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“I’m sure,” Charli assured him as she made a shooing motion with her hands. “It’s fine.”
“Well, then.” He gave Blake a grin. “See you around.”
“Let’s load what we can in the dishwasher,” Charli said once it was just the two of them. “Then you can wash, and I’ll dry and put away the rest.”
Blake nodded, then began scraping plates into the garbage before handing them to Charli.
“Do you have to load the dishwasher a certain way?” Charli asked.
“Doesn’t everyone?”
“Probably, and if you asked a hundred people how they do it, you’ll probably get a hundred opinions.”
“A hundred? As far as I’m concerned, there’s just one.”
Charli chuckled as she put glasses on the top rack. “I agree. There’s just one.”
As they joked about the differences in the way they placed the dishes in the dishwasher, Blake found himself laughing and smiling more than he had in recent months.
Loading the dishwasher had never been his favorite chore, but that day, he really didn’t mind it. In fact, he was rather enjoying the task because being with Charli made it interesting and fun.
Once the dishwasher was full, there were still a few dishes to finish up by hand. Charli started the water flowing into the sink and squeezed some detergent into it.
“You can adjust the water to whatever temperature you can handle.”
The warmth of the water actually felt good as he washed the large bowl the spaghetti noodles had been in. When he was done, Charli took it from him and rinsed it under hot water before drying it and putting it away in the pantry.
“Do you think we could take the girls out to do something one of these days?” Blake asked. “It would mean we could hang out, too.”
Charli met his gaze as she took the next bowl from him. “What did you have in mind?”
“How about ice skating?” Blake suggested. “I’d definitely be watching from the sidelines, but I think the girls would have fun. Especially Amelia, since she loves it so much.”
“I’ll check on what time the community arena has open skate.”
“Really?”
“Sure,” Charli said with a shrug. “I think the girls will enjoy it.”
“Will you invite Peyton too?”
She shook her head. “Peyton isn’t a fan of ice skating. He went once and spent most of the time sitting on the ice, so I doubt he’d be interested in joining us.”
“As long as you don’t think he’ll be upset.”
“It’ll be fine.”
Since she knew Peyton better than he did, Blake had no reason to not believe that would be the case. Just the fact that she was willing to go along with his idea made him feel excited and a little hopeful.
Both emotions reminded him of how he’d felt the last time he and Charli were in the beginning stages of their relationship. He hadn’t felt those same emotions this deeply with anyone else he’d dated, and he’d never been devastated when any of those relationships had ended. However, what he was pursuing with Charli now had a high chance of leaving him broken-hearted.
And yet somehow, even that possibility didn’t sway him. His determination was present in abundance this time around.
His time in the army had done what his life before that hadn’t. It had taught him how to work hard, and he was more than willing to work hard for Amelia and their life. He was also more than willing to work hard for a relationship with Charli.
And it looked like maybe he would get that chance.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
