“I don’t know what went wrong to make you leave your husband, Ana, but just know that if you get back and continue to face problems, you will always have a place to stay with Faye and I.” My eyes are on Analise, but I can feel Faye’s on me, and I hear her quiet sigh of relief.
“Thank you,” Ana says, smiling at me for the first time tonight. “You have no idea how much better that makes me feel. I’m sure I will be fine once I get back though. Xavier never treated me badly.”
Faye has been quiet during our exchange, but now she pipes up from her corner of the couch. “I’m coming. Ana’s not going back to Vegas without me seeing for myself that she is going to be ok.”
Ana nods and claps her hands. “Road trip,” she cries. They both grin, and I don’t have the heart to tell Faye I didn’t think she should come with us. The uneasy feeling I had earlier returns full force.
This is why I want Blake to come with us on this trip. He and I have been through every kind of hell together, and even though I can’t foresee any actual threats, my vague feeling of unease is why I’ve decided to leave soon, and to not tell anyone we are bringing Analise back to Vegas.
The girls chat and giggle on the couch until Max barks at the door, announcing Blake’s arrival, while I review my plans over and over in my head.
He’s leaning on his crutches when I open the door and let him in. Jerking my head toward the kitchen, I motion for him to follow me so we can talk in private. I’m sure that something is going to go sideways, so we need to discuss as many scenarios as we can think of.
I hope he can put this paranoia I’m feeling to rest; otherwise, I might lose it before we get to Vegas.
“Everything sounds like it’s going better than planned,” Blake says without preamble. “Why the doom and gloom face, brother?”
“Everything is going better than I thought it would,” I grumble in response. “Makes me nervous. Things are never this easy.”
Blake grins at me and pushes my shoulder with his. “Sometimes things just work out, man. Don’t be so fussy. This is gonna be an easy trip. Drop off Mrs. Cerelli, make assurances that Faye will be safe, and then we can par-tay!”
His easy going manner helps me let go of some of the tension I have been feeling. I’ve never had a bad feeling in the field that he didn’t pick up on too, so if Blake isn’t feeling bad vibes, it probably is just me being fussy.
Trying to smile, I try to push my worries aside and lead him back to the living room. “Ana, this is my partner Blake Stone. He is going to take you back to your place.”
Faye hops up, extending a hand and helping Ana to her feet before pulling her into another hug. They smile at each other and I hear Analise say, “I’m glad it worked out like this. Now we actually get to be real friends.”
Faye’s eyes sparkle, and a smile turns up the corners of her mouth. “And someone has to go back to Vegas,” she complains, “just when I don’t have to be ready to run at a moment’s notice.” She rolls her eyes and laughs.
“I will tell Xavier that regular visits are a requirement of me coming home. It’s not like I have many friends there.” Ana grins, squeezing Faye’s hands.
I'm happy to hear her call it home. I hope it means that she will be happy there. I can hear the affection she has for Xavier when she says his name and I wonder again what could have happened to make her leave him.
They hug again and Blake opens the door, stumping onto the porch with his crutches. His SUV is parked right beside the steps, and I help Ana inside while he crosses around to the driver’s door. The girls wave at each other one last time as Blake backs out of my driveway.
“You okay, Sweetpea?” I ask, slipping my arm around her shoulders and pulling her against me as I close the door, securing us inside with a flip of the lock.
She snuggles tightly against my side with a nod, her slender arms wrapping around my waist as I guide her down the hall.
Faye
Being pressed against Travis’ side as we stroll back into the living room feels perfect. There is nowhere I would rather be right now. The memory of his kiss earlier still lingers in my mind. A girl doesn’t just forget her first real kiss, not when it was with this delectable man. It is all I ever wanted.
“Yeah. I'm good. Taking Ana back is the right thing for her and the baby. Probably for her husband, too.” After hearing the whole story from Ana, I am fairly certain everything that happened between them was a misunderstanding.
“Xavier should get the chance to do right by them.”
“She loves him,” I blurt out as Travis sits down and tugs me onto his lap, holding me close, his face nuzzling the side of my neck making shivers of pleasure run down my spine.
Embarrassed and not sure why, I turn and bury my face against the soft cotton of his t-shirt, breathing in his clean scent.
“He sounded too worried about her to not have deep feelings for her too,” he mumbles against the top of my head.
“Hopefully this gets them to open up and talk to each other about whatever went wrong.” His words trail off and I can tell he's hoping I have some insight as to why Ana took off like she did. I debate with myself for a moment, unsure if it’s okay to share what she told me. I decide to tell him. I don’t want there to be secrets between us. Even if they aren’t ours.
“Things didn't go so well on their wedding night,” I murmur against the hard planes of his chest. Talking about sex with Travis is more than a little uncomfortable for me. Talking about it makes me think about it and then I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to have it with him. “It was her first time, and it sounds like things got out of hand.” I glance up and see that all of his attention is riveted on me, and I hurry to fill the silence. “To make it worse, he left her alone right after. And apologized for it.”
“Ouch,” he groans, shaking his head with a small chuckle. “That’s not good. No wonder she was upset.”