Chapter 39
‘Daisy, let’s talk outside for a minute, please?’ Blake jumped out of his car and curiously, I followed him. He came around to my side and I leaned against the passenger door as he stood in front of me. The road was quiet and the sun beat down on us from high in the sky.
Behind Blake was a field of delicate wildflowers, but all I saw was him. We were just as delicate, I realised.
‘What we had, what happened between us, meant so much to me, it forced me to re-evaluate everything,’ Blake started urgently, gazing deep into my eyes.
‘I told you, I started this summer thinking that my life was in the city with Sarah, that I was going to propose to her and work with her even though there was always this doubt in my mind. I kept trying to ignore it. Telling myself I was living the life that I had wanted, that I had chosen, too scared, I think, to admit I’d made a mistake.
’ He shook his head. ‘When she cheated on me, I immediately ran. I didn’t want to fix it.
I was bitter and angry and hurt, yes. But also, I felt relieved.
And then I ran right into you wearing a wedding dress! ’
I snorted. ‘Yeah, not the kind of meet-cute you find in a romance book, was it?’
‘Wasn’t it?’ Blake stepped closer. ‘The thing is, ever since that moment, things started to clear for me. I started to realise what I wanted. And that was because of you. You pushed me to see, to face the truth, to look into my heart and to follow it. I can’t believe we pretended we were dating.
I’ve never done anything like that before!
But it didn’t feel weird to me, did it to you? ’
‘No,’ I admitted, softly. ‘It felt strangely… right.’
He reached out and tucked a strand of my hair that was blowing in the breeze behind my ear and then touched the daisy hair clip holding that side back.
‘It felt right to me too. And lying with you and looking up at the stars, I felt peace for the first time in a year. With you, I never struggled for things to say. I never felt awkward or shy or embarrassed about who I was. I could just be myself. And that is fucking rare, Daisy. I never felt that way with Sarah. Did you with Henry?’
‘Never,’ I replied instantly, losing myself in his eyes.
When he smiled at my response, showing his dimples, I itched to reach out and touch them.
‘I didn’t ever open up to him. I was never honest with him or myself.
But with you, it came so easily. I didn’t feel like I needed to keep my walls up or to protect my heart.
We had a connection that I never had with Henry.
Or anyone before,’ I admitted. ‘But we don’t know each other well and we’ve both come out of these big relationships and are making all these changes to our lives… maybe you were right to walk away.’
‘I didn’t walk away from you… from this…
from us, I swear.’ Blake stepped closer so there was only an inch of space between us now.
‘I had to sort everything out. Like you were doing. You inspired me. I know that we don’t know each other well but we know enough, don’t we?
You’ve seen me warts and all. You’ve met my family, seen where I come from.
You’ve called me out on my bullshit.’ He grinned and leaned in, speaking in a low voice. ‘You’ve come on top of me.’
‘Blake,’ I said, startled, blushing and giggling.
But his words brought back our two nights together.
I met his twinkling eyes and grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer so our lips met.
They melted together as we frantically made up for our week apart by kissing each other hard.
Blake leaned in, hooking an arm around my waist, curving around me as I leaned against the car.
I moved my arms around his shoulder. When he let go of my lips to kiss down my neck, I murmured out a breathless, ‘Yes’.
A car drove past us, and Blake lifted himself off me to look into my eyes while we both tried to get our breath back.
‘I’ve wanted to kiss you from the moment I saw you again,’ he said, his hazel eyes darkening as he drank the sight of me greedily. ‘Even if it hasn’t been long, I still missed you, Daisy.’
I nodded. ‘I missed you too.’
‘How about we get to know each other properly then? This summer? While you’re in Birchbrook, and I’m at home.
We’ll only be forty-five minutes apart. While we work on changing our lives, can’t we also work on seeing where this might lead?
’ He reached out to touch my lips and I curved them into a smile.
‘Yes, please,’ I whispered. A calm settled over me then.
I had been restless this week, wondering where he was and what he was doing, missing him but thinking there was no chance of seeing him again.
But he was back. He was here all summer, and wanted to spend some of it with me.
‘I want that too.’ As Blake leaned in to kiss me so softly on the lips, my body sighed into his.
He wrapped his arms tightly around me and I leaned against his chest. I didn’t have to let him go like I thought I would have to.
‘We have all summer,’ he whispered back.
That sounded good to me.