“You became property to him. Something to control. That’s not love or marriage.” Blake reached up and gently cupped my chin in his palm. He lightly turned my head until I was staring right into his eyes. “I would never want a woman as property. Marriage is a partnership. I want you to know that no matter what happens here, I will never ever inflict pain on you. Whether it’s physical or mental, you will never be punished by me. When spouses disagree, they talk and work it out; nothing warrants any type of punishment.” He leaned in and rested his forehead against mine. His breath feathered across my lips, and his nose brushed mine softly. We stayed there just soaking in the moment, eyes closed, listening to the waves crash in the distance. Our breathing increased the longer we stayed there. The tension rose, and I thought I may succumb to it and pull away, but I forced myself to let the moment play out. Just as the first snowflake fell, Blake’s lips brushed across mine.
He started to pull back, but stopped himself, feathering them over mine once more. Within a moment his palm moved to my cheek, then neck as his lips parted and sealed more fully over mine. It was a kiss like no other, and despite how much it scared me, it thrilled me just the same. I hadn’t been kissed like this in so long. Warren kissed me when we were first dating, but it quickly changed and became more of an obligation than romance. This, this was different. I could feel everything he was trying to tell me in that moment. The way he threaded his fingers in my hair, the way his lips moved, the way he sighed when he pulled away. It was as if he was telling me all the things he couldn’t find words for, and I understood him.
“Was that ok?” He shifted on the blanket and smiled when a snowflake hit my nose.
“Yeah.” I nodded. I wanted to say more, but I didn’t have the words. How do you tell someone that they seem too perfect? How do you let yourself believe that reality really is real, and you’re not dreaming? How do you let yourself love again?
“I think we better go before it starts coming down too hard. I don’t want Ava to get too cold either.” He tucked the blanket tighter around my sleeping daughter before standing and helping me up.
After walking us to the car, he ran back to grab the blankets and supplies. He smiled when he jumped in the driver’s seat, and began our trek home. We didn’t say anything. We just enjoyed being there together. It was like we knew what the other was thinking without needing the words. It was scary for me, but I knew deep down that Blake was someone worth taking a chance on. He was the one I’d been waiting for. I endured the pain to find him.
Chapter 17
Brooke
I spent most of yesterday analyzing everything that had happened at the beach with Blake. I went over it piece by piece, moment by moment, overthinking and judging everything. Did I say something wrong? Do something wrong? Did he mean what he said? Why hadn’t I heard anything from him?
When I woke up this morning, the ground was covered in white. It looked beautiful outside, and I marveled at the scene from my window. Donna had left early to make sure she had time to get to work, and so had most of the girls. Ava had been sleeping better, and I felt like I actually got a good night’s sleep from the night before with the exception of my brain constantly thinking about Blake. He’d left for a mid-day shift once he dropped me off, and I haven’t seen or heard anything since. That fact alone is causing me to worry. The questions play on repeat in my head, and it seems that every time I start to feel better, they start back up again.
“Wanna get an up-close view?” Lauren called from my doorway.
“Up-close?” I stared at her blankly.
“Like go outside.” She laughed. “You could put Ava in that carry thing, and we could walk the block. Just a thought.” She turned to walk away, but I stopped her.
“Sure. Give me a few minutes.” I glanced down at my leggings and then Ava’s sleeper. I was still figuring out this whole ‘how to dress the baby’ thing. I grabbed the snow suit Donna had given me for Ava, and began putting it on her. She seemed to think it was a game. I’d pull one leg through, and while I was working on getting the second leg through, Ava would pull the first one back out. “What are you doing, silly girl?” I tickled her belly.
She laughed and flailed her arms and legs, causing the other leg to come out of the suit. “We’re never going to get outside if you keep that up.” I started over at least three times before I managed to get both legs to stay in, then I moved onto the arms, and that was just as difficult.
After getting Ava ready, I grabbed a pair of sweatpants to put on over my leggings. I’d always worn layers at home, so now shouldn’t be any different. I pulled a hoodie on, and then grabbed my coat. As I made my way out to the living room with Ava, I
