Page 25 of Take A Chance

When everything had been arranged, I had Gary take us to the ice cream shop where we ordered cones and sat out front at the plastic-coated tables. She grinned and giggled at each of my jokes, and I told more of them just to see her smile brighten.

“You’re a really amazing guy, Blake. Why aren’t you married? What happened?” Emma licked the drips from the side of her ice cream cone and watched me with doe eyes. More than once, she had to wrestle a stray hair out of her face so she could eat. The breeze was stiff, but pleasant.

“Well, to tell you the truth, I have always been very picky. I don’t really date. I feel like I get to know someone in the first one or two interactions, and I know if we’re even going to be compatible.”

She snickered. “And you knew that from me that night at the club?”

“Not really. I knew it after the interview, and not because of your credentials but because of your personality. The credentials were perfect for the job. You are perfect for me.” We locked eyes, and I found her blushing.

“And you never met anyone else you thought was perfect?”

I wiped the ice cream from my lips and thought about it for a second. I’d been duped by Katelyn’s mother into thinking she was perfect for me, but she had played me like a fiddle. “Nope. My judgment was off once, but I corrected that.”

“Katelyn’s mom?” Emma stared at me, the conversation suddenly shifting to an uncomfortable topic. I nodded but took a large bite of the ice cream cone so I had an excuse not to talk about it. Passing traffic presented another distraction, and I pointed out an old classic car, which changed the topic.

I stared at the cars passing by so long that I finished my ice cream, but when I looked at Emma, her cone wasn’t gone. Far from it. She had a puddle of ice cream on the table in front of her and she was white as a sheet. Her eyes were locked on something behind me. “Emma?” I asked, waving my hand in front of her face. She blinked but said nothing.

I looked behind me and saw a man only a few yards away. He wore all black and had a camera around his neck, just like the man who had followed me at the gym. I knew it was connected. Another glance at Emma revealed tears welling up in her eyes, and I stood and faced the man. “Hey, you! You have a problem?” I barked, squaring my shoulders. I didn’t know if I could fight him if he charged me, but I was willing to do whatever it took to make Emma feel safe. Maybe this was what she was talking about this morning.

The man took off running, dodging in and out of people, and I watched his back until he was gone, then I turned to Emma, who had wiped her face clean. “Are you okay? Did you know that guy?”

“No, I don’t know him. Yes, I’m okay. Can we go home?” She used a napkin to wipe the melted ice cream off her hand but left the mess on the table. I walked her to a trash can to throw out the remaining soggy bit of her ice cream cone and called Gary, and he took us home. He helped us unload the car, and we filled security in on the fact that we were having contractors in to renovate Emma’s room.

I couldn’t shake the encounter. It was the third time this week I’d noticed something seemed fishy. Nervous, I called Greta to check on her and Katelyn, but they were having such a fun time, they weren’t planning to come home for a while yet. It put my mind at ease, but not fully. Emma was still upset. I tried to coax it out of her, but she just wanted to be alone, so I walked her to her room. But even there, she seemed on edge.

“Don’t leave me,” she asked, grabbing my wrist.

“Alright, I won’t.” I followed her in, and we sat on the edge of her bed.

“Promise you won’t be mad at me?” she asked, peering at me like a timid mouse.

“I promise.”

“I think that man followed me the other day too, at the mall when Katelyn was with me. It’s why I didn’t want her and Greta to go to the park today. I was worried.” She bit her lip and shuddered.

“Well, I called them and they’re fine. I will text Wilem and send him over if you’re that worried.”

Emma nodded, so I sent security a message to go to the park and watch over the girls. It seemed to put Emma’s mind at ease. “Feel better?”

“A little.” She glanced nervously at the bed. “Hold me?” she asked cautiously.

I smiled. “Of course I will.” She lay down, and I curled up around her, feeling her heart pounding. Something inside me instinctually wanted to protect her as much as I wanted to protect Katelyn.

I didn’t know what came over me, but I had just taken possession of her in my heart. She was mine now, and that meant I would stop at nothing to ensure she was happy and safe.

Absolutely nothing...

15

Emma

We lay there for at least a good hour before I began to relax. The day had taken such a turn that I hardly thought about Katelyn and Greta at the park at all. I lay there stewing, terrified. I had seen that man’s face before. I just couldn’t place it. And Blake was so kind and gentle to lay there comforting me. I hadn’t pegged him for the nurturing type because of how he interacted with Katelyn. But maybe I had gotten him all wrong and he really was a very nurturing man who hadn’t been taught how to act and had to rely on instinct when something very scary happened.

I moved slightly, and he was there, kissing my cheek and asking, “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “I’m sort of thirsty.” I hadn’t realized that other than the ice cream, I hadn’t eaten or drunk anything all day. I had zero appetite, but my tongue clung to the roof of my mouth.

“I’ll go get you something to drink.” Blake withdrew from me, and I rolled to my back and waited for him. He could have called Marta to help, but I appreciated that he made the effort to do things on his own. While he was gone, I wracked my brain again for any trace of memory. Where had I seen that man’s face? It was obvious he was connected to my past and maybe even my father, but how?

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