Liam shakes his head with a frown, studying me. “You don’t get it, do you?”
I’m ready to rip his head off his shoulders. “Get what?” I throw up my arms and smack them down on my hips.
“Nothing. Never mind.” It’s all he says before walking away.
I’m so frustrated that I close my eyes and try to take in a deep breath. The man is so confusing that I can’t even begin to understand him. He’s an enigma. Releasing a huff, I walk to my room to grab my heels, purse, and phone. Taking a quick glance in the mirror, I smooth down my flyaways, then watch TV while I wait. I’m finally calm when Sophie comes in, fresh and showered, wearing a smile.
“I thought you fell in,” I tell her, and she laughs.
“I wanted to.” Before Sophie sits, the doorbell rings.
“Ooh, I’ll get it!” she says eagerly, rushing to answer it. I follow her, and a big cheesy grin fills my face when I hear Blake ask for me. I stand and meet him at the door.
“Wow, Maddie. You look gorgeous,” he says, eyeing me with a smile. He stands tall with a fresh bouquet in his hand.
“Thank you. So do you.” I scan down his body, appreciating every inch.
“These are for you.” He steps inside and hands them to me. “The color reminded me of your eyes.”
“Aww…” Sophie singsongs.
Chuckling, I almost forget she was standing beside me. “Thank you, they’re beautiful.” I hold out my hand, gesturing between them. “Blake, this is my oldest sister, Sophie.”
He shakes her hand and gives her a polite smirk. “Nice to meet you, Sophie.” Tilting his head, he studies our features. “Yeah, you two are totally sisters.”
I think I see Sophie blush. “Wait until you meet Lennon.” She snickers.
“They’re blue.” Liam stalks over, interrupting our conversation as he crosses his arms.
“What?” Blake asks, furrowing his brows and straightening his stance.
“Her eyes are blue. Like the sky on a cloudless sunny day or the ocean just before the sun sets.” My heart hammers in my chest while Liam talks about my eyes as if he’s studied them for years. “Those flowers are purple.” Liam jerks his head toward them in my hand.
“Soph…” I direct my gaze toward her, nearly pleading for help. I already scolded Liam earlier, which obviously did nothing, but I refuse to fight with him in front of Blake.
“Yep, time for you two love birds to go.” She steps around me and pushes Liam away.
“Can you put these in a vase for me?” I ask.
Sophie grins and takes them. “Of course!”
I grab Blake by the arm with an apologetic expression.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Sophie calls out, which makes me snort, considering she hooked up with Mason in a bar bathroom the first night they met.
Blake walks me to the car where he opens my door. “You really do look absolutely stunning, Maddie.”
I smile wide and thank him. “You do too,” I say, appreciating how defined his arms are under his shirt. As he backs out of the driveway, Blake tells me to pick the music station, which has me chuckling. He’s about to get an earful of Selena Gomez.
“So how comfortable are you in a dress?” he asks with an eyebrow popped.
“I’m a dancer, remember? I could run a marathon in heels and a dress. But please don’t make me.” I giggle and realize how nervous I really am. I haven’t been on a date since I moved into the house, hoping Liam would eventually see what was right in front of him. Too bad he never did.
He laughs too. “I knew that. We chatted about it.”
“That’s right.” I grin, remembering our text message convos as he enters the freeway. “So where are we going?”
He glances over at me. “Well, you said you loved adventures, so I thought we’d do something different.”
“Hmm.” I try reading his mind but all he does is smirk.
“You’ll never guess, so don’t even try,” he quips.
I raise an eyebrow. “That sounds like a challenge.”
A soft chuckle escapes him. “So you like challenges?”
“I live for them,” I admit proudly. “I’m not considered the rebellious preacher’s daughter for nothing.”
Blake’s head falls back as he cracks up, and I love the deep, throaty sound he makes. “Then, darling, you’re going to be living your best life tonight,” he says and winks at me.
We continue chatting until he puts on his blinker, and we turn into the parking lot of Ax Me a Question.
My eyes go wide, and my mouth falls open. “Ax throwing?”
“Is this okay?” he asks nervously.
“Hell yes, it’s okay! I’ve been wanting to visit this place since I first heard about it. Trivia and ax throwing. It’s like you know the direct chamber to my heart, but I have to warn you, you’re gonna get your ax kicked,” I tease as we exit the car.