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“And how do you feel about that?” Charli asked.
Layla took another bite and chewed it, a considering look on her face. Charli also continued to eat her pancakes, not rushing her for a response.
Finally, she said, “I think it’s okay. I’d like to have Amelia as a sister. And I guess Uncle Blake would be a good dad.”
Dad… The word made Charli’s stomach twist.
Ignoring the relationship between Layla and Blake wasn’t a long-term solution, but it seemed to be what she was most inclined to do. Telling them who they were to each other was a huge, irreversible step that she was wary to take just yet.
She probably shouldn’t have agreed to date Blake without telling him about Layla, but it was too late to go back now. All she could do was move forward, and hope that when the moment was right, she’d feel at peace about revealing her secret.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Blake breathed a sigh of relief when he and Amelia finally walked out of the airport in Spokane. The air was colder than it had been in California, but he didn’t care. He was just glad to be close to home.
He pulled their suitcase with one hand while he held on to Amelia with the other. They made their way to where he’d parked the truck before they left, and Amelia eagerly climbed into her seat.
“I can’t wait to get home,” Amelia said once he was behind the wheel.
“Me, too, Berry. Me, too.”
“Can we see Layla and Peyton tomorrow?”
“If they’re at church, we’ll see them.”
Physically, Blake would have liked nothing better than to spend the whole day vegging out at home. However, like Amelia, there was someone he wanted to see.
He hadn’t had a lot of contact with Charli over the last few days, and he’d missed their nightly talks. Unfortunately, Amelia had been loath to let him out of her sight, and Selena hadn’t seemed to want to either, which had meant chats with Charli just hadn’t been possible.
“Do we have to go back for Christmas?” Amelia asked after they’d been on the road for a bit. “I heard Aunt Selena say she hoped we would.”
Blake glanced at her in the rear-view mirror, then focused back on the road. “Do you want to?”
“No.” She spoke without hesitation. “I want to stay home.”
“Did you really hate it that much?”
“I didn’t… hate it, but all of it was different. Fancy.”
He wasn’t sure Selena would want her home décor to be called fancy. She’d probably prefer elegant.
Selena’s home had been large and filled with furniture that Blake was certain came from the latest offerings of the family furniture company. Thankfully, his sister had opted for comfort and practicality rather than the showroom their home had been growing up.
“So, do we have to go?”
Blake wasn’t sure if they’d be able to spend the actual holiday with Charli and Layla, but he knew that he’d rather spend Christmas with just Amelia than go back to California for Christmas.
“Nope. We’re not going to go.”
“Yay!”
Blake grinned at Amelia’s response. He wasn’t stupid enough to believe that this was their first and last visit to California, but nor did he think they’d be spending the most important holidays with his family.
For the remainder of the trip, Amelia talked to him about the Christmas program the kids were putting on at the church, as well as the one at school. They’d already started practicing at church, and Amelia was excited to have a speaking part.
It was a such relief to see her putting down roots, and in doing that, becoming more confident in herself. And that was part of the reason he’d never consider moving to California. Not even for the well-paying job offered by his dad, who’d gone behind Bl’s back to extend it.
Of course, the other part of why he wouldn’t be leaving Serenity was Charli. And he couldn’t wait to see her at church the next day.
