Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“Thank you, honey.” Sandy reaches for his hand and covers it with her own; then she looks at Blake, and I brace, not sure what he will say or do.
“You both have my support,” he tells them, and I pick up my glass of wine to hide the fact that tears have filled my eyes.
Thankfully, the rest of dinner is filled with light conversation and lots of laughs as Janet, Dave, and Sandy tell stories about Margret and Blake when they were growing up. When we’re all done eating, Margret and I clean up the kitchen while Blake and Dave keep an eye on the kids; then we all head out to the back deck, where we sit around the fire, roasting marshmallows and talking until it’s time to go to bed.
After brushing my teeth, I head across the hall to the bedroom that Blake and I have been sharing, then stop at the side of Sam’s crib and place his blanket back over him.
“He keeps kicking it off,” Blake tells me, and I turn to smile at him. He’s sitting up in bed without a shirt on, a view I’ve gotten used to over the last couple of days. “Come here, Everly.” He holds out his hand, and I go to him and take his hand, allowing him to pull me down to straddle him. “I gotta tell you I’m not looking forward to going home tomorrow.”
“Me neither.” I smooth my finger between his brows. “This trip was way too short.”
“It was.” His hands find their way under the sleep tank I have on. “It’s gonna suck not waking up to you and Sam every morning.”
“Yeah, but just think: you’ll be able to sleep through the entire night without waking up,” I remind him, because every night when Sam has woken up, he’s gotten up with me, even though I’ve told him he doesn’t have to.
“No, now I’m going to be thinking about the fact that you’re going to be getting up, and I won’t be there.”
I tip my head to the side. “It really doesn’t bother you, does it?”
“What?”
“Me having a kid?”
“No, why would it?”
“I don’t know.” I bite the inside of my cheek. “I guess I just worry that one day you might realize that having a girlfriend with a kid is way too much responsibility. I mean, it’s not like we’ll ever really get alone time, and it will never be easy for me to just get up and go on a date with you, or for us to have a weekend away.”
“I love having Sam around. I don’t find it a hardship to spend time with him, and if I was ever worried about any of that, I wouldn’t have started something with you. I knew what I was getting into, and I’m not walking into this blind. I want this: you, Sam, and I,” he says firmly, leaving no room for me to question if he’s being truthful.
I rest my forehead against his. “I have no idea how I’m going to sleep without you after tonight,” I admit, and his face softens.
“Me neither, baby, which means you’re going to have to get comfortable with the idea of you and Sam staying with me when you can . . . or every night,” he says, and I laugh.
“I’m sure we can work something out.” I smile as he rolls me to my back; then he kisses the smile off my face and tucks me into his side before reaching over to shut off the light.
“Night, baby.”
“Night.” I curl deeper into him; then, as I listen to his breathing even out, I drift off to sleep, happy, content, and safe in his arms.
Chapter 16
EVERLY
When I pull up to the lodge, I put my car in park and shut off the engine, then grab my bag off the passenger seat and get out. I send Blake a message letting him know I’m heading into the office. He sends me a message back, telling me he’s going to be here in about an hour and that when he gets in, we’ll call Ginny and Jeff’s lawyer to set up a time to meet with them.
Yesterday on the way home from the lake house, he and I talked at length about the pros and cons of meeting with Ginny and Jeff again, and by the time we got to my parents’ place, we agreed I should give them one more chance. Or, I should say, I convinced him that I should give them another chance, because he made it clear he does not want Sam or me anywhere near them. The only thing that made him feel a little better about it was when I agreed that he could be with me at the meeting and that Sam would stay with my mom.