Summer Love

Chapter 14

"Say goodnight to Mom," he said as he lifted Sadie up and carried her over to where Miranda was almost finished her second glass of wine. When Blake got closer, he could see that Miranda's eyes were puffy and he knew she had been crying. He really did feel terrible that he was the cause of her upset, but he hoped he could explain soon. He lowered Sadie down and Miranda gave her lips a sweet kiss.

"Goodnight Sweetheart." She said quietly and Sadie gave her one more kiss, before allowing Blake to carry her over to her bedroom. Blake helped Sadie brush her teeth, before he laid her down and pulled the sheet over her. When Sadie yawned, Blake climbed in next to her and pulled out one of the story books Miranda had packed. As Blake read the pages and Sadie looked at the pictures, her eyes got droopier and it wasn't long before she was out, exhausted after a long day out. Blake looked down at his sleeping Daughter and sighed, knowing he couldn't delay this fight any longer.

Blake carefully climbed out of bed and tucked Sadie in tighter. He planted a soft kiss to her forehead and spent a few moments watching her tummy rise and fall under her covers. He couldn't believe how big she was getting. She was 3 and he didn't understand where those 3 years had gone. He had always heard the cliche, but it was only now that he understood that time with kids really flies. Blake brushed Sadie's hair from her face and gave her cheek another kiss.

"Sleep tight." He whispered in to her ear, before he reluctantly stood up and walked slowly out of the room. Blake left Sadie's door slightly ajar and left her ceiling fan on low to keep her cool. When he was out of the room, Blake closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before he gathered up the courage to turn around. Miranda had cleared the plates from dinner and she was sitting cross-legged at her spot at the table again, a fresh glass of wine in her hand and her eyes down in the liquid.

Blake walked over slowly and he wasn't sure what to do. He really wanted to explain himself, but Miranda wasn't even looking at him and he didn't know if he should speak or wait for her, so he took the safest option and sat across from her, watching her as she stared down in to her wine. Miranda took a deep breath and finally gathered up the courage to speak.

"Well?" She asked in a small voice, trying to keep quiet so they didn't wake Sadie and Blake closed his eyes for a minute, before looking over and hating the disappointment he could see in his wife's eyes. She wasn't even showing much emotion, she was just staring with an eyebrow raised, but he knew she was pissed and he really didn't blame her.

"I don't know what to say." Blake said honestly after a few minutes of awkward silence and Miranda scoffed and took another sip. She wasn't the one that needed to talk here and she wasn't going to let him get up until he told her what the issue was. Blake ran through the words in his head and he kicked himself for not rehearsing some sort of speech earlier. Miranda could see that he was thinking, but her anger was beginning to boil over with his lack of defence. After a long 5 minutes, Miranda finished her wine and lifted the bottle to pour some more. Blake watched as she took a sip and swallowed.

"Maybe you should take it easy on the wine." He said sensitively and Miranda's eyes opened wide in surprise. He was already in the doghouse and he was really pushing his luck.

"Why? It's not like I'm pregnant." She spat across the table, taking another sip and Blake sighed, knowing that this would be much harder the more she drank. He deserved that little dig, he just didn't know how to defend himself. Miranda put her wine glass on the table when Blake didn't respond, but kept her fingers of one hand tracing the stem while the other hand sat in her lap.

"I am going to try and stay calm, but you have a hell of a lot of explaining to do." Miranda said coldly and Blake took a breath and rubbed his hand over his face while he did his best to put his feelings in to words.

"I'm not trying to be an asshole here, Miranda." He started slowly and Miranda raised her eyebrows as she avoided eye contact with him.

"Then you're clearly not doing a very good job." She muttered and Blake tried to ignore that comment, knowing that was her natural defence mechanism.

"Please, just let me try and explain." Blake begged and Miranda sighed, but looked him in the eyes with her brows raised.

"I'm listening." She said shortly and Blake adjusted his position in the seat, he had never felt so uncomfortable in Miranda's presence. Blake opened his mouth to start speaking, but he just didn't know how to form the words he was looking for. When another 5 minute's of silence had passed, Miranda felt like she was going to explode and knew this wasn't going anywhere.

"Do you want another Baby?" She asked shortly and Blake was caught of guard with her bluntness. Blake nodded his head and looked over at her guiltily.

"I do." He admitted gently and Miranda tried hard not to roll her eyes. She didn't understand this at all.

"Do you want a baby...with me?" She asked a few minutes later, her voice much softer now. Miranda traced the hem of her dress and wasn't sure she wanted an answer. Blake's eyes shot open the second she finished her question and he was dumbfounded.

"Honey, of course I do." He managed to get out, his voice shocked and Miranda was silently relieved, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction. She was growing more frustrated with every question she asked. He was giving her the answers she wanted, but she saw no logical reason for his behaviour lately.

"Then I don't see what the issue is Blake. If you aren't going to put a baby in me, I'm going to need a hell of a good reason...Or we are going to have to reevaluate this relationship." She said coldly, making her sentence drag at the end.

Blake's heart skipped a beat, Miranda had always had such a firm view of divorce and the very fact that she had slipped it in to this argument made Blake's stomach turn. He needed her and he needed Sadie. He needed to explain himself before she lost her temper and did something irrational.

"Please, just let me explain." Blake half whispered when he saw that Miranda's eyes were getting glassy with tears. He didn't know if they were from hurt, or from anger, or both. Blake rubbed his tired face again as Miranda readjusted herself and glared at him from across the table, waiting to hear what shit he was going to come up with.

Blake took a deep breath and squeezed his own thigh.

It was now or never.