Love Restored by Carrie Ann Ryan Page A

Candice Gallagher, Graham’s wife.”
    Graham cursed as Blake’s whole body stiffened, her face going pale.
    “Ex-wife. She’s my ex-wife.”
    Blake met his gaze and shook her head. “You know what, you do you, Graham. I’m out. I knew this was a mistake before, and I don’t have time for this kind of drama.” With that, she quickly walked away, getting in her car before he had a chance to even move forward. When he did move, Candice blocked him. Blake pulled out of the driveway and drove off, leaving him with the woman he didn’t want in his life.
    “Who was that?” Candice asked with a slight edge to her tone.
    Graham turned on her and glared. “She is none of your business. You don’t have a right to that, not anymore. You said your piece, or at least fucked around enough to screw things up for me. So get out. I’m done, Candice.”
    “You can’t say that, Graham. We need to talk.”
    “No. We don’t. We talked long enough already.” He needed to call Blake, figure out what to say to get her to come back. Or hell, for him to go to her. They were just starting out, but now it was all over because the past he wanted buried kept coming back to bite him in the ass.
    “We need to talk about Cynthia,” Candice continued. “Our daughter died, Graham. We need to talk about that.”
    He glared at her one more time before storming away and slamming the door behind him. He left her on the front step, her voice trailing off when she realized what he’d done before banging on the door with her small fists.
    He didn’t want to think about Candice. Didn’t want to think about Cynthia.
    His daughter had died, and he hadn’t been able to save her.
    His marriage had died because there hadn’t been anything left to save.
    He’d lost everything once, and now, he wasn’t sure if he had anything left to lose.

 
6
     
     
    Blake could not believe she’d been that idiotic. She’d believed in someone, risked a part of her she hadn’t been willing to risk, and had taken a leap, only to be smacked in the face with truths and lies she hadn’t known were an issue at all.
    Again.
    Her hands choked her steering wheel in a punishing grip as she drove down the highway. She honestly didn’t know why she’d even said yes to going over to Graham’s in the first place. Sure, Rowan was yet again staying with her best friend for a sleepover, but it made no sense that Blake had said yes to coming over to Graham’s without a second thought.
    Before she’d shown up at his house, however, she’d had those second thoughts. And third thoughts. And a fourth.
    And when she’d shown up, every little hope she might have had for a normal, dare she say, relationship , had flown out the window. She knew she should have kept to her past, knowing what men did, how they broke you if you trusted too much, or even too little. She should have remembered the way Graham had been an asshole the first few times she’d seen him, and how he’d still been sort of an asshole when he’d asked her out.
    He might kiss liked a damn sex god and rev her engine like no other, but he clearly wasn’t for her.
    Graham had been married .
    Sure, he’d said that the woman who so rudely ignored Blake’s handshake was his ex, but the woman clearly felt otherwise. Why else would she have done her best to put Blake in her place with that lack of handshake, the cool tone of her voice, and the way she’d said wife ?
    Blake was out. She didn’t have the time or the will to deal with that kind of drama. She had heap loads of her own to deal with. So what if she needed to use her hand to get herself off for the next few years?  It didn’t matter that she’d broken three of her last four sex toys because she’d worn them out. She’d just save up for another, and get herself off like any woman with a healthy sex drive should.
    She did not need Graham Gallagher and his beard of glory.
    Her Bluetooth rang at that thought, and she prayed it wasn’t Graham.