Love Restored (Gallagher Brothers #1)(25)

They took their dessert into the living room and sank down onto the large couches that had clearly been bought with the men in mind.

“So, what’s going on with you, Blake?” Maya asked before eating a big bite of cake. The other woman’s eyes rolled back, and she moaned.

Blake shrugged and took a bite herself. She paused, letting the chocolate settle on her tongue before swallowing. Her mouth watered, her mind whirled, and she let out a moan herself.

“Oh my God.”

“I know,” Maya said. “I’m kind of sad my guys aren’t here for this, but you know what? I’m going to eat my cake and then have them, too.”

Blake barely stopped herself from choking on cake as she swallowed the next bite. “Should I leave you alone with your cake now?”

Maya waved a fork at her and narrowed her eyes. “Don’t get all pure and mighty over there. I saw you shuddering and moaning in your seat with that bite. You’re just as in love with the chocolate goodness that is sugar sex manna as I am, thank you very much.”

“You’re so weird,” Blake said once she’d stopped laughing.

“Well, duh. Don’t know why you didn’t see that before. Anyway, what the hell is going on in that head of yours right now? You sounded off on the phone, and there’s something in your eyes that tells me you have a story you need to tell.” She held up her hand. “You don’t have to tell me about your life or your past because I know you’re cagey about that, but what happened tonight, Blake? You can talk to me. I know my brothers joke that I gossip, but I don’t. Not when it’s important.”

Blake set down her plate, not that hungry anymore. And frankly, she didn’t want to associate the tumultuous thoughts in her mind with the glory that was that kind of cake.

Could she talk to Maya? Could she lay it all out there? No, not everything. It wasn’t safe to tell the other woman everything, but she could talk about Graham. Even mention Rowan. Because it hurt like hell to keep her baby girl hidden for so long, away from the rest of the world.

She’d taken countless risks in her life, made more mistakes than any one person should make, but maybe, just maybe, she could let someone else in on the world that pounded on her day after day, minute by minute.

“I was at Graham’s tonight.”

Maya’s eyes widened. “No shit? Did he hurt you? Are you okay?”

Blake tilted her head and studied the other woman as Maya put her plate down on the table. “No, he didn’t hurt me. Is there a reason you thought he did?”

“No, no. Sorry. My sisters were hurt in the past because of men, and now that’s what my brain goes to first. And that’s a sad state of affairs that it does. What happened with Graham?”

Blake sighed and told Maya the whole timeline, starting with meeting Graham at the jobsite, though she didn’t go into details there. Maya’s eyes sparked at that, clearly interested, but Blake moved on to the shop with Murphy’s piercing, the Avalanche game, and the grocery store.

“That’s kind of sweet that he asked you out like that. Unique, anyway.”

Blake sighed. “Yeah, kind of. I guess. I mean, I said yes to going out again because of it, so it worked. But then we were texting tonight, and he asked me over.”

“For sex?”

Blake shook her head, remembering the comments about riding his dick. “No, it was explicitly stated that that would not happen. And it wasn’t even for food. He just asked me over to hang I guess, and I couldn’t help myself. I stopped by.”

“I get it. I’m marrying his brother. There’s just something about those Gallaghers.”

Blake shook her head at the wicked gleam in Maya’s eyes. “When I got there, though, there was a woman standing on the porch.”

Maya’s eyes went fiery. “Excuse me? He was with someone else when he asked you out? What the hell? That’s not the Graham I know.”

“That’s not the Graham I thought I was getting to know either. It turned out it was his ex-wife, Candice. Though when I introduced myself to her—since Graham wasn’t doing it—she didn’t bother to shake my hand and called herself his wife, sans ex.”

Maya stood up and paced. “That bitch. I hate calling women bitches because we use it to degrade them and shit, but that f*cking bitch.”

Blake sighed. “I didn’t even know he’d been married. I mean, I suppose that might be why he was such an * to me before? Because he’s broken over her or some other shit, but I don’t know.”

Maya shook her head. “It could be that, but it could be because he has the hots for you and he’s never been good at figuring out what to do with that, too.” She sighed again. “I can’t tell you his secrets, Blake. He’s my man’s brother and a good friend. But I can tell you he’s been through shit and back and has come out somewhat whole. Or at least as whole as you can be after that. As for Candice, he’s not with her. I know that. She’s been gone, out of state for a couple years now. If she’s back, it’s probably because of the—” She shook her head, sadness filling her eyes. “I can’t say. It’s not my place, and even though others call me a gossip, that’s something he should tell you.”

Worry settled over Blake’s skin. What could be so bad, so hard, that Maya wouldn’t dare speak of it?