Chapter 31

BLAKE

As I hold the phone to my ear and listen to the ring, I quickly work out in my head what I am going to say. Well, I am trying to anyway, but I am failing miserably at it. The phone call is to Carrie and the reason for calling her seems to change every few seconds.

I want to see her again. I haven’t seen her since Tuesday, when we had that incredible sex. No. Calling it sex is degrading to what it was. It was more akin to making love than anything else.

It was passionate and personal on every level. There was no raw emotion like usual, but love and a connection, the likes of which, I have never felt before. And I am sure that she feels the same way.

Since that night, we have communicated only via texting, but that just isn’t enough. I want to hear her voice, and I want to see her. Not even to have sex again, but to be in her company.

“Blake? Hi!” She answers. Her voice is higher pitched than usual, and she sounds happy to be hearing from me.

“Hey,” I say, “How are you?” Shaking my head, I fall backward on my bed. Well, not my bed. I’m not actually at my house right now, but in a hotel room.

“I’m good,” she says. “How are you?”

“Good,” I say back. There’s a pause, and I can feel the tension mounting. I’m the one who called her, so I need to speak. Only, I don’t know what to say. “I was wondering what you are doing later?”

“I have to work,” she says, sounding dejected. “There’s a catering job I promised my boss I would cover.”

“You don’t sound too enthused,” I say, feeling myself perk up.

“Well, that’s because I’m not,” she says, laughing.

“So call in sick,” I say quickly “Come and see me instead.”

“See you?” She asks, sounding surprised.

“Yeah, I want to talk about some baby stuff. I have some things I need to go over with you that I don’t think I can do on the phone.”

It’s a lie and a pretty stupid one at that. But I find that I’m nervous to tell her the truth.

“Oh,” she says. “Well, I suppose I can call in sick.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yeah. I can do that,” she says, sounding a little more sure of herself. “As long as you show me a good time. It can’t be all business.”

“Fine.” I sigh in an exaggerated fashion. “I suppose I can take you out after.”

I do my best to sound as if it’s the last thing I want, although really, my heart is thumping inside my chest.

* * *

Once again, I have to work to not gape openly when I see her. I’m sitting in the café that we agreed to meet at. As she walks across the floor to me, she looks gorgeous. She wears a yellow Sunday dress that flows around her body. It also plunges at her chest, showing just the right amount of skin. I wonder how I got so lucky.

“Hey!” I beam as she reaches me.

“Hey.” She leans forward and goes to hug me. Instead, I put my hand on her back and pull her in for a kiss. She accepts willingly, looking a little surprised by the change, but not at all upset. “Did you miss me?”

“Maybe just a little,” I joke.

“So, what do you have in store for tonight? And do you think it can top last time?”

“Do you think that’s possible?” I ask with a smirk. I know I had a great time, and I’m certain that she did, too.

“Good point. How about we aim for something close to that? Topping it might be an impossibility.”

“I mean, I’m willing to try. But I’m also a realist.”

She smiles warmly at me, only confirming what I know to be true. She is falling for me as hard as I am for her. “Say, Blake, I’m surprised that you are here already. I thought I’d beat you easily. What? Were you already in the area?”

“Not exactly,” I say, looking away from her for the first time since she entered the café.

My reason for being here is linked to my reason for having a hotel room booked. I had hoped that she might not ask. I don’t know how she will take it.

“Okay, so are you going to tell me or do I need to guess? I’m open to either.”

“Fine,” I relent. “I rented a hotel room close by. There.”

“What? Why?”

“Because,” I say before pausing. I shake my head, suddenly feeling foolish. “You have to promise not to laugh, but it’s because my house is a little too far away from yours, and I want to be closer to you, in case anything happens with the pregnancy. I don’t like the idea of having to drive for thirty minutes to be with you.”

I am not usually like this. I’m embarrassed by the sentiment, and it is silly of me. And for a moment, I worry that she is going to think the same thing. But, to my surprise, she reaches across the table and takes my hand. And only when I look at her does she kiss the back of it.

“Thank you,” she says and she looks a bit like she has tears in her eyes. And she kisses the back of my hand again.