Page 93 of State of Grace

Alexis only nodded. It was all she could do.

The pieces she’d worked so hard to painstakingly put back together were once again in shards around her feet.

Nothing she said now would change any of that.

Chapter 31

Before she had time to second guess her decisions, Blake ran back up the stairs, gathered her things, and headed for Alexis’s apartment. She had no idea what exactly she wanted to say, but she wanted to be able to explain to her what happened. Blake had promised to protect Alexis and Harper. She’d told Alexis she would never do anything to hurt her. She knew how hard it was for Alexis to open up to her and let her into Harper’s life; Alexis had trusted her.

And yet Blake had hurt Alexis, however unintentionally.

Standing outside the inn, Blake pulled up the app and ordered a driver. With a five-minute estimated time of arrival, she quickly dialed up Salem’s number and waited for her to answer.

“Time difference,” Salem groaned. “It’s barely four a.m. here.”

“Well, get your ass up.” Blake sent Salem a link to the article. “I need you.”

“What’s wrong?” She sounded instantly more awake at the tone Blake used.

“I sent you the link.” Blake waited a few moments for Salem to read the article. She heard a few gasps escape Salem’s lips as she anxiously tapped her foot on the concrete sidewalk.

“Fuck.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Blake could hear Salem rustling out of bed and her laptop start-up on the other end of the line. A few taps of the keys indicated that Salem was already getting down to business. “The good thing is it’s barely seven a.m. on the East Coast, so the chances of many people seeing it are…”

“Alexis saw it.”

“Shit.”

“Again, my thoughts exactly.” Blake angrily ran her hands through her hair. “We had a perfect date last night, and then we’re woken up this morning by Alexis’s phone going off like crazy because her friends have already seen the article. They saw the photos that were taken last night.” She kicked a large stone that lined the sidewalk. “I never thought this would happen.”

“You had to know this was a possibility.” The sounds of Salem’s keyboard clicks were rapid. “This happened all the time when we were together. It’s part of the business.”

“How did they even find me here? No one knows I’m here.”

“It’s not like the old days, and you know that. Paparazzi can now be a kid with a cell phone. It doesn’t have to be a guy with a large zoom lens hiding in a bush. These assholes know they can get a few bucks for the picture and think it’s worth it. They don’t stop to think about how that candid photo will affect the people in the shot.”

Even though Blake knew Salem was right, she was afraid there was no way she could make Alexis understand that. Blake had chosen this life. She’d chosen to be known when she went out in public. She knew the chances of a candid photo taken by a passerby was high anytime she went out. But Alexis didn’t. Alexis’s life was entirely different. She was free to go where she wanted when she wanted with whoever she wanted.

Maybe Alexis was right. Maybe their lives were too different to work together.

No. Blake shook the thought from her head.

She loved Alexis, and Alexis loved her. They could make it work.

If only Alexis would give her another chance.

“Ok, the good news is it doesn’t seem like the article has been picked up by many other news outlets yet. I’ve got a report filed on the article for inaccuracy, and we’ll shoot out our press release this morning, so it’ll drown this one out. Obviously, there won’t be any mention of Alexis’s name in our press release, so hopefully, that’ll keep her photos from circulating.”

“How were they able to identify her?”

“The person who took the picture probably knew who she was and leaked her name.” Salem let out a huff of air. “I’m sorry, Blake. I should have been on top of this. It’s my job.”

“It’s ok.” Blake waved at the driver of a small SUV as she quickly threw her bag into the backseat, climbed inside, and told him to take her to the town square. There was no way she was risking someone knowing where Alexis lived now that her name was out there for the world to know. “Hey, I got to go but keep me posted, ok?”

“I will.” She briefly paused. “Are you still coming back?”

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