"Okay. I trust your judgment. Just…be careful, okay?"
I smooth my palm down her back. “Of course.”
“Did you just buy it at the store? Is that why you left?”
“Yeah. After the errand I had to run with Sam.”
She pulls back to look at me. “What did he need to talk to you about?”
“Just a client being difficult.”
“You know, I never asked how the two of you met.”
“Sam and I?” Fuck, what was the story Sandro and I came up with?
“You said you worked together in Vegas. Is that where you met?” Her perceptive eyes scan over me, and I know she’s still spooked by that gun.
“Yeah, we did. We met at work, at that construction company I told you about. We were on a project together, and we got along. He’s a good kid. Smart. Hard-working. I could see us going into business together, and so we did.”
“Does he have any family?”
“No. Just him.”
“What happened to them?”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t like to talk about it, but you could ask if you’re curious.”
She shakes her head. “I wouldn’t want to pry. Trust me, I get not wanting to talk about family. I hate telling people about my dad. I remember one time, he came to pick me up from a birthday party, and he showed up in his leathers with a gun strapped to his belt. Why would he do that? It was a nine-year-old’s party, for God’s sake. But he liked to show off. To intimidate people just for the sake of it.”
An uncomfortable shiver slides down my spine.
Her hands find mine. “Seeing that gun… I guess it brought back a lot of bad memories.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize. But I want you to know where my mind jumped to when I saw it. Why it freaked me out so much. I know it’s not fair to compare you to my dad when you’re nothing like him. You’re generous and kind and good, even if you try to pretend otherwise on occasion.” Blake gives me a wry smile.
Good?
There isn’t a good bone in my body.
But Blake’s oblivious to what’s running through my head. “We should invite Sam over for Christmas. He’s been amazing with getting the renovation of my place going. I don’t want him to spend the holiday alone.”
I squeeze her hands. “Good idea, Sunshine. Although judging by today, he probably already plans on just showing up.”
She laughs softly and goes up on her tiptoes to give me a kiss.
I’ve never seen eyes as blue as hers. They calm me. They make me feel like all of this might just work out after all.
They also remind me that she deserves someone so much fucking better than me.
A man she doesn’t even know.
A man who’s definitely not good enough to ever let her go.
CHAPTER 36
BLAKE
