My throat tightened. I stepped one foot in front of the other and slid into an open seat at the back of the bar. I thought maybe the shadows would protect me. He couldn’t see me in the dark corner .
“Whoooo, baby. You sing whatever you want!” one of the fan girls shouted from a nearby bar stool .
I shot her a death stare .
Blake’s laugh filled the bar. “Calm down, Cece. I’ll play your song in the next set .”
I thought he winked at the girl. Maybe this was a mistake. A huge mistake. What was I thinking coming here? That he would be different? That he would change? That he had held a flame for me as deep and heated as the one I held for him .
No matter how I tried, this man was etched in my soul. He was everything to me. I knew that before I found out about the baby. I’d known it since our first kiss. I knew it at our last kiss. My ribs pinched together at the thought that there was someone else in the picture. He had moved on so quickly. And I had mourned him. I had cried for us .
One note launched into the air, followed by another, then Blake started to sing .
Summer winds in your hair
Feeling more than the salty air
I should have known when you smiled
That you were taking my heart
When you left this sleepy town
So why did you have to kiss me like that ?
Girl, why did you have to kiss me like that ?
With our feet in the sand
And your body in my hands
There was no way to keep from
Falling under your spell
So why did you have to kiss me like that ?
Girl, why did you have to kiss me like that ?
Summer rolled out like a wave
You’re gone, but I still see you in this place
So why did you have to kiss me like that ?
Girl, why did you have to kiss me like that ?
T he small crowd erupted in applause. Blake looped the guitar strap over his head and placed the instrument next to his stool .
I had no words. My heart pounded in my chest. He had written everything I had been feeling for the past month. All of the things I tried to escape and ignore in Dallas, he had managed to capture in a song—an amazing, beautiful, heartbreaking song .
The butterflies in my stomach were now a full flock of seagulls. If I didn’t talk to him, I was going to explode .
I stood, ready to intercept his path to the bar. As he made his way off the stage, he shook a man’s hand and then, in an instant, Cece was next to him, handing him a beer. He squeezed her shoulder before taking a few swallows .
I stopped in mid-stride. Cece was planted under his arm, smiling and looking right at him. Her dark, pixie haircut was perfectly styled—too perfectly , I thought as I exhaled. This whole thing was a disaster. Complete disaster. Why hadn’t Cole been a little more forthcoming with the details of Blake’s Dock House nights? Maybe he wanted me to find Blake with another girl. Maybe he thought this was what I deserved .
The exit to the Dock House was about twenty paces behind me. Maybe I could turn and walk out before Blake saw me standing there like a total idiot. This didn’t have to get any worse than it already was. I reached down for my purse and slung the leather bag over my shoulder. Blake looked content with his arm draped around Cece. He hadn’t noticed I was there. He wouldn’t even notice I was gone .