Page 32 of The Making of Mila and Blake
“And the plot thickens,” Tori says in a deep, rumbling newscaster voice. “What will Mila Harding do? Will she tell Blake how she feels or let him live happily ever after with Olive?”
“I think her name is Olivia. I’m sure Myles said she plays guitar—”
“Guys,” I interrupt with a frown while raising my arm into the air. “I’m right here. Stop talking about me as though I’m not. And also, Olivia plays drums.”
Tori sucks in a breath and shakes her head pityingly at me. “That means she has super strength in her arms, so she’ll have no problem knocking you out when she finds out you’re in love with her boyfriend.”
She and Savannah burst into laughter, but I struggle to find the hilarity in my predicament. Seriously, I haven’t had a full night’s sleep in days now because I’m too restless and jittery from intrusive, anxious thoughts about Blake.
“Guys,” I snap, glaring hard until they suppress their giggles and compose themselves. “I’m really torn up about all of this. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
Savannah clicks her tongue and nudges her foot into Princess’s ribs, instructing her to continue forward, and the three of us resume our what-was-supposed-to-be-peaceful stroll through the field.PoorFredo,I think. He has overheard way too many conversations about Blake.
“Okay, first things first before you make any rash decisions,” Tori says, “you need to find out if Blake is still in love withyou.”
Savannah rolls her eyes, blatantly ignoring Tori’s inputs as her gaze slides back to me. She seems immensely relieved that I reallydon’thave any interest in Teddy, because how can I when my thoughts are consumed by Blake? “Have you guys talked since you’ve been back in town?”
I bite down on my lip and focus on the back of Fredo’s big old head. So. . . here’s the part where I confess that I’ve been lying to them. Well, not so much lyingas simply refraining from divulging every detail of my life.
“Here’s the thing,” I say. “Blake and I have talked a lot.”
“Hold up!” Tori screeches, yanking Spirit to a standstill so hard he rears up on his hind legs. “You and Blake have been talking? You’ve been seeing each other? And youdidn’t tell us?”
“It was private. Most of it has been about your uncle, Savannah, and I don’t think it’s my place to tell you about it,” I admit, gauging her reaction. I’m not sure how much she knows about Jason’s problem with alcohol, so I tread carefully. The last thing I want is to accidentally spill all of Blake’s family secrets.
“Blake’s dad?” Tori says. “Yeah, he moved back a while ago, didn’t he?”
“Yeah, Uncle Jason. He’s working over there right now.” Savannah gestures to the construction zone and at leastsheis aware of Jason’s whereabouts, unlike Blake, who had no idea that his dad has been working here for months.
“I’ve been helping Blake out with some stuff,” I continue, remaining vague. “And did you hear about Bailey?”
“That he was almost murdered by a stick?” Tori deadpans, and I shoot her a scathing look.
“Tori, you have sucha way with words. But yeah. I was there when it happened. I drove them to the vet.”
“So,” Savannah says, “you guys have been hanging out.”
“I wouldn’t consider dealing with emergencies ‘hanging out,’ but yeah.” I shrug my shoulders and dream of really hanging out with Blake the way we used to. Honky tonk dancing, summer evening strolls with Bailey, intimate gigs just for me. . . “He has said a couple things that have made me wonder if maybe he wishes things had turned out differently, too.”
“Oh, Spirit, stop complaining,” Tori huffs when Spirit whinnies, and she swings off the saddle and lands on the grass with athump. “Mila, you need a plan to get your man back.”
“Like what? I won’t get in the way of Blake and Olivia,” I say, then chuckle at the irony of the situation and can’t resist adding, “I amnotpulling a Lacey move.” Maybe she too had a plan to win back Blake. I can’t blame her now, but trying to purposely break up Blake and me was the wrong way to handle things. I need to be classier than that.
“You might have to declare your love for him,” Savannah says. “Like the finale of a movie when you sprint through the rain to flag down his truck as he drives off, but he pulls over at the last second and you guys reconcile in the middle of the road and kiss! Imagine!”
I clench my legs tight around Fredo to halt him as Savannah obliviously trots ahead with Princess, lost in another of her hopeless romantic fantasies, and I arch a brow at Tori.
Tori shakes her head and says, “I worry about her sometimes. She reads too many books and watches too many Disney movies.”
Savannah looks back, blushing. “I heard that. Mila, if you really want Blake back, you better do something fast before you lose him forever.”
Teddy calls out for her help, waving from the stables, and Savannah expertly instructs Princess into a gallop as she takes off across the field to get back to work. Pretty soon I imagine she’ll be helping Sheri with lessons.
Tori walks alongside me, guiding Spirit by his bridle. “Do you think that’s true?”
“Is what true?”
“That if you don’t make your move, you risk losing him forever,” Tori says. She keeps her gaze locked on the ground as we move forward.
