Page 13 of Because of Blake

Her eyes flick to mine, her focus suddenly strong.

“You can use me and Dylan as an excuse. He’s your little brother and he’s so excited, but your mom insists you go as a family. Blame it all on me.”

I see Sydney fighting the grin I’m putting on her mouth. “Okay, fine. But I’m not dressing up.”

“Deal,” I say, and shake her hand, glad to get one more year.

“Look!” Dylan shouts. “Mr. Blake is picking out pumpkins, too!”

I raise my head to see Blake walking through the pumpkin patch. He’s wearing a form-fitting, long-sleeve t-shirt with a small logo on the pec, and the way his arms are crossed makes his biceps much more pronounced. I swallow deep as he turns his back to us and I get a great view of his butt. His jeans are doing him more than justice today.

My grip on the pumpkins tightens as my eyes follow him. He seems to be pacing more than perusing, but he looks sexy either way.

Maggie! Stop thinking like that!

“Mom, should we go say hi? Isn’t he like, our neighbor?” Sydney’s lack of enthusiasm cuts through my gawking.

At first, I think she’s right. It’s the neighborly thing to do, but then anxiety twists in my gut. Practically every time Blake and I interact, he hints at asking me out in some way. Carving pumpkins would be an easy one. The kids would jump at the opportunity for someone other than me to help.

I swallow down my heartbeat thumping in my throat. “Um, no, sweetheart. We don’t have to. We’ve got what we need, let’s let him shop for his pumpkins.” I hike the oversized squashes onto my hips and jut my chin toward the checkout.

Besides, the last thing I need is to say something embarrassing about my giant, round gourds.

When Halloween comes, I’m over the moon we get to go as a family one more time. Dylan dresses as Captain America and I’m supposed to be The Scarlet Witch, the red-headed superhero from the Marvel movies Dylan adores. Though I’m not sure my makeshift costume is very convincing. Honestly, I forgot to go shopping, so I threw it together from things I already had in my closet; a red halter top, black leggings with knee-high boots, and a fire-burst headband I wear when I work out. The only thing I had to purchase was a cape, and I got it at the thrift store. I’m sure Dylan would have preferred me to buy an actual costume, but this will have to do.

Sydney happily goes with us, though she keeps to her conviction and goes sans costume. We walk up and down the block, stopping at the cul-de-sac when Sydney complains about the cold.

“Can we do these houses andthengo home?” Dylan pleads.

I give Sydney the puppy dog eyes, and she caves. She’s doing her best impersonation of an angsty teen as we make our way around the circle of houses, coming to the last one; Blake’s house.

Dylan tugs on my arm. “Come with me. Please?”

I’m going to need all my reinforcements for this. “Okay, but only if Sydney comes, too.” I glance at her to see a huge eye roll, making me laugh.

“This is so embarrassing,” she says, hiding her face in her hands.

“Oh, come on. He’s probably not even home.” I’m sure he’s out partying.

Dylan bounds up the steps while I drag Sydney with me. As we ascend to the porch, I notice there aren’t any pumpkins. What was Blake doing at the pumpkin patch, then? I don’t have time to wonder, because not three seconds after Dylan rings the bell, Blake opens the door. My breath catches in my throat before I can say “trick or treat.”

Blake pushes open the screen door and freezes as he locks eyes with me, his dark brown irises sparkling in the porch light. “Hey, Maggie.” There’s a nervousness to his tone, which confuses me until I drag my gaze from his to look him over.

He’s wearing overalls with a plaid shirt underneath. I bite my lip as I stare at how well the overalls fit him in the hips, but I tear my eyes away to get a look at the rest of him. A straw hat sits on top of his head, shadowing his face, but even under the scarecrow makeup, I see his cheeks tinge pink.

“You dress up for Halloween?” How incredibly cute is he?

“Yeah, every year. Speaking of...” He puts a huge handful of candy into Dylan’s bag.

“Wow! Thanks, Mr. Blake.”

“Anything for my favorite Avenger.” Blake turns to Sydney. “What are you dressed as?”

“A moody teenager.” I snicker and Sydney rolls her eyes. “She’s very dedicated to the character, you see.”

“Mom!”

I laugh out loud, and Blake hands her a full size Hershey’s bar. “Well, that kind of dedication deserves a prize.”