Page 70 of Ruthless Edge

Blake's eyes find her. His entire face looks pained and brief. He clearly considers not stopping, weighs this option for about half a second, and then changes direction and walks toward us.

"He came over," I say quietly, surprised.

"He always comes over," Paige says, delighted.

Blake arrives. He looks at Paige, then at me, then back at Paige.

"Hey," he says.

"Hi!" Paige beams at him. "What are you doing here?"

He holds up the garment bag. He does not elaborate.

"Tuxedo?" Paige reaches out and takes the bag from him without asking permission. Blake watches this happen with an expression that says he already regrets coming over. Paige holds the bag up against his chest, which requires standing on her toes slightly given the height difference. "You're going to look amazing. Look at these shoulders. The other guys will be jealous."

"The other guys don’t care about my shoulders," Blake says.

"Everyone cares about your shoulders." She assesses him seriously. "The cut of this is going to make them look even bigger. You should smile."

"I'm fine."

"You look constipated."

"I'm standing in a mall," Blake says.

"And you could be enjoying it," Paige says, handing the bag back to him. He takes it. "Are you excited about the gala?"

"No," Blake says.

Paige laughs, bright and genuine. "Declan told me you have a way with words."

Something crosses Blake's face that might be surprise and might be something else, gone before I can identify it. He looks at me like he's checking whether I'm enjoying this, which I am, and I make no effort to hide it.

"He needs to mind his own business," Blake says, which is the most words he's strung together since he arrived.

"He says that about you constantly," Paige says. She reaches up and straightens the garment bag against his chest again, which requires touching his arm to reach it. "You should smile more. You're too handsome to look that miserable all the time. Are you practicing the brooding look for the gala, or is this just your regular face?"

"Goodbye," Blake says.

He turns and walks away. Paige watches him go with complete satisfaction on her face.

"Goodbye, Blake!" she calls.

He raises one hand without turning around.

She waits. Three steps. Four. He's almost to the main walkway.

"Goodbye, my little Bubble Butt!"

Blake stops.

It's a full-body stop, the kind where he goes from moving to completely still in one step, and every person within fifteen feet looks over. He stands there for one second, two, and then slowly turns around.

He looks at Paige.

Paige waves.

Blake's expression is shocked and mortified. Blake Carter who typically runs on one setting, which is contained irritation. This is different. This is a man who has encountered something he didn't have a category for, looking at the source of it like he's deciding what to do next.