is something casual I need to know now so I can walk away before it gets worse.”
“I hope it doesn’t come to that. I think you two are good together. He just needs to be honest with you and with himself.” Celine paused. “And he needs to man up and tell you why he left.”
“I don’t even know when he’ll be back. I’ll be on pins and needles until I hear from him.”
“From what Killian says they’re close to wrapping this up. He can’t stop now, not when they’re this close.” Celine glanced toward the hallway. “As you can see from tonight.”
Blair smiled. “I know. And if we do work things out I’m going to have to find patience I’m not sure I have. His job scares me, Celine. What happened to Rawley could happen to him.”
“I know.” Celine’s expression sobered. “I worry about Killian every single day. Every time he goes out I say a little prayer until he walks back through that door.”
“How do you live with it?”
“At first I didn’t handle it well at all. But Abbie helped me see it differently. She said if I wanted Killian I had to accept all of him, including the dangerthat comes with the job.” Celine looked at her. “She was right. I would never ask him to give it up. It’s who he is.”
“It’s who Hud is too,” Killian said quietly from the doorway.
Both women looked up.
He smiled at Celine. “Sorry to interrupt. I needed coffee.” He looked at Blair. “For what it’s worth, Hud is one of the best men I know. Give him a chance to explain himself.”
Then he disappeared back down the hallway.
Blair looked at Celine. Celine smiled into her wine glass.
Chapter Eleven
Hud sighed as he pulled away from Burch’s residence. Fitch’s place had been cleaned out, not a stick of furniture left. Burch either wasn’t home or wasn’t answering. Either way, they had nothing, and the drive back to Clifton was a long one.
“What a way to spend a Sunday,” he said.
“I’d bet a year’s salary Fitch and White are together,” Creed said.
