Page 30 of Need You To Choose Me

So it wasn’t just the nightmare that woke me up after all. But who the hell was making so much noise this early in the morning? It’s been a while since I came here, but yesterday, I didn’t see any construction on any of the nearby houses. Unless you count the giant hole currently on my front steps that needs fixing?—

“Fucking hell.”

Pushing the blanket off of me, I slide off the bed and slip my feet into my flip-flops. The moment I open the door to my temporary bedroom, the banging becomes louder.

Much, much louder.

I unlock the door and pull it open to find a crouched figure standing in front of my steps, wide shoulders stretching the material of a dark blue shirt.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I ask, my fingers gripping the door handle as Blake slowly looks up.

Goosebumps rise on my skin at the slow perusal. Time seems to slow down as his eyes take me in from the tips of my dark red toes all the way to my face, the gray of his irises turning darker as his gaze lands on mine.

I feel exposed under his watchful eyes. Naked. His gaze is like a touch.

Just thinking about it has a shiver going through me. My nipples harden, the aching tips pressing against the worn cotton. The shirt seemed oversized when I put it on last night, but right now I realize just how wrong I was. I can feel the edge of it teasing the curve of my ass and leaving my legs bare.

And I’m not the only one who notices just how utterly inappropriate this attire is.

“Good morning, Blondie,” Blake rasps as he straightens to his full height. “Did you sleep well?”

The nightmare I had pops in my mind. You didn’t have to have a PhD in psychology to understand what brought up the old memories from my childhood. But they were the last thing I wanted to think about, so I pushed them back and focused on the man in front of me.

“I would have slept better if the loud banging didn’t wake me up.” I cross my arms over my chest. “What do you think you’re doing, Walker?”

Blake’s gaze falls to my chest, and I realize my mistake. Cheeks reddening, I let my hands drop and snap my fingers. “My eyes are up here.”

Blake lifts his gaze, taking his sweet time. The corner of his mouth tips upward unapologetically. “I just couldn’t help but notice a few more changes that’s all.”

“Can you get your mind out of the gutter?” Yes, my boobs had gotten bigger since I had gotten pregnant, but this wasn’t thetime or place to talk about that. Hell, there were zero reasons for us to talk about it at all. “What are you doing here, Blake?”

“I came to secure the steps, so you don’t fall and break your leg. This will have to do until I get the material and fix it.”

“Material for what?”

“To fix your porch, of course.”

To fix my…

“I don’t need you to fix my porch, Blake. Or anything else, for that matter. I’ll figure it out.”

His fingers curl around the railing, and he places his foot on the step, putting some weight on it as he climbs up. “Have you ever fixed a porch?”

“I— Well, no. I can’t say I have, but I’m pretty sure I can figure it out.”

His lips press in a tight line. “That’s the thing, you don’t have to figure it out.”

“Yes, I do. Because if I don’t, nobody else will do it for me.”

“Savannah,” he growls, clearly irritated. Good, that made two of us.

“I have to get ready for work.”

Not giving him time to protest, I turn around and slip back inside, shutting the door behind me.

I can hear Blake curse from the other side of the door.

Why was he being so stubborn? Couldn’t he just leave me alone and continue with his life? Apparently not.

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