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“Get a hotel here on the island,” Blake said coolly. “You and Tommy can spend weekends on the beach, at the smoothie shop, whatever.”
“You need to break up with that jerk,” Tommy said, and Lauren ducked away from them so no one would see her smile. She had no voice here, and she was determined not to say anything.
“Tommy,” Blake and Jacinda said, making it clear they didn’t want his opinion in this conversation.
He rolled his eyes, piled his plate with several pieces of pizza, and said, “I’m going to play SquareSpaces.”
Lauren lunged after him. “Can I come?”
He turned and looked at her, his dark eyes wide. “You—yeah, sure.”
She nodded, then turned back to the counter to get her pizza. “Thank you, Blake,” she said. “Great meeting you, Jacinda. Really.” She put three pieces on a plate while she spoke. “I’ll just leave you guys to talk.”
“Lauren,” Blake said.
“Take your time.” She met his eye. “Really, I don’t mind. This is important.” She rounded the corner of the counter and tipped up to kiss him. “The night is young.”
He did give her a tiny smile then, nodded, and Lauren hurried to follow Tommy down the hall to his bedroom. Blake had one more on this level, and then another upstairs. There was no bathroom up there, and Lauren wouldn’t want to come down in the middle of the night when she needed to go.
His house was quite a bit bigger than hers, and with Tommy living with him full-time now, Lauren had the suspicion that once she and Blake got married, they’d be living here instead of in the charming cottage she’d just purchased.
The thought sat okay with her, and she turned to go into Tommy’s room just as he cheered. “Yes, Lauren, come see.” He swung toward her in his swiveling chair and then turned back to the screen. “I just got picked on DaringMan’s team. This is going to be so epic.”
Lauren spotted a folding chair near his desk, and she set down her pizza to set up the chair.
“Oh, they picked DragonCon, shoot,” he said next. “Oh, well. At least it’ll be interesting.” He didn’t seem concerned about the conversation his parents were having down the hall in the kitchen. He only stopped smiling so he could take an enormous bite of his pizza, and then he said, “Let he games begin.”
* * *
“You’re kidding.”Lauren lay in Blake’s arms, the hour at which she should’ve turned into a pumpkin and gone home long past. Tommy had gone to bed three hours ago, and he’d been up late.
After Jacinda had left, after Tommy had won his heated game of SquareSpaces, after they’d eaten and watched a movie, Blake had changed his clothes and laid on the couch. Once Tommy had gone to bed, Lauren had laid down with him, both of them trying to fit into a tiny space together.
“I’m not kidding,” Blake said. “Tommy just wanted to come for the night. He said Cason was really on one, and he didn’t want to stay.”
Lauren had heard the whole tale now, and it only made her feel more guilty for being upset that Blake hadn’t shown up on time for their three-month anniversary date. “I’m glad the two of you are okay.”
“Me too,” he murmured.
She started to get up, but the pressure of his hand along her back increased. “Stay,” he said.
“It’s two a.m.,” she whispered back. “I have to go. I have to work tomorrow, unlike some of us.” She smiled at him, but his eyes were closed. He looked so serene and peaceful, and she balanced herself on one hand and swept her fingers along his forehead with the other.
His eyelashes fluttered, but they didn’t open, and Lauren leaned down and kissed him. He responded quickly and eagerly, but Lauren kept the pace slow. She wanted him to know how deep her feelings went, and they were so much more than a fire that burned through its fuel in the first ten seconds.
“I love you,” she whispered. “Call me when you’re on the way over tomorrow, and I’ll make fresh coffee.”
“I’ll bring pastries,” he said.
She wasn’t going to argue with that. Harrison had won over Cass by consistently bringing her all her favorite things. In truth, it wasn’t about eclairs or raspberry fritters. It was that Harrison took care of her, the same way Blake took care of Lauren.
She got to her feet, and he did too, much groaning and griping in the process. She led him to the door with a smile and asked, “When we get married, do you want to live here?”
That got him to stop complaining, and he took her into his arms again. “I think it would be ideal, yes.”
Lauren nodded. “I think so too. Maybe I could…share your office space with you? Could we talk about that?”
His eyebrows went up, but Lauren had been to his office building. He rented the whole thing, and he had at least two rooms that weren’t currently in use. She only needed one.
