Chapter 15 #4
I hum. “So far you’re proving a hard nut to crack.”
“Really?”
“Mhm. I’m not really getting heart-on-my-sleeve vibes from you. I’m getting more loves big but keeps it to himself energy.”
Blake smiles softly, peering out of the corner of his eye before he mumbles into his beer bottle. “And you said I was a tough nut to crack…”
I laugh again. “You are! There’s more to you than meets the eye, Blake. I just know it.”
“And there isn’t with you?”
“Nuh uh.” I shake my head vigorously. “I’m an open book! Nothing is off limits with me.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing. Ask me anything you want.”
“Anything?”
I nod. “Anything.”
Blake flicks his gaze over my shoulder for a heartbeat before he centres his sight back on me.
“When did you start working for McAvoy and Fraser?”
It’s not exactly the question I had in mind, but I roll with it, taking a sip of my cocktail and watching the way Blake’s eyes track every movement; his pupils dilating when I wet my lower lip with the tip of my pink tongue.
“Almost three years.”
“And has McAvoy always held his head high and strutted around like an entitled prick?”
I can’t help but laugh. “Would you believe me if I said no?”
Blake shakes his head, the edges of his eyes creasing with smile lines. He looks younger when he smiles, cheeky too. I can see him being a mischievous little shit when he was a child. I was too. Although, one of us appears to have grown out of that phase. Spoiler alert: it isn’t me.
“Not one little bit.”
“Good.” I grin. “Because I would be lying. Yes, Thomas has always been an entitled prick, as you put it. Since day one.”
“And has he always been sticking it on you?”
“Not always.” I take another sip, a bigger one this time, the tart lime catching at the back of my throat.
“There’s been a handful of girls before me, and that’s just the ones at the office.
He set his sights on me at last year’s office Christmas party, and I haven’t been able to get rid of him since. ”
“Until now.”
“Until now,” I confirm. “I’m sure in your capable hands it won’t take long for Thomas to get the message. Don’t you agree?”
I watch as Blake raises his beer bottle to his lips, his throat bobbing smoothly as he takes a drink. “Without a fucking shadow of a doubt.”
Pleased, I settle for a sip of my own cocktail before I set it back down against the marble bar top. “My turn. Have you ever been in love?”
Blake holds up two fingers to signal his answer. “Twice. You?”
“Also, twice.”
“Can I ask what happened?”
“Nothing much.” I shrug, pushing down a twinge of pain. “Life just decided to take us on different paths as we got older.”
Oh, and how could I forget that they both broke up with me for the same reasoning. I’m too wild apparently. A livewire. Unpredictable.
“Mhm,” Blake hums. “My first relationship ended the same way.”
“And your second?”
“She um…” Blake swallows thickly. “She wasn’t in the relationship for the right reasons.”
“Was it serious?”
He nods, taking a swig. “Yep. I had a ring and everything.”
“Shit,” I huff, tightening my grip on his thigh. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He shrugs, but I can tell it’s still painful to talk about. “It’s in the past now.”
I paint a soft smile onto my lips. “What’s meant to be will always be.”
“You believe that?”
“A hundred percent.”
“I—”
Whatever Blake had been about to say is cut off by the reappearance of the tall waiter. “If the two of you would like to follow me, your table is ready in the garden.”
I slide from the barstool, steadying myself on my feet before I grab my clutch in one hand and Blake’s arm in the other.
We walk through the throng of occupied tables, Blake a step in front of me. I peer down at our hands joined together – Blake’s large, dry palm engulfing my small one – feeling a thrill course through me at the sight of our size difference before my gaze wanders a little further south.
God, his arse looks fantastic in his tailored trousers; the material tight around the back of his corded thighs, highlighting the perk—
“Is here okay?”
Finding both the waiter and Blake peering down at me, waiting for my response, I nod.
“Here’s fine. Thank you so much!”
Here consists of a wooden table, tucked at the back of the restaurant, perfectly sandwiched between a potted tree, unlit fairy lights wrapped around its thick trunk, and a towering heater shaped like a streetlamp.
I slide into one of the chairs while the waiter places a thick leatherbound menu in front of me and then tucks his hands behind his back. “I’ll get you a carafe of water for the table. Would you like any more drinks?”
“I’ll have another beer,” Blake replies, bending his long legs to fit into the seat opposite me.
“And for yourself?”
I shake my head. “I’ll just stick to water for now, thank you.”
Grabbing one of the two menus, I flip it open to the first page, my mouth beginning to water and my stomach perking up in interest as I read the copious amount of starters and share platters available.
It’s only when I feel the heat of Blake’s green gaze, searing into the crown of my head, that I look at him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” His lips twist to the side while he peers over my shoulder and a little to the left. “Don’t look now, but McAvoy is behind you.”
Shit.
My mouth dries.
In all of our chit chat and flirty banter at the bar, I’d completely forgotten why Blake and I are here at Asado’s in the first place.
I shiver, feeling like a bucket of ice-cold water has been thrown at me and it’s got nothing to do with stepping outside. My heart plummets south, stomach flipping unhappily at the sudden reminder.
This – tonight – isn’t real.
It’s fake.
No matter how much I’m starting to wish it wasn’t.