Page 104 of Because of Blake
“It was fine. Hey, are you staying for dinner?”
At Dylan’s words, Blake shoots me a questioning glance, and I bite my lip. He nods. “Not tonight, Bud. I’ve got some things I need to get done. But, maybe next time?”
“Okay.” Disappointment shines through Dylan’s response. He turns to me. “Mom, can Trevor come over?”
“Nope. Homework first, young man.”
“Aw, man.” Dylan gets up from the couch and trudges away to his room, head hung and shoulders hunched.
Blake chuckles as his eyes find Sydney at the entryway. “Hey, Syd. How’s it going?”
“Fine. Good to see you, Blake.”
“You, too.” Blake rubs his palms down his thighs. “Well, I’ve got to go check on Oscar. I’ll, uh, see you later, Maggie.” He leans over and kisses my temple before getting up and letting himself out.
Sydney waits until he’s gone to come sit with me on the couch. “Mom, are you okay?”
“Yeah, honey. I’m fine.”
She drops her gaze to her lap. “I was worried after this morning.”
Mom guilt wrenches my stomach. I worried my thirteen-year-old.Ugh.“I’m sorry, sweetheart. It was a rough morning.”
“Did Blake come hang out with you all day?”
“No. He had to work. He was only here for the last hour before you came home, checking on me.”
“Oh.” Sydney picks at the fray on her jean shorts. "Are you guys okay?”
“I think so.”
“Good. We haven’t seen him a whole lot lately, and I thought maybe something happened.”
“No need to worry. Blake and I are fine.”I hope.
Chapter thirty-two
“Whydon’tyoutellhim to stop texting you, then?” Michelle’s question is valid, but the answer is dicey.
“Because I promised Blake I’d do this for him. And you didn’t see his face when he showed up on my porch.” I pick at the cuticle of my thumb.
“Mags, it’s not like you’re telling him never to text you again. If you’re annoyed by it, you need to–”HONK! “Check your blind spot, asshole!” Michelle lets out something resembling a growl. “Sorry.”
I chuckle. “Does the client you’re meeting know you have a road rage problem?”
“My road rage is completely justified. Anyway, what was I saying?”
“That if I’m annoyed by Blake’s texts, I should tell him.” I groan, dropping my hand to drum my fingers on the table. “But it’d be so rude. He’s just doing what he thinks is right. He’s taking care of me.”
“And that annoys you?”
“It didn’t at first. I was impressed at how true to his word he was about texting me every day. It was kind of cute, and it felt good to tell him what’s really going on.”
“So, what changed?” I hear Michelle’s turn signal clicking in the background.
“I don’t know. The messages have become almost overbearing. I know what time they’ll happen. I know exactly what they’ll say, and I know how I’ll respond. It’s monotonous.” My phone buzzes in my ear, but I don’t even have to look. I know who it is. I huff, leaning back in my chair. “Hearing my phone ding every day at the same time, with the same message? It’s giving me a headache.”
“Put your phone on silent, then.”