Page 50 of Attached At Heart
“CPR initiative?” I asked as soon as Blake and I were alone again, pulling back to look up at him.
He shrugged, his eyes not really meeting mine. “It’s something I thought of when I first moved here. CPR can save lives, you know.”
“So I’ve heard,” I said, drawing out my words because I didn’t know what else to say to that.
Blake nodded. “So the more people who know how to do it, the more lives will be saved.”
He was spitting generic statements at me. There were things he wasn’t saying, and I had a suspicion of what they stemmed from and why he’d kept this close to his chest. If we were athome, I might have pressed him for more, but this wasn’t the place for diving into things that Blake kept under the surface.
“I think that’s amazing, Blake,” I said, earnest about that statement. Of course it was great. Of coursehewas great. “Why didn’t you tell me? I’d be happy to donate my time as well and teach a few classes.”
“It’s not a big deal,” he said, brushing aside my comment. “You’re already so busy, Lane. I mean, you’re putting together plans to open an entire specialty heart clinic. This is just…this is just a little something I wanted to do.”
I frowned and reached for his arm, squeezing it. “It’s not little. It’s clearly making an impact in the community, and I want to help.”
He nodded and finally met my gaze. “Okay. We can talk about it later, alright?”
“Sure,” I agreed, even though it bothered me that he was being so cavalier about the entire thing. But then again, that was Blake. Cool, calm, collected.
It’s just that wasn’t usually Blakewith me.
“Let’s get you some food,” he said, switching the topic and steering me toward the crush of people, through the onslaught of sparkles and gems.
“Why are you saying that like you assume I haven’t eaten anything today?”
“Because I am one hundred percent assuming you haven’t eaten anything today.”
“Actually, I—” I stopped short at the sight of a man with graying hair and bushy brows and sharp, blue eyes.Shit. This was not a situation I’d prepared for. But I quickly realized that had been an oversight on my part.
“Lane?” Blake questioned. I couldhearhis brows furrowing.
But I didn’t look at him, too focused on the sight of my dad standing roughly ten feet away from us, surrounded by other men in identical black suits.
Of course he would be here—at an event that revolved around money and would make him look good at the same time, make it appear as though he gave a shit about anything that wasn’t himself.
He started to turn in our direction, and I knew I had about ten seconds before he saw us to decide how I wanted to handle the situation.
A part of me wanted to run.
But it was only the start of the evening, and I wouldn’t be able to make it through hours of this event without him catching a glimpse of me.
This wasn’t really great, seeing as I was here pretending with Blake. I’d been hoping to keep our marriage to myself for a bit before having to face the music with my parents. The longer I could avoid that mess, the better.
But on the other hand, I wouldn’t have very many opportunities to convince them that our marriage was real, considering I rarely saw them, so I might as well take advantage of this.
Besides, my dad was the easier target. Was I looking forward to his reaction? No, of course not. But he wasn’t going to care that I’d eloped in the same way as my mom. I wasn’thispet project. I hadn’t been bred to live outhisdreams before dumping them to the side the minute I saw an escape. I wasn’t the embodiment ofhisresentment. He wouldn’t view my marriage as another act of rebellion and disrespect, but my mom would. Just because I didn’t want to live the life she’d always wanted.
Maybe it was actually for the best if she heard about my marriage through my dad. Although Robert Delacroix was sowrapped up in his own world there was a good chance he wouldn’t even remember to mention anything to his wife about his daughter’s new husband.
Making a quick decision, I spun to face Blake.
“Okay, quick.” I stepped into him, eliminating the space between us, and Blake, whether by instinct or by some other force, locked his arms around my body to hold me against his chest. “My dad’s over there, and he’s about to see us. It would be really, really great if you could just look at me like you’re deeply in love or something.”
Blake’s brows rose slightly in surprise but then lowered again, and I waited. Waited for his expression to morph, to shift. I waited for him to play pretend.
But Blake just blinked down at me, his lips pressed tight with the tiniest curve, his brown eyes boring into my own with the faintest sparkle.
Exactly how Blake always looked.
