“You can’t say that, Graham. We need to talk.”
“No. We don’t. We talked long enough already.” He needed to call Blake, figure out what to say to get her to come back. Or hell, for him to go to her. They were just starting out, but now it was all over because the past he wanted buried kept coming back to bite him in the ass.
“We need to talk about Cynthia,” Candice continued. “Our daughter died, Graham. We need to talk about that.”
He glared at her one more time before storming away and slamming the door behind him. He left her on the front step, her voice trailing off when she realized what he’d done before banging on the door with her small fists.
He didn’t want to think about Candice. Didn’t want to think about Cynthia.
His daughter had died, and he hadn’t been able to save her.
His marriage had died because there hadn’t been anything left to save.
He’d lost everything once, and now, he wasn’t sure if he had anything left to lose.
6
Blake could not believe she’d been that idiotic. She’d believed in someone, risked a part of her she hadn’t been willing to risk, and had taken a leap, only to be smacked in the face with truths and lies she hadn’t known were an issue at all.
Again.
Her hands choked her steering wheel in a punishing grip as she drove down the highway. She honestly didn’t know why she’d even said yes to going over to Graham’s in the first place. Sure, Rowan was yet again staying with her best friend for a sleepover, but it made no sense that Blake had said yes to coming over to Graham’s without a second thought.
Before she’d shown up at his house, however, she’d had those second thoughts. And third thoughts. And a fourth.
And when she’d shown up, every little hope she might have had for a normal, dare she say, relationship, had flown out the window. She knew she should have kept to her past, knowing what men did, how they broke you if you trusted too much, or even too little. She should have remembered the way Graham had been an asshole the first few times she’d seen him, and how he’d still been sort of an asshole when he’d asked her out.
He might kiss liked a damn sex god and rev her engine like no other, but he clearly wasn’t for her.
Graham had been married.
Sure, he’d said that the woman who so rudely ignored Blake’s handshake was his ex, but the woman clearly felt otherwise. Why else would she have done her best to put Blake in her place with that lack of handshake, the cool tone of her voice, and the way she’d said wife?
Blake was out. She didn’t have the time or the will to deal with that kind of drama. She had heap loads of her own to deal with. So what if she needed to use her hand to get herself off for the next few years? It didn’t matter that she’d broken three of her last four sex toys because she’d worn them out. She’d just save up for another, and get herself off like any woman with a healthy sex drive should.
She did not need Graham Gallagher and his beard of glory.
Her Bluetooth rang at that thought, and she prayed it wasn’t Graham. Even as angry and humiliated as she was right then, the deep growl of his voice might just make her orgasm without even trying.
And that was one thing she couldn’t let happen. Not now. Not ever.
Thankfully, it was Maya calling, not Graham. This car might be slightly old, but since she’d bought it used, it had a decent Bluetooth for the price. That meant if her kid called when she was driving, she could still hear her baby’s voice and be safe. And when she needed to be in constant contact because the world wasn’t safe and there were things from Blake’s past that never quite went away, spending a little extra on this used model was worth it.
“Hey,” she answered, keeping her eyes on the road. “What’s up? I thought the shop was closed.”
“It is,” Maya answered, “And hey to you, too. I’m calling because you’ve been working for us for bit now, and we haven’t had time to get to know one another. I know it’s late notice, but you want to come over for a drink? Or cake?”
Blake laughed. What was with tonight and all the random invites? She’d been back in this part of Denver for how long, and no one had entered her life in a way that mattered. She had her neighbor, who helped Blake with Rowan. That was it. Now, she had a group of potential friends at Montgomery Ink...and Graham.
No, she didn’t have Graham. She had nothing with Graham.
Graham had his ex-wife and his demons.
Blake wasn’t part of that.
“You there?” Maya asked.
Blake nodded, then remembered she was on her phone, and that Maya couldn’t see her. “Yeah, sorry, driving.”
“You’re using handsfree, right?” Maya asked. “Because I’ll kick your ass if you aren’t.”
“I’m fine, Mom. I’m on Bluetooth.”
Maya laughed. “Mom, isn’t that awesome? I’m going to be a mom soon.”