Page 26 of Blueberry Cake
With her bear in her lap, Queenie’s head fell back against the headrest and she closed her eyes. “That was a lovely date.”
“A memorable day.” Before starting the engine, he leaned in and pecked her cheek. “Thank you.”
Queenie fidgeted with her teddy as they drove, eventually breaking the silence lingering between them. “Allison and her husband asked to meet you.”
Boyd tried to hide how nervous they made him. “Is that something you would want?”
“Yes, because I like where we are heading.”
“Then I would like to meet them too.”
“You would?”
“Why wouldn’t I? You said they are a big part of your life.”
Queenie sighed, but he couldn’t quite decipher the tone. “They want to get a feel for you. I mean, because of the whole Luka thing.”
“I understand. That doesn’t change my mind.” She slowly nodded, and Boyd was grateful that the subject allowed him to broach a topic that had been bugging him all week. “How do you want me to handle Luka? Because Ican see you becoming a big part of my life if you are willing.”
Queenie pondered over her answer for a brief moment. “I’m not sure to be honest. But I have thought about it, and I’ll never make you choose. Does he know?”
He shook his head. “I wanted to speak to you first.”
Focusing on the bear in her arms, she said, “I’ll be civil if he can be too.”
“If he can’t do that, he won’t step foot near you.” His words came out sounding more like a threat than he’d anticipated, but it clearly made her feel treasured. She seemed to relax. “I will be very clear about that with him. I won’t tolerate any sort of unkindness towards you.”
“Thank you. I guess I’m just scared of the unknown. I can’t predict how he’ll react.”
“Let me handle that. He’s my son and a grown adult. If he can’t deal with it appropriately, he won’t be around you.”
That visibly relieved her, Queenie’s tense shoulders falling forwards again and her lips relaxing into that smile that drew him in that night at the bar.
Queenie
Hearing Boyd promise that he wouldn’t tolerate any ill behaviour towards her eased Queenie’s swirling nerves. The stress over seeing Luka again had rested heavily on her shoulders. Knowing that Boyd would have her back meant everything.
Boyd drove back to his building, his hand on her thigh the whole way. “Can I convince you to stay for dinner?”
“I was hoping you’d offer, but only if you promise not to make anything extravagant.”
“I have pizza in the freezer,” he offered with a smirk.
“Sounds like my kind of night.”
In his apartment, Boyd retrieved the frozen pizzas and ignored her pout when he pulled vegetables from the fridge. “I can’t just have a plain pizza.”
“Fine,” she said, playfully snatching the cutting board from him and crying her way through chopping the onions.
“What time do you start work in the morning?”
“Eight,” Queenie responded, sniffing away her tears and washing up in the sink.
“Would you consider staying the night?”
Her first reaction was to say no, but Queenie stoppedherself. Would staying over really be that bad? She looked down at herself. If she threw on the cardigan from her car, her outfit could be repurposed for work. “Only if you don’t mind waking up super early. Traffic will be horrendous.”
With the pizzas in the oven, Boyd led her to the bedroom. “I promise.” In his closet he pulled out some shorts from a drawer and rummaged through some old clothes, finally withdrawing a hoodie. “These shouldn’t be too big.”
