Submerged(Bound Together Book 1)(81)

 

“Can I?” he asks.

 

Words seem to evade me as brain function completely goes out the window, so I shake my head in acknowledgement. I watch helplessly as Blake picks Natalia up and places the biggest kiss on her chubby little cheek. Natalia grabs the sides of his scruffy face with wet hands and starts to laugh. The resulting smile from Blake melts every defense I had left. There’s no denying the feelings I have for this man. Hell, I wasn’t denying them before Blake dropped the bomb on me a few days ago. I wasn’t exactly acknowledging them either, but I wasn’t ignoring those feelings. We just weren’t discussing them. Now? Now, I have no clue which way is up and which way is down.

 

“You are the most beautiful little witch I’ve ever seen,” Blake says before placing another kiss on Natalia’s forehead, dropping her witch’s hat on the seat of her stroller. He runs his large hand up and down her back, hugging her close as if he won’t ever let her go. I’ve longed for so long to have that for my daughter. I want her to have that connection with her father. I want him to worship the ground she walks on. I want him to love her as much as I love her.

 

And she has that with Blake.

 

I just have to decide where I fit into this equation.

 

The realization that I might not fit into the picture the way I want to brings a tsunami of emotions front and center. I have to look down to keep myself from tearing up. I know that Blake said he wanted me, but what if he has changed his mind? What if he has realized that I’m not worth the headache? What if he only wants Natalia and my place will always be just as her mother and nothing more? Blake is everything I’ve ever wanted in a father for Natalia, but that’s not all. He’s all I’ve wanted in a partner, a best friend, and a lover for myself, too. I’ve known it since the moment he drove away three days ago, but I wasn’t ready to completely admit it yet. I needed time to process everything he confessed to me and to really think about his words. I needed to make sure that I was with him for the right reasons as much as I want him with me for the same.

 

“How have you been?” he asks. He’s going for casual, but I can tell there’s tension in his tone. When I look up, I gasp at the intensity in that green gaze. They’re hypnotizing and enchanting in the most beautiful way.

 

“G-good,” I stutter. I can’t take my eyes off him. Channing Tatum could streak by me naked right now, and I wouldn’t know it.

 

Blake takes three steps forward until he’s invading my personal space. Without juggling our daughter, he leans forward until his lips are hovering over my cheek. I let out another audible gasp as my senses are filled with Blake’s unique scent. He smells like soap and leather. I’m about to lean to my side just a little to feel his scruffy cheek against mine when he places those warm lips against my chilled cheek. My entire body ignites into flames as warmth races through my veins. Everything around me fades away as I absorb his scent, his nearness, and the feel of his lips.

 

“I’ve missed you,” he whispers before he pulls his lips away from my skin.

 

“Me too,” I mumble, unable to keep the single tear from running down my cheek. With only the slightest adjustment of the little girl he’s carrying, Blake reaches forward and wipes the lone tear away. The feel of his thumb against my skin causes more tears to follow in its wake.

 

“Please don’t cry, baby,” he says before pulling me into his big, strong embrace. Everything shifts into place like giant puzzle pieces. Everything is right. Perfect.

 

I could stay right here forever, wrapped in Blake’s arms. I cling to him so tight, I’m afraid I’ve cut off circulation to half of my body. We stand like that for a few seconds–or a few minutes–I don’t really know. When I finally start to pull away, it’s because Natalia has a handful of my hair and she’s trying to ingest it.

 

“We have a lot to talk about,” Blake states with serious eyes. “But first, we have a festival to enjoy,” he adds with that warm smile that I love. The one I’ve missed more than anything.

 

I grab the stroller and start to walk next to Blake. He has yet to put Natalia in her seat, and I figure he’s just taking the opportunity to hold her. It has been three long days for her as well, and I feel a tinge of guilt at keeping him from her these past few days. It’s not like he called and wanted to see her and I told him no, but I didn’t reach out to him either and I probably should have.

 

The first place we stop is to a booth selling homemade fudge and candy. I’ve never told Blake this, but fudge is my all-time favorite treat. I try to avoid it if at all possible, because I’m the type that can’t stop with just one little taste. I want the whole thing, and I’m not going to share it either. Fudge isn’t exactly hips-friendly, so when Blake walks over with Nat and purchases a pound of French silk fudge and a pound of chocolate peanut butter marble fudge, I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. Without saying a word, Blake walks over and drops the little white box of deliciousness onto the seat of the stroller. With a wink of his uber-sexy eye, he turns and walks towards the next booth.