Page 11 of Dragon Daddy's Second Chance

“Don’t even joke about this,” she said, groaning. “It isn’t funny, I have no idea how I’m going to tell him, if I do decide to tell him.”

“Well, if you want my advice, the sooner you tell him, the better,” Susan said. “The longer you wait, the harder it’s going to be.”

“I know, but I’m not ready,” she said. “I’ll have dinner with him and see how it goes. Theo stays a secret until I’m sure that I can trust him.”

After Blake’s big display at breakfast that morning, Wren wasn’t sure what to expect when she got to the village that night and hoped that he hadn’t done something equallyflashy. The sun was just beginning to slide toward the horizon, and she wished that she was down on the beach to watch the bold display of color that came with the onset of night, but turned her attention to the evening crowd in the village, scanning the faces for Blake.

When she didn’t see him at first, a wave of disappointment washed over her, and she had to scold herself both for being impatient and putting so much energy into one dinner. She finally spotted Blake coming out of the sandwich shop, a wicker basket in his hand, and a thrill washed over her as she watched him walk toward her, a big smile on his face.

“I thought I might have overdone it at breakfast this morning,” he said, holding up the basket. “So, I thought I’d keep it simple tonight: a picnic on the beach while the sun goes down. We’ll let Mother Nature entertain us tonight.”

“I can’t think of anything I would like more,” she said. “But you have to promise me two things.”

“Okay, I’m game,” he said. “But I have to hear what they are first.”

“First, no kissing, I can’t think straight when you kiss me,” she said, then blushed when she realized that she’d said too much. “And second, no talking about the past, not tonight anyway.”

“I’ll agree to the second one, but I don’t know about the first,” he said. “This is a date, and there’s usually a goodnight kiss involved in a date. I think I should be allowed at least that.”

“You never said this was a date,” she countered. “Give me a minute; I need to consider your counteroffer.”

She could see Blake trying not to laugh and didn’t drag it out. “Okay, I’ll give you one goodnight kiss, but that’s it,” she said. “Take it or leave it.”

“You’ve got a deal,” he said, laughing. “It’s been a pleasurebargaining with you, but if we want to see the sunset, we’d better get moving.”

Blake led them to a perfect spot on the beach, unfolded the blanket he’d been carrying in a bag on his back, then helped her sit down. He unpacked the food, refusing her offer to help as the bright oranges, reds, and pinks of a tropical sunset spread themselves across the horizon. Without a word, he made her a plate, then handed it over before filling one for himself, and it was a few minutes before she looked down at the food.

Spread across the plate were three of her favorite foods; for a moment, she could only stare down at them. “You remembered,” she finally said, looking over at him. “You’re not making this very easy, Blake.”

“That was my plan, Wren. I want you back,” he said. “And I’ll do anything it takes to make that happen, so you’d better get used to this. I’ve just begun to try and win you over.”

She wanted to tell him that she’d always been his, that six years apart hadn’t changed that, but Theo’s face popped into her mind, and she held back. “Don’t get your hopes up,” she said instead, hating the hurt she saw in his eyes. “Nothing has changed, Blake. There’s still so much standing in our way.”

CHAPTER 7

***BLAKE***

Blake swallowed his disappointment with a big drink of his iced tea, then pretended that Wren’s words hadn’t hurt him, reminding himself that he couldn’t rush things. She was going to need time to see that they belonged together despite what his mother had said. It hadn’t hit him just how much damage his mother had done until he’d gotten back to his cabin after breakfast with Wren that morning, and even now, the anger was so powerful that he knew that no amount of time was going to dull it.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he looked over at Wren watching the last rays of light slip behind the horizon, a smile on her face, and reminded himself tonight wasn’t about his mother. He would deal with her when the time was right. He wanted a few days to figure out what he wanted to do, but one thing was clear, he was done with his parents and his job. It might mean that his sailboat would have to wait, a sacrifice he was willing to make now that he knew just how far his mother would go to get what she wanted.

“That was beautiful. Thank you for thinking of it,” Wren said, interrupting his thoughts. “I’m usually still at workwhen the sun goes down, and watching it from my apartment window just isn’t the same.”

“I remembered how much you used to love to watch the sunset when we were out on the fishing boat. No matter what we were doing, you always took a few minutes to watch,” he said. “I used to love those moments because I knew that I’d have you all to myself.”

Wren’s face softened with the memory, igniting a spark of hope. “Sunset always seemed like a magical time of day to me, and having you there only made it better,” she said with a sigh. “I wish we could go back to when things were that simple.”

He wanted to tell her that they could, that nothing was too complicated if they were together, but held back, sensing that wasn’t the right thing to say. “You made me promise not to talk about the past, and I guess I already broke that promise,” he said, taking a small lantern out of the picnic basket. “So, let’s talk about the present. That should be a safe place to start.”

A flicker that almost looked like fear flashed in Wren’s eyes, but it was gone so quickly he couldn’t be sure thanks to the shadows the lantern cast on her face. “Like I said before, there’s not much to tell,” she said, with a shrug of her shoulders. “I ended up in Dublin after I left home. I worked my way up at the clothing store, and now I’m the manager.”

“Your parents must miss you,” he said. “You were all so close, I was always a little jealous.”

“There was nothing to be jealous of,” Wren said, a little catch in her voice. “Their love turned out to be very conditional. We haven’t seen each other in a long time, and I don’t like to talk about it.”

“Oh, Wren, I’m so sorry,” he said, scooting a little closer to her. “I didn’t mean to bring up a sensitive subject. It seems like I can’t avoid the past no matter what I do.”

“It’s okay. I guess it was an unrealistic expectation on my part,” she said, smiling at him. “I know you’re not doing it on purpose, but how about if we talk about you instead?”

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