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Charli heard the door open again, smiling when Aria came in, followed by Gareth carrying a car seat. After Gareth set the car seat on the floor, Charli knelt in front of it to free Timothy from his straps.
When the doorbell rang, Jay said he’d get it, so Charli didn’t have to abandon her task. As she lifted Timothy up, Charli got to her feet, just as Jay returned with Amelia, Blake, and Jackson.
Amelia had changed since school, but once again wore a T-shirt with a unicorn on the front. Blake had on a pair of faded jeans and a dark green T-shirt. Like his daughter, he had a style that he definitely favored. It suited his physique, though Charli didn’t want to dwell on that.
Dragging her attention from Blake, she said hi to Amelia, then introduced her to Timothy. Amelia was very interested in the baby, and she smiled when he grasped the finger she held out to him.
The little girl stayed close to Charli as Gareth prayed, then she joined Layla and Peyton to get some pizza. Charli bounced Timothy on her hip as she waited while the others got their food. She had two highchairs permanently in the dining room now. One for Ciara and the other for Timothy.
Once Aria had taken her food to the dining room table, she came back and took Timothy so Charli could get her food. “He sure loves you. Lately, he’s been fussy when anyone but me, Gareth, or your mom tries to hold him.”
“Well, the feeling is mutual,” Charli assured her. “I love him too.”
Aria gave her a hug, then headed back to the table. Charli picked up a plate and put a couple of slices of her favorite pizza on it before adding some salad and dressing. Since she was in no rush to join the others at the table, she took her time, straightening up a little in the kitchen before starting the coffee maker.
Finally, she took her plate into the dining room, glad to see that there was an empty seat next to Aria, though it was across from Blake, which made it a little less appealing.
Still, as she sat down, she couldn’t help but glance over at him.
Blake was watching her, and for a moment, Charli couldn’t look away. This was how it had been before. Stolen glances whenever they’d been around people they’d needed to hide their relationship from.
Back then, glances like that would have made her heart race. Now, however, they made her chest ache. And unfortunately, her heart still raced.
Charli looked away from Blake and took a deep breath before picking up a piece of her pizza. The conversation they’d had a few days earlier hadn’t helped to ease the awkwardness between them. In fact, on her side, it had probably made things worse.
“How’s work been going for you, Blake?” Gareth asked.
“Really well. I’m fortunate that Stan had an opening for me.”
“You’re working at a place that has a great reputation, so the garage is always busy. I imagine Stan knew a good thing when he saw it,” Jay said. “We all take our vehicles there.”
“So the other garage isn’t as good?” Blake asked. “I had planned to apply there if Wilsons hadn’t offered me a job.”
“It seems to be hit or miss,” Jay said.
“For me, the worst part is that the guys who work there can be… creepy around females,” Janessa added with a grimace. “Stan would never let a guy like that work for him.”
“Yeah. All the guys at Wilsons seem to be pretty decent,” Blake said.
This could have been their life. Each of them working at a job they loved. A couple of kids. Maybe more.
Charli picked up her glass to take a drink, hoping she’d be able to swallow past the tightness in her throat.
Why did she keep thinking about what might have been? It had been ages since she’d been so caught up in that mindset.
She hadn’t spent the past twelve years pining after Blake. Or rather, she hadn’t spent the past ten years pining after him.
The first two years after his abrupt departure had been rough, and she definitely would have taken him back if he’d shown up during that time. Once it became obvious that he wasn’t coming back, she knew she had no choice but to let her love for him go and move on.
So she had.
But now that he’d come back a more mature version of himself, she was having a hard time not thinking about all the what-ifs. And she hated herself for that weakness.
In between bites of her pizza, it took all of Charli’s attention to make sure that her focus seemed natural. That she didn’t completely ignore Blake, but that when she did look at him, she didn’t stare like she wanted to. It was hard, but she hoped that she had pulled it off.
However, it quickly became clear that she hadn’t succeeded when Janessa cornered her in the kitchen once everyone had gone home.
“What is going on between you and Blake?” she demanded.
