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Mel laughed, her hands curling to fists. “It makes all the difference in the world.”
She stood, and he rose to his feet to meet her. “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, his tone indignant.
“I’m leaving.”
“No,” he said, grasping her arm. “We’re not done here. You promised me the night with the kids.”
Mel sneered. “Yeah, well. I lied. Sucks, doesn’t it?” Then she shook his hand off.
“Wait.” He moved in front of her, trying to stop her. “Let’s talk. Think about it, Mel. He’s offering me a lot of money. I could make life easier for you.”
Mel snorted. “I don’t want your money.”
Mel swallowed the lump rising in the back of her throat as she noted Mr. Garwood leaving the hall from her periphery, and her thoughts drifted to Blake. Blake, who deserved more than this. Blake, who deserved a woman who could tell him she loved him, or at the very least reassure him when he needed it. She had failed him today. And as she stood, facing off with Craig, it all became clear.
Mel was scared of getting hurt again. Without Craig in the picture, she was able to close her eyes and take that leap with Blake, pretend like her heart hadn’t been broken four years ago when he left. But the second he came back, and she laid eyes on him, it reminded her of all the things she risked by giving her heart again. It wasn’t old feelings for Craig holding her back. She resented him, and those times she dreamed of his return, it was the relief he could provide that was the dream, not love.
But she had stood on her own two feet for the last four years. She didn’t need someone to come in and save her. She was her own Prince Charming. All she really wanted was love. Pure, unadulterated, altruistic love.
Mel stepped forward and jabbed a finger in Craig’s ribs. “If you want a relationship with your kids and only your kids, so be it. But you will not see them again until you’ve proven to me that you’re sticking around for good. And even then, it will be a slow road to trust and acceptance. Do you understand?”
“Yes, but—” Craig reached for her again, but she dodged him.
“Get out of my way.”
Craig’s hand stilled, and he dropped it. A smart choice for a man who valued all his limbs.
She sidestepped him, then stormed her way across the hall. Caroline’s eyes widened when she saw her. “Whoa,” she said. “Everything okay?”
“Everything’s great. Just as it should be.” Mel glanced down at her kids. “Kinsley, Peter, Brady, take those snacks to-go. We have a mission.”
“What mission?” Peter asked, perking up.
“Catch Mr. Blake.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
BLAKE
Blake stood and kicked the toolbox by his feet, then threw the wrench in his hand just as Grant opened the door to the shop room. He ducked, holding a hand over his head to parry the torpedoing tool.
Once the coast was clear, he stepped inside. “Whoa. Still in a mood, I take it?”
Blake sighed and snatched the rag off his shoulder and wiped the grease from his hands.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Grant said when Blake didn’t answer.
Grant sauntered toward him, then leaned against the shop bench and crossed his legs. “You know it’s bad when all the guys hide from you until their shifts end. They’re not used to so much animosity from you.”
Blake speared him with a look, then shuffled to the bench beside him and lifted his water bottle to his lips. “Do you have a point?”
“It’s Mel, isn’t it? What happened?”
“I don’t wanna talk about it.” Blake slammed the bottle back down and braced his hands against the shop bench, trying to calm himself. He squeezed his eyes closed, but every time he did, he saw Mel’s face.
Maybe he had been wrong to leave like he did. Maybe he let his disappointment and pride cloud his better judgment. Why couldn’t he just suck it up and go to the party? It was better than leaving her the way he did. But he just couldn’t shake the feeling she was going to choose Craig over him, and then where’d he be? Even more attached to the kids and brokenhearted. He may be strong, but he wasn’t strong enough to stand by and watch another man—one who didn’t deserve her—slowly win her over.
He exhaled and opened his eyes to find the workbench beside him empty and Grant gone. He didn’t blame him. He’d been a bear since he arrived earlier.
