31. Harper #2
Turning, I spot Blake on the far wall. He had been talking to Jace’s dad, Chris, but stops talking as Wren enters the room, eyes tracking her movements, like he’s drinking her in.
Lips slightly parted as if a breath caught on the words you can’t say.
It’s careful, almost reverent, the way he watches her.
The look of pure yearning on his face fractures my heart.
They have had an on-again-off-again thing since he and Jace came into town.
By the look on his face, I know who initiates the off-agains.
Like he can feel my stare, Blake looks toward me, his face shutters, and every emotion that had been written there before is gone in a blink.
Tipping his beer at me with a smile before turning back to Chris, he schools his features into the easygoing Blake that everyone expects.
Wren is doing Wren things, making the rounds to greet everyone.
She stops to talk to Lizzie for a second, but I catch her eyes darting to Blake multiple times, want woven so delicately into her expression only someone that really knows her would spot it.
Her features soften when he laughs, like his happiness is seeping into her.
Their eyes find each other, and both go still.
Soft smiles, darting looks. I’m on the edge of my seat, a little voyeur in this standoff, and I’m about to pull my hair and scream for them to kiss already.
They appear to be on the verge of one of those epic fuck-it moments before the main character charges over and takes what he wants. Whew, I think I need a cold shower.
Jace calls everyone to eat, and just like that, the spell is broken. I will have to talk to him about his timing later. I move to the kitchen and help Bree carry the rest of the food to the long table we set up for the day.
Dinner is all I imagined and so much more.
Standing in the kitchen doorway watching everyone talk, eat, and spend time hanging out, my heart swells.
Lizzie is sitting beside Blake, and whatever he’s doing has her laughing non-stop.
Wren also appears to be having trouble dragging her attention away from the duo.
The only person missing is Cass. I invited her, but she’s in Guatemala on a medical operation trip and couldn’t make it.
Each year I invite her, and each year she’s had something planned.
But she said she would try to be free next year, so I’m hopeful that she’s turned a corner.
Lost in thought, I don’t realize I’m no longer alone until hands snake around my waist, dragging me into the kitchen. The second we are out of sight, Jace’s mouth is on mine. I melt into his touch, everyone and everything else forgotten in this stolen moment.
“Hey,” he breathes, pressing his forehead to mine. “You happy, babe?”
“Yeah, I’m very happy. Today, the last twenty-four hours, hell, the last few months have been like a dream. Thank you for that.”
“I think you have it backwards. I’m the one who should be on his knees thanking whatever God will listen that I get to be with you, that I get to love you out loud, and hold you in my arms. The way you brought this group together, making sure everyone had somewhere to be today is just one of the many things I love about you.
” Ready for his lips on mine again, I make to close the distance between us, but someone clears their throat.
I ricochet apart from Jace, spotting his sister in the doorway.
“As always, squirt, you have impeccable timing.” Jace rolls his eyes.
“One of my many, many, charms, big brother.” She winks at me, sauntering into the kitchen.
“I’m gonna go mingle,” I mumble as I attempt to dart out of the kitchen, but Jace snags me and kisses me hard before sending me off blushing, laughing as I slap his chest for his antics.
Almost everyone has moved from the table to various seats around the house.
Anita and Chris are on the floor playing memory match with Lizzie.
Wren and Bree are in the corner with a bottle of wine beside them while they laugh at something on their phones.
Jace’s crew are in the sunroom. I scan the space, not finding Blake in the mix, but movement on the porch catches my eye.
Grabbing my jacket and slipping out of the door, I find him on the porch swing, gliding slowly and looking out over the yard.
“Room for one more out here?” I ask. He shifts over, making room for me, but not saying anything.
His easy smile is in place, but for once, it doesn’t reach his eyes.
Settling in beside him, I wait a few seconds, working through what I want to say before speaking.
Leaning over, I bump my shoulder into his. “You okay, Blake?”
“Of course, nothing but sunshine and rainbows over here, Harper. You know that.” Again, a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. I hate it.
“It’s not my place to share Wren's story.” The swing stops as Blake's feet are planted on the porch, and his back goes a little stiff.
“But I can say that she has seen a lot of hurt. Has seen the damage men or relationships can do to a person. The carefree, bouncing from one man to the next is her way of protecting herself.” His breath leaves in a long blown out exhale.
“I kinda figured, but I don’t know how to make her see that I won’t hurt her. I’m not jonesing to get married today, but I also don’t know if I can reconcile being with a woman where that is never an option." His voice is low, and the frustration and pain are evident in each syllable he speaks.
“Truthfully, Blake, I don’t know if Wren can ever let herself get married.
To be legally tied to another human in that way, I just don’t know if she will get there.
What I do know, is that if you want a life with her, she’s worth taking a chance on, and she’s different with you.
” His head whips toward me so fast I startle.
“What does that mean?”
“Just that I have watched Wren over the last year interact and flirt, and just be Wren a lot, but with you, I don’t know how to explain it.
You aren’t just another conquest. You have a way of making cracks in the walls she has built around herself, and it scares the shit out of her.
I see the way you two gravitate toward each other, and the way she relaxes when you are near.
It’s just different, as lame as it sounds. ”
“Any tips?” His sincerity touches me, and if I could pick anyone for Wren, it would be Blake.
“Just keep doing what you’re doing. Be there for her, no strings attached, show her that she can depend on you, even without a commitment.
” He nods, not speaking. “With that said. If marriage and the typical family is what you want, Blake, then when the opportunity comes along, if another woman comes along, don’t feel bad for finding your own happiness. You deserve it.”
His shoulder bumps into me like I did to him earlier. “Thanks, Harper, you’re pretty okay yourself.”
“Careful there, you might make me swoon.” I fan my face and tip over toward him.
“Jace did good, you two really work, and he’s happier than I have ever seen him. Plus, if y’all ever get married, I already know what I will share in my toast—how I got to be there when Jace heard what you really thought of him.”
Heat rushes to my face recalling how he was there when I proclaimed that I, for lack of a better word, wanted Jace to “service” my horny pussy.
Covering my face with my hands, I want to die all over again.
The swing jiggles from his laughter. As much as I hate the reason why, I laugh, too, relieved that his smile finally reached his eyes.
The front door opens to Lizzie and Wren.
“There he is.” Wren smiles, pointing to Blake.
“You’ve been summoned for a tea party,” she declares, smiling brightly at him.
Blake's face instantly transforms upon seeing both girls.
His eyes brighten and crinkle at the sides as he smiles.
His face softens ever so slightly when he makes eye contact with Wren.
It tugs at my heart seeing the way he looks at her, like the world begins and ends with her. He pats my thigh as he stands.
“Thanks for the talk,” he says in a hushed voice, then follows my daughter into the house. I spotted Pretty Pretty Princess out earlier and hope he realizes that tea parties usually entail jewelry for all.