“It sure as heck is.”
She was flattered but not stupid. “Come on, Blake,there are tons of women out there more your type.” Ready to talk about something else, she changed the subject. “You won’t believe what Gran said when we were alone.”
“Hold that a minute. Tell me, what’s my type?”
No need even to think about that. “Gorgeous, sexy, fun.”
“You’re describing yourself.”
She narrowed her eyes his way. “Stop with the phony compliments. I know my limits.”
“Enlighten me and tell me what they are.”
“I don’t have much of a sense of humor, I’m not curvy, I’m too smart,” she rattled off. Stuff she’d been mocked for in middle school and high school.
“Where did you come up with that load of crap?”
Not about to get into the thorny details, she eyed him. “Do you want to know what Gran said or not?”
“Hit me.”
“She said what we did in the back seat was a lot like her and Malcom when they first met. Instant attraction and us not being able to keep our hands off each other. Puh-lease.” Which in her case, like it or not, was true.
“That explains the crack he made about us being double chips off the old block.” Blake snorted. “Not. I’m nowhere near ready to get married.”
“On that, we agree. I’d like to someday, but I’ve never even come close to meeting anyone I want to spend my life with. With parents like ours, is it any wonder?” Vi clapped her hand over her mouth. “I had no business saying that. I mean like mine.”
“You’re right about my family, too. My mother, at least. I almost got married once.”
Surprised, she gawked at him. “What happened?”
“We realized we’d made a mistake and parted ways.”
What kind of mistake, and how long ago? She wanted to know but wasn’t going to ask, as she didn’t want to seem nosy. “Our grandparents have seen each other angry, I’ll bet for the first time. Between that and the accident, maybe they’ll table their plan to get married and come to the realization that like you and your ex, they’re making a mistake and need more time.”
“Hard to know what they’ll do. We still ought to figure out what our next steps are.”
For a moment, Vi thought he meant between them. Fatigue was messing with her mind. He was talking about Gran and Malcom. She didn’t want to think about Blake except as an ally wanting to stop their grandparents from rushing into anything. “Next steps.” She scoffed at the idea. “You saw how well that worked out at dinner tonight. At the moment, I’m too brain-dead to think about that or anything else. Let’s wait and see how they feel over the next day or two.”
“I’m surprised—you’re not a wait and see person.”
“Yeah, well I learned that with Gran and Malcom, we have no other choice.”
He cupped his ear. “Did I hear you right, and you agree with me?”
“Just this once,” she teased.
“I’ll check in after I take Grandpop to the doctor, and you do the same.”
Signaling, he turned into the complex. As he pulled up in front of her unit, she tensed. He’d better not try anything. When he didn’t, she was both relieved and oddly disappointed. His car idled there until she unlocked the door and let herself in. Then he drove off.
CHAPTER 11
Between taking Grandpop to his doctor’s appointment, getting the new bike shop in shape and keeping tabs on the original store, Blake was too busy during the week to do more than exchange a quick email or two with Vi. She seemed equally busy. Both of them checked in with their grandparents daily. Grandpop was focused on his bruised rib and the swelling and discoloring there and on his cheek. He didn’t talk about anything else. According to Vi, the discussion with Caroline was much the same.
As busy as Blake was, he often thought about Vi. Brief emails only said so much. How was she doing at work? Mostly though, he thought about other things. The sweetness of her hand in his when he’d needed it. The eager taste of her lips. The prissy hairdo she wore when she was at work, and the swishy ponytail otherwise.
He’d known her exactly one week, but with everything that’d happened it felt much longer. Small wonder, the way their grandparents put them through an emotional wringer. She was outspoken but not obnoxious, intelligent, and an all-around decent person. She’d been standoffish at first, but that had quickly faded. She came across as a confident woman, and yet…He couldn’t get over her opinion that she was average when she was beautiful and hot.
