Chapter 20
Blake sat back in the desk chair in his home office and stared across the room, not paying attention to what he was seeing. He couldn’t help the smile that crept across his face as he realized Sierra had gone out with friends and it appeared she’d had more than the couple drinks she’d limited herself to when they’d been together.
She didn’t sound drunk, but it had definitely loosened her tongue. When she didn’t say anything for several seconds, he prompted her.
“Are you there, Sierra?”
“Hm, yeah, I’m here. Just thinking.” Her voice had gone a little thick and husky, almost as if she was half asleep.
“What are you thinking about?”
“You.” She paused and he thought she was falling asleep again, but then she spoke again. “What are you wearing?”
His brow creased. He wondered what she was thinking but answered anyway. “A t-shirt and joggers. Why?”
“Not what I was thinking, but not bad. I had this picture of you in my mind. In my head you were sitting on a leather sofa. You’ve kicked your shoes off, but you’re still in your slacks and shirt, though the shirt is open. Your hair is all mussed from pushing your hand through it as you think. You’re holding the phone to your ear with one hand while you talk to me. Sounds like I’m off though.”
“If I were at the office, you’d be closer to right, but part of the reason I work at home is so I can be comfortable. That means barefoot, and loose clothes. Sometimes, joggers, sometimes shorts. I grabbed a t-shirt tonight, but sometimes it’s a hoodie, or no shirt. Just depends on what I feel like. Does that help your mental picture?”
“Yeah.” Her voice had gone soft and husky again.
“What are you wearing?” If she could ask, then so could he.
“Jeans, a light sweater, it gets hot in the club, and I didn’t want to get too warm. I did have boots on but kicked them off when I came in.”
“So, you’re not in bed yet?”
“No.” The line went quiet for the space of several heartbeats, and he wondered again if she’d fallen asleep. “No, I’m not in bed. I’m in the big chair in the living room.”
He closed his eyes for a moment and imagined her there, one leg carelessly thrown over the arm as she lounged in the seat.
“What are your plans for tomorrow?” Blake asked, just wanting to hear her talk a little longer.
“Nothing big. I’m sure I’ll sleep late after being up so late tonight. I’m sorry again for calling so late. I didn’t even think about the time.”
“Not a problem. I was up.” In fact, he’d been trying to get the last of this done so he could head north in the morning and spend at least a day with her. “If you could spend tomorrow doing anything you want, with anyone you want, what would it be?”
“Hmm. I haven’t thought about it much.” She fell quiet again, then after just a few seconds, spoke. “I want to spend it with you. I missed you this week.” She was quiet another couple seconds. Blake didn’t say anything, he was waiting for her to tell him what she wanted to do. “I don’t really care what we do. I mean, ideally, we might spend the day in bed. No. I know. I want to take you to meet my parents. I want them to meet the man I’ve fallen in love with.”
Blake’s heart felt like it skipped a beat. She’d fallen in love with him? He’d been afraid he was the only one falling so hard. He didn’t think she meant to tell him that. He hoped she remembered it in the morning. Blake didn’t think she’d had enough to drink to forget what she’d said to him tonight, but without being there with her, he couldn’t be sure.
“I’d like that. I would love to meet your parents. I’d like to take you to meet mine too.” Hell. He’d even be willing to go home to have his parents meet her. He glanced at his desk, at the last of the papers he had to sign to push the deal he’d been working on through. If he buckled down, he could get it done in the next half hour.
After a little sleep, he could get on the helicopter and head north. He picked up his phone off the desk and typed out a text to Spencer to have the chopper ready by seven, then hit send. At the same time, he spoke to Sierra.
“You sound sleepy. Why don’t you go climb in bed? I’ve still got some things to do here tonight, but I won’t be too far behind you in getting to bed.”
“Bed does sound good.” Sierra’s words were starting to slur.
Blake didn’t think she’d been drinking more but had no doubt the alcohol she’d already consumed was making her sleepy instead.
“Want to take me in there with you, or just head off to sleep?”
“I’m going to sleep. I miss you but I think I might sleep good tonight.”
He didn’t know if that was true, but he hoped she did sleep well. He didn’t after more than a couple drinks. That was only part of why he’d started limiting himself to no more than two drinks a night, if he had any. Tonight, he’d been too busy to have more than a cup of coffee.
“Sleep well, sweetheart. I’m sure I’ll see you soon.” He didn’t tell her he was planning to be there in the morning on purpose. He hated to disappoint her if something came up and he didn’t make it, and he wanted to surprise her if he did.