(Tara’s POV)
“Did your dog just die, Tara?” Stella asked when she caught me staring blankly at my cellphone. She held two glasses of orange juice and gave the other glass to me, but I put it on the center table. She sat down on the floor, crossed her legs, then turned on her laptop.
Slowly, I turned my red face to her, and my lips quivered. “Stella, how can I undo sending a message?” I asked with high hopes there was a way, already feeling wrong about my impulsiveness. Stress was already crawling in every vein of my body.
She shrugged. “Why?” She asked, browsing her emails. Her eyes squinted on some spam emails and started deleting them.
“I just told him I’m falling in love with him,” I sighed, almost crying.
She squealed with joy, not because of what I had said, but with the message she read in her email, then she had her second look on me, raised her eyebrows. “Wha
(Tara’s POV)“Does he even love you, Tara?” Gianna’s question echoed in my mind as I looked outside the car window. Samantha saved my face from answering her son’s question, but it haunted my thoughts and heart.I have been quiet since then, and Samantha did not force any topic to talk about. While they waited for their luggage at the baggage reclaim area, I read my e-mails. I smiled at Stella’s message.“Come on, girl. I don’t have to email you my picture if you have Instagram. Just arrived and having a blast here. – Love, S.”She encouraged me to have my own social media account, but I remembered Emily telling me before how she got distracted when browsing her Facebook and Instagram. I only needed an e-mail for my work, and that would be it. I never wanted to complicate my life getting hooked with social media stuff. No one would be interested in my life anyway.My eyebr
(Tara’s POV) ‘What could go wrong?’ I remembered telling Stella. Everything! I raised my head to the man who called my name. The man who conquered every part of my brain and heart was standing in front of me, looking like a Greek god, wearing a white polo shirt and khaki shorts. I stood up, looking at him but trying to hide my anger. He walked towards me, and every step he made was making my heart crazy. I could imagine it trying to defeat my reasoning. There goes again my brain and my heart, having a silent argument that confuses me. “I thought you were in India,” I said, furrowing my forehead. He stopped walking. He was more or less a meter away from me. Blake shook his head. “I have a more urgent matter here,” He said, pursing his lips. “You did not reply to my message,” When I raised my brows, he continued. “I asked you ‘Why?’,” What does he mean he did not get my reply? Does this m
(Blake’s POV)“What happened, Blake?” Samantha was shocked when I brought Tara unconscious in my arms inside the house. Her mouth gaped open as she and Nana Shea stood up from the sofa. She moved, took her smartphone from her bag, but she stopped and trembled when she saw the blood in my arms.“God, Blake...” Her eyes just widened, stepped back, and tripped at the sofa, landing her bottom on the seat.“Doctor... ambulance... hospital...” I could not breathe, and I did not know what to do. “Sam!” I screamed at her when she just stared at me, making her jump from her seat. I could not believe I was crying, standing frozen in front of them. My heart has never been so terrified.“Blake! Samantha!” Nana Shea raised her voice. The two of us looked at her, and we were not breathing, or maybe just me.She took a deep breath and walked calmly towards me. She held Tara’s
(Blake’s POV)“You can come here, you know. It’s not nice listening to someone’s conversation,” Tara said, putting her cellphone beside her. She turned around in my direction to tell me that she was talking about me.My face turned red, feeling embarrassed and childish of listening to her conversation. My feet were stuck on the floor, and I could not move because, for one, I was scared to face Tara, and second, I was ashamed about everything that had happened today.“If you just stand there, you can close the door so that I can concentrate on my work,” She instructed but did not bother looking at me. She took her palette and started doing her magic with colors.I took a deep breath and gathered all the courage I had to face her. She scared me more than my Dad and my tough competitors. I slid the door slowly and started walking towards her. She pointed to the chair, maybe five feet away from her, w
(Blake’s POV)It was supposed to be a joke. I imagined a romantic moment with her, just us treading the water, and then I would kiss her, but I snapped out from that imagination with I saw the horror in her eyes. She was struggling and making an effort to breathe above the water’s surface.“Bla-” She couldn’t even finish calling me. I remembered asking her if she liked to swim, but she said she wasn’t sure about it because they lived in the countryside. My heart pounded as I realized Tara could not swim. She was within my reach, so I pulled her, and to my surprise, she held onto me and wrapped her arms around my neck.“Blake...” She cried, shivering and holding tighter on me. I tried to move away from her a little, but she shook her head vehemently and continued to cry. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Kitten. I didn’t know,” I glanced in the direction of the dock,
(Tara's POV) "I will ask you just one question, but I want your honest answer. If your answer is no, I will walk away right now, and I won't bother you again," I swallowed. That one question will always be the hardest to answer. "Tara Evans, do you love me?" My heart skipped a beat. I was too nervous to answer that all I could do was stick my tongue against the inside of my cheek. If I answered no, and Blake would be true to his words, he would leave me alone. My heart would probably stop beating. If I answered yes, there would be no turning back. I would be happy, but why does it feel like it would open up a can of worms? "Tara?" I opened my mouth to answer, but an angel saved me from answering his question. We heard Sean calling. "Uncle Blake! Aunt Tara!" He opened the door and came in, running inside the bedroom. Following him was Samantha, but just like Sean, she also stopped a
(Blake's POV) “What are you going to do? Fly?” Tara asked, spreading her arms. She giggled when I tried to steer away from her. I glared at Samantha, but she just raised her glass to me. “Then explain yourself!” Stella screamed on the phone. “I’m confused, S.” She knitted her brows. “After I drink that, I got baffled,” She said, pointing to the empty glass on the countertop as if Stella could see it. “What did you drink?” Stella’s voice was still in panic. I was giving Samantha a look, but she was just smiling. Tara looked at the ceiling. “Coffee, water, juice, seawater-” “Seawater? What do you mean?” She interrupted. She made a face, amusing Samantha more. “Blake pushed me,” She shook her head. “Ah, no... he pulled me out of the boat, that’s why-” “Tara Evans, you don’t know how to swim!” She was screaming again. She covered my ears with her hands. “I kno
(Blake's POV) “Tara,” I moaned her name, kissing the hollow of her neck. “Tell me to stop,” I told her once again, and all I needed right now was her permission. I want to take her now and claim her as mine to hell with her answer.“I can’t,” She swallowed and took a long, deep breath. “I can’t breathe, Blake,” She said, hearing and feeling the shortness of her breathing like she was in pain. I froze and then slowly glanced at her as if she was hyperventilating. As if cold water splashed all over my body, I got up and helped her get up from the bed.“Do you have asthma or something?” I asked, my heart pounding. Samantha had struggled with asthma when we were young, and looking at her nasal flaring and labored breathing, and I could say she was having an asthma attack.She took a deep breath, then looked at me