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“Our date starts Friday,” Blake corrected. “It extends through Sunday. Blow James off. Not just for next weekend. For good.”
“Pushy, aren’t you?”
“Possessive. A quality I’ve only just discovered in myself. Surprised?”
Devon shook her head. “Not after tonight. Talk about discovering new, unknown qualities in oneself. I didn’t recognize myself these past few hours. So how can I be surprised about your feeling that way, too?” A pause. “I told James no, by the way.”
“Wise choice.”
“But I’m seeing him Sunday night.”
“Cancel.”
“I can’t.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I made a commitment.”
Blake digested that thoughtfully. “Which commitment is that—the one to James, or the one to your father?”
Devon didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “Let’s just say that James’s objectives don’t factor into my decision.”
“Then I’ll try to live with it. But after what just happened in this bed, don’t expect me to be open-minded.”
Devon searched Blake’s expression, her own filled with amazement. “It was pretty intense, wasn’t it?”
He nodded slowly. “Very intense. And not was—is.”
She heard his intimation loud and clear. “A relationship between us is going to complicate an already tense situation.”
“No argument.” Blake paused. “Are you okay with that?”
“I guess I’ll have to be. You?”
“Fine. Risk doesn’t frighten me. I’ve got good instincts. I’ve learned to rely on them. And to fight for what I want.”
“As opposed to James, who’s more self-indulgent and spoiled,” Devon surmised.
“You said it, not me.”
“You didn’t answer my question. Was James really sick? Because his virus was nowhere to be found when we spoke. He sounded in good spirits.”
“He knows how to lay on the charm. He wants you. He’s not about to expose his weaknesses when he’s trying to win you over.” Blake paused, his brows drawing together. “To my knowledge, he’s not doing drugs. As for his fears, he doesn’t confide in me.”
They were dancing around the blackmail issue, each of them waiting for the other to address it first. Devon knew it was her call, since her awareness, or lack thereof, was the wild card. She wasn’t ready to go there. Not without first getting Monty’s permission. She’d already pushed the boundaries of her obligations to him tonight. She’d breached confidentiality by discussing the details of her involvement with this case. She couldn’t compound the matter by telling Blake she’d been fully apprised of the extortion letter and phone call.
“Does James know about Philip Rhodes’s death?” she asked instead.
“He knows.”
“How did he take it?”
“The way he takes everything. With a grain of salt. He was upset. He’ll get over it.”
“You don’t like him much, do you?”
Blake shrugged. “We have different values. What we have in common is our sense of family.” A wry look. “And obviously our taste in women.”
