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Chapter 10
As far as Tanith understood, in the modern dating philosophy, third dates were when things went down. It was the date where it was socially acceptable to drag a man back to your bedroom without having people call you filthy names after. Actually, there were a number of social mores about modern dating life out there, and so far, Tanith was pretty sure she hadn’t followed a single one of them. In her early thirties, with an eight-year-old daughter, none of them actually applied, anyway.
Of course, she never would have agreed to go anywhere, even with Blake, if she hadn’t made sure her daughter was perfectly safe. When Espie had commented dryly the other day that the water quality seemed to be declining again, she’d also mentioned that her brother was dealing with it. That meant that whatever nonsense the shifters were involved in this time, Tanith could be sure that some bear or other would be out patrolling to protect her daughter.
That meant she could relax.
Tonight Blake finally invited her back to his place for a glass of wine. He had extended the invite at the planetarium, where they had had a bite to eat, watched some constellations, and enjoyed an IMAX film about the galaxy. In short, it had been a magical evening—one that was definitely worth the hour-long drive it took to get there.
By the time they made it back to Angel Fire, despite sitting in the car and chatting for so long, neither had been ready to call it a night. A quick text to Trudy riddled with apologies was made, followed shortly by one asking if she could spend the night with Hayley.
Not that Tanith had any expectations, but as she had followed Blake up his driveway and toward his red front door, their hands clasped loosely together, she wasn’t ruling anything out, either. Maybe she’d ask him to drive her home in an hour. Maybe they would have breakfast together the following morning. Tanith threw caution to the wind and let herself be open to possibility.
After all, with the security of her gallery in question, a few of the artists renting space pulled out and decided to move their works elsewhere, taking with them yet another chunk of valuable income Tanith so desperately needed. She had spent days repairing the damage done.
While the material goods were difficult to replace, what she wished she could get back was her sense of safety in her place of work. If she could help it, Tanith was out of there before the sun set, preferring not to be in the building alone at night despite the fact there was an apartment complex filled with people directly above her.
Tanith had never been one to let fear dictate her life. Yet after her boundaries were broken by the break-in, she found fear creeping in more and more, until every shadow around what was once her favorite place—besides home with Hayley—turned her into a jittery mess.
Blake had been wonderful throughout the whole thing. Not only had he been a superstar the day the break-in was discovered, he had driven from the hospital to the gallery most nights during the week just to sit with her during his breaks. He called whenever he could. He let her give what she could without demanding more in return. All in all, a spectacular person, no matter how vanilla she still considered him.
Tanith was slowly learning that she had a taste for vanilla on top of her craving for the exotic elements in life. Blake was her constant. He made her laugh without ever trying too hard. He held her in his arms on tough days, stroking her back and murmuring comforting words in her ear. He made her feel safe—and he made her feel desired with nothing more than a fleeting look.
He absolutely should be rewarded on their third official date with something more than a passionate make-out session in the front seat of his car. As Tanith nursed her glass of wine, seated on his huge sectional in a tasteful yet modestly decorated living room, she couldn’t help but wonder what on earth she had done to deserve such a devoted man, a man who gave without ever asking for much in return. Life had been so hectic these last few weeks that she thought he deserved more, yet she wasn’t sure how to give it.
As she listened to him talk about helping a baseball little leaguer with his broken arm a few days prior, she finally realized how she could show that she appreciated him.
“So, speaking of…kids.” Tanith gave her wine glass a little squeeze so that she didn’t make a pinched face. Not exactly the smoothest segue into an important conversation like this one. “I, uh…”
They sat on opposite ends of the sectional, each in a corner. While Tanith sat with her legs curled beneath her, Blake sat sprawled like a king. It was the first time she had seen him take up so much space for himself; being in his home, on his turf, must have brought out a more overtly confident side in him. Tanith didn’t hate it, that was for sure.
“Kids?” Blake’s eyebrows shot up. “What about them?”
“I…” This was the moment that could make or break their relationship. No matter how fantastic the man, Tanith couldn’t be with someone who showed even the slightest hint of discomfort about her daughter. Still, that didn’t make it any easier to come out and talk to him about her. She took a small sip of wine. Where had her confidence gone? Had the break-in taken that too?
“Tanith?”
“I think you ought to meet mine,” she said finally, gaze on the deep scarlet liquid in her bulbous glass. “She’s eight, and her name is Hayley.”
The world seemed to still as soon as she got the words out. Her whole body tensed, and suddenly she found she couldn’t look him in the eye—and she didn’t know why. Hayley was a part of her life. Being a mom was a huge part of her existence; rationally, Tanith knew it wasn’t something she should be ashamed of. Still, she guzzled down the rest of her wine in the silence that followed, feeling Blake staring at her from the other end of the couch, and then she set the glass down noisily on the coffee table.
“So, that’s that,” she said, almost too loudly, and tried to ignore the slight spin of the room brought on by the wine. When she finally did look up at him, he wasn’t scowling or glaring or looking for a way out; Blake just watched her with a contemplative expression on his face, neither happy nor sad.
“Tanith—”
“I know I should have mentioned her before the words were ripped out of me in fear, but being a mother can be a tough job. I’m all the protection she’s got and—”
“Tanith,” he repeated, a little louder this time. She pressed her lips together, knowing she owed it to him to give him a chance to speak. Blake released a soft sigh, then shuffled down the couch and took her hand in his. “You really don’t need to apologize. I know how protective a single mother can be over her cub.”
Her eyebrows shot up, her hand feeling cold and clammy in his. “Wh-What?”
“I mean, I would never expect you to introduce us until you’d gotten to know me first,” he told her, chuckling. “That’s not how these things are done.”
Tanith blinked at him slowly, then scooted forward and refilled her wine glass.
“The lock screen on your phone has a little girl who looks an awful lot like you,” Blake continued. “Is that her?”
“Y-yeah,” she stammered. When she settled against the back of the couch, he placed a hand on her knee.
