Another Paradise | T Shelby

TWENTY ONE - AN UNAVOIDABLE QUESTION

Thomas had lost track of the number of days that had passed since he saw Blair stood in his home for the first time after their breakup.

Every minute had felt like a dream, like he was in some kind of perfectly intoxicated mindset where his imagination could roam free, creating a magical, tangible reality that grew brighter when he opened his eyes instead of fading to a hazy memory.

His life had never been better. He was spending more time with his son and he felt himself becoming less tense around Blair, relaxing more and allowing his collar to loosen when once upon a time, he wouldn't have dared breathe an ounce of what was on his mind to anybody.

Thomas was in love with Blair. He always had been, and although denial had been the devil on his shoulder since he walked out on her many years ago, he knew now that true love could never really be lost.

He looked at her like she was the only thing in the world, and in his world, that was true. He worked all day and rushed home from the city to spend time with Blair and Charles. He enjoyed sitting down in the evening with a glass of wine at the dinner table now there was three of them instead of two. He loved the way he'd noticed Charlie growing up, learning more about the world from Blair. He was so grateful that he had a maternal figure in his life, unable to wish for anybody better than Blair to help raise his son.

They spent days together as a family with Arthur and John and their children and to Tommy, it finally felt right to all be together. When he'd been round his siblings and their families before, he'd always felt like he was the odd one out. He felt like a part of him was missing, like he didn't fit in with the rest of them. Only now, seeing the way Blair laughed with his family and painted smiles on their faces with her stories made him realise that all he was missing before was love.

Love.

The one word that Blair had yet to say to him. Tommy would've been lying if he said that Blair's lack of a confession didn't bother him. Deep down, he knew that she loved him too, but each time he looked into her eyes and whispered those three words, it felt like a small, sharp scratch on his heart when he was met with silence.

In all honesty, Thomas wasn't entirely sure at what holding Blair back. He was aware of the trust issues that plagued her conscience, and of course he was more than patient with that, but there was nothing more in the world he so desperately wanted to hear than her tell him she loved him.

"Tom?"

Looking up from his desk, Tommy smiled with a quiet sigh when Blair poked her head around the door to his office.

Her blonde hair hung over one shoulder and he saw the peek of a khaki sundress and beige sandals, grass on her knees from playing outside with Charlie all day.

"Dinner will be ready soon, shall I pour you a glass of wine?"

Tommy tilted his head, pulling his eyes up her body as his smile remained firm. She was so gentle, he thought, such a fragile, precious thing. She was the essence of grace and elegance, even with dirt on her skin. Her eyes were bright and her skin glowing a deeper shade from the summer sun she'd been exposed to for weeks on end. Freckles littered her face and her chest, all down her bare arms and across her shins. He wanted to hold her and never let her go.

"That'd be lovely, I won't be long." He said, tapping his pencil against a sheet of paper.

Blair smiled and closed the door behind her, heading back through to the kitchen and pouring two glasses of white wine into thin-stemmed glasses. She left the back door propped open and wandered into the garden, finding Charlie kicking a football against the wall with an ice cream in his hand.