Page 3 of Falling for Sierra

But he didn’t want to live in the town where he grew up. He had briefly considered going back there and dismissed it. He liked the idea of people who know you and weren’t going to treat you special because they thought they might get something from it, whether it be fame or money. He didn’t get that back home.

“That’s part of what I’m looking for.” He knew his smile had turned a little reminiscent, not that he had any memories to share with Sierra, but the memories lingered in his mind, anyway.

“People who know you?”

“The sense of community. Of course, they don’t know me now, but give them time and they’ll get to know me. They’ll know my family as it grows. It will get to be home in a way I’ve not had in a long time.”

“What about where you grew up?”

“It’s still there, but I’ve never felt that way about it. I go home and—” he cut himself off, shaking his head instead of saying what he was thinking.

He didn’t want to tell her that when he went back to the small town where his parents still lived, he wasn’t the hometown boy they had all known growing up. He’d been too much of an outcast for that. Now he was the hometown boy made big. They treated him like any other celebrity. It had gotten to the point he hated going home to visit his parents because someone would stop him on the street for an autograph or a picture. They seemed to have forgotten that he was just another person, and one who’d grown up there at that.

It wasn’t the autographs and pictures, he didn’t mind so much, it was the constantly being hit up to donate to the fundraiser of the week, only it was never just one. He’d go back for a week and be hit up for a dozen different things to donate to.

He always donated. It really wasn’t the money that was the issue. Blake had more than enough money and didn’t mind sharing, but he hated being treated like a money tree. Few of the people who called or stopped him to ask for money bothered to even ask how he was doing or exchange small talk. That bothered him. They didn’t even treat him like a human, just an ATM machine for whatever they were looking to finance this time.

It had gotten to the point that stopped going back unless he had to. He’d taken to flying his parents to him for whatever event, or even just to visit, because his going to them caused him so much anxiety it took him days to recover after he returned to Denver. But his parents were getting older. Traveling was becoming more difficult for them. If Hawthorne worked out the way he hoped, he’d buy a second house here for his parents. He just hoped they wouldn’t fight him too hard about moving.

But he’d already considered that. He planned to wait at least until he was married and had a baby on the way, maybe until after the kid was born. He hoped the lure of being near their only grandchild would be enough to get them to move. He gave his head a slight shake, dragging his mind from his plans.

“Where I grew up is not what I’m looking for,” he said with a smile he hoped was friendly. “I need to be closer to Denver. Close enough that I can spend weekends here, at least in the beginning. I’d like to move most of my day-to-day operations here, eventually. Spending less time in the city is a long-term goal.” He didn’t say that his commute wouldn’t be the nearly six hours to his office in downtown Denver that most people had when they drove. Part of why he wanted so much land was so he could put in a runway and helipad. That would cut the travel time to under two hours. Blake had learned it didn’t pay to let people know how much he had to spend, at least not this soon. If he had his way, it would be years before anyone in town figured out how much he was worth, if ever.

“Either way. We’re not talking about business or the property you’re looking for tonight. We’ll have plenty of time for that tomorrow.” Sierra gave him a smile. “Tell me a little about you. How long have you been in Denver?”

“Almost ten years. It’s a good place, and there are times when I like that you can get lost in the crowd, but I want something more personal for my children.”

“Children you don’t have yet.” She smiled again.

“You’re right. Children I don’t have yet, but I’ve always been a planner. I turned thirty a few months ago and realized I’m running out of time. I need to start moving toward my next goal. A family.”

“You have a girlfriend? Does she have any requirements for your future home?”

Blake looked away for a moment trying to keep the pleased smile off his face. He could tell by the tone of her voice she was asking because she cared about more than just what he was looking to buy.

“No, no girlfriend. I realize some might think it’s a bit presumptuous to buy the house before I’ve even found a woman to marry, but it’s what I’m ready for.” He lifted one shoulder. “Besides, what if I was meant to come out here to find her?”

“Find who?”

“My future wife, the mother of my children.” He watched her carefully, waiting to see how she would respond.

She met his gaze and held it a moment. “You really think you’ll meet her here?” She used one hand to motion around the room.

“You never know. I haven’t found her yet, so obviously I’ve been looking in the wrong places. I figured might as well try somewhere a little different.”

She started to speak, but Anna appeared with their drinks. Blake pulled out his wallet while she put their drinks on the table and paid her with a twenty, waving one hand as she started to count back his change.

“You don’t seem like the kind of guy who picks up women in a bar,” Sierra said after Anna walked away. She looked him up and down again. “You don’t seem like the kind who spends much time in a bar, period.”

“I don’t?” He took a sip of scotch and swirled it in his mouth before swallowing.

Sierra shook her head.

“What kind of guy do I seem like?”

She frowned for a moment then tilted her head to one side and watched him for several more seconds.

“You look like you’re more at home in a suit than in those jeans.” Her lips curved in a slow smile as she let her gaze continue to skim him up and down.

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