Chapter 41 #2
‘Why did you walk off?’ I asked. ‘And you didn’t seem to want to be near me back there…’
‘I wasn’t sure you wanted them to know about us,’ he replied.
‘I can’t believe they’re together,’ I said, trying to decipher his mood. ‘I can’t believe they’re engaged.’
‘It’s crazy. They only just met.’
‘Do you think they’re trying to get revenge on us? They think we care that they’re together? They want to show us they’re fine without us?’
He shrugged. ‘I don’t care about them. I care about us. How do you feel seeing Henry and knowing he’s moved on already?’
‘I can’t believe they’re actually in love, but they can do whatever they want. I don’t care about Henry or Sarah any more, but I care about us.’ I cared more about Blake than I thought I ever could about someone again.
‘Really?’ Blake turned to me hopefully. ‘What if we’re rushing into things just as much as they are?’
‘You think we are?’ I asked worriedly.
‘All I know is, I almost proposed to Sarah and you were about to get married to Henry. Watching them just now made me worry… we’re not each other’s rebound, are we?’
That question made me hesitate. He was right that things between us had been quick, just like Sarah and Henry. But I had let Blake into my heart in a way I’d never done with Henry. And my feelings for Blake were real. Last night had been perfect.
I shook my head. ‘No. People saw our connection so much, they thought we were seeing each other when we’d only just met! Henry still thinks we’ve known each other years. We have something special. We felt it all along, didn’t we?’
‘Yeah, but I know you stayed with Henry for a long time because you didn’t want to be alone. I don’t want you to be with me unless you’re 100 per cent sure. I want you to be happy with me.’
‘You left me. You went back to the city. I thought I was alone. And that was fine with me. I’d rather be alone than be with someone I don’t love.
I didn’t love Henry. I have no idea if what he and Sarah have is real, and honestly, I couldn’t care less.
They really wanted us to watch them get engaged; that’s why they turned up here.
To show they don’t care about us. Although it kind of shows to me that they do.
It hasn’t worked. If they are happy, good luck to them.
Henry is my past. Not my future. I am hoping you might be my future.
’ I wanted to be honest with Blake; I’d had enough games this summer to last me a lifetime.
‘I want to be your future. But we started out as a fake relationship. Sarah betrayed me, hurt me; I can’t go through that again,’ Blake said. ‘Seeing her with Henry… it seems just as fake as we started. How can we be sure what we have is real?’
I knew he was scared. Our connection scared me too. But it was also everything I had ever wanted.
‘We just have to trust what we have is real. Can you trust that my feelings for you are real?’
‘Can you trust me?’ he countered.
We stared at one another.
I heard voices and turned to see everyone trooping back past us, all smiles.
‘Thank you for letting us do that here,’ Sarah said loudly to Willow even though they hadn’t given her a choice in the matter. ‘That flower arch is such a good backdrop for proposals.’
Despite the situation, her words echoed through my mind. The arch had made an excellent backdrop for their proposal. I wondered if other couples might want something like that too.
Blake and I started to follow the group back towards the farmhouse but once again, he walked a few feet away from me, making no move to take my hand or anything. It made me nervous. Why did he suddenly seem unsure about us?
Sarah waved her left hand, her ring sparkling in the sunshine.
It was bigger than Henry’s grandmother’s ring.
I wondered if that was on purpose. ‘I’m sorry, guys, but I found my soulmate.
’ She gave Blake a sneering smile as Henry came over and slung an arm around her. ‘You can’t fight true love, can you?’
Blake didn’t respond. I stared at the gap between us. I felt panic rise up again but I tried hard to stay calm. Deciding I needed to get away from our exes, and worrying about what Blake was thinking and feeling, I broke away from the group.
‘Good luck to you both,’ I said before I turned around and walked back to the farmhouse.
Blake followed me, calling out my name. ‘Daisy, what’s wrong?’
Spinning around to face him, I took a deep breath. ‘Has them being here changed things between us? I thought last night was the best night of my life.’ My voice wobbled and I tried not to let any tears fall.
Blake grabbed my hand. ‘God, Daisy, it was for me too.’ He pulled me into his chest, wrapping his arms around me.
I leaned against his chest, taking solace in his strong embrace.
‘I loved last night and waking up beside you. I want to do that every night if I can,’ he said, holding me tightly against him.
‘They haven’t changed anything for me. It’s none of their business that we’re together.
I don’t want them having any bearing on us at all.
I just wanted them to leave as quickly as possible.
And leave for good this time, hopefully.
I wanted to wait so we could talk alone about us.
’ Blake leaned back and looked down at me.
I gazed up into his eyes. ‘I thought you might have changed your mind.’ I hesitated then asked the question on my mind. ‘Have you?’