LIB

Chapter 23

            When I finally ran out of tears, Blake continued to hold me as he reached up and wiped my tears away with his thumb. “You okay?”

            I blew out a shaky breath and then nodded. “Yeah, I think I am now. Thank you for being here for me.”

            “Where else would I be? You wouldn’t leave me alone when I was going through a rough time, so there’s no way I’m going to leave you now.”

            That got a watery smile out of me. “I guess my stubbornness is paying off now, isn’t it?”

            “Hmm, I think it started paying off that first day I kissed you.”

            “Oh, you think your kisses just automatically made everything better, huh?”

            “Of course they do. I’m just that good.”

            I laughed. “You really are too cocky sometimes. I can’t believe that was hidden under that hard, sarcastic exterior.”

            “What can I say? I’m a man of many layers.”

            “Like an onion?”

            “Are you quoting Shrek?”

             “What’s wrong with Shrek?”

            “It’s a movie for kids,” he said condescendingly.

            “So? You’ve obviously watched it, since you knew where that quote was from.”

            “I only watched it because the donkey is awesome.”

            I grinned. “I can’t argue with that. I wanted waffles every morning for weeks after I first watched that movie.”

            “Seriously?”

            “What? The way Donkey said waffles made me crave them. It’s not my fault.”

            Blake just shook his head. “You’re so weird sometimes.”

            I let out an unladylike snort. “Like you’re one to talk.”

            “If I didn’t love you, I’d push you off of me right now.”

            “Good thing you love me then, huh?”

            “Yeah, it’s a good thing,” he replied, kissing me lightly.

            “Are you two done arguing about Shrek now?” an amused voice asked from the doorway of the room.

            I turned to see Liam standing there. “Hey, how long were you standing there for?”

            “I got here right before you started talking about waffles,” my uncle said with a smile. “If you’re done arguing, Jake wants to see you. Apparently after you left the room, Amanda explained everything to him and now he’s worried about you. Plus, he’s pretty torn up about your parents.”

            I sighed and got to my feet, heading for the door. Blake placed his hands on my waist and followed directly behind me. When we got to my uncle, I stopped and kissed his cheek. “Did you have fun at your conference?”

            He made a face. “Oh yeah, it was loads of fun,” he said sarcastically.

            I raised and eyebrow and turned my head in Blake’s direction. “I think your sarcasm is rubbing off on him.”