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I didn’t hear from Blake all day. He’d left my apartment before sunrise, pressing his lips against mine, whispering that he would talk to Brittany today.
Today.
Mary called me into work at two; it was supposed to be my day off, but since it was only for a few hours—and I didn’t want to hang around the apartment worrying about Blake—I said yes. Tara was heading up the shift, which was a business dinner at a hotel in downtown Columbus.
By the time we finished, I was desperate to check my cell phone for word from Blake, but when I dug it out of my purse and checked the screen, there was nothing. No missed calls. No text messages.
Nothing.
“Everything okay, Penny?” Tara asked as we left the Columbus Premier.
I nodded, clutching my phone in my hand.
Why hadn’t he called?
“I’m meeting some friends for a drink if you want to tag along. You look like you could use some company.”
“Thanks, but I’m fine. I think I’ll just head back to my apartment. Maybe another time though?”
Tara smiled. “Anytime. Catch you later.” She gave me a small wave before crossing the street and disappearing down the sidewalk.
Another time, I would have pushed myself to accept her invitation and join Tara and her friends, but all I could think about was getting back to the apartment in the hopes that Blake would show up.
I tried to ignore the irrational thoughts during the whole ride back. I watched people on the sidewalk, guessing their stories. Who they were, where’d they been, where they were going. I lost myself in the busy streets.
When the bus slowed for a red light, I watched an elderly man and woman. His hand rested on her lower back, guiding her toward a coffee shop on the high street. He held the door open for her, and when she slipped past him, he leaned forward and kissed her, love emanating from them.
When I got off the bus, the elderly couple was still fresh in my mind. They must have been at least seventy, and their story gave me hope.
I wanted that.
Before the summer, I never opened myself up to the possibility of finding someone, of letting someone love me. But now that Blake was back in my life, everything had changed.
I rounded the corner and walked down the alleyway, passing a black Town Car parked there, which was strange. Cars rarely used the narrow passage for parking, but perhaps Bernie had visitors.
Smiling to myself, I turned the last corner.
Deep down, I knew that everything would be okay. Blake would be honest with Brittany and his uncle, and once it was out in the open, we could move forward.
Together.
All that plummeted as I spotted the man standing at the bottom of my stairwell with his back to me.
I’d walked straight into the lion’s den.
Anthony Weston heard my footsteps and turned, narrowing his eyes right at me. “Miss Wilson,” he said coldly. “I believe we need to talk.”
Funny how those small moments changed everything. A look. A kiss.
Six little words.
Because the disappointment gleaming in the eyes of Blake’s uncle told me everything I needed to know.
He wasn’t here to welcome me into his family.
“Mr. Weston,” I said warily. My arms snaked around my waist as I succumbed to old feelings of vulnerability. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
