Embrace Me Forever (Hartley Brothers #3)

14. Georgia-May

14

GEORGIA-MAY

I told him nothing about him mattered. God! Everything about him matters. That was the worst lie I’ve ever spoken. But what he asked me was absurd. He said that his wife was dead, then he expected me to just take it and go to bed?

As I calm myself down, slipping into my pajamas, I can’t stop thinking about his confession, analyzing it despite his warning not to. It was just one line, and he almost didn’t want me to see him as he said it. But he couldn’t hide the pain he held. It tightened his features and shadowed his usually guarded eyes. I was about to say sorry, but his response? He rejected my sympathy.

The sting of that dismissal burns hotter than I expected. It wasn’t just the rebuke itself that annoyed me. It was the brutal reminder of how far he was from letting anyone close. The man was encased in his sorrow, shielded by a fortress of something more than grief I’m not sure I can ever breach.

The truth is, despite the walls he puts up, every single thing about Blake matters to me. His rare smiles, the way his eyes crinkle when he lets just a little bit of his joy show—and everything else that comes with them, his past and his present. It all draws me in, piece by painful piece.

Anne quietly knocks, and I let her in.

“I can’t sleep,” she complains in a whisper.

“Because there’s a man in the house?”

“Maybe. I barely remember how to act around one.” She chuckles, then silently coos at my little girl, who’s nestled under her favorite Minnie Mouse blanket—the one Anne gave her for her first birthday.

I marvel at the serene expression on Coco’s face. “It looks like she’s smiling in her sleep,” I whisper, my fingers caressing her forehead, tracing the delicate curves of her brow.

Anne draws closer. “She’s always a happy baby, no matter what. Just like you when you were little!” She elbows me.

“You were only three when I was a baby. How would you know!”

“Dad told me.”

I probably inherited that trait from him. How I miss him!

Anne continues, “But I must admit, that smile—” She pauses, full of affection, pointing at Coco’s curved lips. “—is a smile I’ve never seen before.”

A lump forms in my throat as I absorb the pure joy etched on my daughter’s sleeping face. “It’s as if she’s found a piece of heaven in her dreams,” I whisper. Perhaps the Alaskan bears Blake mentioned over dinner had woven their way into her slumber.

Anne and I exchange a glance, silently acknowledging what we both know. Coco has taken a shine to Blake. Her ‘love you’ was just part of her routine, but the ‘daddy’ part? That threw me. She picked up that word from my stories about Sebastian. I can only hope Blake brushed it off. If he expects me to forget about his late wife like yesterday’s weather report, he should be able to handle this.

But no matter how innocent Coco’s words were, I wouldn’t be surprised if Blake was the one who lifted her spirits tonight. Maybe it was his deep, resonant voice—a sound Coco had never heard before—or the way he held her and looked at her.

My sister pulls me away toward the other end of the room. She leans against the doorframe, her eyes intense. “Honestly, seeing Blake in person makes me think you’ve been hiding him under a bushel. And what a waste of good shade that is!”

I meet her bold declaration with a half-gape, caught entirely off guard. Until today, my descriptions of Blake had been succinct. A forty-year-old man on Hartley Marine’s payroll, recently assigned to ensure my safety. I had sparingly used adjectives that conjured ‘attractive’ when speaking of him, cautious not to ignite my sister’s imagination, which often wandered into the realms of her beloved romance novels.

She continues, a grin spreading across her face. “And I don’t think he has any bad intentions with you.”

I raise an eyebrow and cross my arms. “Oh, is that so? Even after he insisted on keeping things professional right after our mile-high kiss?” I couldn’t help bringing up that little scandal. The fact that she’s managed to stay civil with Blake so far is a testament to her soft spot for him.

Anne nods emphatically, suppressing a chuckle. “Now, let me enlighten you with my own reverse psychology,” she says, her tone dripping with the mischief of a conniving older sibling. “Only a man hopelessly in love would utter something so ridiculous to backpedal after a moment of passion.”

“You’re on his side now?”

“Hey, it’s my job as your sister to play ‘Apathetic Anne.’” Her eyes sparkle with humor. “But I must admit, he’s passed the test.”

I shake my head, my amusement tinged with a hint of exasperation. “Since when does turning into a lovestruck teenager fall within the ‘sister job description’?”

“Seriously, Gi, the man is smitten. For heaven’s sake, haven’t you noticed the way he looks at you?”

I have, all the time, and I see a jumble of things, like paint splattered on a canvas. Colorful, erratic, and impossible to interpret.

Anne adds, bridging her earlier remark with a whimsical note, “It’s like you’re the only woman in the world.”

I scoff, feeling a flush of warmth spread across my cheeks. “Well, I am the only woman in his world right now because he knows you’re off limits.”

Anne almost lets out a loud laugh, but she skillfully reins it in. Although she divorced her third husband, they remain on amicable terms, and I’m quite aware that they’re still madly in love with each other.

Not wanting to let her off, I counter, “And what about the way he shuts down any conversation about feelings? That doesn’t exactly scream ‘smitten’ to me.”

“Maybe he’s just scared. You know, big, tough guy with a marshmallow heart?”

Rolling my eyes, I can’t help but let out a reluctant chuckle. “You might be onto something. Or maybe you’ve just watched too many rom-coms.”

Anne winks at me, her tone playful yet earnest. “Maybe. Or maybe I’m just right, and you’re too stubborn to see it. Either way, I’m firmly on Team Blake. It’s not every day you see a man look at a woman not just because he wants her in his bed but with a genuine intention to take care of her.”

My gaze drifts to where my daughter lies peacefully sleeping in her crib. “Coco loves him.”

“Well, I don’t have a baby of my own, but I know this. Babies don’t lie.”

“You know, Anne,” I begin. “I want Coco to have a father.” I had never disclosed to Anne the full story of Sebastian. Knowledge can be deadly when it comes to Bertram, and I desperately wanted to shield her from the darkness that had unfolded in England. The risk of her diving headfirst into danger for the sake of my justice was too great, and her instinct to protect me, though endearing, was dangerously uncalibrated. Somehow, I have managed to keep it all a secret, merely telling her that I got pregnant after a wild night at an Irish pub.

“Our dad was great, wasn’t he?” Anne reminisces, a note of nostalgia coloring her voice.

“The one and only,” I reply, feeling a tear trickle down my cheek. Anne’s eyes are glistening, too.

“God, without him, I don’t know how we would’ve survived. Mother was as toxic as mercury in the veins.”

Thoughts of our mother always stir up turmoil, but I quickly shift our focus to our father—the cornerstone of who we have become.

“I want Coco to experience what it’s like to have a man in her life who will protect her, nurture her, laugh with her, cry with her. I’ll always stand by her to provide these things, but a father’s love can never be replaced.”

Anne sobs. “God, I miss Dad! I can’t forget how he stuck by me all night after I bombed my exams. And remember when I was freaking out about getting my appendix out? He was right there, holding my hand through it all, Gi.”

I pat her shoulder, my own memories stirring. Where do I even start? From the countless hours in the playroom, building castles that could withstand any siege, to him helping me change tires in the pouring rain in the middle of nowhere. From the joy of birthdays where he turned the simplest things into magic, to the comfort he gave when the pain felt too immense to bear alone.

“That’s Dad, all right,” I say, breaking a smile. “And I want Coco to feel that. Safe, cherished, and unabashedly loved—not just in fleeting moments, but consistently, deeply.”

Anne pulls me into a hug. “Don’t give up, Gi. Blake might seem like a fortress, but even the most fortified walls have a secret entrance.”

My tears stubbornly cling to the brink. Silence envelops us for a lingering moment, and then our eyes meet. The night, once heavy, now seems infused with a lighter air. If Anne, apathetic as she is, can hold faith in Blake, perhaps the cloud of disappointment hanging over the man I secretly adore—yes, truly adore—might soon lift.

I toss her a side grin. “Blake will drive me and Coco to the hospital tomorrow, so you don’t have to rush back after your morning shift. Hell, have some alone time with your Mr. You-Know-Who,” I say, giving her a wink to let her know that I’m clued in on her little rendezvous.

Anne’s eyes narrow, resignation flashing across her face, but then she brightens with her apparent a-ha moment. “Well, that settles it. I can leave you two the place for yourselves. I’ll stay with Diego as long as you need me to.”

“He’s in Santa Fe!”

“Yeah, just around the corner. You’re not the only one who’s mastered the remote ninja routine. My company lets me work from anywhere too, you know,” she argues. “Honestly, I didn’t want to leave you alone today because I wasn’t sure I could trust Mr. Unkissable.”

I chuckle, arching an eyebrow. “Mr. Unkissable, huh? If you trust him now, should I be worried you’re handing over your approval too easily?”

“Oh, come off it,” Anne retorts. “It’s not about trust on a silver platter. It’s about giving the man a chance to prove he can be more than just…unkissable.”

A chance. Such a small word for such a monumental gamble. I don’t hand out second chances like candy at a parade. They must be earned. Does Blake deserve such a chance? Perhaps. There’s a part of me that dreams of a world where it’s just him and me against the universe. Yet, for now, my universe centers around Coco. She’s my star, my priority. Tomorrow, she’ll need every ounce of my strength.

And Blake? If he can rise above the label of Mr. Unkissable—if he can prove himself to be the man Coco and I need, not just the man I desire—then, and only then, might I consider giving him that elusive chance.