Page 86 of State of Grace

Blake extended her arm out to Alexis.

“We shall.”

“Have her home by midnight,” Sophia teased as Alexis stuck her tongue out at her.

“Don’t listen to her.” Emily rolled her eyes at Sophia. “Keep her out as late as you want. Miss Harper and I have a date to play with LEGOs and watch some Disney movies, isn’t that right, Harp?”

“Yup!”

“Thank you both.” Quickly hugging her two best friends, Alexis gave both Emily and Sophia a kiss on the cheek. She kissed the top of Harper’s head as she gently lifted her chin toward her. “You be good for Nonna and Emmy, ok?”

“Duh, Mommy.” Harper’s mischievous giggle accompanied her hugging Sophia’s leg and hiding behind her. She was her kid, through and through; there was no denying it.

“Goofy, girl. I love you.”

Saying a round of goodbyes, Blake and Alexis walked out into the foyer between the two apartments. The door was barely shut behind them when Blake covered Alexis’s lips with her own. Alexis was thankful Sophia had stuck the lip gloss into her small bag on her way out of the bedroom.

Because there was no way Alexis was keeping her lips off Blake’s tonight.

Chapter 29

“Babe, you look stunning.”

Blake could barely keep her hands and lips off Alexis. She looked beautiful to Blake every day, but tonight, she was devastating. Alexis would have easily turned every head at any red-carpet event she attended. For a moment, Blake contemplated canceling their reservations at the restaurant and pulling Alexis inside her apartment so they could have their way with each other quickly as they both clearly had only one thing on their minds.

She could see it in Alexis’s eyes. There was a raw desire that hadn’t been there before, and it was turning Blake on more with each passing second. Although they hadn’t talked about where the night would end up, Blake had planned a romantic night away, complete with an overnight stay in the elegant Firefly Inn. Blake had arranged for champagne to be waiting for them in the room along with a bouquet of roses she’d ordered from Maddie’s flower shop. She’d also made sure to pack the original Star Wars trilogy DVDs in her bag, just in case.

Blake wanted everything to be perfect, but more importantly, she wanted Alexis to feel safe. She needed Alexis to know that she truly loved her; she needed her to know she wasn’t running the other way because of her past demons.

Above all, though, Blake needed to tell her about Salem’s visit.

She hoped the romantic evening she’d planned would lessen the blow she would be dishing out later. Blake had gone back and forth for three days over when and how to tell Alexis she was going back to Vancouver. Deep down, Blake knew Alexis would understand. It would hurt them both to spend time apart, but Blake had no desire to stay away any longer than she had to in order to fulfill her obligations with the show. Blake had read over the script twice and made countless notes on it. She knew what she wanted for herself and her character.

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” Alexis playfully booped her nose before they continued their walk down the stairs hand in hand. Pushing the door open, Blake held the door for Alexis as she walked out into the twilight to the elegant black limousine waiting for them. “Oh, my gosh.” She gasped as she grabbed Blake’s arm excitedly and squeezed. “Is this for us?”

“Of course.” Blake led her over to the car door as the chauffeur opened it for them. Alexis handed off her overnight bag to the chauffeur, and they climbed into the backseat. Cuddling next to each other, Blake opened the bottle of wine she’d purchased for the evening, thanks to Sophia’s recommendation. It was a sweet French wine that Sophia swore Alexis loved. Blake only hoped Sophia hadn’t lied to her.

“Oh, I love this wine,” Alexis giggled as she held up a glass to Blake. She poured carefully – not an easy feat in a moving vehicle – before pouring a drink for herself. Tapping the glasses against each other, Alexis smiled. “A toast. To the prettiest woman in the world.”

“A toast to you indeed.” Blake playfully smiled as she tapped their glasses again before they each took a sip. The wine was sweeter than Blake usually liked, and she wrinkled her nose at the taste in her mouth.

“Don’t like it?”

“It’s really sweet.”

“Yeah, it can leave a taste on your lips for a while.”

“Yeah?” Blake raised an eyebrow at her before closing the space between them. Their lips met passionately, and once again, Blake contemplated canceling the dinner and telling the driver to go straight to the inn. Discarding their wine glasses to the cupholders, Alexis’s hand ran through Blake’s hair as she took a small section in her hand and pulled lightly. It wasn’t something Blake was used to in a relationship, and it surprised her each time coming from Alexis, but more than anything, it turned her on.

When they arrived at the restaurant, the chauffeur opened the door as Blake got out and extended her hand out to Alexis. She was keenly aware that all eyes were on them as they walked in. It was something she was used to, sure. But it felt different, though, with Alexis on her arm. It felt intrusive, and Blake felt uneasy as the maître d’ raked his eyes up and down her body. Beside her, Alexis wrapped her arm around Blake’s to make sure that he knew she was taken, and the move turned Blake on even more. With a roll of his eyes, he escorted them to a quiet table in the back. Several patrons stopped and turned to look at Blake as she strolled past, but she didn’t pay them any attention.

Her eyes were solely on Alexis.

“This place is fantastic.” Blake pulled out Alexis’s seat for her before taking a seat herself. She chose to sit next to her and enjoyed their knees touching under the table. The black floor-length table cloth allowed Blake to run her hand up and down Alexis’s leg as they ordered drinks and studied the menu.

“Here you go, ladies.” Dressed elegantly in a white button-up and black pants with a bright red tie, the young waiter carefully sat Blake’s rum and Coke before showing the bottle of wine Alexis had picked out. It was a less sweet wine, Blake noted, and she wondered if Alexis also took wine advice from Sophia. The waiter poured Alexis a glass before gesturing to Blake. “Would you like to try it, ma’am?”

“Oh, knife to the heart, dude.” Blake dramatically clutched her chest, which made both the waiter and Alexis laugh. “I would love to try some, but please, don’t call me, ma’am. Literally, anything but that would be fine.”

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