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He cleared his throat. “That’s all I wanted to say. I won’t bother you about this again.”
Turning, he looked for the girls and found them still playing around with the hula hoops. After a last glance at Charli, Blake walked across the grass toward them.
“We need to leave, Amelia,” Blake said, trying to keep his voice gentle and free of the emotion he was feeling.
“Okay.” Amelia handed the hoop she was using to Layla. “Thank you for letting me play with your hula hoops.”
Layla gave her a quick smile. “You can play with them anytime.” The girl slid the hoops over her shoulder. “I had fun today.”
The pair headed across the grass to where the vehicles were parked. Blake trailed behind them, watching as Charli took the hoops from Layla and put them in the car. She opened the back door, then smiled at Amelia.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Charli said to her without looking at Blake.
Amelia nodded, then turned to Blake. He took her hand as they walked to the truck, struggling to keep his emotions under control.
The relief he’d felt at being able to apologize to Charli had evaporated. He hadn’t realized how much he’d wanted her forgiveness for what he’d done. And now that she’d denied him that, he was struggling to know how to feel.
Frustration and anger wanted to win out, but Blake knew that those emotions weren’t fair unless they were directed at himself. Unfortunately, some of his frustration was aimed at Charli.
He’d hoped that she would be able to understand that he’d been young and stupid and had made a bad decision. Since it didn’t seem that she understood or accepted that explanation, Blake didn’t know what else to tell her.
She’d been so focused on the future back then. So determined to make everything she wanted come true. It was like she didn’t have a moment’s doubt that what she wanted would become a reality.
Her confidence had been infectious, making him feel like he could achieve his dreams as well. Only, at the first sign of trouble, he’d run in the opposite direction, upset by the lack of support from his parents and scared of returning to Serenity and failing Charli.
He’d been naïve and selfish.
Blake liked to think he’d grown and matured to become a man who wouldn’t be as easily swayed by his emotions and fears. If presented with the same scenario with Charli now, he’d definitely deal with it differently.
However, Charli didn’t care about those changes in him, and she didn’t need that from him now. Amelia, on the other hand, absolutely did.
“Did you have fun, Daddy?” Amelia asked from the back seat.
He glanced into the mirror and nodded. “I enjoyed playing volleyball.”
“That’s good. I had fun too.”
Her gaze went out the window, a small smile on her face. He might not have gotten what he wanted for himself that day, but seeing Amelia happy was a very good thing.
Back at the apartment, they still had enough time to watch a movie. It was Amelia’s favorite princess movie, so she was distracted by it, but Blake was not.
His thoughts were still on the afternoon at the park and the conversation with Charli. He replayed everything he’d said, wondering if he could have phrased things differently. If there was anything more he could have shared with her, that might have changed her reaction.
Maybe he just needed to give her time.
Obviously, he’d known the details of why he’d broken up with her for years. This was all news to Charli, and it was likely that no matter what he’d said, she’d still need time to let his explanation sink in.
But Blake knew that he had to be prepared for the possibility that she would never accept his apology. She might never forgive him for what he’d done.
Would he be able to live with that?
But it wouldn’t matter if he could live with it or not, he would have no choice. With his decision to end things the way he had, he’d forced his will on Charli once already. He couldn’t force her to accept his apology and move on from their painful past.
And he needed to make peace with that.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“I’m not sure how to dissuade Blake from accepting the invitations that your brothers keep extending to him,” Jackson muttered. “Not without raising some questions about why I don’t want him joining.”
