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“Hello, baby,” Misha said as she took the little girl. She nuzzled Ciara’s neck, making her giggle.
“Can we go somewhere else, Mom?” Layla asked as the trio ran over. “I want to try some games.”
“Sure,” Charli said.
Somehow, Blake found himself part of the Halverson group as they trailed the kids around the field. Given how she kept her distance from him, Blake didn’t think Charli was all that happy about the development, and he couldn’t blame her for that.
It was a bittersweet experience being this close to her again. After he’d walked away, Blake had never imaged seeing Charli at this stage in her life. Before that, he’d assumed he’d be with her during these years.
Since his return to Serenity, the acceptance of the direction his life had taken because of his own decisions had become sharply edged with regret. He should probably not hang around the Halversons—particularly Charli—if he wanted to avoid the painful reminders.
However, Blake knew that making connections would help them put down roots in their new hometown, and he definitely wanted that. Especially for Amelia.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Charli wished she could tell Jay she didn’t want to spend their time at the carnival with Blake. But how could she do that without raising suspicions?
Simple answer? She couldn’t.
Plus, she could see how much Amelia was enjoying herself with Layla and Peyton. The little girl was smiling more than Charli had seen her smile in all the hours they’d spent together. It would be wrong to deprive her of this simple joy.
So instead, Charli tried to keep control of her emotions and not think about how her daughter was hanging out with her little sister. She was having a hard time accepting that this was her reality, and not a nightmare that she couldn’t wake up from.
For some reason, she’d never considered that Blake would return to Serenity. A visit, maybe. But to live? That likelihood had never crossed her mind.
In the first few years, she’d braced herself for Blake coming back to visit Jackson and his family. But when four years passed with no sign of him, she’d figured that he’d never return.
But boy, had she been wrong.
He was back… with a vengeance. And her family was proving to be their usual welcoming selves by befriending him and Amelia, and she knew it was only a matter of time before someone—likely Jay—would invite them to their Friday night pizza dinner.
She wondered if Jackson would try to subvert the invitation, or if he, like her, would accept that it was inevitable.
“I’m hungry,” Layla said after they’d spent some time at the games that had been set up for the kids.
Blake had helped Amelia with the games, showing remarkable patience with her. It was an odd feeling to see him in the role of father.
During their many conversations, he’d said he wanted to be a father after she’d revealed that she wanted nothing more than to have several kids, much like her own parents had. Maybe not ten, but more than two.
Charli hadn’t known for sure what type of father he’d be—Blake hadn’t even known that—but he’d been so caring with her that she’d been able to easily imagine raising children with him.
It was because he’d been so loving and caring that she’d compromised her beliefs and slept with him. She’d known that they’d have to be apart for awhile, and she’d wanted to have that closeness… that connection with him before he left.
All the while believing that he’d return to her. That she’d given her virginity to the man she’d be spending the rest of her life with.
But that hadn’t been the case. And now, as she spent time with him in the present, it was hard not to remember those times together.
She watched as Blake swung Amelia up into his arms, seeing again the strength that had been part of what had drawn her to him. He’d had a strong build back in the day, and it looked like he’d spent a lot of time working out in the years he’d been gone from Serenity.
Meanwhile, just like he had more pronounced muscles, Charli had more pronounced curves.
When they’d been together before, he’d been able to convince her he actually liked her curviness. He wouldn’t be able to do that now, even if he wanted to.
She wasn’t sure she’d believe a word he said to her now, particularly as it applied to anything personal.
If she was going to survive having Blake around, Charli knew that she needed to separate then and now in her mind. She couldn’t look at Blake as the man she’d fallen in love with. He couldn’t be her former love, and he certainly couldn’t be Layla’s father.
He needed to be the father of one of her students and Jackson’s cousin.
