Page 119 of Attached At Heart
I stared at them. Then stared at him, realizing that I was also struggling to believe this was real. Thathewas real. Even though I’d known him for more than a decade of my life, it felt in some ways that I was meeting Blake London for the very first time.
“You found your blue tulips,” I whispered.
“Yeah.” He looked from the tulips to me. “I guess they do exist.”
My lips curved in a small smile. “I’m glad you found your favorite color.”
He studied the cornflower-blue ceramic flowers for a second before shrugging.
“I actually prefer a blue that’s a little bit darker, but this is close.”
“A bit darker?”
“A bit darker.” His eyes met mine, boring into them like he was trying to communicate something. But when I didn’t seem to get whatever it was, he cleared his throat. “Besides, I didn’tgive you a ‘something blue’ for the wedding. I know it’s a little late, but?—”
“You gave me something blue,” I countered. “You gave me the ring.”
Blake’s gaze dropped to my hand, where my wedding ring was firmly in place on my ring finger. I barely ever took it off.
“I like that you’re wearing it even though…” he started but didn’t finish.
More thoughts unfinished.
But I understood this one.
Even though I wouldn’t have to.
Because there was no one around right now, no one to see us faking it. But I still had it on.
“It’s a really pretty ring,” I said by way of explanation.
“For a really pretty bride,” Blake murmured, his eyes still locked on my hand.
He shook out of his trance a moment later, taking a few slow steps backward, like he wasn’t sure he should be so close to me even though last night he’d beeninsideme.
“Take today to think about things, Delaney,” he said, clearing his throat. “The last forty-eight hours have been…”
A lot. A lot of change and a lot that we should probably think about. But Blake seemed confident that we could be friends who were married and also kissed sometimes, and maybe that was as complicated as we needed to make it. Maybe it was just as simple as that.
All I knew was that I didn’t want to go backward. I didn’t want to give up the moments we’d shared in the last few days or the possibility that there could be more of them.
So after Blake left for work, I looked at the puzzle. I studied the picture. I smiled at the sentiment.
But I didn’t put it together.
Because I just didn’t think I needed to.
I stood inside at Boston Medical, waiting for Blake. The cardiology wing sat to my left, so I hoped that my calculations were correct and the doors I’d planted myself by would be the ones he’d make his way to as soon as he was done for the day.
I took in my surroundings while I waited, making comparisons in my head between Boston Medical and SCMC and all the other facilities I’d worked in. Obviously, it was hard to come to many conclusions just from this preliminary glimpse, but still.
More than anything, I liked that it gave me a picture of where Blake spent his days. I liked imagining him walking these hallways, living the dream that we’d both worked so hard to reach. I liked knowing what his new home away from home looked like.
About an hour passed as I waited, and when early evening hit, I started to worry. But as soon as I pulled out my phone, contemplating if I should call him, footsteps echoed in the hospital hallway.
It was ridiculous that I should be able to recognize someone by their footsteps, but I immediately knew it was Blake. He had a purposeful, confident walk. Especially in hospital hallways.
The steps faltered when they got closer.
