Holiday Promise (Hollyberry Harbor #2)

Chapter 15

FIFTEEN

“Oh my gosh! I can’t believe he did that.” Melody flushed deeply. “This is all my fault.”

“How is it your fault?” Blake moved to lean against the fence beside her. “I’m pretty sure my kid trying to set us up isn’t anyone’s fault . He’s a kid—a kid with an imagination at that.” Blake let out a sigh and shook his head. “If anything, I’m the one at fault here. There was a conversation we had…” His voice trailed off, and he dragged his gaze from her. It was clear that he was incredibly uncomfortable—a fact she found absolutely adorable. “He asked me if I missed you.”

Melody stared at him, unable to form a response. She knew Max was bright, but she hadn’t thought he would be so intuitive to notice how things had shifted between them. She turned toward the ice and let out her own heavy breath. “Oh. What did you say?”

“That I do.” He glanced at her briefly. “I miss you.”

“Oh?”

He chuckled. “I also told him that just because we want something doesn’t mean that we’ll get it. Magic doesn’t exist and sometimes wishes just don’t come true.”

Her heart hammered. “Oh.” She repeated.

Blake gazed out at the ice. “Ironic, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“Where Max wanted us to meet. I had assumed he thought I hated this place… with its history.”

She grimaced. “That I know is my fault.” Melody let out a quiet laugh. “After… you know… I told him how much I loved to skate. I’m so sorry. I really shouldn’t be filling his head with?—”

“I think it’s a perfect idea,” Blake interrupted her.

Melody snapped her mouth shut and stared at him with wide eyes. “You can’t be serious.”

“I never said I hated it here. It holds memories—both good and bad. But that doesn’t mean I never intended to come back.” He frowned, his brows drawn together. “My reasons for keeping Max off the ice were strictly for his safety. It had nothing to do with what happened to Alison.” He turned, his eyes locking with hers. “I understand that I can’t control everything in this life, but if there are some things I can?—”

“I never thought you were being controlling,” she murmured.

“Really?”

She shook her head. “I understood where you were coming from. You have a deep desire to keep those you care about safe.” She took in a deep shuddering breath, then let it out slowly. “I shouldn’t have said what I did.”

“Then why…” He squinted at her. “Why did you want us to stop seeing each other?”

Melody pressed her lips together tight, already feeling the embarrassment coming to the surface. She looked away and only returned her gaze when he touched her hand.

“Do you want to go skating with me? Perhaps it would be easier to talk when we’re not stuck in one place.”

“I’d like that a lot.” There was no measure to the surprise she felt at his request. It was the last thing she thought he would ask her to do. In no time, they were on the ice, skating among other families and couples as instrumental Christmas music played over the speakers.

Blake reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. She offered him a tentative smile. Would it be as simple as he was making it sound—for her to tell him exactly why she thought they couldn’t work it out?

Thinking back to how she’d felt when she’s pushed him away, all she felt was a mortifying realization that she’d overreacted. He wasn’t going to want her after she admitted it. But what other choice did she have?

“I have feelings for you, Blake,” she whispered. “Feelings that won’t go away no matter how hard I try. I don’t think there will ever be a moment where I won’t feel connected to you.”

“Help me understand what I did. If it wasn’t our argument…”

She hated the way the heat returned to her face. All he had to do was look at her and he’d know how she felt. But there was no escaping it. She was cornered. It was probably for the best. After all, he ought to know what they would be dealing with moving forward. “I was scared.”

“Scared? About what?” he prodded.

“I was scared that you wouldn’t… want me… after you went back to work.” Melody placed a hand over her face and let out an embarrassed laugh. “It sounds so stupid now that I’m saying it. But that’s where my fears were. I thought you’d go back to work and this little fantasy… it would fizzle out and die.”

He pulled her to a stop and faced her. Prying her hand from her face, he stared hard at her for what felt like an eternity. “You were scared of losing me.”

She laughed again, but this time there were tears. “I guess I wanted to have some degree of control. There’s your irony. I wanted to push you away before you could do the same to me.”

Blake frowned. “I can’t say I don’t understand. I did my share of pushing you away.” He shook his head as he looked away. “Funny, isn’t it? That when we look back on what happened, we can see where we went wrong.”

“I suppose,” she whispered.

“And yet, at the same time, my son had it all figured out from the start.”

This time, her laugh felt more genuine. It drew Blake’s attention, and he smiled.

“I love it when you laugh. I’ve missed hearing it these last few days.”

Melody sobered. “I suppose I lost my reasons to laugh lately.”

“That’s not good.”

“No,” she agreed. “It’s not.”

He tugged her back into the swirl of movement on the section of ice they were skating. They drifted in and out of groups of people, neither one of them speaking. She lost track of time as she leaned into him. It was almost too easy to forget that they were in a moment of limbo. Was Blake interested in starting their relationship again? Or had he realized just how dangerous it was to love her?

Melody’s stomach twisted painfully, and her heart thundered with the anticipation of what he might say next. If she wanted a say in their future, she needed to speak now.

“I love you, Melody,” he rasped.

Her heart, her lungs, every part of her froze. Only her feet continued to move across the ice.

“I think I’ve loved you for a long time. I simply didn’t allow myself to see it.” Blake glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Does that even make any sense? It was like something woke me up from a stupor I’ve been in.”

Throat dry, Melody couldn’t bring herself to comment. She didn’t want to destroy the happy cloud that had descended around her.

Blake came to a stop and pulled her around to face him. He held onto both hands. “Please say something. Please tell me that you’re willing to consider trying again. I don’t want to waste a single moment more.”

All she could do was focus on her breathing. Everything he’d said was everything she’d wanted to hear from the moment Thomas had put those doubts in to her mind. She wanted to be something more than just his nanny. She wanted him to want her with no strings attached.

Melody nodded, a surprised and teary laugh escaping her lips. She threw her arms around his neck, standing on the toes of her skates as she did so. When she pulled back, she was all smiles. “Nothing would make me happier.”

A smile lit up Blake’s face. He grinned, lifting her into a hug as he spun her around. When he placed her back on her feet, he hooked his finger beneath her chin. “You’ve brought magic back into my life. Maybe Max was right after all. Wishes can come true.”

“This is the best Christmas wish ever.”

Her laugh was smothered by his kiss. Breath left her lungs and stars appeared behind her eyes. Melody’s whole body sang along with the Christmas music that continued to fill the air. She couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas gift than to be loved by this man.

“I promise you won’t be sorry about giving us another chance.”

She smiled. “I know.”