Chapter 129
Chapter 129
Fiona’s POV
I woke up to an empty bed and the distant sound of voices coming from somewhere downstairs. Blake’s side was still warm which meant he hadn’t been gone long, but the absence of his arm around my waist was enough to pull me fully out of sleep faster than any alarm could. I lay there for a moment staring at the ceiling before the events of last night slowly crept back into my mind. The scent. The way his body had gone rigid on the porch. The careful way he had chosen his words when I asked him about it.
I sat up and pushed my hair out of my face.
It was probably nothing. That’s what he said. And Blake didn’t say things he didn’t mean, at least not to me. But the nagging feeling that had settled somewhere behind my ribs since last night hadn’t gone anywhere and no amount of reasoning with myself seemed to be shifting it.
I shook it off the best I could, got up, and made my way to the bathroom. By the time I had showered and gotten dressed, the smell of coffee had drifted up from downstairs and that alone was enough to get my feet moving.
The kitchen was louder than usual when I reached it. Blake was leaning against the counter with a mug in his hand, talking quietly with Anthonio who was sitting at the island looking like he had been up for hours. Marcus was beside him doing absolutely nothing productive, which was entirely on brand for him. Linda was moving between the stove and the counter with the kind of focused energy that told me she had already been up for a very long time and had a very long list of things she intended to get done today.
She spotted me before anyone else did. “Good morning. Coffee is on the counter and I need you fed and ready to help by noon.”
“Good morning to you too,” I said, reaching for a mug.
Blake caught my eye from across the kitchen and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. I held his gaze for a second before looking away and pouring my coffee. I wasn’t ready to bring up last night in a room full of people and from the look he gave me, neither was he.
“What exactly are we setting up today?” I asked, settling onto the stool beside Marcus who immediately slid the sugar toward me without being asked. I appreciated that about him more than I ever told him.
“Everything,” Linda said simply. “The backyard needs to be arranged, the decorations need to go up, the tables need to be dressed, and I need someone to confirm with the vendors that their deliveries are still on schedule for this afternoon.”
“I can handle the vendors,” I offered.
“I already knew you would say that.” She pointed at me with a spatula. “The contact sheets Cicilia gave you are on the desk in the hallway.”
Of course she already knew where they were. I nodded and wrapped both hands around my mug, letting the warmth seep into my palms as I looked over at Anthonio who had been unusually quiet since I came downstairs.
“You okay?” I asked him.
He looked up and managed a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Just tired. Sara was up half the night. The babies were restless.”
“Is she alright?”
“She’s fine. Stubborn as ever. Refused to let me call anyone.” He let out a breath and shook his head. “She’s going to try to help set up today and I already know I’m going to spend the entire afternoon trying to get her to sit down.”
“Leave that to me,” I said. “I’ll keep her occupied with things she can do from a chair.”
He looked at me with something close to genuine relief. “I would really appreciate that.”
Marcus reached over and stole a piece of toast off Anthonio’s plate. Anthonio didn’t even look at him. He just reached out and smacked the back of his hand without breaking eye contact with me. Marcus winced but kept eating. Some things never changed.
Blake pushed off the counter and came to stand beside me, his hand resting briefly on my shoulder as he leaned past me to set his mug in the sink. He didn’t say anything but I felt the warmth of him linger even after he pulled away.
“I have something to take care of this morning,” he said to the room in general. His voice was casual but something in it made my ears pick up. “I’ll be back before the setup starts.”
“Something to take care of,” Marcus repeated, raising an eyebrow. “That’s vague.”
“It was meant to be,” Blake said flatly.
Anthonio stood up from his stool, and just like that the casual energy in the room shifted in a way that only I seemed to notice because Linda was still moving around the kitchen and Marcus was still chewing his stolen toast without a care in the world. But I noticed. I noticed the look that passed between Blake and Anthonio. Brief and wordless and carrying something neither of them were going to say out loud in front of me.
My hand tightened around my mug.
Blake leaned down and pressed a kiss to the side of my head. “I’ll be back soon,” he murmured against my hair.
I turned to look at him before he could straighten up. “Blake.”
He met my eyes.
“Don’t do that thing where you tell me everything is fine when it isn’t,” I said quietly.
Something moved across his expression. He held my gaze for a beat longer than necessary before he straightened up and simply said, “I’ll be back before noon.”
And then he was gone. Anthonio followed without a word and the back door clicked shut behind them both. I sat there staring down at my coffee for a moment before Marcus leaned over and nudged my arm with his elbow.
“He’s not going to let anything happen,” he said. No jokes this time. Just that.
I nodded slowly. “I know.”
But as I reached for the contact sheets Linda had left on the counter and began making my way through the list of vendors, my mind kept drifting back to that tree line. To the way Blake’s arm had tightened around me. To the scent that wasn’t familiar.
By the time the first vendor confirmed their delivery, I had almost convinced myself I was overthinking it.
Almost.