by Tia Souders
For years, it seemed so many obstacles were blocking her road to happiness. But not now. Now, the path was clear—the road nothing but a long stretch of highway under a bright blue sky. She had a full tank of gas, nothing but time, and the open stretch of road laid out before her. At the moment, she felt like anything was possible.
She couldn’t wait to tell Blake. The thought stopped her short, and her smile faded.
She shook her head, admonishing herself. Now she was just being stupid. Blake had no stake in this. Of course he’d be happy for her, but nothing more, and Mel needed to stop thinking like that. After all, there was no point in wanting something you couldn’t have.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
MEL
With the deposit burning a hole in her purse, Mel rushed home from work and into her apartment. She flung the door open, unable to contain her excitement. The kids sat on the floor with Blake, furiously coloring pictures of puppies with the concentration of Picasso. When they glanced up at her abrupt entrance, she nearly burst from her skin.
“Guess what?” She clapped her hands, but she didn’t give them time to answer. Instead, she bounced on her toes and announced, “We’re going house hunting this weekend!”
The kids squealed and jumped up from their seats on the floor. “We might move?” Peter asked, wide-eyed.
Mel nodded. “I found a couple options, but there’s this one . . . I think it will be our best bet.”
“Is it like the one above your desk?” Kinsley asked, her little brow furrowed in concentration.
“Pretty close.” Minus the pool, but she’d break that news to them later.
All three of them popped up and hugged her, their tiny arms squeezing her legs like a boa constrictor. Though Mel wasn’t sure they fully understood what moving meant for them, it had zero effect on dulling her excitement as she pulled them close.
Her gaze found Blake’s and he smiled. “I assume today went well, then?”
Mel bit her lip. The bonus check flashed in her head. “Better than I could’ve imagined.”
Blake stood and placed his hands on his hips, any awkwardness from this morning gone. “Congratulations.”
One by one, the kids peeled themselves off of her and ran back to their coloring books. Blake’s gaze followed them, and so she, too, allowed herself to absorb the simple sight of them settling back into their pictures, coloring with vigor. “So do I get to see this dream house of yours?” Blake asked, drawing her attention back up to him.
Her head snapped up as her eyes locked with his. A wave of pleasure rippled down her spine. “Uh, yeah.” She swallowed. “I’m sure the kids would love it if you came with us.”
“You’d actually want me to come along?” he asked, with a raised brow.
“Didn’t you just . . . ?”
Oh, no! Mel slapped a hand over her face, mortified. She groaned as her cheeks burned. Hadn’t she just been wondering whether she was reading too much into things? And now look. He said one thing, and she assumed he wanted to go house hunting with them when all he probably wanted was to look at the pictures of the house online.
A snort of nervous laughter escaped her, which did little to help ease her blush. “You just meant the listing, didn’t you?’
Blake crossed his arms, a playful smile turning the corners of his mouth. “Disinviting me already? I didn’t even give you my answer yet.”
“No. I just . . . didn’t think . . .” Mel swallowed. Could the ground please swallow her up now? “Did you want to go?” she asked, even though she hated herself for it. If he went, it meant another Saturday spent with Mel and her trio, which wasn’t the typical man’s idea of a good time.
“I would love to go see it. After all, I need to see where these boogers are going to be after I’m back to work,” he said, reaching down and ruffling Brady’s hair.
“Hey!” Brady swatted playfully at his hand.
“That way, I can come visit,” Blake added.
“You’ll come to visit us?” Kinsley asked, and Mel had never loved her more because it was exactly what she wanted to know.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Our other old nannies don’t come to see us,” Peter said matter of factly.
“Am I like the other nannies?”
“No!” all three of them answered in unison.
“Okay, then.” Blake laughed, then turned his lethal smile back to Mel. “This weekend, right? Saturday?”
“Um.” Mel played with the sleeve of her blouse. “Yeah. Our first appointment is at one, and it’ll take about thirty minutes or so to get there by bus—”
“I’ll drive,” Blake said.
Mel frowned. “Are you sure?”
Blake shrugged. “My brother and I have a shared car that is currently collecting dust. Why not? We’ll get lunch first.”
“Okay, great,” Mel said, stifling a grin.
They stared at each other for a few seconds before they both laughed and looked away. Blake had this way of making her feel like a teenager again, and even though she felt a bit foolish and that inner voice in her head told her she was playing with fire, Mel spent the evening wishing away the days until this weekend.
BLAKE
BLAKE GLANCED OVER at Mel, who leaned back in her seat, looking more relaxed than he could ever remember seeing her. Sunlight glinted off the passenger window, illuminating her face and turning her hair bronze. It turned out to be a beautiful day—blue skies, warmer than normal temps, and sunshine—which Mel said was a good omen. The triplets were sitting snuggly in the back, each one squashed together in the car seats they managed to wrangle into the bench seat. Each of them stared at the tablet Mel strapped to the back of a headrest, playing cartoons, if only to entertain them long enough to give Mel and Blake time to talk about the homes they saw, among other things.
Mel turned her gaze to his and their eyes locked, she smiled, and Blake’s heart did a funny little flip in his chest. “Can I ask you a question?” He turned his attention back to the road.
“Sure.”
“Why Highland Park?” There were several places in Jersey she could’ve chosen, so it made him curious.
Mel chuckled. “Honestly?”
He nodded, giving her the signal to continue. “Maybe there are nicer places, but realistically, Highland Park gives me the best chance of being able to afford moving out of the city and into a home.” She shrugged and bit her lip. “I don’t want another apartment. I want something I can own with a yard for the kids, and let’s face it, I’m probably going to be on my own for a long time, if not forever, so . . .”
Blake frowned. “What makes you think you won’t meet someone?” he asked, even though the idea of Mel being with another man, sharing her kids, her life with him felt all wrong. Still, he hated how she talked as though she wasn’t worth something when so many guys would be lucky to have her.
“I don’t know.” She let out a little laugh. “I guess I haven’t met too many men that want all of this,” she said, darting her gaze toward the back of the car.”
“Any guy worth anything who got to know you wouldn’t care about any of that. If anything, they’d consider the . . . “ Blake paused, trying to find the right word to speak about the kids without them knowing. He refused to use the word “baggage” since it implied a negative connotation, though he was sure that’s what Mel was thinking. “. . .they’d consider your luggage a bonus. Because that’s what they are, Mel.” He eyed her meaningfully before turning his gaze back to the road.
At least that’s how he felt about them, though he couldn’t tell her that. He was already traversing a rocky road as it was with her.
She pursed her lips, taking this in. “Maybe. I guess, if I’m being fair, I haven’t looked all that much. After Craig, that part of me, the one that hoped to find someone sort of just shut down.” Then she flashed him a smile, letting him know it didn’t bother her, though he suspected it did more than she admitted. “After Craig left and
I got over the shock and the sleepless nights eased a little, I promised myself I’d do this on my own. With my salary, even with this raise, I’m still limited if I want to actually buy a home and not rent, considering the prices of real estate in the commuter areas. But Highland Park is really great and the most reasonable. There are parks, and restaurants, coffee shops, and the schools are supposed to be wonderful, which is a relief.”
Mel shrugged and turned her gaze back out the passenger window as she spoke. “The ideal house for us is move-in ready but probably older and in need of updates. That way, the price will be better, while leaving me time and room to make the home my own.”
“Well, I hope we find it for you today.” Blake reached between them and squeezed her hand. “You’re an amazing mom, and you deserve this.”
Mel shrugged. “I do what’s required of me.”
Blake stopped at a traffic light and turned to her. “Don’t do that.”
“What?”
“Diminish your worth. You’re amazing, Mel. You’re doing this—you’ve done it—all for them,” he said, nodding toward the backseat. “You managed to raise triplets all on your own, and now you’ve gotten a promotion, and you’re turning your life into what you want it to be, what you want for your children. That’s special.”
“Noted. But now it’s my turn to ask a question,” she said, glancing at him meaningfully.
He turned back to the road, and though he felt her gaze on the side of his face, he kept his focus on driving. For some reason, the prospect of her asking him a question turned his stomach to knots. “Okay, shoot.”
“Where’s Jen?”
He whipped his gaze to her then back again, surprise roiling in his veins.
She laughed as he opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. “I guess what I mean is, why on earth are you spending your Saturday chauffeuring around a woman and her three kids when I’m sure there’s something more fun you could be doing? Even if fancy dinners aren’t your thing.”
Blake brought a hand to the back of his neck as he gripped the steering wheel with his other until his knuckles turned white. He had hoped she wouldn’t bring up Jen, which was selfish and wrong on so many levels.
He squirmed in his seat. What could he say? The truth was, he should be spending time with Jen instead of accompanying Mel house hunting. His presence with her today, and his absence with Jen was wrong on so many levels. He should be focused on his relationship, smoothing the rough edges after their fight and the tension that had followed them all week. But for reasons he couldn’t explain, he didn’t want to. He’d rather be with Mel and the kids for this special day, however wrong that was.
While his feelings for Jen hadn’t disappeared, lately, it was as though he saw her through a different lens, one that made things look a little distorted and not at all clear. Instead of taking the time to figure out what that all meant, he ignored it. What he really needed to do was a little soul searching, but Blake was afraid of what he might discover.
Clearing his throat in the silence, he said, “We’re not exactly on the best of terms right now.”
“What? Why?” Mel asked, sounding genuinely shocked. “It’s not because of what I said to her at the carnival thing, was it?” Mel turned to him, then gasped and brought a hand up to her chest. “Wait. No. It’s because of last weekend when you left the party, isn’t it?”
Blake screwed up his face but said nothing.
“It is!” she answered for him. “It’s my fault.” She moaned. “I knew I shouldn’t have texted you about that stupid toilet. You’re a fixer. That’s who you are, and I knew if you could, you’d come help.”
Blake scowled. “I’m not a fixer.”
“You are.” Mel nodded and bit her lip. “I could tell the first day I met you, and then the first day you showed up at my place to work for me. Even after you had a hellish day, or so I assume, you agreed to continue on because I needed the help. And, look, your girlfriend’s father doesn’t approve, so what do you do? You try to fix it. You even go to the length of taking leave from your job, your business that you love, to wrangle kids from nine to five to do it.”
She made him sound so . . . Blake wasn’t sure, but was he really a fixer? And if she was right, could that be what he was doing with Mel?
Shaking off the thought, he said, “Regardless, it’s not your fault. I wanted to leave that party, remember? Her father insulted me, and your text was just a convenient excuse. Had I not left, who knows what would’ve happened. Things might’ve gotten even worse. Jen might’ve dumped me right then and there.”
A few seconds passed before Mel sighed. “Maybe,” she said, though she didn’t sound too convincing.
“Definitely. And I’ve seen Jen since then. The first time, admittedly, didn’t go well because I think we both wanted an apology, and neither of us got one, but I saw her last night, and for the most part, it was okay. We’re okay.” He grimaced. It wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of his relationship, nor the truth. And though it was true they had spent time together due to premade plans with friends—Jen’s friends—that they had scheduled weeks back, it wasn’t exactly devoid of tension. Both of them avoided bringing up the dinner party, and after everyone called it a night, Blake went back to his place. Still, they hadn’t fought, had they? They just hadn’t really addressed anything.
Regardless, he could make whatever excuses he wanted for his whereabouts today, but the reality was he shouldn’t be there with Mel. He knew it, and Mel probably knew it. He tried to tell himself he came along because he couldn’t fathom allowing the kids to ride all the way there by bus, but it was more than that. In the weeks he’d spent with the children, he’d grown attached to them, and this feeling he had inside every time he thought of Mel . . . well, it wasn’t the feelings a man should have for his “boss,” that was for sure. Two more weeks, and he’d be done nannying. Then he’d be gone, out of their lives for good. The dull ache he got in his chest every time he thought of that spoke volumes. Truth be told, this trip was nothing more than a futile effort to inject himself further into their lives, to know where they might be once he was gone, and, yes, to spend more time with Mel, which meant Blake was in trouble. He’d been ignoring all the signs for far too long.
Silence settled over the car like a heavy blanket. As he glanced over at Mel, gazing serenely out her window, he wished he knew what she was thinking, what was in her heart. And then it dawned on him.
His feelings for Mel weren’t going away anytime soon. They weren’t a fleeting thing. They were real. And no matter how much time he had put into his relationship with Jen, the sooner he acknowledged his feelings for another woman and stopped denying the end of his relationship, the better.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
BLAKE
Though lunch went well, with the kids expending some much-needed energy at a local park after, the first couple houses were a total flop. One reeked of mold and had a bad roof, while the other, according to Mel’s realtor, had received an offer just that morning for full asking price. Mel didn’t say it, but Blake gathered, even if Mel fell in love with the home, she wasn’t in a position to offer more than top dollar, nor would he recommend she pay over market. So they were onto the third house, which didn’t seem to deter Mel any. She remained in good spirits despite the two duds, and he hoped, for her sake, this one was a winner.
It only took a few minutes before they turned into the short drive of a modest cape cod with pretty pale-yellow siding, white shutters, and a small white porch. Giant pots of colorful pansies sat on the steps and banister in greeting. From first glance, the house looked great.
“Now, this is what I wanted to see,” Mel said, a smile in her voice.
Blake glanced over at her to see her staring out the windshield at the house like it was a glittering diamond. After a moment, he turned back to the house. His stomach ached as he pictured her settling into a chair on the porch on a hot summer night with a cool drink. He could easily
imagine her watering the flowers as the kids tore down the steps and into the backyard with her calling after them to be careful. Then the realtor pulled in next to them and shattered this daydream as Mel shot out of the car, beaming.
Heading to the backseat, Mel unbuckled the three kids and helped them out of the car, reminding them to be on their best behavior as her realtor, Gina, approached.
Blake had liked her immediately. Gina was a short, older blonde, with a keen eye, and a sunny disposition. She seemed to be great with the kids, attentive, while focusing on Mel and the homes they toured. She struck Blake as the type to truly guide Mel into the right home, as opposed to simply trying to make a sale.
Gina waited patiently as the kids piled out of the car, then ran into the quaint front yard to the huge maple tree with a wooden rope swing. Grinning, she waved away Mel’s look of concern at their exuberance. “They’re fine,” Gina said, waving her concerns away. “Ready?” she asked. “Third one’s a charm.”
“I certainly hope so,” Mel said, grinning.
“Now, before we go in, I wanted to share some information I got. I’m not supposed to know this, but word is that the owners are elderly and have already moved into assisted living. Their children are helping them sell, and from the sounds of it, they’ll consider even aggressive offers. They just want it off their hands as soon as possible.”
Mel nodded, biting her lip, and Blake could tell she was trying her best not to look overeager. In his estimation, she was failing, but Gina didn’t seem to pay her excitement any mind.
They followed Gina, taking in the exterior of the home as they stepped onto the porch and Gina fiddled with the lockbox. Once she opened the front door, Mel hollered for the kids, and after a moment of grumbling, they piled inside and took off their shoes.
The modest foyer was brightly lit. A little console table sat in front of them with a mirror above it and a little dish Blake imagined was for keys. To their right was a family room and off to the left, a small dining room, and kitchen.
