Page 45 of State of Grace

“I wish more than anything I could give you an answer to that, but I don’t know what the future holds.” Blake gently rubbed circles into the back of Alexis’s hand with her thumb.

“Do you think our lives are too different to ever work?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, your life is very Hollywood, and my life is very much here. In the Cove.”

“Well, I hate to tell you, Lex,” she noticed the slight twinkle in her eyes as she used the nickname she’d heard her friends use, “but I’m going to be in the Cove for a while. I mean, I have a play I’m helping with, after all. Yes, our lives are different, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make this work if we both want it to work. After all, I like you, and you like me, and it would be a disgrace to both of us if we don’t at least see where this can go.”

“A disgrace, huh?” The shy smile on Alexis’s lips melted Blake’s heart even more.

“Yeah. We can just live in a state of grace where we understand that we don’t have things figured out but that we like each other and should see where this goes.”

Closing the space between them, Blake placed a soft kiss on her lips and was thankful that Alexis kissed her back. Blake ran her hand through her hair as she cradled the back of her neck. Alexis made soft humming noises that turned Blake on more than she would have expected under her touch.

Although every fiber in her body wanted to stay lip-locked with Alexis, Blake knew she needed to go. She needed to let Alexis get some sleep and process what they’d discussed. Pulling away slightly, Blake rubbed her thumb across Alexis’s lower lip.

“I should go.”

“So soon?”

“I have to leave you wanting more.” After one more kiss on the lips, Blake stood to leave. Alexis pouted as she crossed her arms like a kid having a temper tantrum. “Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“That can be arranged, I suppose.”

“Good.” Blake winked at her as she took a few steps backward toward the door.

“Why me?” Blake could see Alexis’s insecurity had made its way to the surface as she stood and walked toward her. She was nervously popping her knuckles and swallowed hard as she stopped a few feet from Blake. Her inability to see how gorgeous and deserving of happiness she was broke Blake’s heart. Blake wanted to slap whoever had broken her and tell them how wrong they’d been about Alexis.

“Because you see me for me, for more than my job.” Reaching out, Blake tucked Alexis’s hair behind her ear as she leaned in for one more kiss. She purposefully made it slow and tender to let Alexis know she meant every word she said. “When you look at me, I feel like myself. I don’t have to pretend to be some put-together actress, and I like that.”

“I feel the same way.” Alexis ran her hands down Blake’s arms before taking hold of her hands and pulling them around her back, bringing Blake closer to her. She placed soft kisses along her jawline, which caused her to tilt her head to give Alexis better access. “I like you, too,” her warm breath on her ear sent shivers down Blake’s spine as the words fluttered around her heart. Blake knew it was a big deal for Alexis to say those words, and she pulled away reluctantly to see her face.

“What did you say?” She felt her eyes dancing.

“I like you too.”

“Good,” Blake teased as she nodded. “Otherwise, this whole make-out session would have been super awkward.”

“I’ll see you later.” Letting go of Blake’s hands, Alexis ran her hand through her hair as Blake walked backward until her back hit the door. If she didn’t leave soon, she knew where the night would go, and she knew Alexis wasn’t ready for that yet. Hell, Blake didn’t know if she was prepared for that yet. “Have a good night.”

“You, too.”

Soaking in the last glimpse of Alexis as she pulled the front door closed behind her, Blake was sure the smile on her face would be plastered there for a very long time.

Chapter 16

It had been a couple of weeks since Alexis had driven Blake home, and yet, their conversation in the car still played in Alexis’s brain on occasion. Alexis couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her mother on a day the banks were open. Actually, she couldn’t recall the last time she’d even been to the fancy house on the outskirts of Moonflower Cove.

Moira and David Holland had raised four children in the colonial-style house nestled in Pine Crest’s cul-de-sac, the Cove’s wealthiest subdivision. They’d met in law school, opened their own practice in the Cove shortly after graduation, and quickly grew their family and business. Her three older siblings – Cole, Grace, and Dylan – were in their teens by the time Alexis was born. She was an accident, and her parents constantly reminded her of that.Intentionally or not.

Alexis had always been the outcast within her family. She spent more time at her friends’ houses than her own, and on more than one occasion, wished one of them would adopt her. Neither Moira nor David wanted anything to do with her as they had thought their child-rearing days were over when Moira discovered she was pregnant. Her siblings were less than interested in having an annoying little sister fourteen-plus years their junior, and Alexis had never been close with any of them.

Each of her siblings had gone on to become lawyers at their parents’ firm and had their perfect spouses and perfect kids and perfect lives. Meanwhile, Alexis was just Alexis. She’d never wanted to be a lawyer; she never wanted to follow in her parents’ footsteps. Alexis always marched to the beat of her own drum, and her parents never understood her music.

During Alexis’s freshman year of college, her father had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and everyone in the Cove knew about the diagnosis. It was also how Alexis had met Sophia. Alexis was in Sophia’s Intro to Novel Writing class, and as Alexis’s sister, Grace, also worked at the college, Sophia had heard about David’s diagnosis through the staff grapevine. She’d approached Alexis after she’d failed a test and asked if things were ok. The rest was history for their friendship.

A year later, when Moira had found out Alexis was pregnant, she’d kicked her out of the house without any chance for Alexis to defend herself. Sophia had taken Alexis under her wing without any questions and became the person Alexis needed in her life. Although she was beyond thankful that Sophia and Isla had stepped up for her and Harper, Alexis still wished her mother had shown an ounce of interest in Harper.

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