When It's Right(55)

“Justin, why did you come over here?” Gillian asked.

She struggled to get up. Blake held out his hand, and she took it without hesitation. When they touched, their eyes met, and that strange energy that snapped between them came to life, crackling between them.

“Blake’s mom wants to see him. She didn’t think she should come up here.”

“Your mom has your number, Blake. She said I’m as lovely as she’d heard. I wonder where she heard that?” Suspicion filled her narrowed eyes.

“I’m sure Dee had a lot of nice things to say about you the last time they talked.”

“Dee, huh?”

“I might have mentioned you the last time I talked to her on the phone,” he said vaguely.

“Go see your mother. I’ll look through your paperwork.” She took her seat at the desk and sorted through the files again. This time when he touched her hair, he made sure she knew it. Then, with Justin in his arms, he leaned over and kissed her on the top of her head.

He laughed when Justin made a disgusted noise.

“No way you’re staying up here alone. Come with me.” Blake held out his hand to her, but she didn’t take it.

“But I need to go through all of this, input the data, complete the calculations, and—­”

“Not tonight. Come on. I’ll introduce you to my parents.”

“I met them already.”

“Gillian.” The hint of a warning tinged her name as it passed his lips on an exasperated sigh.

She got the message and took his hand. He pulled her up, and the three of them left the office together.





Chapter 16



Blake led them down the stairs to the kitchen door. He held it open for Gillian and let her go into the house ahead of him. Justin sat on his arm, his hands at Blake’s neck, happy to be carried into the house and not in the least afraid of Blake. He’d won the boy over. If the kiss he and Gillian had shared was any indication, they’d taken a giant step toward complete trust. Definitely a step in the right direction. When he’d touched her hair and kissed her on the head before they’d come down, she hadn’t flinched. Progress. He’d build on it until he wasn’t the one reaching for her, but she felt comfortable reaching for him from now on.

He needed to have a man-­to-­man talk with Bud. Since Gillian decided she wanted to be with him, Bud would listen, and hopefully give him a chance to make her happy.

They entered the living room together. Gillian stood beside him, Justin in his arms. His mother’s eyes softened on them. She gave him one of those knowing looks that he ignored, trying not to make a big deal out of them standing together—­almost like a family.

“So, you finally decided to come see us,” his mother said, giving him a soft smile and breaking the tension in the room.

Gillian fidgeted beside him, realizing they’d become the center of attention and everyone knew she was the reason he’d been delayed.

“I needed to finish some work upstairs,” he covered, even if they wouldn’t believe it.

“They were kissing,” Justin announced.

Gillian’s whole face flushed pink. She turned to him. “Justin.”

Okay, no man-­to-­man talk with Bud. Blake would wait for the man to grab his shotgun, then do his damnedest to make Bud believe Blake intended to do right by her. Instead, Bud gave Gillian a questioning look. Blake couldn’t see her face, but Bud looked back at Blake and gave him a nod that could only be construed as a go-­ahead to see his granddaughter.

“Is that ’57 Chevy C10 outside yours?” Blake’s dad asked Gillian.

Blake gave his dad a look, silently thanking him for distracting Gillian from the embarrassment of being caught. Bad enough Justin walked in on them, but now everyone in the room stared and exchanged knowing looks. Especially his mother and Dee. Those two women were plotting happy-­ever-­after, but all Blake wanted right now was for Gillian to relax and get to know his parents. One step at a time. Though they’d taken a huge step forward, he didn’t want to push too hard and end up five steps back, with Gillian retreating to neutral ground to keep him at bay, the way she’d done for days.

“Uh, yeah,” she answered, her voice shy.

“Cool truck. My dad used to have one just like it when I was a kid. I miss that old truck,” his father said, nostalgia filling his eyes.

“I, uh, bartered my way into it. When I got it, it didn’t even run or have any tires and rims.”

“Blake mentioned you worked at a garage. Did you do the work yourself?”

“Some of it,” she confessed, warming up to the conversation and his dad.