Page 22 of Lakesides and Longing

The popcorn quit popping, and Paige sat in the middle of the couch with Tria curled up next to her. Blake sat on her other side, where he could stretch his legs out long. He liked her couch a lot. It was U shape, and he planned on getting one when he got his own house. Something about being in her house made him think of his own. It was time to settle down. He doubted he’d stay here—it was too cold, but something like this, just farther south. Maybe Kentucky or Tennessee.

Paige reached out and grabbed a blanket from under the coffee table and popped a few pieces of popcorn into her mouth. She pushed play on the remote and stared up at the screen.

He should be watching the TV, but instead he found himself mesmerized by her.

Again.

He swallowed. This wasn’t good at all. And quite frankly completely unrealistic. She was Lukas’s sister, not his type at all, and still traumatized by her husband’s death.

Plus, she would only ever be a rebound for him, and she deserved better than that. He scooted over an inch so their legs weren’t touching, and she didn’t even notice.

He finally drew his eyes away from her when the music from the movie alarmed him. The title filled the screen.

“Uh, I don’t do horror flicks.” He hadn’t watched one since he was twelve and he didn’t like thinking about why.

Paige jerked her head around. “What do you mean you don’t do horror flicks?”

He grabbed the remote from off the table and paused the movie. “I can’t watch them. I’ll watch anything else, thrillers, fantasy, rom-com, drama. Hell, I’d even watch documentaries, but I’m not watching a horror movie.”

She creased her eyebrows together. “Why not?”

“I just don’t, okay? Pick something else.”

He couldn’t explain it. He shouldn’t be scared of them. Nothing else scared him. He could tromp through the jungle with poisonous snakes and spiders, risk his heart for a woman who didn’t love him, and climb on the sides of mountains a thousand feet in the air, but horror films weren’t happening.

He shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth and handed her the remote. If she didn’t change the movie, he’d go for a run.

“I’ll change it, but you have to tell me why.”

He groaned. This was a story he didn’t tell anyone. But if anyone would understand, it would be her. The knot in his chest grew tight. He didn’t like thinking about this and he hadn’t talked about it in years.

“My parents died when I was twelve. It was the middle of winter, and I had a few friends over to binge-watch the scariest movies we could find. We didn’t have a lot of money, and it was a small house, but Dad had a mancave set up in the garage, so he and my mom went out to watch TV in there. Because it was cold they used a propane heater, but it wasn’t ventilated properly. It was two a.m. when I found them. I’ve never watched another horror movie in my life.” He hated thinking about that moment. Two years later his kid sister died from cancer and he’d been alone ever since. His aunt and uncle had raised him after that, but they weren’t close by any means.

Paige didn’t say anything for a long time. She reached over and squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry. No horror flicks.”

He cleared his throat. It’d been a while, but sometimes the emotion was still raw. Paige kept her hand over his and waited for a few moments.

Then, she went back to the menu and flicked through a few more choices. She hovered overPride and Prejudice—the six-hour version—and gave him a sidelong look. Inwardly he groaned, but he didn’t say anything.

She pressed play, and he settled in for a very long and boring night.

CHAPTER14

Paige blinked her eyes open. Sunlight poured in from the windows around her. She tried to move but found she was trapped. It took her a second to get her bearings.

She wiggled a bit, and a muscular arm held her tight against a rock-hard chest.

Ah, yes. She and Blake were watchingPride and Prejudice. The TV must’ve turned itself off at some point. She was on the long side of the couch with Blake, and Tria was on the other side, her snout only a few inches from Paige’s nose.

She wiggled again, but Blake held tight.

“Blake,” she whispered, though she didn’t know why she was whispering. There was no response. “Blake,” she said louder.

“Huh?” he asked and loosened his grip.

“We fell asleep last night.” She wiggled out from next to him, stood, and stretched. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, like he had no idea where he was. It was kinda cute. There was no denying that she’d started crushing on him, but no way would she tell him that.

She knew he was still pining for that woman in Japan, Debbie.

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