Blake (Blue Halo Book 3)

Willow took a sip from her glass. She was sticking strictly to water tonight because she didn’t want to end up with her head in the toilet bowl again.

Janet had chosen a place called Lefty’s Bar and Grill in Ketchum for the group to meet. From the outside, it looked like a house, but when you stepped inside, there was no mistaking it was a bar and grill. Not with its large wooden bar and the open kitchen behind. The place had been refurbished well.

Willow lifted a fry from the plate in the center of the table. “This place is awesome.”

“Favorite place in Ketchum,” Rob said from beside her.

They sat on stools around a tall bar table. Unlike her, Rob, Janet, and Toby had all gone with beer.

Janet grinned. “We come here a lot. Probably too much.”

“It’s never too much. Not when they have burgers and fries this good,” Toby added.

She’d spotted quite a few people with burgers. And yeah, they looked good. In fact, they were making her regret the dinner she’d eaten before coming here.

“I still think you should reconsider that water, girl.” Janet gave her glass a pointed look. “This is a celebration.”

“What are we celebrating?” They still had months of studying left. Although, she had to admit, she could smell the finish line.

Janet leaned forward. “Uh, how about surviving the first three years? We’re in the home stretch.”

Well, that was true. “Okay…maybe one beer won’t hurt.” Beer didn’t have the same effect on her as cocktails anyway. She’d just been trying to be cautious.

Hopping off the stool, Willow moved across to the bar. It was only when she got there that she realized Rob had followed.

He held up his empty glass. “All out.”

The bartender stepped up to them. She was all smiles. “What can I get for you both?”

Willow smiled back. “I’ll have a Guinness.”

When she looked beside her to Rob, it was to see his brows raised. “A stout?”

She nodded. “Yes, you have a problem with that?”

He shook his head. “No, ma’am. I just didn’t peg you as a stout woman.” He turned back to the bartender. “I’ll have the same.”

“Coming right up.” The woman grabbed two glasses.

This time, it was Willow who raised her brows. “I can’t be a stout person, but you can?”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t be, just that you didn’t look like one. And I’m definitely not a stout man, but figured I’d give it a go if you are. Maybe I’m missing something.”

“Hmm. If I don’t look like a stout woman, what do I look like?”

“Shiraz. Definitely a Shiraz woman.”

“Ha. I don’t even remember the last time I had a Shiraz.”

The bartender placed their stouts in front of them and looked to Rob. “You can never properly peg a woman. We’re too unpredictable. And the second you think you know what to expect, we’ll surprise you.”

Willow flung back her head and laughed. So true.

Rob nodded, grinning. “I think you may be right.”

Willow reached for her card, but Rob shook his head, passing his to the bartender first. “I’ve got it.”

“Thanks.” She was tempted to say she’d get the next one out of politeness, but she knew that, for her at least, there would be no next one.

When the bartender moved away to the next customer, Rob lifted his drink. “Here’s to the last academic year of our lives.”

She’d cheers to that. She clinked her glass to his before taking a small sip.

He cleared his throat. “Janet mentioned she’d invited you to attend our church. Have you put any thought into it? I know everyone would love to have you.”

Willow swallowed the cold stout. “Yes, I have. I think I’m going to give it a miss. I really appreciate the invitation, but I’m just not that religious.”

There was the slightest tightening of Rob’s mouth before his smile returned. “No problem. The invitation stands if you change your mind.”

She dipped her head. “Thank you.”

He took another sip of his stout, his gaze never leaving her. “You look beautiful tonight, by the way.”

Her mouth slipped open a fraction. Beautiful? She was wearing jeans and a tunic. “Um, thanks.”

He took a small step closer. “I’ve been meaning to ask if you’d like to do something with me sometime? Just us. We could grab a bite somewhere. Catch a movie.”

She swallowed, trying to word her next sentence carefully. “That’s really sweet of you to ask, Rob, and I would have considered it, but I’m kind of seeing someone.”

Kind of…definitely. Same thing.

He frowned. “You are?”

She gave a small nod. “It’s…new.”

In a way. But in another way, it was something that had been going on for so many years, she couldn’t remember a time before.

His next smile was tight. “He’s a lucky guy then.”

When they reached the table, Willow sat quickly, taking a big gulp of her stout.

Janet and Toby were discussing the upcoming ski season and who would be faster down the mountain. Janet turned to her. “Has Mila skied before?”

She shook her head, giving the woman a small smile. “No. I was thinking I might put her into some lessons.”

“Good idea. Living around here, that’s a must.” She tilted her head to the side. “Is she with her dad right now?”

Willow wet her lips. “No, she’s at a school friend’s house.” She debated not saying the next part, mostly for Rob’s benefit, but there was no point. They’d all see him the second he stepped inside. Something—right or wrong—she was suddenly regretting. “Blake’s actually stopping here after his work meeting.”

Three sets of brows lifted. A moment of silence passed. It was Janet who broke it. “Oh. Are you back together?”

Their gazes suddenly felt like beams searing into her. It made her feel uncomfortable and hot. But again, there was no point in hiding the truth. There was also no reason she should hide it. “We are.”

Like she’d conjured Blake with her words, a strong arm wound around her waist.

“Hi,” he whispered into her ear. Even though she felt uncomfortable with the attention from around the table, the knots in her belly eased with his touch.

“Hi.”

Blake leaned close, brushing his lips against Willow’s ear. “Your friends don’t like me.”

They rocked gently to the music on the small dance floor, Willow fitting perfectly in his arms and against his body. He’d joined the group for a beer, but the conversation had been awkward and stilted. Finally, Willow had suggested they dance.

He wasn’t complaining. Holding her was exactly what he needed after the long day he’d had.

“Yes, they do.”

Her quiet words almost had him chuckling. He was trained to spot a lie, but he was sure even an untrained civilian could hear that one.

He shot a quick look over to the table. They weren’t watching him. Not anymore, at least. The way the three of them had looked at him since he’d arrived, the energy they emitted…it wasn’t good.

“Is it because Rob likes you?”

She looked up, eyes wide, before shooting a quick glance at the table, then back at him. He saw the answer seconds before she spoke. “He doesn’t…”

She trailed off at Blake’s raised brow.

“Okay. He may have asked me out.”

Jealousy, hot and heavy, heated his insides. It wasn’t a surprise. But it still had his arms locking around her waist a bit tighter. “Tonight?”

She gave a small nod.

“What did you say?”

She tilted her head to the side. “What do you think I said?” At his silence, she sighed. “I told him I’m seeing someone else.”

Damn straight she was. He lifted a hand to her cheek, grazing the soft skin. “What if the last week had never happened?”

Her fingers smoothed the material over his shoulders in an almost maddening way. “Then he just would have gotten a simple no.”

“Is that right?” His voice was gruffer than it had been a moment ago.

“Mm-hmm.” Her eyes softened, but at the same time, they studied him. “It’s always been you, Blake.”

For a moment, the noise around him quieted. The woman’s words, her eyes on him, her everything, stripped him of the ability to focus on anything but her.

“You’re something else, Willow.”

The smallest smile touched her lips. It wasn’t enough. He wanted the full smile. He wanted every little part of her.

“Something good?”

His head dipped, lips hovering above hers. “Something so damn perfect that no words created by man could do you justice.”

Then he kissed her, took her lips with his own and devoured them. Every time he tasted her, it was the same feeling. The accumulation of every best moment in his life combined.

When he came up for air, it was to see her eyes glazed, her features soft.

He tugged her closer, just holding her. Barely swaying.

They remained like that for a while. At one point, he offered to take her back to her friends, but she was quick to say no. He wasn’t sure if she said it for his benefit or not, but he let it slide, too weak to share her.

Maybe he shouldn’t have come. But when Willow had mentioned she’d organized a sleepover for Mila at a friend’s house, then invited him out, he hadn’t been able to give up time with her. He’d never be able to say no to that.

And today, in particular, he needed to hold her. The team had spent the entire day going over details for their return to Saudi Arabia next week. They didn’t know how long they’d be gone, because they still didn’t know exactly where Ahmad might be. The FBI hadn’t been able to confirm any sightings. But they couldn’t continue to wait. So all they had were the locations provided by his wife.

Blake was hoping the trip would be a quick one, but he wasn’t holding his breath.

“Are you okay?”

Willow’s question dragged him out of his head. When he glanced down, he saw she was looking up at him, a small frown creasing her brows.

“You just tensed up,” she said quietly.

He hadn’t even realized it. Immediately, he forced his muscles to loosen. “I’m okay.”

She looked at him like she didn’t quite believe him. “How was work?”

He sighed. The woman was just like her daughter. Saw and knew too much. “We have to go away again. Next week.”

Usually, he wouldn’t mind, but his trips had been a big point of contention once upon a time. And now that they were back together, he almost didn’t want to bring it up.

Willow’s features didn’t change at all. “Okay. Why are you looking like it’s a bad thing?”

“I wasn’t sure how you’d take it.”

“If we’re going to be together, I need to accept that your job involves leaving me and Mila for periods of time to save people. Things are different now. Mila and I will be okay.”

Her words eased some of the tension in his chest. “I don’t know how long I’ll be away.”

She lifted a shoulder. “We’ll be right here, regardless of whether it’s a few days or a few weeks.” Then she leaned up on her toes. “I’ll miss you, though.”

He dipped his head, kissing the woman like it was both their first and last kiss. When they separated, she whispered against his lips, “If this is my last weekend with you for a while, let’s get out of here.”

The woman didn’t need to tell him twice. He took her hand.

“I just need to use the bathroom,” she said quietly.

They moved across the room. Blake waited in the hall as she stepped inside the ladies’ room. As he waited, Janet passed him, giving him a tight smile before pushing into the bathroom.

Immediately, he heard their voices from inside.

“Hey, we’re just heading out,” Willow said.

“Okay.”

There was a small pause, followed by Willow’s sigh. “Janet. I thought we were past this.”

“I’m just…worried about you. He’s—”

“Janet, stop.”

“You shouldn’t be with him! Heck, Mila shouldn’t even be around the guy! We all think so.”

Blake straightened, ice whipping down his spine.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” Willow’s voice was low and clipped, anger lacing her words. “I need to go.”

When she stepped out, her lips pressed together in what he was sure was an attempt at a smile. She took his hand, tugging him toward the exit. It wasn’t until they stepped outside that she looked up at him almost nervously. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

She lifted a shoulder. “Because I should have known better.”

“You should have known better about what?”

“Never mind.”

She tried to walk away, but Blake grabbed her wrist, pulling her gently back to him. “Willow…”

“That night when my car broke down, they said…similar stuff.” A pained expression crossed Willow’s face. “They apologized, and I thought if I kept hanging out with them, I could help them realize how wrong they were…are. I should have cut ties completely.”

He slipped his arms around her. “It’s not your fault. There will always be people in the world who don’t like what I’ve become.”

Anger marred her features. “I hate that. You and your team are heroes, Blake.”

He lowered his head, his temple touching hers. “The only opinions I care about are yours and Mila’s.”

A small smile returned to her lips. A real one this time “Well, I think you’re amazing, and that Mila and I are very lucky to have you.”

“That’s all I need to know.”