Page 70 of Love Lies Bleeding

Jake shrugs. “As I said, I trust you. I know despite how you may feel about me, you’ll do right by this property. You love architecture too much to do anything else.”

He’s right. I’ll never let my personal feelings affect how I approach a project like this. “What’s the budget and time frame? I’m just finishing up a few projects and, with Lexi out, it might take a little longer than usual.”

“Unlimited budget and no set time frame. I have my place in the city, so it’s not like I need it finished in any great rush.”

“I wish I’d bought my notepad and sketchbook.”

“Hang on.”

Jake bounds away and I take the moment to really admire the master suite. I have so many ideas. My brain is alive with them, a few of the pieces in the shop would work too. Excitement bubbles in my veins like champagne bubbles, and I do a little dance on the spot.

“Here you go.”

I spin to see Jake holding out a notepad and sketchbook. “Where did you get these?”

“I remembered you always liked to sketch your designs.”

Taking the book and pencils, I try not to let him see how touched I am by the gesture. We spend the next few hours walking around the property while I question him on every style choice he might like. Some are obvious but others he shows a great insight as I lead him through.

“I have lunch set up by the pond if you’re hungry?”

“Starved.”

Somehow through this visit, we’ve established a tentative truce, and I’m glad of it. I’m exhausted from constantly being angry with him and this feels nice. Have I forgiven him? No. Do I trust him? Also no. But I’m seeing maybe there might be a way forward for us in some way, even if that’s only as friends of friends.

We go out to the pond, which is the size of a small lake, to find food set up on a blanket under the shade of one of the trees. The sun shines down on us in the late summer afternoon and a tranquil sense of peace falls over me as I sigh and lay back, closing my eyes.

“It’s so peaceful here.”

“It’s one of the reasons I bought it.”

“Tired of the city?” I open my eyes and gaze at Jake as he looks off into the distance. “I never liked the city but it’s where work is, and where my family was.”

“You never talk about them. Not in college, either.”

“No point. It’s in the past.”

“Do you ever see them?”

He’s never talked about his family at all, so I never pushed in college for fear of upsetting what we had, but now that’s a shipwreck at the bottom of the ocean, I have no qualms about bringing it up.

Jake turns to look at me, and I sit up at the haunted look on his face. An ice-cold finger slides down my spine.

“They’re dead. Or at least most of them are. I never knew what happened to my father after he left us. He might be dead. I have no idea.”

“Oh, Jake, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t feel sorry for me, Blossom. It was my fault they died.”

Reaching out, I lay my hand on his shoulder. “I don’t believe that, Jake.”

“Really? Even after what I did, you still think I’m incapable of that?”

“Yes.”

He’s silent for a few moments and I let him have his space, he clearly wants to get this off his chest, and I’m worried that if I say more he’ll shut down, and this is the first real insight I’m getting into the man I’d once loved.

“I was twelve, my sister Tiffany was five. I was babysitting while my mom went out to work. I knew even at that age that her work wasn’t right. That the strange men she sometimes brought home weren’t really friends but I was too young to realize that she was hooked on drugs.”

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