Taming Blake (A New Adult Romance): The Complete Trilogy (31 page)

“I’m afraid this conversation is
private
,” I replied curtly. “But if we change our minds,” I added with a sweet little smile, “we’ll be sure to let you know. Now, if you don’t mind,
gentlemen
, we were in the middle of something.”

The two men gawped at me in surprise for a moment, then nodded like scolded little school boys and shuffled away meekly.

“Wow,” Becca grinned. “It seems like New York has taught you how to take care of yourself! I’d never have
dreamed
of saying anything like that!”

“Thanks,” I said, nodding. To be honest, I’d surprised myself with that confidence, too. And it had come naturally this time, without thinking, without me having to force it or pretend to be someone I wasn’t.

Usually, in the past, it had felt like some kind of person inside me, taking over, controlling my actions. But this time? Just then? Well, it had felt like
me
.

“Wanna go somewhere else?” I asked Becca, unsure I wanted to have our evening constantly interrupted by those drunk idiots. I’d made it pretty clear I wanted nothing more to do with them, but over in the corner they were still drinking, shooting occasional hopeful looks our way, and I didn’t trust them not to try their luck and come bothering us again.

“Where?” she replied, honestly puzzled.

“Oh yeah,” I said, remembering that, unless we wanted to go to the dingy, rowdy sports bar on the corner of Main, Fred’s
was
the nightlife. “I forgot …”

The weeks rolled by, one day drifting into the next, and to be honest I kind of lost track of time. After all, why bother counting the days when I didn’t really have anything to look forward to? I’d just about resigned myself to staying in Glenbrook Falls for the foreseeable future, working at Sylvia’s Boutique, staying with Mom and Pop for as long as they’d have me, and putting away the small amount I made each week for some vague rainy day fund, perhaps a trip to Europe in the summer …

But even though it was now my past, I couldn’t help but wonder what New York was doing. And, more specifically, what
Blake
was doing. 

I’d heard nothing from him since I’d left — not that I’d expected to. And as I trudged slowly home through the snowy streets after my shift at the boutique that evening, I imagined him getting ready for a date with some gorgeous model: slicking back his hair, splashing on his distinctive, spicy cologne, then giving himself a final look over in the mirror of his bathroom before heading out into the Manhattan night.

Meanwhile, what did my evening hold? Well, if I was lucky, a few slices of Mom’s meatloaf, followed by whatever my folks wanted to watch on TV that evening, before climbing into my single bed and spooning my old Care Bear.

I know, I sound like some kind of lovesick teenager.

Well, that’s exactly how I felt. And it didn’t help that I was right back here in the same place, doing the exact same things I did as a teen, as if the last four years of my life had never even happened.

But as I turned the corner and began heading down the street towards my parents’ house, something unusual caught my eye.

It can’t be.

But the closer I got, the more unmistakable it became.

Because there, parked right outside my folks’ house, was a jet black Bentley, so completely out of place amongst the beat up pickups and rusty old Chevys, on this otherwise unremarkable suburban street, it stuck out like a sore thumb.

And as I approached the driveway, I caught a glimpse of the personalized number plate — BM212 — and any final doubts I might have had about who the owner of this beautiful car might be melted faster than the piles of grey slush on the sidewalk.

It was only three months since I’d stepped nervously into that boardroom, and been confronted by that handsome face, those intense grey eyes. If I’d known then what I know now, would I have run away before I even set foot in that meeting?

Looking back on it now, my fate was sealed the moment his eyes locked onto mine.

So
much had changed since that moment, but there was one thing that definitely hadn’t ...

Oh no.

Because as luck would have it, right at that moment, I was wearing the exact same unfashionable white blouse, dowdy black pencil skirt and sensible Mary Janes that I’d been wearing for that very first meeting.

I paused on the front step, taking a deep breath of the cold night air.

You can’t stand here all night, Jessica.

My hand trembled as I reached out to open the front door, and with each step further into the house I took, I felt the tension and nervousness bubble and swell inside me.

What does he want?

Why is he here?

How the hell did he even
find
me?

I heard his low, warm voice coming from the kitchen. And then, to my surprise, I heard another sound, something even stranger: my Mom and Pop both erupting in
laughter.

I stuck my head gingerly into the kitchen, where three smiling faces turned to greet me.

“Sweetie!” Mom cooed happily. “Why don’t you come join us? Blake here was just telling your Pop and I about the time he went pike fishing. It’s fascinating stuff.”

I couldn’t quite believe the scene laid out in front of me. They were sitting around the kitchen table, Mom, Pop and
Blake
, sharing coffee and home-made cherry pie, like three old friends. And instead of one of his usual crisply tailored suits, Blake was dressed in exactly the kind of outfit that would fit in, here in Glenbrook Falls. A simple homely green and blue plaid shirt, tucked into his trusty old Levis. And wait, were those
cowboy boots
on his feet?!

This has got to be a dream.

I let my hand fall by my side, giving my thigh a surreptitious little pinch, but no, unreal as this all seemed, I was definitely awake. I shook my head, still unable to quite fully take in what I was seeing, but there was nothing for it.

I pulled up a chair.

I could feel those cold grey eyes locking back onto me immediately, and at first I couldn’t quite meet them, scared of what might happen if I did: scared, I guess, of how quickly and easily I’d fall back under his spell.

But it was too much.

I felt their pull; I felt him
urging
me to meet his gaze. And when I finally did, shooting a quick nervous glance at him, his face broke out in a surprisingly warm, welcoming smile that knocked me completely off-guard.

“Hey,” he murmured, almost shyly.

“Hey,” I replied, shy and awkward too, both of us like nervous blushing teens on our very first date.

“Well, don’t keep us hanging, Blake!” Pop interrupted. “How did it turn out? Did you catch it, or what?” I thought Dad would
hate
a guy like Blake, but instead he seemed happy and animated, laughing and joking, slapping the table and urging him to continue.

And as Blake continued his tale of
pike fishing
(When the hell was he into
that?
), I felt an incredulous smile spread across my face, realizing that once again there was more to him than I’d suspected — because here he was, showing that he could fit in with
anyone
, even my crazy old folks …

“You didn’t tell me he was so
nice
, Jessica!” Mom stage-whispered in my ear, still loud enough for the whole table to hear.

“Mom!” I replied, the very picture of embarrassment, my face turning scarlet.

“So, Jessica,” Blake said, turning to me once more, “I’m still waiting for the grand tour of Glenbrook Falls.” As he looked at me and spoke those words, I realized that, yep, he really was here: here in my parents kitchen.

And I couldn’t help but smile. The very idea of Blake wanting to see this tiny town seemed ridiculous to me.

“Well, you’d better be quick kids,” Mom cut in. “Dinner’s on the table in an hour. And that includes you, Blake!”

Oh my God, was that Mom
flirting
with him?!

“Of course, Mrs Clark,” he smiled warmly. “It’s been too long since I had a real, home-cooked dinner. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I promise I’ll have Jessica home in plenty of time.”

And with that we were getting up and heading back out into the street. But as weird as it was with Blake sitting there talking to my parents, I became even more nervous as I wondered just what he might say once we were finally on our own together, after everything that had happened …

§

We walked in silence for a little while, as if neither of us wanted to be the first to speak. I found myself thinking back to the last time I saw him — when I interrupted his evening with Juliet. How could I forget? Not to mention the look of his disbelief on his face when I told him about Alex. And I felt that confident voice rising up in me, and this time I took control of the situation. I had to speak. I
wanted
to.

“Why are you even here?” I snapped, maybe a little more confrontational than I’d intended.

At this, Blake put his arm softly on my shoulder, stopped on the sidewalk, and gently turned me to face him. I saw something
new
in his face — humility perhaps?

“I’ve come to apologize, Jessica,” he said quietly and sincerely, his eyes fixing onto mine.

I could feel the tension mounting between us, and for a brief moment I thought he might take my face in his hands, or grab hold of my waist, or even lean in to kiss me – any of the usual ways in which Blake could disarm me, and make me forget the world. But this time he remained motionless, both of us staring hard into each other’s eyes, our frosty breath mingling, the snowflakes falling softly into the empty space between us.

“I should
never
have doubted you,” he continued, his voice quiet with sincerity. “It took me a while to believe Alex would do something like that, something so … appalling. Let me explain, Jessica. I’ve known him a long time, he’s been something of a mentor to me, and I’m sorry to say that when I looked back on his behavior, over the years, I realized there was
always
something slightly uncomfortable about the way he treated young women.

“I doubt you were the first person to have found herself in that situation through no fault of her own. Alex has been allowed to get away with this for far too long because of his money and his power. But trust me, his luck has run out. When I confronted him about it, you know what? He didn’t even try to hide it. He didn’t even think he’d done anything
wrong …
”

I could hear the anger rising up in Blake’s voice, and he looked away into the dark for a moment, obviously recomposing himself.

“But you have to believe me, he won’t be doing anything like that again in a hurry … Not to you, or anyone. When I found out what he did, I wanted to hit him, knock the grin right off his smug face. But I know you wouldn’t have wanted that.”

I shook my head. Blake was right. Even though what Alex did was totally unforgivable, I also didn’t believe in meeting violence with more violence, and I felt glad that Blake had recognized the importance of that.

“But fist or no fist, I certainly got my message across,”  he continued. “And I need you to know, Jessica, that I respect women, and
no
women should have to go through what you went through with Alex. I’m so, so sorry. You should expect an apology from him very soon. And I don’t think he’ll be making any moves on anyone else for a while either. But if he does …”

At this, Blake gritted his teeth and shook his head again.

“Well, God help me if I’ll be able to hold myself back a second time.”

“Thank you,” I said, impulsively reaching out and touching him gently on the arm.

As his eyes met mine once more, I knew that he was truly sorry: both for what happened to me, and for doubting me. And by driving all this way to see me, delivering his apology in person, he’d shown just how much he cared about me and how important it was that he told me he was sorry. And of course, I forgave him. I missed him so much, and I felt grateful to have him back in my life, even just for an hour.

Oh, Blake. I want you now more than ever.

But do you still feel the same way?

But first, there was something I needed to know.

“How was the last party?” I asked, trying to keep my voice cool and nonchalant.

Blake looked confused for a moment, then his face softened and he let out a laugh. “The last Friday of December was
Boxing day
, Jessica. There
was
no party …”

“Oh,” I said, a little embarrassed.

“But I’m not gonna lie,” he added a moment later. “New Year’s Eve was pretty wild.”

I knew what he was insinuating. But to my surprise, I found I didn’t care so much about that. Blake had come all the way here, for me. That obviously stood for something.

I turned and began walking again in the direction of Main Street, Blake catching up a few moments later.

“I’m excited to finally set eyes on the famous Glenbrook Falls,” he said warmly.

“Well, you’d better look carefully,” I joked back. “It’s so small, if you blink, you might miss it …”

Sure enough, we’d soon seen the entirety of Main Street: both sides of it. I tried to hurry Blake past Sylvia’s, but he insisted on stopping and spending way too long admiring and complimenting a stupid window display I’d thrown together. Before long, we were right back on the corner again.

“Where to now?” he asked, slipping back the cuff of his heavy overcoat to reveal a rather not-something-you-see-everyday Rolex. “We’ve still got a little while till dinner.”

“Well, if you really want to see
everything
, I’ve got an idea,” I replied.

§

From up there in the bleachers, the football field looked absolutely beautiful: covered in a pure white layer of untouched snow. We sat together for a moment, taking in the view, the old high school buildings behind the field looking exactly as I remembered them. And even though we’d been quiet for a little while, I felt comfortable with Blake now; all my anger from earlier had subsided, replaced by a new gentle comfortableness.

“You’re gonna think this is silly,” I began, turning to smile at him, still finding it so strange that he was
here,
here in Glenbrook Falls with me, “but I’m kind of living out a teenage fantasy right now.”