“You aren’t stupid. We’re just crazed when we’re together. I’ve already imagined taking you sixteen different ways since I’ve been in your office.”
She laughs and I can finally take a deep breath, some of the pressure and worry in my chest lifting.
“You’re not what I expected.”
“Yeah, well that sure as shit makes two of us, princess.”
She stands and walks over to where I’m sitting, and I open my arms for her to sit on my lap. She complies, and I wrap her tightly in a hug, resting my cheek on her head. Her sweet, jasmine scent wafts around me and I inhale deeply.
“It’ll be okay, I promise.”
“You can’t promise those types of things. But I trust you anyway.”
Her words hit their mark. If I give her anything in this life, being a safe place she trusts is the most important.
I sit with her while she sips on her hot coffee and picks at her croissant before I have to leave her to start my day, already way behind schedule, and after being gone for three days, I have to play catch-up.
I pass Liam in the hallway on the way to my office and he nods at me, following me into the room and closing the door behind him.
“She alright?”
“Mortified, but she’s the strongest woman I’ve ever met.”
“Well shit, that’s sayin’ something considering the last six months.”
“How’s Han, everything okay?”
He runs his hand nervously through his hair and paces the length of my office.
“Still trying to process how I’m going to break it to her that her boyfriend slash ex-boyfriend slash baby daddy is a cheating, piece of shit with a live-in girlfriend and another baby on the way. Oh, and he’s most definitely not going to marry you so plan on losing your family’s business that you love so much.”
“Shit. Yeah. So, advice?”
“Please.”
“I wouldn’t say it like that.”
“Well, no shit, Sherlock. Thanks for helping.”
“Like I said before, you know Hannah better than anyone in the world, and you literally were the first person to see Charlie when she delivered her on the kitchen floor. No one knows better how to help them through this than you do.”
“Shit sucks, man.”
“Trust me, I get it. Just be there for her. It’s all you can do. Give her a safe shoulder to lean on, something you’ve been doing for twenty years already.”
“Thanks, brother. I got shit to do but I’ll see you Sunday.”
“Sounds good.”
I wonder what Blaire will decide to do and if she’ll make a decision before then. I’d love nothing more than to walk into Sunday dinner holding her hand. Being able to enjoy her at my parents’ house surrounded by my family would make me so happy. I just wish I knew if she felt remotely the same as I do, or if she still views us as fuck buddies. After the morning we had together before I left for Mount Baker, I thought I felt the shift. I knew I was in love with her, but she was there with me, fully participating, and I know she felt everything I did.
She had to.
Right?
Chapter Thirty
Blaire