State of Grace: A Moonflower Cove Romance Page 7

“I didn’t know if I was going to make it or not.” Avoiding eye contact with either of them, Mason methodically rubbed her thumb across her fingers. Blake started to step toward her to hug Mason, but Isla’s hand on her shoulder stopped her. Looking over her shoulder, Isla slowly shook her head.

  “Do you want to get ice cream or anything with us, Mason?”

  “Sure.” Mason shrugged nonchalantly as she finally made eye contact with Blake. “Hi.”

  “Hey, Mason.”

  “I enjoy your show.”

  “Umm, thank you.” Blake couldn’t tell if Mason was nervous or if something else was going on. Putting her hands in her pocket, Blake smiled at Mason and was relieved when Mason smiled back at her. “It’s good to see you again, Mason.”

  “You too. Let’s go get ice cream.” There was no differentiating tone between the two statements. With a shrug, Mason turned and headed in the opposite direction they had been walking. Isla grabbed Blake’s hand and pulled her back.

  “She’s happy to see you, I promise. Mason is,” she paused, “I don’t know how to describe it. Vera thinks she is on the autism spectrum, and, at times, I would agree, but other times…I don’t know. She’s just Mason, and we love her, and we accept her little quirks.” Isla let go of Blake’s hand as they walked behind Mason to the ice cream shop.

  Blake noticed how Mason immediately went to Isla’s side as the trio headed into the ice cream shop. It looked instinctual, and Isla put a gentle hand on her lower back. They placed their orders and collected their cups full of ice cream before finding a table by the window. Mason sat with her back to the wall and Blake chose to sit next to Isla to give Mason her space.

  “So, Mason,” Blake shivered as she took a bite of her rocky road ice cream, “what do you do exactly? Mom told me a little about your work.”

  “I run Paws on a Mission. We raise and train service dogs for people. Everleigh inspired me.” Mason shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “We’re in the running for a chance to be featured in a NatGeo documentary, but they won’t pick us.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short, honey,” Isla chimed in. “Mason was recently named the top entrepreneur in the state. She even received a special plaque and had dinner with the governor.”

  “Whoa, that’s super cool.” Blake was legitimately impressed.

  “Mason also graduated with her Master’s at twenty-three and is currently working on her Doctorate.” Isla beamed with pride.

  “It’s trucking along slow but steady.” Mason’s shoulders relaxed as she let out a sigh and reached across the table with the spoon. She took a bite of Isla’s birthday cake ice cream and nodded her head. “Mmm, put that on the list of kinds I like.”

  Isla tapped the spoon against her temple. “Noted.”

  “So, Blake,” it was Mason’s turn to ask the questions apparently, “what was it like growing up with our dad? He wanted you more, but I’ve always wondered what he was like, and now I guess I’ll never know.” Blake was surprised at Mason’s bluntness. Across the table, Mason furrowed her brow as she looked back and forth between Blake and Isla. “What did I say?”

  “Nothing.” Blake shook her head. “I love your honesty; it’s refreshing. That’s all.”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t pick up on social cues sometimes.”

  “It’s really ok.” She waved a hand at her. “Dad was fine. He wasn’t that loving or anything, but he was there, I guess. That’s all I can say about him. He was there.”

  “I’m sorry he died.”

  “Me too.” Although it had been a few months since his death, Blake still caught herself missing him as if it had only been a few days. The pain lingered on her heart like a bad cold she couldn’t get over. “He didn’t suffer long, though. The cancer was quick.”

  “Such a shame,” Isla’s tone was matter-of-fact. “Cancer ran in his family.”

  “I know. I was on Dad all the time to get screened, but he never did. By the time he admitted he had a problem, it was too late.” Blake shrugged. “Prostate cancer’s a bitch.”

  “Change of subject,” Mason chimed back in, clearly over the talk about their father. “What are you doing now that they canceled the show?”

  “That’s an excellent question. One that, right now, I can’t answer. But,” Blake looked back and forth between them, “I am thrilled to be having ice cream with my mom and my sister. And right now, that’s enough for me.”

  “Here here.” Holding her spoon out between them, they each tapped their spoon against Isla’s and smiled. Having a family again warmed Blake’s heart and soul, and she couldn’t remember a time when she’d been happier. Coming to the Cove was turning into one of the best decisions she’d ever made.

  Chapter 8

  By the time Alexis and Harper rushed into the Pizza Parlor, the Mackenzies were already there and on their first round of food from the buffet. Alexis maneuvered through the tables to the one in the corner that they’d often tried to snag due to its large, round size. It allowed everyone to talk without someone being out of earshot from the person on the other side of the table. She noticed two seats between Isla and her youngest daughter, Everleigh, and she and Harper sat. They said their quick hellos to the kids, and Alexis held Blake’s blue eyes longer than she meant to.

  “Hey, sorry we’re late.” Alexis slipped her bag over the chair’s back as she helped Harper scoot her seat up toward the table. Someone had ordered them waters already, and Harper reached out for her cup. Grabbing it from falling without fully paying attention, Alexis realized that her mom senses were better than she’d realized. She held the cup until Harper had it grasped with both her hands. “I would give an excuse, but I have none. We lost track of time.”

  “We were playing LEGOs.” Harper nodded as she took a drink from the cup and put it back on the table. Alexis took a straw off the table and put it into the cup for Harper.

  “Sorry, I didn’t order her a kiddie cup,” Isla apologized as she tore off a piece of a breadstick and ate it. “I’m also sorry we didn’t wait on you, but, in our defense, you are fifteen minutes late.”

  “You two go on and get some food.” Vera waved Alexis and Harper off and the two went over to the bar. She balanced two plates in her hand as Harper pointed to what she wanted. Once Harper’s plate was covered with food, she handed it to her before topping her own plate off with extra cheese bread and headed back to their seats.

  As soon as Alexis sat, her eyes landed on the plate sitting in front of Blake. It was covered in fresh spinach with colorful vegetables with one single, tiny slice of pepperoni pizza positioned on the edge of the plate. Compared to her plate full of pizza, pasta, and cheese bread, Alexis wished she’d gone easier on the first round at the buffet. She hated feeling self-conscious, but it wasn’t every day that she sat across from Blake Calloway at dinner.

  Alexis was surprised at how quiet the table was as they all ate. Usually, conversations would have sprung up all over the table, but the new dinner guest made everyone slightly nervous. Beside her, Harper kept looking at Blake, and Alexis wondered if it would be too awkward to introduce Harper to Blake suddenly. Three seats over, Vera was twirling her pasta around her fork like Lucy Ricardo at the Brown Derby. The pasta spiral kept growing and growing as Vera looked around the table before finally stopping her twirling.

  “So,” Vera was always the one who hated to see conversations lag, “Blake, have you met Alexis’s daughter, Harper, yet?”

  “No, I haven’t.” Blake smiled at Harper, who set down her pizza slice and nervously hid behind Alexis’s arm. Alexis playfully tickled her as Blake laughed. “Hey, it’s ok. Don’t be shy.”

  “Harper, say hi to Miss Blake.”

  “Hi.” Peaking around Alexis’s arm, Harper offered Blake a quick smile before hiding once more. Alexis rolled her eyes as she scooted her chair back and grabbed Harper and set her on her lap, Alexis pointed across the table to Blake.

  “You know who that is, don’t you?”

&nb
sp; “Yeah,” Harper nervously leaned into Alexis.

  “I love your name, Harper.” Blake’s attention turned to Alexis. “Is she…”

  “Named after the character on your show?” Alexis laughed as she sat Harper back down on her chair. She immediately went back to eating her pizza while occasionally looking back over at Blake. “Yes, she is.”

  “I love that.”

  “Thank you.” Alexis blushed over the compliment. She knew that Blake might be placating her, but something in her eyes told her that Blake meant what she’d said. It made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. After all, she’d never been complimented by a celebrity before.

  “So, do you just work at the bar?”

  And all the good feelings went out the door with the addition of one word in her question.

  The hair on the back of Alexis’s neck stood up as she gritted her teeth. Both Isla and Vera caught the question, too. Both paused their chewing to look at Alexis. She had never been ashamed of her job. Alexis was a hard worker and a valuable asset to the bar, and she knew that. The job gave her flexibility to spend time with Harper, and it was enough money to keep the bills paid. She didn’t need anyone to talk down to her about it, even if it might have been unintentional.

  “Yes,” she forced the word out of her mouth, “I just work at the bar.”

  “Actually,” Vera interjected, “Alexis is also the new social media and marketing manager.” She looked to Isla to chime in. “Isn’t that right, Isla?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Alexis also writes fanfic for your show.”

  Alexis was ready to either stab Vera with a butter knife or fall into a hole in the earth. Whichever came first. She appreciated that Vera was trying to keep the conversation going so Alexis wouldn’t hyper-fixate on Blake’s question, but at that moment, she wanted to be frustrated. “She’s amazing; has a huge following online. Sophia and I – you remember Sophia, right? We met her yesterday – well, we have tried to get her to publish it or at least write a different story to publish.”

  “Nonna says Mommy’s the best writer ever.” Harper beamed with more pride than Alexis had ever expected to see on her daughter’s face. Alexis patted her back as Harper giggled.

  “Thank you for the input, Harp.”

  “Welcome.”

  “Which one do you write?” Blake took a bite of her salad as she looked across the table at Alexis. There was a hint of regret in her eyes, and Alexis wondered if maybe she’d realized what she said.

  “I’m sure you haven’t heard of it,” Alexis waved her off as she went back to her food.

  “It’s called Across the Dark Expanse.” Proud Vera again. “She uses the pen name…”

  “A.R. Holland.” Every head turned to Blake, even the kids. Blake looked concerned as she leaned back in her seat. She held up her fork, shrugging as her eyes made contact with each of them around the table. “What? I’ve read that one.”

  “Seriously?” The word was out before Alexis could stop it. She stopped short of covering her mouth with her hand, which would have also hidden the redness on her face.

  “Yeah, it’s good.” Blake took a bite and slowly chewed as if she was trying to soak up the moment of making Alexis blush. “Actually, it’s terrific, Alexis.”

  “Um, ok, wow.” To say she was at a loss for words would have been an understatement. The words weren’t lost; they’d fallen off the face of the planet. Her brain couldn’t comprehend that Blake Calloway, aka Avery Romano, aka one of the characters she’d written multiple sex scenes about in her fanfic, had read her fanfic. She’d known the following for the fanfic was more significant than she’d liked to think but never in her wildest dreams did Alexis ever, not even for a fleeting moment, consider Blake would have read it. “Thank you. I’m flattered. I don’t know what to say.”

  “The writers sometimes read the fanfic because it lets them know what the fans want to see,” Blake explained without Alexis having to ask for it, and Alexis wanted to thank her for that. “They’ve gotten some ideas from some fics that made it into the show.”

  “Well, clearly, they didn’t pay attention to mine; otherwise, Avery and Harper would be a couple by now.” Alexis sarcastically laughed as Harper looked up at her in confusion.

  “Huh?”

  “Not you, baby. The TV Harper.

  “Oh.” With a shrug, Harper went back to her food.

  “It’s not that easy.”

  Blake seemed on edge, which matched how Alexis was feeling. Knowing that the show’s writers had read her fanfic, had probably seen how popular it was, and had still decided not to consider it hurt more than Alexis could have anticipated. Not like she thought she had the magical storylines for the whole show, but she liked to believe that as the foremost Rebel Loner – the ship name for Avery and Harper’s characters – writer that her stories were well received.

  “There’s producers and networks and hoops you have to go through to get certain storylines approved. I get very little say in what happens in the script.”

  “Well, I would think as a woman whom herself identifies as LGBT would fight harder to see those stories get told instead of settling for the hetero-normative storyline they’ve given your character.”

  “Here we go again,” Isla sighed as she picked up her Diet Coke. “You and your ‘hetero-normative storyline.’ Blake doesn’t have control over that. You know that.”

  “I know. I was just giving my opinion.”

  “Yes, Sophia Beauchamp Junior, I know, but is dinner with Blake as our guest and our children present the best time to have this conversation?” Isla’s raised eyebrow and slightly pitched voice told her that it was, indeed, not the best time to have that conversation.

  “No.” Alexis resisted the urge to sulk in her chair like a kid. Instead, she looked at Blake for a moment before lowering her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s ok.”

  For the rest of the dinner, Blake barely spoke a word directly to Alexis. Mentally Alexis kicked herself for apparently pissing her off after she’d found out that Blake had read her fanfic. Blake had been so lovely to have complimented her writings, and Alexis had snapped at her in return. Alexis hated her quick tongue and temper sometimes; it often got the best of her despite her best intentions to do better.

  “So,” Vera clasped her hands together as they all stood outside the restaurant. The sun had completed its descent below the horizon, allowing the relatively empty streets to be bathed in the warm glow of the street lights. “Do you two want to go with us to get ice cream?”

  “No, thanks.” Alexis placed her hands on Harper’s shoulders and squeezed them. “Little Miss and I have some LEGOs to finish building, and Soph made this wonderful rum cake we’re gonna finish off tonight.”

  “Isn’t she a little young for that?” Vera raised an eyebrow at her.

  “It’s my favorite!” Harper interjected.

  “Like mother, like daughter.” Isla rolled her eyes. “Did you two walk or did you drive?”

  “We walked.”

  “Oh,” Vera’s voice fell slightly, “well, maybe Blake can walk you two home.”

  “Oh, that’s ok. We’re only a few blocks from here.”

  “And I have no idea where I’m going.” Blake quickly chimed in as her eyes darted from Alexis to Vera. She didn’t seem put off by the idea of walking her home; instead, she appeared nervous at the thought.

  She probably thinks I’m a psycho fan who will take her back to her apartment and kidnap her to talk at length about the hetero-normative storylines, Alexis thought to herself as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

  “I’d feel better if you walked them home, please. The ice cream shop is down the street and around the corner from her apartment. I pointed it out to you yesterday, remember?”

  “Yeah, but,” Blake shrugged as she looked to Isla for assistance.

  “Baby, they’ve made the walk home a thousand times safely. They’ll be fine.”

 
“I understand that,” Vera’s voice was slightly lower as she leaned closer to Isla, “but I watched this documentary the other night.”

  “Not the human trafficking one,” Isla groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Vera was notorious for believing every depraved thing she saw on TV and panicking over the probability of it happening in Moonflower Cove. “I told you not to watch that one.”

  “And I didn’t listen.”

  “Do you honestly think human traffickers are here in Moonflower Cove?”

  “This is exactly how it starts,” Vera pointed a finger at Isla as a smirk played on both their lips. “It starts with the whole ‘not my town’ mentality, and before you know it, we’re featured on Dateline or worse, in a Lifetime movie.”

  “Honestly, Vera, I am canceling the ID Network tomorrow.”

  “I’m only saying that I think it would be safer if…”

  “If I walk them home.” Blake sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest. “But what happens if the evil human traffickers try to get me.”

  “Please,” Vera waved her off, “I’ve seen you fight on TV, and if you’ve got an ounce of your mother in you, you’ll be fine.”

  “Fine,” she let out a defeated sigh, “let’s go.”

  “Great, we’ll meet you at the ice cream shop.” Vera smiled victoriously.

  As Vera, Isla, and the kids headed down the street toward the ice cream shop, Blake, Alexis, and Harper went in the opposite direction toward her apartment. Harper focused on stepping on every crack in the sidewalk in front of them as they walked. At the crosswalk, Alexis took Harper’s hand as she stood between the two of them. Alexis didn’t notice that Harper had also taken Blake’s hand until the signal changed, and they walked across the street. The way that Blake seemed perfectly content to be walking hand-in-hand with a five-year-old made Alexis feel even more guilty to have snapped at her earlier.

  Arriving at the apartment, Alexis unlocked the door and sent Harper upstairs as she lingered out on the sidewalk with Blake.

  “I’m sorry for earlier.” Alexis nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “I didn’t mean to snap at you about the storylines. I know you don’t have control over that.”