My eyes opened wide. "Shit!" I jumped out of bed, looking for my shoes and clothes. "I didn't even call in to say I'd be late."
"Don't be angry, but Vanessa called you around seven and I picked up, asking her to call in to the office with an emergency on your behalf. She called back half an hour later and said that they had bought it. I didn't want to wake you up and on top of that, I didn't want the chance that you might be late. I just took a precaution." He set the tray down on the bed. "Besides, I wanted to have you to myself all day." Blake's voice had taken that dangerously seductive lilt to it, the one that made me want to drop everything and be his no matter what.
"All day?" An excited shiver coursed through me.
"All day. Today's a rare occasion where I get to have time away from the office. It'd be a shame if I didn't spend that time having you to myself." He moved towards the bed, and I scooched up, giving him room to set the feast on my lap. My stomach did another happy grumble at the site of the omelet.
"So you want to spend your free time with me?" I asked before taking a bite. "Mmm," I couldn't help but moan. "Blake, these eggs are delicious. So light and fluffy."
The corner of his lip twitched up in amusement. "Yes, with you. That's the only way I'd get to enjoy myself."
My eyes shot up to him and I couldn't help but smile.
***
After breakfast, I hopped in the shower. I was more excited for his day full of activities than I had been for anything in a long, long time. He had a new outfit waiting for me when I came out. And I was taken aback by how casually he was dressed: blue jeans and a black shirt that made the green of his eyes somehow even more intense. He smiled when he saw that I was dressed and ready.
Without warning, he took my hand and led me outside. There was a car without tinted windows waiting. The driver came out and opened the door for us. I was seated inside and when I thought Blake was right behind me, I saw that he was still speaking to the driver. He handed him a phone, shook his hand, and hopped inside in the back seat beside me.
"What was that about?" I asked, finally breaking the silence.
"The real estate deal didn't go as well as the press was reporting," Blake responded, his hands clenching into a fist. "Nothing of importance today," he turned and flashed me a bright, award-winning smile.
"Blake, what happened?" I asked gently, seeing through the smile he was shooting me.
"Entertainment websites and news shows thrive off of celebrity gossip, even when they're unsubstantiated. Their latest favorite was claiming that I'm working together with another real estate agent and that I was only interested in the property to prevent her from selling it to someone else. She became nervous, and now she is backing away." He shrugged.
"That sucks," I said sympathetically. I didn't know exactly what the deal was with this new property Blake was looking at, but I knew that it was extremely important to him and his business. I'd read that if he was able to secure it, then his profits would double over the next five years--how true or false that was, I didn't dare ask. "So, what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to have to finagle my way into it," he responded coolly, his face hardening into a neutral mask.
"Is that a nice way of saying kiss her ass?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood.
He turned to me and smiled widely. It wasn't the smile he usually flashed me, and I couldn't read what it meant. He gave me a sweet and short kiss on the lips. "You could say it's something like that..."
"Like what?"
"That is why I can't get you out of my system."
"So you've tried?"
"Ten years is a long time." He laughed but then he stopped. "You never became serious with anyone during that time?"
"No! I would have told you." Blake nodded his head in response knowingly. "Besides, when would I have had the time?"
"That's true."
"And what about you? Have you gotten serious with anyone?"
The car was silent. When he finally decided to open his mouth, the driver rolled down his window.
"Sir, I have sent out the message and rescheduled all of your... meetings for the following day." He looked at him through the rear-view mirror. I tried to make eye contact with him but he refused to look my way.
"Excellent. Thank you. That will be all." The driver nodded and concentrated fully on the road after closing the partition.
"I thought you said that today was your free day?"
"It is."
"Then why did you have to clear some meetings?"
"Only a few. Nothing really important." His dull green eyes looked back at me.
I shook my head at him, laughing. Did it really matter what he had to clear? He had cleared it for me and that meant the world. "You're ridiculous," I laughed. "Thank you for making the time for me, Mr. Slate," I whispered huskily. His eyes returned to emerald.
"We're going to make a day of this." Blake took my hand in his and squeezed gently, my heart flipping with it.