Page 83 of State of Grace

Chapter 28

Alexis stood in her white, fuzzy bathrobe in the middle of Sophia and Emily’s apartment with what appeared to be every dress she owned sprawled out on their couch. Beside her, Emily had her hand on her chin and was clearly deep in thought over the conundrum. It’d been over a week since Blake had told Alexis she loved her, and Alexis was fully ready to say it back. The flurry of the play’s final weekend had come to an end, and she was freshly showered after the Sunday matinee performance.

They were completely immersed in solving the problem of what to wear on her date with Blake. Although they’d been together a few months, they’d yet to go out on a date in public. Things were going to change, though, thanks to Isla. She had used her connections and secured them a table in the back of an elegant Greek restaurant in Portland. They were promised no fanfare and as much privacy as possible by the chef, and Alexis was getting giddy about the prospect of being out with Blake.

Alexis was even giddier about the fact Blake had booked them a room at the Firefly Inn for the night. The inn was an icon in the Cove. It had a five-star restaurant, a ski course, a spa, and enough reviews on Yelp to leave the inn booked most of the year. Even having lived in the Cove her entire life, Alexis had never stayed there. She could barely contain the excitement of getting to experience that with Blake.

Of course, that wasn’t the only thing she was hoping to experience with Blake…

“You’re right.” Emily tossed up her hands as Alexis shook her head to clear her mind. “None of these work.”

“That’s what I said an hour ago.” Frustrated, Alexis plopped down on the chair. Harper was watching Cinderella on TV, and Alexis wished she could get a custom-fitted dress that perfectly. “I need a fairy godmother,” she remarked as she pointed at the TV.

“What you need is to have gone shopping once in the last five years for something nice to wear.” Emily held up a dress Alexis hadn’t worn – hell, hadn’t even seen – since her eighth month of pregnancy. “Why do you even still have this one? This is a maternity dress.”

“Well,” she shrugged and twirled her hair, “I’ve always thought if I met the right person that maybe, perhaps, we would have another kid, and then I’d have a dress to wear.”

“Someone like…Blake?” Her eyes sparkled as she tossed the dress to the side and picked up another one only to discard it without providing any commentary on it.

“I mean…I dunno.”

“What about this one?” Emily held up an elegant black dress.

“I know for a fact these post-baby hips are not going to fit into that.”

“What time is your date?”

“She’s picking me up at seven-thirty.”

“Shi—shoot.” She winced as she glanced over at Harper. “We barely have an hour.”

“What are you two chattering about in there?” Sophia walked out of her office with her glasses perched on the end of her nose and a slightly annoyed look plastered on her face. “Some of us are trying to grade papers for this stupid summer class they agreed to teach and need to focus.”

“That’s what you get for teaching a class in the summer.” Emily held up the black dress she’d picked out for Alexis. “We’re trying to find a dress for Lex to wear on her date.”

“Oh, that’s gorgeous.” Sophia ran the fabric between her fingers. “Is it new?”

“No. I haven’t worn it since before Harper, so there’s no way I can wear it now.”

“Hush.” Emily pitched her arm.

“Where are you and Blake going to eat again?”

“Someplace in Portland. Isla knows the chef.”

“What is she wearing?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Oh, Alexis, have I taught you nothing?” Sophia whined. “You don’t want to clash with your date, so it’s always a wise idea to coordinate your attire. If Blake’s wearing a pantsuit, you could wear a dress. Or vice versa. But the last thing you want is you both to show up wearing a little black dress. It’ll look like you just left a funeral.”

“Hey, what did Jordan drop off yesterday?” Emily headed for the stairs as Sophia rushed around her and cut her off. She blocked the stairs, and Emily put her hands on her hips to show her annoyance.

“That is none of your business.”

“It was a clothing box,” she looked back at Alexis with a smirk.

“Oooh.”

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