“Now that your mom has put me in my place, can we eat?”
We all laugh, the sun glistening off the grass and water. This is a glimpse into my future and it’s the most hopeful thing I’ve experienced in a long time.
†††
I’ve no idea how Teresa does it, but her salad and sandwiches taste like a gourmet meal. The sun sinks lower into the sky, bathing the clouds in orange and pink. I lie on my stomach in the center of the blanket with Blake sitting next to me, his hand resting on my backside.
“How you feeling, baby?”
“Fantastic, actually. Today’s been wonderful. Probably the most normal thing I’ve done. Except for that one day you and I watched movies.”
He chuckles. “That was a fun day. Your lips felt wonderful on mine.”
I tilt my head, smirking, and he plants a kiss on my lips. My body hums from the contact.
He sits back up and taps me on the nose with his index finger. “Behave.”
“Ha. Do I ever?”
“Not usually.”
Sorina and Samuel walk along the tree line, hand-in-hand, chatting and laughing. She really likes him. It’s obvious, the way she stares at him and smiles like a schoolgirl when he’s around. Part of me thinks I should stop them, separate them. But, Sorina’s had little to enjoy for the last four years of her life. It may not be the best parenting, but as long as they aren’t sleeping together, I don’t think letting them flirt and be together will hurt anything.
“Are you okay with whatever is going on between them?”
“For now,” Blake says, his tone guarded. “I find out he’s sleeping with my daughter, though, and I’ll kill him.”
I can’t help but laugh. It’s new, seeing Blake in the father role. We didn’t have much time with Sorina before all hell broke loose. I’ve no doubt he’s an amazing father to her. Since Maria’s claims of pregnancy, I can’t help but wonder if a child of his own is something he thinks about.
“Does it bother you that she’s all we’ll ever have?”
“What do you mean?”
Sighing, I swivel my feet and sit up, keeping my eyes down. “Does it bother you that we can’t have our own kids?”
He cups my face and forces me to look at him. “Hey, what’s all this about? Have I ever brought that up?”
“No, but—”
“Lily, kids were never a factor in me loving you or wanting to spend the rest of my life with you. Sorina is a blessing, yes. But it’s you I want. Even if we could have kids. They’d all grow up and leave eventually. Sorina will too. When that happens, I’ll still have you, which is all I need.”
Tears prick my eyes and I press my lips to his. He tilts his head and our tongues meet, deepening the kiss. His hands tangle in my hair as I shift to straddle him.
Sorina’s screams echo through the air. Blake stands, taking me with him. My blood goes from warm with lust to cold with fear, the color draining from my face. We both stop abruptly as we round the corner. Sorina stands a few feet from Samuel and he’s holding something thin and long in his hands, away from his body.
Blake moves to Sorina and I stop next to Samuel, taking in the snake thrashing in his hands. He’s gripped it behind the head and toward the tail, effectively holding it in place. Looking closer, the last rays of sun bounce off the shiny black skin.
My heart stops.
“Sorina go get the rest of the team, quickly. Samuel, give me that snake, carefully. That thing bites either of us and we’ll be dead before we can get to a hospital.”
Very slowly, we transition the snake to my hands. Samuel moves to stand next to Blake as muffled voices resound through the air.
“Lily, what’s wrong,” Jameson asks as they halt next to me.
I turn, careful to keep hold of the snake.
“Oh, fuck,” he hisses. “Where the hell did you get that?”