Page 57 of Lakesides and Longing

He punched the number next to her name and held the phone to his ear.

She answered after the first two rings. “Looks like you are finally over your rebound. Where are we meeting? The Keys are good. Though you do owe me a Hawaii trip.”

“Take the post down,” he growled.

She laughed, and he hated the sound. “Now why would I do that when we both know it’s just a matter of time until it’s true.”

“Because it’s not true, and it’s ruining my relationship.”

“Blake, if all it took to ruin your relationship was a misleading Facebook post, then you’ve got bigger problems than me. Why don’t you admit to yourself that she’s clearly not for you and meet me in Maui.”

He hung up the phone. This was useless.

Her words stung though. Maybe he and Paige were kidding themselves. Maybe their relationship wasn’t as strong as Blake thought.

Whatever it was, they could work through it.

He’d give her another week, and then he’d go back to town, stay with Ida and Phil, and do whatever it took to win her back.

CHAPTER43

“There’s no way to know if he’s lying or not.” Paige stood on her deck, looking over the water. Blake had been gone a week now, and going back to her hermit ways had been so easy.

Stormy cursed on the other side of the phone. “I’m sorry you’re going through this. Have you talked to him?”

“No. He’s called me a bunch, and he sends me a text every day telling me that he loves and misses me. But I haven’t responded or answered. Lukas did call me though to try to convince me to talk to him.”

“Why?”

“Because he seems to think that Blake is telling the truth.”

“Where is Blake now? Do you know?”

“Yeah, he’s staying on Mackinac with other friends.”

“And is Debbie there?”

“If she was, Lukas wouldn’t be standing up for him.” In her mind, she knew this logically, but she still couldn’t ignore what they had.

“So I’ve listened to your whole story now. Do you want my opinion?”

“Stormy, I always want your opinion.”

“Okay, so the way I see it, everyone talks about Debbie being the love of his life, but he went on a work trip, and she was there. She dumped her hubby and probably wanted to get back together with him, but he’s not with her right now, is he?”

“No.”

“Everyone who knows him is telling you to trust him, and based on what I can see, I’m telling you the same thing. If something really had happened between them, he’d be with her, not moping at a friend’s house. You need to let your guard down a little and just be happy with him.”

“But I don’t know if I trust him or not.”

“Why? Because of Emery? They are not the same people, and you know it. Give him a chance to prove that. He sounds like a good guy who once upon a time had bad taste in women. Go, embrace what you have. Not many people get that.”

Maybe Stormy was right. Paige had missed him terribly since he’d left. She said goodbye and looked at the phone.

One phone call and he’d be on his way back to her.

But she didn’t want to call him. She wanted to see him. To look in his eyes and make sure he was telling the truth. Then she’d know for sure.

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