Finding Peace (Finding Series Book 1) by K. J. Love

shake my head.
    “Just talk. It’s just too loud in here.” He sticks his hands in his pockets and gives me this innocent, I’m harmless, look. Oh, you are anything but harmless.
    “You’re little act isn’t fooling me. I agreed to talk nothing more. I’m not leaving with you.”
    “What act?” He bites the corner of his lip.
    The simple act has me working hard to control my breathing. What the heck is this guy doing to me? Lots of guys I know bite their lips, but none have ever made me forget my brains like this guy just did. Blake is trouble, of that I'm sure. Right now, I don't know if it's a good or bad or even if I want there to be anything.
    “You can bring your friend. Tess, right? We’ll just go down the road. Have dinner and talk. I’ll even ask Max to come along.”
    “It’s Tessa. Her name is Tessa. No. Not a good idea. I’ll make you a deal. We can walk outside and talk.” I know there are a lot of people milling around outside, so it should be safe enough to go out there with him, but one thing is for certain, I’m not leaving here with him and I’m not dragging Tessa into this.
    “I’ll take it.”
    Turning, I walk toward the door. Blake follows me. Heat fills me as he places his hand on my lower back. Closing my eyes, I relish in the feel of him touching me, even if it is just the small of my back. Not long ago, David had done this same thing, but it didn't feel this good, this powerful. Blake's touch was welcoming, unlike David's. Somehow this small gesture from him, makes me feel special. It's a feeling that has been missing for a while.
    “Way to go Blake!” Someone yells from behind us followed by cheering and clapping.
    He steps behind me and places a hand on each side of my hips and leans into my ear. I can feel his breath on my neck and ear as he whispers, “Ignore them. Just keep walking.”
    “Kayla! Where are you going?” Tessa shouts over the crowd at us.
    Blake removes one of his hands and turns to look back at Tessa. “She’ll be fine. We are just going outside where it’s a little quieter.”
    He turns back and continues to lead me through the door. As we step outside, the noise from the crowd inside becomes muffled. Looking around, it seems that most of the crowd that was here when we first walked in has either moved inside or left. Hyper aware of the lack of security, we are basically alone out here. I don’t have Tessa or Max as a buffer.
    We’ve stopped and are just looking into each other’s eyes. He reaches up and moves a piece of hair out of my eyes and slips it behind my ear. I look down at his left hand, trying to answer my earlier question. Nope, no ring. That means he isn’t married. So maybe it’s just the mustache that makes him look a little older than he actually is.
    I blurt out. “How old are you?”
    The heat of his eyes burn into me, but I don't look up. “You want to go over and sit on one of the benches? I don’t want to have a conversation with you standing in the middle of the parking lot.”
    “Sure.” I look up at him and smile. Every time, every single time, he takes my breath away.
    He runs his right hand down my left arm and joins our hands. Our fingers intertwine and that’s when it happens. He lowers his head and turns my hand over in his looking at the small diamond on my ring finger.
    Everything seems to be moving in slow motion. All I can do is close my eyes and pray for the words that will explain the situation I am in. He jerks his head up and looks at me with his brows drawn in and I can see… What is that… hurt? How can he be hurt? He doesn’t even know me.
    I take my bottom lip into my mouth and bite it. His mouth drops open and his eyes drop down to my mouth. I release my lip. “I’ll explain. Let’s just go sit down first.”
    He continues to hold onto my hand, but he clenches his jaw and nods his head. He looks more mad than upset. That was a quick change. We walk over to a bench that is actually around the