Nineteen
Harlow
“You look so beautiful tonight.”
I twisted my neck to look up at Blaze as he held my hand in his while we walked through the parking lot. Beaming at him, I said, “I know. You’ve only told me at least a half dozen times already.”
He smiled back at me and shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I want to make sure you don’t forget it.”
How he thought it was possible to feel anything but beautiful when I was with him was beyond me. Blaze made the effort to show me—and tell me—at every opportunity he had.
“It would be impossible for me to ever forget it, especially when you’re around. You always make me feel beautiful,” I assured him.
“That’s the way it should be,” he returned.
It was right on the tip of my tongue to tell him how much I loved him for it, but before I had the chance to let the words spill out of me, we made it to the entrance of the restaurant, and Blaze reached his free hand out to open the door for me, so he could usher me inside.
I walked into The Ridge ahead of him, but the second we stepped inside and were greeted by the hostess, Blaze took my hand in his again.
“Just two tonight?” the hostess asked.
I shook my head. “No. We’re meeting some people here. The reservation is under the name Stout.”
The hostess glanced down, scrutinized her computer, and smiled. “Yes, I can see the rest of your party has already arrived.” She grabbed two menus and continued, “You can follow me.”
Blaze and I were led through the restaurant and directed to the table where both my parents and brothers were waiting.
“Your server will be right with you. Enjoy your dinner,” the hostess said before turning and walking off back to her station.
I smiled brightly at my family, who had all stood to greet us. My gaze settled on my dad. “Happy birthday, Dad.” Blaze released his hold on my hand so I could give my father a hug and kiss on the cheek.
“Thanks, darling.”
Once I stepped back, I reached my hand out to Blaze and declared, “Everyone, this is my boyfriend, Blaze. Blaze, this is my dad, Gary, my mom, Kim, and my brothers, Kevin and Austin.”
Blaze extended his hand to my father first and said, “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
Dad happily shook Blaze’s hand and replied, “Likewise.”
“Mrs. Stout, it’s wonderful to meet you,” Blaze continued.
“Oh, thank you. But there’s no need to be so formal. Just call me Kim. We’re so thrilled to finally meet you, Blaze.”
Blaze offered her a nod before extending his hand to both of my brothers and greeting them.
With introductions out of the way, we all grabbed our seats. Blaze took the time to pull my chair out for me before he sat down beside me. And no sooner had we all gotten seated, our server walked up to take our orders.
“Are we all set to order, or did you still need a few minutes?” she asked.
“We’re ready, but Harlow and Blaze might need a few minutes to decide,” my mom answered as she gestured toward us.
I shook my head. “I can decide quickly.”
“Same here,” Blaze chimed in.
“Okay, I’ll come to the two of you last,” the server said.
For the next few minutes, everyone rattled off their dinner selections, and once the six of us were alone again, my family didn’t hesitate to dive right into the conversation.
My mom started things off. “I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to have you here with us tonight, Blaze. I don’t think any of us ever thought this day would come.”
“I’m glad to be here with her tonight, and it’s nice to know this is not going to be a tension-filled dinner,” Blaze returned.
Before I could add my own thoughts to the conversation, Austin asked, “How did the two of you meet?”
I glanced at Blaze, noted the questioning look on his face, and realized it was going to be my turn to speak, because this was my story to share.
My eyes went to my mom, and before I could say anything, she murmured, “I didn’t tell them anything. I thought you should be the one to share.”
I appreciated her doing that. Returning my attention to the rest of family, I explained, “Well, if you think that me finally telling you I have someone I’d like you to meet was a surprise, I think this story might blow your mind.”
“I can’t believe it’d be possible for us to be more surprised,” Kevin interjected.
“It was about two months ago when I joined a dating app,” I revealed.
Shock registered on every one of their faces, but it was Austin who spoke. “Are you crazy? Is that where the two of you met?”
I shook my head. “No, we did not meet through the app.”
“Did you go on a date with someone you met that way?” my dad pressed.
“I did.”
My dad sighed. “Something tells me I’m not going to like the rest of this story.”
I took in a deep breath and blew it out before I decided it was best to just share it all without additional delay. So, that’s what I did. I told my family about how I’d found Rob through the app and how we met in person at The Steel Pub. I went on to share how he’d arrived exceptionally late, wasn’t entirely honest beforehand about the work he did, and what his expectations were if I hoped for us to have any additional dates.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Kevin seethed.
While I knew he wasn’t angry with me, I expected that reaction. My family might have been excited to know I was finally dating someone, but they still wanted the best for me—something that would have been impossible if I’d jumped right into bed with someone I didn’t know a thing about.
“I’m not joking,” I told him. “But that’s where Blaze comes in.”
“I felt exactly the same way I think you all must feel now, listening to this story,” Blaze chimed in.
“You were there?” my dad asked him.
Blaze nodded. “I was. I was already there before Harlow even arrived. I don’t think any of you would be surprised to learn that I noticed her the minute she walked in.”
A proud look washed over my dad’s face, and my mom had stars in her eyes. Despite her dreamy stare and the fact I’d already shared most of this story with her, she asked, “So, what happened then?”
Blaze and I looked at one another, and I gave him a nod, indicating he could share the next part of the story.
“I had a pretty good feeling that Harlow was on a first date, because I’d overheard much of the conversation,” Blaze shared. “It wasn’t difficult to recognize that she wasn’t very comfortable with what was happening, so I stepped in. I pretended to be a friend of hers who was in town only for a short time and was hoping to grab a cup of coffee with her before I had to leave town again. Fortunately, Harlow understood what I was trying to do for her, and she agreed to it. My intention was merely to get her out of that situation, but once we were at the exit to the pub, Harlow insisted on thanking me for stepping in when I did. So, we walked across the street to the diner and grabbed a cup of coffee.”
“And he didn’t even let me buy it for him,” I declared.
Blaze looked at me, smiled, and covered my hand with his.
Following a beat of silence, Kevin asked, “Were you hoping my sister would be willing to date you instead?”
I was about to defend Blaze and insist on just how noble he was, but our server walked up at that moment and forced all of us into silence. She handed out dinner salads to everyone before taking off and leaving us alone again.
And before I could get back to the conversation and respond to my brother, Blaze beat me to the punch. “I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t think any man who had the privilege of dating a woman as beautiful Harlow would be lucky, but that was not my reason for stepping in.”
“So, what made you do it when you didn’t have to?” Austin questioned him.
Blaze shrugged. “It wasn’t in me to sit there, doing nothing, when that guy was being the way he was. I have two sisters, and I would hope someone would step in for them if they were ever in a situation like that.”
Kevin and Austin both nodded, looks of approval adorning their expressions.
“Thank you for what you did for my daughter,” my dad said, pulling our attention to the opposite end of the table.
“Of course. Though, just as I said to her that night, I really don’t need the thanks. All I wanted was for her to have a way to get away from that guy. Fortunately, it wound up working out well for the both of us afterward, because we had such a nice time talking over coffee.”
“And on the bright side, this all helps everything here tonight,” my mom declared. “Not that any of us would have ever given you a terribly difficult time tonight, but I think it’s safe to say we don’t have any reason to now.”
Everyone laughed, even Blaze. “I’ll admit I’m surprised at how relieved you all seemed to be to meet me.”
“I told him he didn’t have anything to worry about. I insisted you would all think he was great,” I shared.
My dad felt compelled to give Blaze a better explanation for their response to him. “I guess I can understand that it would seem a bit strange for us to welcome you the way we have. But if you look at the reason we’re here tonight, it might give you a bit of insight into my thought process. Obviously, my daughter is my number one concern. But if you’ve been spending time with her, I can only assume you know she’s not done much dating.”
“Yes, I’m aware that’s the case,” Blaze confirmed.
“I’m getting older,” my dad said. “We all are. Even Harlow. And it was beginning to weigh heavily on my mind that she hadn’t met anyone and didn’t seem to have any interest in making it happen, either.”
Feeling compelled to defend myself, I noted, “Kev and Austin aren’t dating anyone right now, either.”
My dad reached his hand out to the one I had resting on the table and gave it a squeeze. “Yes, darling, I know. But your brothers are actively searching. They’re dating. They’ve been dating. You have not.”
I pressed my lips together and sat back.
My dad continued. “I’ve been worried, thinking about my daughter being alone. And I’ll state for the record that I’m not attempting to pressure you into anything with her, Blaze. I’m just making you aware that I’m glad Harlow has found someone to spend some of her time with.”
Just like he’d been doing so effortlessly from the moment we arrived, Blaze communicated his feelings with my father and the rest of my family. I loved that he seemed to be so comfortable with them. “I can appreciate and understand your logic, sir. Based on what you’ve heard so far, I’m sure you might be thinking that Harlow was lucky I was there the night she went on that date, but I want you to know that’s not how I see it. I’ve already shared it was her looks that attracted me from the start, but it didn’t take me long to learn there was a whole lot more to her than just her looks. This last month with her, dating and getting to know her, has been better than I could have ever imagined or hoped for. And I want you all to know I feel incredibly lucky to have met her.”
“Of all the gifts I could get tonight to celebrate my birthday, I think what you’ve said solidifies you’ve given me the best one,” my dad replied.
Tears filled my eyes.
Coming into this tonight, I was aware of the fact my family would accept Blaze and give him a fair shot to be welcomed into my family without the pressure. But I didn’t expect things would go this well. I didn’t expect my dad would be telling Blaze that his words felt like the best birthday gift he could have received.
In an effort to redirect the conversation so I wouldn’t break down completely, I said, “Blaze is a private investigator.”
“Oh, wow,” my mom marveled. “I bet that’s a lot of fun. Do you have your own practice, or do you work for a company?”
Blaze went on to respond to my mom’s question, sharing the details of his employment at Harper Security Ops. That information resulted in more inquiries from the rest of my family.
I had anticipated needing to be more involved in the conversation tonight to make it as painless as possible for Blaze, but he seemed to be handling it all brilliantly. Best of all, it became clear rather quickly just how much my family approved of him.
It felt good.
No, it felt tremendous to know I’d done a good job of finding a man to fall in love with.
Granted, I didn’t need my family’s approval, because when it all boiled down, I was the one who had to be happy with my choice. But it was nice to know they thought he was just as spectacular as I did.
And when our server returned to take away our salad plates and deliver our entrees, I took the moment to communicate with the man beside me.
I squeezed his hand, and his eyes came to mine. Smiling at him, I whispered, “I’m so glad you came here with me tonight.”
Blaze returned the squeeze and the smile before leaning toward me and pressing a kiss to my temple. “Me, too, baby.”
And that’s what did it for me.
Those simple words and gestures solidified my decision.
After Blaze and I left here tonight, I was going to give him the gift I now realized I’d held on to all these years just for him. Nobody else would ever be able to come close to deserving it like he did, and I couldn’t wait to give it to him.