Page 54 of State of Grace

“I did, baby.” Alexis kissed the top of her head. “You were going so high I thought you were going to hit the moon.”

“Blake, do you want to play in the sand with me?”

“How about you get back to work on your sandcastle, and your mommy and I will join you in a minute, ok?” Blake ruffled her hair, and it made Harper laugh. Bounding back off to her discarded sandcastle a few feet away, Harper plopped down in the sand and immediately went back to work. Blake slipped a hand around her waist and into the back pocket of her jeans, pulling her close. Their lips met tenderly for a brief moment. “Hey, again.”

“Hi. I’m happy to see you.” Alexis twirled her hair around her finger. It was a nervous habit she wished she could break, but aside from always keeping her hair pulled back, Alexis knew it was a habit she was stuck with.

“Thank you for inviting me to hang out with you two today.”

“I’m sorry it can’t be for long; my shift starts at three.” Pouting, Alexis sat on the swing as Blake sat beside her. She turned the swing to face Blake, who did the same toward Alexis.

“Who’s watching Harper tonight?”

“Sophia; she usually watches her for me.”

There was a pang of guilt that made its way through Alexis’s body as it often did when she thought about how often she had to leave Harper with her friends while she went to work. If she’d had it her way, she’d win the lottery and never have to work again so she and Harper could spend all their time together. At least working at the bar gave her a flexible schedule.

“You know, if you ever need someone to watch her,” Blake shrugged as she leaned her head onto the chain of the swing, “I’d be more than happy to.” As if Blake sensed Alexis’s hesitation, she continued. “I mean, I can watch Frozen with the best of them. I already know all the songs. We can have a karaoke party.”

“I’m sure she’d love that, but you don’t have to do that.”

“I know.” Blake tapped her foot against Alexis’s. “But I want to. If you ever want me to.”

“I’m sure that can be arranged at some point.” Reaching out, Alexis took hold of the chains on the side of Blake’s swing and pulled herself closer. They kissed once more but were rudely interrupted by Blake’s cell phone ringing from her pocket. Blake groaned as she pulled away from Alexis.

“I’m sorry.” She looked at the phone’s screen, and a flash of panic flew across her face as she stood. Holding up a finger at Alexis to tell her she’d be right back. Blake took a few steps away from her as Alexis joined Harper in the sandpit. Blake was out of earshot of her, but she could make out a few words. “Salem,” Blake groaned the name loudly as she pulled the phone away from her ear in frustration before starting to pace behind the swings.

“Who is Blake talking to?”

“I don’t know. She’s talking about Salem.” Alexis snarled her nose. “Hmm, maybe she’s been cast in a Salem witch trials movie or something.” Harper looked uninterested in Alexis’s musing as she went back to building her sandcastle. “That’d be so cool. She’d be perfect for...”

It hit her who Blake was talking to.

Salem Cohen.

Her agent.

And her ex.

Everything Alexis knew about them was what she’d seen on social media. They had gotten together when Blake had hired Salem as her agent after her previous agent had failed to land Blake any gigs for a year. Within weeks, Salem helped Blake get cast on The Things We Left Behind, and the two started dating a few months later. Alexis knew from the pictures posted on Salem’s Instagram account that the two had lived together for an extended period. The pictures of them together had stopped a couple of years ago, but as far as Alexis knew, Salem was still her agent.

“I’m sorry about that.” Blake walked over to them as Alexis stood. There was a change in Blake’s blue eyes that caused Alexis to worry. She took her pinky and wrapped it around hers like Blake did the night they’d first kissed.

“Everything ok?”

“Yeah.”

“Who was on the phone?”

“My agent.” She pressed her tongue into her cheek as she shook her head. “She’s trying to convince me to get back to Vancouver. She said she had some new scripts and pitches for me.”

“Do you,” Alexis swallowed the lump in her throat, “have to go? Does she have a gig lined up for you or something?”

“No, she’s just a bit—” Blake looked down at Harper then back up at Alexis, “b-i-t-c-h. Salem thinks because she’s my agent and my ex,” she snarled at the word, “that she can tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” Taking a few steps back, Blake sat back down on a swing as Alexis leaned on the metal support beam. She was thankful that the park was relatively empty so they could have their privacy. “You didn’t do anything.”

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