Chapter Twenty-One

Jewell stumbled into her bathroom and scowled at the image staring back at her from the mirror. “This is not who you are,” she lectured herself. “You’ve been through worse in life, and you will not let anything get in the way of your progress. Why in the world are you allowing one person to affect your emotions in this ridiculous way?” She paused and threw her shoulders back. “You’re going to stop right this minute because you simply won’t allow yourself to be kicked while you’re already down.”

After washing her face — sadly, she looked only marginally better — she went off to the kitchen and began her caffeine-centric morning ritual. Why was it such a chore to wake up, no matter how much sleep a person got?

After she’d downed her second cup of nature’s perfect beverage, she heard yet another stomach-tightening knock. Was this the story of her life? She could think of only two or three people who might be on the other side of her front door, and at the moment she wasn’t in the mood to see any of them.

When the knocking sounded again, this time with a fierce rat-a-tat-a-tat, she knew it would do her no good to pretend she wasn’t home. Peering through the peephole, she spotted Blake leaning in and wearing a beaming smile. The jerk must have known she was looking out at him, and he was clearly enjoying the shock factor. At least he hadn’t followed his usual M.O. and just barged in.

But they were on a merry-go-round, and she wasn’t quite sure at this point when she was going to be thrown off. But if she wanted her final payment for services rendered, she couldn’t worry about how she was feeling, could she?

Of course not. Her brother was at stake.

“Can we do this later, Blake? I’m not awake enough to go rounds with you right now,” she said through the door.

“Sorry, but no. I don’t feel like leaving, Jewell.”

“Then I guess you can stand out there looking foolish until I wake up.”

“I have all day. As a matter of fact, I have no plans for the next few days.”

“Don’t you get tired of being told you aren’t welcome?” she asked.

“Actually, it does get a bit wearing at times,” he said more quietly.

Jewell had to strain to hear him through the door. The honesty in his voice — so rare from a guy who generally seemed to speak in only two registers, arrogance and sarcasm — amazed and affected her.

“Well, if you would listen to me, I wouldn’t feel the need to say such things,” she told him.

“I’m trying to listen to you, and I’m trying to talk to you. You’re the one who continues to turn all of our conversations into a fight.”

That surprised her into opening up the door. She gazed out at him, and when he didn’t try to rush forward and invade her space, she gained a new measure of respect for him. She didn’t know what to say next and instead just found herself standing there.

“May I come in, Jewell?” he asked.

“Fine. It’s your place,” she said grudgingly.

“Yes, it is, but I’m trying to give you options.”

“Why?”

“Because I want this to be mutually beneficial for both of us.”

Another big surprise! “I need more coffee,” she told him, shut her door behind him, and led him into the kitchen.

“I spoke with Tyler after the party,” Blake said, but he didn’t continue.

“And what did the two of you talk about?” she finally asked.

Blake paused and a rueful grimace showed on his lips. “He told me I need to quit acting like an ass.”

Jewell waited, and when he again refused to elaborate, she let out an exasperated breath. “If you’re going to just give these short answers, we’ll be here all day.”

“That’s the plan,” he said with the friendliest smile she’d ever seen him wear.

“Does Blake Knight have a secret twin — a good one?” She didn’t know what to think of him. He seemed almost … carefree, or if not carefree, something a lot closer to it. Yes, when she’d been around him recently, he’d been smiling more and more, but still, this person before her this morning seemed like a completely new man.

“Can’t a person change?”

“It doesn’t happen very often.”

“I’m trying, Jewell. I’ve decided it’s better to listen when more than one person is telling me that the same old Blake isn’t giving ‘customer satisfaction,’” he replied, and he took her hand in his.

Jewell’s brain was spinning as he caressed her knuckles. “I … uh … I don’t know what to think right now.” She tugged on her hand, but he wasn’t letting go.

“You don’t always have to think, Jewell. Very few things in life are black and white, and sometimes it’s simply better to trust your gut. We can’t predict what will happen every minute of every day, but we can learn to roll with the changes. Or the punches. Or whatever cliché you want to use.”

“I’m sorry, Blake, but I don’t trust you or this new you that you’re presenting. Is that honest enough for you?”

“I can see why. Want to know what I did yesterday?” he asked, his eyes sparkling.

“I’m not sure I want to know,” she replied, but she had to purse her lips together to keep from showing she’d been affected by his good mood.

“I’ll tell you anyway,” he said, then added a dramatic pause. “I bought a house.”

“But you just bought that gigantic yacht! Anyway, you already have a place.”

He decided not to tell her that he now owned two gigantic yachts; the house was a more important topic. “You’re the one who told me there would be a child living with us.”

“You bought a house with Justin and me in mind?” She was thrown into another tailspin.

“That’s why I’ve been gone so much these past couple of weeks. I had to find the right place. This thing between us is on a track and there’s no getting off it, so you might as well just accept it. It’s fate.”

“But … I … I’m confused. You run hot and then cold and you make these demands, and then you turn around and ask my opinion. I can’t keep up with you, Blake.”

“I’ve never pretended to be perfect, Jewell. And I’ve never wanted to be in a relationship. Not a real one, at least. But we both have problems, and we can help each other with those problems. Will it be perfect? No, it won’t, but who has a perfect life?”

“I’ve seen lots of shining examples of perfect lives,” she told him.

He chuckled. “Blockbuster movies don’t count, Jewell. In real life, people have their imperfections. Just one or two.”

“You’re admitting that you aren’t perfect, Blake?”

“No. I would never admit such a thing,” he said.

“It sounded like that to me.”

“Well, to be honest, anyone who knows me knows that I’m about as close to perfection as it gets,” he said, leaning back with a cocky grin.

“Ugh! You have too much self-confidence,” she told him.

“Why shouldn’t I? I know who I am and I know what I want. I always get it.”

“Yeah. Yeah. I get it. You’re the cat’s meow,” she said, trying to keep a straight face, but not succeeding.

“Again, Jewell, I’ll have to tell you that things are rarely black and white.”

She knew there had to be a story behind these words.

“If you expect me to do something I feel is wrong, you have to give me a reason to do it, Blake.”

“Isn’t getting your brother back reason enough to do something you’re uncomfortable with?”

“Yes. Of course Justin is worth anything and everything. But you want me to lock myself to you legally. And you’re still not telling me why.”

“For the business deal,” he said.

“I can see that you need to get married if this idiotic deal is so important to you, but what I can’t figure out is why you’ve chosen me.”

“We have a connection. If I’m to give up my prized bachelor status, then I want to do it with someone I can stand to share a house with.”

“I don’t believe you.”

He paused once again, and when he began speaking, Jewell’s jaw dropped and she didn’t think she’d ever be the same.