Блейк Пирс – Once Dormant (страница 5)

We really are a family.

It had been a long time since Riley had felt like that.

As she finished her dessert, she thought again …

I could really get used to this.

After supper, the girls went back to their bedroom to play games before going to sleep. Riley joined Blaine on the porch, where they sipped glasses of wine as they watched night setting in. The two of them were quiet for a long time.

Riley basked in that quietness, and she sensed that Blaine did too.

She couldn’t remember having shared many easy, comfortable, silent moments like this with her ex-husband, Ryan. They’d pretty much always either been talking or deliberately not talking. And when they hadn’t been talking, they’d simply inhabited their own separate worlds.

But Blaine felt very much a part of Riley’s world right now …

And a beautiful world it is.

The moon was bright, and as the night grew darker, stars were appearing in huge clusters—almost unbelievably bright out here away from the lights of the city. The dark waves of the Gulf reflected the light of the moon and the stars. Far away, the horizon grew blurry and finally disappeared so that the sea and the sky seemed to blend seamlessly together.

Riley shut her eyes and listened for a moment to the sound of the surf.

There were no other noises at all—no voices, no TV, no city traffic.

Riley sighed a long, deep, happy sigh.

As if answering her sigh, Blaine said …

“Riley, I’ve been wondering …”

He paused. Riley opened her eyes and looked over at him, feeling just a twinge of apprehension.

Then Blaine continued …

“Do you feel like we’ve known each other for a long time, or just a short time?”

Riley smiled. It was an interesting question. They’d known each other for about a year now, and they’d declared themselves exclusive about three months ago. During all that time they’d become very comfortable together.

They and their families had also been through moments of harrowing danger, and Blaine had shown amazing resourcefulness and courage.

Through it all, Riley had come to care about him, trust him, and admire him.

“It’s hard to say,” she said. “Both, I guess. It seems like a long time because of how close we’ve gotten. It seems like a short time because … well, because I’m sometimes so amazed at how fast we’ve gotten so close.”

Another silence fell—a silence that told Riley that Blaine felt exactly the same way.

Finally Blaine said …

“What do you think … should happen next?”

Riley looked into his eyes. His gaze was earnest and inquisitive.

Riley smiled and said the first thing that popped into her head. “Why, Blaine Hildreth—are you proposing to me?”

Blaine smiled and said, “Come on inside. I’ve got something to show you.”

CHAPTER THREE

Riley felt a bit breathless now. A whole world of future possibilities seemed to be opening up in front of her, and she didn’t have any idea how to think about them.

She didn’t know what to say, so she just picked up her glass of wine and followed Blaine off the porch into the dining room.

Blaine went to a cabinet and took out a large roll of paper. When they’d arrived, Riley had noticed him unpacking the roll from the car along with beach stuff, but she hadn’t bothered to ask him what it was.

He unrolled the sheet on the dining room table, putting cups on the corners to hold it down. It looked like some kind of elaborate ground plan.

“What is this?” Riley asked.

“Don’t you recognize it?” Blaine said. “It’s my house.”

Riley looked at the drawings more carefully, feeling slightly puzzled.

She said, “Um … it looks awfully big to be your house.”

Blaine chuckled and said, “That’s because a whole wing of it hasn’t been built yet.”

Riley felt positively dizzy as Blaine began to explain the drawings. He showed how the new wing would include bedrooms for April and Jilly. And of course there would be an entire apartment for Gabriela, Riley’s live-in housekeeper, who could work for them all once everything was built. The new design even included a small office for Riley. She hadn’t had a home office since Jilly had moved in and they’d needed it for a bedroom.

Riley was both overwhelmed and amused.

When he finished explaining things, she said …

“So—is this your way of asking me to marry you?”

Blaine stammered, “I—I guess it is. I realize it’s not very romantic. No ring, no kneeling.”

Riley laughed and said, “Blaine, if you kneel, I swear to God I’ll slap you silly.”

Blaine stared at her with surprise.

But Riley almost meant it. She was having a flashback to Ryan proposing to her so many years ago when they’d been young and poor—Ryan a struggling lawyer and Riley an FBI intern. Ryan had gone through the whole ritual, kneeling and offering her a ring that he really couldn’t afford.

It had seemed plenty romantic back then.

But things had turned out so badly for them, the memory seemed sour to Riley now.

Blaine’s much less traditional proposal seemed perfect by comparison.

Blaine put his arm around Riley’s shoulders and kissed her on the neck.

“You know, marriage would have practical advantages,” he said. “We wouldn’t have to sleep in separate bedrooms when the kids were around.”

Riley felt a tingle of desire at his kiss and his suggestion.

Yes, that would be an advantage, she thought.

Intimate moments had been scarce. The two of them had relegated themselves to separate bedrooms even during this lovely vacation.

Riley sighed deeply and said, “It’s a lot to think about, Blaine. A lot for both of us to think about.”

Blaine nodded. “I know. That’s why I don’t expect you to jump up and down with joy yelling ‘yes, yes, yes’ at the top of your lungs. I just want you to know … it’s been on my mind, and I hope it’s been on your mind too.”

Riley smiled and admitted, “Yes, it has been on my mind.”

They looked into each other’s eyes for a few moments. Again, Riley found herself enjoying the quietness between them. But of course, she knew they couldn’t leave all those questions milling through both their minds unanswered.

Finally Riley said, “Let’s go back outside.”

They refilled their glasses and went out onto the porch and sat down again. The night was getting lovelier by the minute.

Blaine reached over and took Riley’s hand. “I know it’s a big decision. We’ve got a lot to think over. For one thing, we’ve both been married before. And … well, we’re not getting any younger.”

Riley silently thought …

All the more reason to make a commitment.

Blaine continued, “Maybe we should start by listing all the reasons why this might not be a good idea.”

Riley laughed and said, “Oh, Blaine—do we have to?”