Chapter 26
“You’re really taking this ‘new year, new me’ thing to a whole new level,” I said to my brother as we pulled along the curb out front of a condominium building nestled on the south side of the cove.
Wes chuckled. “I guess I am.”
We got out of my car, and he walked to the back, opening it to grab the first of many boxes. He was moving into his new place today.
The building was owned by Ashbourne Investments, Lucas’s real estate investment firm. Lucas and Callie had lived here before building their house. Since Wes and Morgan were both at the end of their leases in January, they decided to get a place together.
Morgan said she would have suggested they buy a house, since that was a better investment, but she didn’t want to overwhelm Wes with too much at once—he had a phobia of change.
Although moving in together was his idea, which surprised everyone who knew him, so maybe he would have gone for the house, but I saw her point.
Morgan pulled up behind my Jeep a moment later, followed by Lucas and Callie, then Gabe and Blake, who were in the small moving truck Wes rented.
I turned and smiled at all of them, trying to maintain casual nonchalance, despite every part of me screaming to run to Blake and kiss him senseless as he got out of the truck.
That was one of the hardest parts about keeping our secret.
Things between us were still tangled in uncertainty, but every time we saw each other in front of my brother and our friends, every cell in my body screamed to let our truth out.
Pretending nothing was happening was starting to feel impossible, especially when I was so completely, hopelessly falling for him.
Callie and I were unpacking the boxes, while Morgan directed the guys on where to put the furniture. Watching Wes look at her when she instructed him to move the sofa “seven inches to the left” after he’d already moved it three times had me barely containing my laughter from the kitchen.
Later, Lucas and Gabe ran out to grab all of us lunch, while Callie, Blake, and I were watching Wes watch Morgan rearrange things he’d already put away. His hands were on his hips as the three of us stood there trying not to laugh.
He stepped up to her, put his face right in front of hers—nose to nose—and began whispering as she shook with laughter.
“What the hell is he doing?” Blake asked.
“Oh, this is how they fight,” Callie answered with a chuckle. “They get into each other’s faces and start airing their whispered grievances, but it makes them laugh, so they can’t stay mad.”
Blake snorted. “Fucking weirdos.”
They were weirdos, damn near ridiculous, but I loved watching the two of them together. I loved seeing this side of Wes that Morgan brought out. Because no matter how annoyed they got, no matter how much they still got under one another’s skin, I’d never seen him so damn happy.
At first, seeing them together stung. I couldn’t understand how my brother, of all people, had a relationship, and I didn’t. I was envious. But now, with things happening between me and Blake, I started to think that maybe things could be changing for me.
The Rusty Anchor hosted a Valentine’s Day night every year that centered around celebrating singles instead of couples—because who hangs out at a bar on Valentine’s Day if you’re in a relationship? Typically, no one.
Despite what was happening between Blake and me, we were both there with a group of people from work, trying to maintain appearances. Other than Marie, as far as anyone else knew, we were both as single as they come, which, technically, I supposed we were.
I was starting to wonder how long we would be “figuring things out.” I was trying to be patient. Really, I was. I didn’t want to push Blake for more than he was ready to give, and he seemed content with where things were right now. Plus, it really hadn’t been that long.
Sure, it’d been three months since we first had that conversation about seeing what happened, but things hadn’t really started to progress between us until a few weeks later, and it’d been happening slowly ever since.
Maybe this was a learning experience for me just as much as it was for him.
Blake was learning to let me in.
I was learning that not everything had to fit into a neat little, romanticized box.
Just because things weren’t happening as my hopeless romantic heart thought they should, that didn’t mean they weren’t happening at all.
If things didn’t follow a perfect timeline, that didn’t mean I wasn’t enough, or that he didn’t want or care about me.
I was mid-conversation with Marie and Courtney when I caught sight of Blake out of the corner of my eye.
He was nearing the side door of the bar, and he met my gaze, giving a subtle gesture with his head before slipping outside.
I casually finished my drink before excusing myself and quietly weaving my way through the crowd toward the side door.
When I stepped into the alleyway, I saw Blake leaning up against the wall, letting the door fall shut behind me. “Taking a breather?” I asked as I sauntered up to him.
He offered me a dimpled grin. “Yeah.”
“Could you have done it somewhere warmer?” I quipped, folding my sweatshirt-clad arms to tuck my hands beneath them.
Blake reached out, pulling me to him, his body warming me against the mid-February chill. “You’re supposed to move around. Physical activity keeps your body heat up.”
I chuckled. “Yes, I’m aware.” I tilted my head back to look at him. “Is that your way of saying you want to get physical with me, Dr. Pierson?”
A deep chuckle rumbled from his chest. “You’re a menace.
” I slipped my hands beneath his jacket and the hem of his Henley, sliding them against the bare skin of his abs, and I felt his muscles tense beneath my touch.
“Haley,” he said, his voice a heated warning.
I smirked, my eyes shifting to either side of us before I slowly sank to my knees. “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” I asked, shifting my hands to his belt.
“You don’t belong down there.”
My brow furrowed. Was he really going to protest what I wanted to do? If so, he might be the first man in history. “What do you mean?”
Blake grabbed my wrist and pulled me up to him, dipping his mouth down to my ear as he pressed my body against his.
“I mean that you don’t belong on your knees in some dark alleyway, baby girl.
You belong sprawled out naked on a plush bed where I can worship you the way you fucking deserve.
” He slid his hand down, lacing his fingers with mine. “Let’s go.”
Blake led me willingly from the alleyway, around to the front of the bar, and to his car, taking me back to his house.
That night, I woke from a sound sleep beside Blake.
I shot up in bed to see Maverick standing on Blake’s side, barking.
And when my eyes dropped down, I saw Blake.
He was breathing heavily through quiet grunts, his hands were balled into fists, and I could see his skin glistening with sweat from the moonlight coming in through the window as his body lightly thrashed.
“Blake,” I said quietly, shifting onto my knees beside him. His breathing became heavier, his brow pinched as his head shook. “Blake,” I said again, reaching for him, but I pulled my hand back at the last second.
I knew you shouldn’t wake someone from a nightmare.
I felt utterly helpless as I sat there watching him, seeing the way he struggled to breathe, the terror marring his expression even in sleep. I wanted to wake him, to take him out of whatever was plaguing his dreams.
Suddenly, his eyes flew open as he shot up in bed with a gasp. His breaths were ragged as his wide-eyed gaze darted around the room until it landed on me.
“Blake…” I whispered. I tentatively reached up, touching his cheek as he held my stare. “Hey…it’s okay. You’re okay. It was just a dream, baby.”
My hand shifted, gently curling around the back of his neck, and he let out a shuddered breath, allowing me to pull him to me. He dropped his head onto my shoulder, his breaths slowing as his trembling hand gripped my arm.
“You’re okay,” I murmured. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”