I noticed that Blake seemed to be pacing up back and forth in the living room later that evening while we were hanging out and just enjoying each other’s company. There was still a steady rain coming down outside. It was a good thing I had my back-up camera with me. It wasn’t top-notch like the one that took a plunge into the murky lake, but I did manage to get some shots in at sunset.

“Is everything alright?” I asked him, wondering what was on his mind to make him seem so restless.

I was sitting on the couch and scrolling through my work emails on my phone. I glanced up at Blake and eyed him with budding curiosity, but his current demeanor had me a little unsettled. I had my legs tucked up to my chest and was warm and cozy under a green thrown blanket that was fuzzy and soft.

Blake stopped pacing and began stroking his beard. He looked good with it. The facial hair suited him, and he kept it groomed. I liked him clean cut too, but I felt like I preferred him this way.

“I have something to ask you,” he said.

I had that same sparkling feeling of desire brewing in my belly, especially when he looked at me that way, but suddenly his features were cast in seriousness.

“Uh-oh,” I said and placed my phone down on the couch cushion beside me. “You’re worried about something, aren’t you?”

“I have this football banquet I have to go to tomorrow night…”

“A football banquet?” I asked, sitting up straighter. I was intrigued.

Blake nodded. “Yes. I have to be there. I’m the head coach so it’s required.”

“Oh.” I felt disappointed, but I didn’t know why. “Sure. I understand. I can get going soon.” I stood up. I had probably overstayed my welcome anyway. He had a new life that he’d made outside of me.

“No, no,” Blake quickly said and drifted closer to my side. “I always get nervous about these things with the parents coming out and all and hoping I don’t say the wrong thing. I wanted to ask you if you’d like to attend the banquet with me.”

I felt immediate relieve flush throughout my veins. I couldn’t conceal the grin on my face. “Really?”

“Of course.” Blake’s eyes dazzled with handsomeness.

“I would love to come with you,” I said. I was extremely flattered for the invitation.

“Great.” Blake was beaming now at my acceptance.

“But wait,” I said, frowning.

“What is it?” Blake furrowed his brow and held a worried expression.

“I don’t know that I’ll have anything appropriate for you to wear,” I said.

“I have to pick up a tie myself. We could go shopping. I could even show you around the town. You can see for yourself that this isn’t exactly the boondocks.”

I giggled. “That would be nice. When’s our shopping date then?”

“I know you were out working earlier, but do you have some time to spare right now?”

“For shopping. Hell yeah.”

He chuckled. “Let me know when you’re ready. We should head out soon.”

Almost an hour later, we made it to some upscale dress shop in the center of town. The shopping center the shop was located in had just about everything from a pharmacy to a donut stand, so I was able to get my coffee fix in

In the small dressing room, I pulled off my top and jeans and held the dress Blake and I picked up close to my body. It was a cute strapless number that came with a matching cardigan.

When I exited the dressing room, Blake was leaned against a rack of clothes. He smiled when I stepped out of the room.

“So damn gorgeous,” he said, loud enough for every person in the shop to hear. There were only about three people inside counting the cashier who helped us find my size, but I still blushed like crazy.

“You’re just saying that,” I said, and spun around. “Here, can you help me zip it up in the back?”

“Sure.”

I didn’t miss the lingering caress Blake gave me as he pulled the zipper all the way up, stopping near my mid-back. Without regard to the people in the store, he pressed a light kiss to my shoulder. I looked up and held his gaze in the mirror. I couldn’t believe how good we looked together.

His hand wrapped around the small of my waist and he leaned down and pressed his lips lightly to my ear. “Maybe we should skip the banquet.”

“Where would the fun be in that? Patience. I’ll let you strip me out of this dress after the banquet,” I teased.

“Mmmm, I think that would be a great idea.”

Out of the corner of my eyes, I caught the cashier who helped us earlier perusing a rack to the right of us. Her quick disapproving stares were almost comical. She hadn’t been too cordial with me earlier when I walked in with Blake, but she seemed to know Blake right off the bat, asking him about one of his players and how the season was coming along. It wasn’t odd, considering how small the little mountain town was.

“Careful now,” I whispered. “We’ve got viewers.”

He lifted my hair from my shoulder and kissed the nape of my neck. “You’ve never let viewers stop me from kissing you before. And what can I say? With our eight years apart, I think we have a lot of kissing to do.”

I swiveled around in his arms. I wanted to pull him close and have him take me right up against a wall or something. Instead of behaving myself like a sex-deprived nut case in a dress shop, I tugged on the collar of his blazer instead and said, “We have time. I won’t go anywhere until you get in all those kisses. I promise.”

“Who said I was letting you go this time?”

A warm glow flooded my heart and his piercing gray eyes bathed me in a new light.

“Excuse me?” the cashier chimed behind us. “May I help you two with anything else?”

After sharing a playfully knowing look with Blake, I parted from him and cleared my throat. I turned to the cashier. “I think I’ve found my dress. Do you happen to have matching shoes?”

The cashier nodded. “Sure, we do.”

After confirming my size, Blake finally let go of my hand and I entered the small dressing room again to remove the dress. I wanted to believe that things changed for us that night after he said that, but who was I trying to fool. It’d always been this way with Blake whenever we were together. He always made me feel like a brand-new woman—a loved woman.

He wasn’t letting me go this time. I was perfectly fine with that.