Page 17 of Attached At Heart
I pursed my lips. “You better not have.”
Blake stopped walking abruptly, and I realized we’d reached his car. He kept his grip on me while reaching for the car door, as though he thought I’d fall over if he let go. For the record, I wasn’tthatdrunk. But I didn’t entirely mind the way he tucked me into his car, buckling me in like I was incapable of doing it on my own.
It was a rare moment. Usually, I’d fight this. But I was too tired and fuzzy-feeling to care right now. There were a lot of things I did for myself, by myself—especially in the last months since he’d disappeared. I hated to admit it, but loneliness had definitely been a factor in moving back to the East Coast. But then I got here and realized that being in Boston wasn’t much better; besides Bryan, my family wasn’t exactly great company. So I was still alone, still doing everything on my own.
But now, Blake was here.
And while I’d hate to make it a habit, I’d let myself rely on him, let him take care of things, for just a few minutes. Just until I got home.
He slid into the driver’s seat a few seconds later, and I impulsively slid my hand over his as he grabbed the gear stick, stopping him in his tracks. Blake glanced over, his brows furrowed.
“Thank you. I realized I hadn’t said that yet.” I leaned my head back against the headrest because it felt too heavy to keep upright. Looking over at him from beneath my lashes, I felt my eyelids begin to droop. Damn wine. I cleared my throat and repeated, “Thank you, Blake.”
His lips curved ever so slightly. “You’re the one who paid for dinner while I was in the bathroom and then wouldn’t let me pay you back.”
I gave him a look. “I mean, it’s the very least I can do, considering…”
Blake held my gaze for a long moment, strung with a tension I didn’t understand. There wasn’t enough light in the car for me to be able to fully see his expression, but I noticed when his eyes dropped to my hand, which still rested on top of his. I tried to quickly move it back to my lap, but Blake grabbed it before I could.
“You’ll need a ring,” he muttered to himself, inspecting my fingers as though he could size them out just by staring at them.
I slipped my hand out of his grasp with a shake of my hand. “You don’t need to do that.”
“I disagree,” he said before handing me his unlocked phone to put my address into and training his attention on the road. He pulled out of the parking spot, and I started the directions. “We can’t take any chances with your grandparents’ executor, so you need a ring,” he added.
“Fine,” I sighed, knowing he was right. “But it can just be something cheap. And you need one, too.”
Blake frowned, but he didn’t argue. The car grew silent as he obediently followed the directions back to my apartment, and I watched the lights zip by outside the window in a blur.
Blake began to incessantly tap his finger on the car steering wheel, drawing my attention, and I looked over to see his concentrated expression. I’d always found it to be sort ofadorable, the way his face scrunched up when he was trying to figure something out.
“What?” I laughed, wanting to know what he was thinking so hard about.
He blew out a breath. “Exactlyhowbelievable do we need to make it?”
“The more believable, the better, but I don’t want you to have to do anything you’re uncomfortable with.”
“Did your parents or Mr. Anderson know about your engagement to Austin?”
I shook my head. “I hadn’t told any of them yet. I was too worried my parents would try to put a stop to it. I knew they’d be suspicious, even though they didn’t really know anything about my life in Minnesota. My plan was to call them up after we eloped and tell them the joyous news.”
He nodded, taking my words in. “Is that your plan this time?”
I considered. “I hadn’t really had a chance to think about it, but probably. At least they know you exist, though.”
A light laugh left his lips. “What an honor.”
“I know you’re closer with your family,” I said with a hard swallow. “So if you want to tell them the truth about the entire thing, that would probably be okay. It makes me a little nervous, but I’m sure it would be a lot harder to convince them that you eloped with a random girl who you’ve never even dated.”
Blake laughed again, but it was humorless. “I think I can convince them,” he muttered as he pulled up to the curb outside my building. “You’re not a random girl, Delaney.”
I shrugged as I unbuckled my seat belt. “Whatever you want to do is fine with me.”
Blake nodded as he put the car in park and unbuckled his seat belt, too.
“What are you doing?”
He opened his car door and got out, calling over his shoulder, “Walking you to your apartment.”
