Page 47 of A Kiss at Midnight

After leaving my brother, I rush to the bus stop and shed the tears I refused to shed while we were together. I pull it together before I get home. As soon as I step off the bus, though, I have a feeling of doom. I move to the apartment complex and come inside two hours before I’m supposed to meet Blake. A shiver rushes through me.

I open my front door... then take a step back. Blake’s sitting in a chair in my living room and he doesn’t appear happy. This isn’t going to be pleasant.

He doesn’t say a word as I begin moving again. I come inside, reluctantly shutting my door. Nevertheless, I maintain an expression of poise and confidence, though my body shakes with nerves. This is ridiculous. I was out visiting my brother, which is none of his business. What does he care if I’m out? He shouldn’t.

It doesn’t matter how much of a pep talk I give myself though. As he stands and takes a menacing step toward me, I figure we’re heading for a fight in three... two... one.

Chapter Review

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Jewel

Gazing into Blake’sfrigid eyes, I tell myself to be strong, this is only one more bump in the road. He won’t physically hurt me — not that anyone will care if he does... besides Justin.

Though he might think I’m nothing more than a money-hungry woman wanting whatever I can get from him,Iknow who I am. The mistrust in his expression shakes me up. I’ve never seen a man so irrationally upset before. His lips remain in a hard line, not a muscle moving on his chiseled face.

“Where were you?”

Ice runs through my veins at his words, spoken deathly quiet. Apparently,furydoesn’t begin to describe what Blake appears to be feeling.

“I took a walk.” Should I simply move past him? Maybe it’s wisest to stay right where I am.

“You’re lying.” I wait for him to say more, but nothing else comes from his tightly pressed lips.

“Do you have any idea of how stir-crazy I get when I’m stuck here all day with very little to do? No, you probably don’t, because you leave daily at the crack of dawn. I needed to get out and walk off my cabin fever.”

He takes a sinister step forward. “I don’t believe you. You snuck off. Why?”

I could tell him what’s happening, but at this point I’m pissed off about all of it. I’m ticked at how he’s treating me, and ticked at the situation I’ve been pushed into. How is this happening in the supposedly freest country in the world? It’s crap!

His voice rises a little, enough to show me he’s truly mad. I don’t understand why. We’ve never agreed I had to tell him my every movement, just as his comings and goings aren’t any of my business. Where is his anger coming from? Why is he upset? It makes no sense.

I don’t understand why he’s acting like an ass, but I’ll be damned if I’m going take his verbal beating. If I stand my ground, refuse to back down, refuse to allow him to intimidate me, won’t he stop? Isn’t that what I was taught years before when I took a self-defense class?

“Look, I wasn’t with another man, Blake. I swear to that, and anyway, it makes no sense. I was a virgin before I was with you, so why would I start whoring around now? I needed to be out today, and it’s something I don’t want to talk about . . . yet.” I move forward and edge past him, making sure not to bow my head in submission.

He doesn’t grab me, doesn’t try to stop me. This is a positive. I move into the room and head straight to the couch, afraid to stand any longer for fear my legs will end up buckling.

“I don’t know what your end game is, but if I can’t trust you, this isn’t going to work between us.”

He comes closer but keeps about five feet of distance between us. This is probably a smart move. We’re both getting more riled.

“I’m sorry if you don’t trust me, but there’s no other man. I neither want, nor need, a relationship with anyone, and that includes you. Your suspicions are stupid, and if you were as smart as you think you are, you’d know that. If you want to end this, end it. I can’t take it anymore.”

Fear flows through me at throwing down this gauntlet. I need him at the courthouse, but I don’t deserve to be treated like this. I told Justin I’ll do whatever it takes, but maybe I can find some other man on a dating site to help me. It’s got to be easier than this.

If the state keeps trying to keep Justin from me, I’ll simply kidnap him, and take him away in the middle of the night. The two of us can go somewhere no one will ever find us. Alaska is looking better and better by the second.

It’s still in the U.S., and if we’re found, Washington state officials might try to take my brother back, but will they search that far? We could live in an Eskimo village. It doesn’t matter where we are just as long as we’re together.

“Where did you go?” he asks, his voice more controlled as if he’s giving up on getting answers from me.

I fold my arms. I need some Advil as my head starts to pound. I glare at him, unwilling to say anything more. Neither one of us seem able to back down.

“Let’s go,” he says. He turns, confident I’ll follow. I don’t move.

“Where?” I hate the slight tremble in my voice. Dammit, he’s never hurt me, and I don’t believe he will now. I hate fighting with anyone. It seems that’s all I’ve been doing since I lost my mom.

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