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Charli sealed the bag containing some leftover pizza as she said, “What do you mean?”
She definitely needed clarification before she responded.
“He couldn’t stop looking at you, and you seemed to be trying very hard not to look at him.”
At first, Charli was frustrated that her sister knew her so well. However, then her mind latched on to what Janessa had said first. Blake hadn’t been able to stop looking at her? Warmth rushed through her, and her heart thudded in her chest.
“So? Spill it,” Janessa demanded. “What’s going on? Is there something between the two of you?”
“Not now,” Charli said as she opened the fridge to put the left-over pizza inside. “But when he was here before, I had a bit of a crush on him.”
“Really? Did he know?”
She hesitated a moment before nodding. “But nothing came of it because he left and joined the army.”
“Wow. Why didn’t you say something about it back then?”
Charli walked over to the sink and grabbed a cloth to wet it under the water. “It didn’t seem significant.”
Looking back now, in the light of all that had transpired, her feelings for Blake really didn’t seem significant. She was so glad she hadn’t told anyone about her love for him, given how everything had ended.
Janessa pulled herself up to sit on the counter. “And now?”
“Now what?” Charli glanced at her. “Are you asking me if I have a crush on a man I haven’t seen in over twelve years?”
Giving a shrug, Janessa said, “Maybe?”
“That’s a bit ridiculous,” Charli told her.
“Well, to my knowledge, you’ve never dated anyone seriously, so maybe you’re hung up on him.”
Charli wiped down the sink, then rinsed the cloth out and hung it over the tap. “You don’t know everything about my dating life.”
“That’s an understatement,” Janessa scoffed. “I mean, we still don’t know who Layla’s dad is.”
Given that she still didn’t plan to clue her in, Charli turned to face her, leaning back against the counter, crossing her arms but not saying anything.
Janessa leaned forward, her dark brown eyes going wide. “Is Blake her father?”
Layla had gone to her room to read, but thankfully, Janessa kept her voice down. Charli’s heart began to race a bit, though not as bad as when she caught Blake staring at Layla. But still…
“Do I strike you as someone who would sleep with a guy I had a crush on?”
She hoped that Janessa didn’t wise up to the fact that she hadn’t exactly answered her question. Or that she’d answered her question with a question.
The truth was that she absolutely wouldn’t have slept with Blake if she’d just had a crush on him. The other truth was that she shouldn’t have slept with Blake, even with how determined they’d been to build a future together. But it was hard to regret what they’d done because she had Layla, and she wouldn’t give her up for anything.
So she’d asked God for forgiveness for what she’d done, then thanked Him for blessing her with Layla. It had still been a long process to get to the place where she was free of the guilt that had filled her during the months of her pregnancy.
“I suppose not,” Janessa conceded, leaning back on her hands. “But I really don’t understand why you don’t just tell us who he is.”
“It’s irrelevant.” Charli had been over this plenty of times, but of all her siblings, Janessa was the one who still periodically ask about Layla’s dad. “He chose to walk out my life, so everyone knowing who he is won’t matter.”
“Will you ever tell Layla?”
It was a question she’d thought a lot about, and until Blake had shown back up in their lives, she’d had a pretty set answer. “Since she’s really the only one entitled to know that information, I’ll tell her when she needs to know.”
“And her father?” Janessa prompted. “Does he deserve to know?”
