“Believe me, I am. Don’t forget the extra fries.”
REMIND CADE THAT this is not a date! —B
Greyson chuckled at Blaise’s text. It was the fourth time she had sent the reminder. He glanced over at Cade.
Will do, doll. Again. —G
“You remember this isn’t a date, right?”
Cade sent him a glare as he drove to pick the women up at the diner. They had decided Cade’s Escalade was more suitable, as Greyson’s Aston Martin wasn’t made for multiple passengers.
“Yeah, brother, I remember. You going to tell me that all fucking night?”
“Hey, I’m just passing along the message that Blaise keeps sending me, man. She risked red velvet cake asking Ellie to do this. You screw that up for her, and ultimately for me, I don’t think your military training will help you at all.”
Cade shook his head. “Why doesn’t a woman as hot as Ellie date?”
“Don’t know.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll show her such a great night she won’t be able to resist having an actual date with me.”
“Well, no one can accuse you of having self-esteem issues,” Greyson laughed.
“You have to have confidence, brother. It’s the only way to get through the life we’ve lived.”
Greyson nodded in agreement, and his thoughts turned to Blaise. He was definitely going to have to be confident when it came to having a relationship with her. ‘There is a fine line between arrogance and confidence, Mr. Steele. I abhor arrogance. Be careful how close to the line you get.’ Okay, so he’s going to have to be careful. He could do that.
“Shit. Seriously, brother, how is that woman single?”
Greyson followed Cade’s line of sight, and sucked in a breath. Blaise and Ellie were waiting just outside the diner. Both women were dressed for comfort, yet stylishly so. The ladies—who could seriously pass for sisters—donned faded jeans and sandals. Ellie opted for a light-weight, green button up shirt that hung loosely just past her waist. Blaise, much to Greyson’s delight, wore a form-fitting gray, t-shirt with hints of a lace bra peeking out from the deep V-neck.
Greyson could absolutely agree that Ellie was an incredibly beautiful woman. But Blaise. Hell, that woman was born to wear jeans. Greyson had thought the same thing when he first met her. And, now, even with the distressed look he didn’t think he would enjoy, was definitely no exception. Not wanting to appear too eager, he had to mentally restrain himself from jumping out of the SUV before it came to a complete stop.
“Don’t know, man, but don’t fuck this up.” Greyson hopped out before Cade could give him any grief. “Ladies,” he greeted both women, and bent to kiss Blaise on the cheek. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Blaise smiled. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
“Good evening, Ellie.” Cade extended his hand to an amused Ellie. “Thank you for agreeing to come with us tonight.”
Greyson noticed the small smirk on Ellie’s lips, and hoped that she would give Cade hell. It was mean, but he was greatly entertained when Cade was being razzed.
“Cade,” Ellie politely shook Cade’s hand. “Thank you for asking Greyson to ask Blaise to ask me.”
Greyson laughed at Blaise’s snicker and Cade’s embarrassment. It was a rare feat to fluster Cade Drake, and Ellie did it effortlessly.
“Yeah.” Cade rubbed the back of his neck. “Um, are we ready to go?”
“We thought we’d get some food afterwards, if that’s all right with you,” Greyson told both women, deciding to give Cade a break.
“Sure,” Blaise answered. “We had a bite to eat before you got here.”
“A bite,” Ellie snorted. “More like a meal for two for Blaise.”
“I don’t think anyone asked you,” Blaise muttered, pushing Ellie towards the front passenger door. “Just for that, you get to sit up front.”
“You are really pushing it.”
Greyson heard the harsh whisper, and for his, Cade’s and Blaise’s sake, settled the matter. “Why don’t you ladies sit back here,” he opened the back door. He would have loved to sit in the back with Blaise, perhaps see if he could get away with holding her hand. Maybe when the night was done. “I’ll sit up front with Cade.”
“What the hell? Do I stink?” Cade made a showing of sniffing his underarm.
Greyson shook his head, giving Blaise and Ellie a hand into the SUV. “He’ll get over it,” he winked to Ellie who gave him a grin in return.
“DO YOU THINK she’ll forgive me for this?” Blaise asked close to Greyson’s ear. They had brought two large blankets, and Greyson had thought to bring a bottle of wine to enjoy during the show. He wasn’t sure how it happened, and he wasn’t about to complain, but Blaise had ended up between his outstretched legs, leaning her back against his chest. It took an enormous amount of control not to let her feel how she was affecting him. He wasn’t sure that drinking wine in his condition was a good idea, especially when he felt Blaise’s warm breath on his ear. He glanced down at her, then over to Ellie.
“She seems like she’s holding her own with Cade,” he remarked. “He may be a little rough around the edges sometimes, but he’s a good guy.”
“I have no doubt he is, Greyson. It’s just that Ellie really didn’t want to do this. I kind of talked her into it.”
Hearing his name from her lips completely broke his control, and he shifted slightly in hopes Blaise wouldn’t notice.
“I told him not to fuck up,” Greyson sighed. “Sorry for my language.”
He felt her chuckle, and then she twisted to look up at him. Her beautiful whiskey eyes sparkled with mischief. “I’m not offended by the word ‘fuck’, Greyson.”
He growled in her ear, wrapping his arms tighter around her. “Blaise.”
JESUS. BLAISE COULD feel the length of Greyson pressing against her back as he pulled her tighter. This is certainly not the way to take things slow, she thought as she swayed to the music against him.
“Do you know what you’re doing to me?”
“Probably the same thing you’re doing to me.” Her voice sounded low and throaty even to her own ears.
“At this rate, waiting is not going to be an option, Blaise.” His voice was raw, and it made her shiver. Funny how only Greyson had ever affected her that way. No other man had ever made her shiver. It was something she always read about in romance books, but never experienced. In fact, she would have thought it was a myth if it hadn’t happened multiple times with Greyson.
“I know, I’m sorry.” Blaise made a move to sit up, but he held her tight.
“I didn’t say I didn’t like this,” he murmured in her ear. “Actually I like you right where you are very much.”
“I’m not sleeping with you on the second date, Mr. Steele,” Blaise said with feigned annoyance. She felt his body shake with laughter, as the thump of the music from some unknown band coursed through her at the same time.
“Who said anything about sleeping, Ms. Knight?” he teased, pressing his lips against her neck. She linked her fingers with his, squeezing slightly.
Blaise glanced over to Ellie who was watching her, laughter evident in her eyes. They had a bet going for the night. Ellie had bet against Blaise in the ‘will she, won’t she’ category. The bitch. She had no faith that Blaise had the will power to say no to Greyson Steele. At this very second, Blaise wondered if she shouldn’t have bet against herself as well. And that thought pissed Blaise off enough to have her resolve strengthen. She flipped Ellie off—discreetly—getting a laugh in return.
“Inside joke?” Greyson asked.
“Hmm? Nope. Just listen to the music.” She patted Greyson’s hand.
“I HAD A wonderful time, thank you.”
They stood outside the diner once again, after the concert and grabbing a bite to eat at a small café near the park.
“So did I.” Greyson took a quick look over at Cade who was already sitting in the SUV, and Ellie who was waiting for
Blaise at the door. “I guess there won’t be a second date.”
Blaise shrugged. “I’m sure she thinks Cade is a great guy. She just doesn’t…”
“Date,” Greyson finished for her. “Cade will be heartbroken.” He smiled. “But he’s a big boy, he’ll get over it. Are you sure you don’t want to continue our conversation from earlier?”
Greyson pulled Blaise closer, and she went willingly. Was she sure? No. But she also wasn’t ready to take the next step. And not just because she didn’t want to lose her bet with Ellie.
“That wasn’t really a conversation, Mr. Steele.” She chuckled when he growled in her ear. Nudging him back, Blaise looked up at him. “I’m not ready, Greyson. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to, or don’t want you.”
“I’m not trying to pressure you, doll. I’m sure you know how much I want you. Can’t really hide that. But I’ll wait as long as you need me to.” He tucked a strand of Blaise’s hair behind her ear. “May I call you tomorrow? At an appropriate time, of course,” he grinned.
“All appropriate times on Sundays have double digits. Just so you know. And, I’d love to hear from you.” She smiled as she stood on her tip-toes, kissing him on the cheek. “Goodnight, Greyson.”
“SO? WHAT HAPPENED? Was he that bad?”
Ellie glanced back at Blaise as she led the way into the darkened kitchen. It was past midnight, and the diner had been closed for a couple of hours already. Blaise knew that Ellie would have used those extra hours to prepare for the next day had she not gone out.
“Of course not. He was a perfect gentleman.” Ellie flipped on the light, then stood there with her hands on her hips.
“And, you’re not looking for a perfect gentleman?” Blaise asked, nearly plowing into the motionless Ellie. “What’s wrong?”
“Hmm? Nothing. I’m just trying to figure out what I want to do for tomorrow,” Ellie answered distractedly.
“By standing in the middle of the doorway?” Blaise pushed her way through, taking a seat on what she has dubbed ‘her stool’. “It’s late, El. Why don’t you leave whatever you’re planning to do for the morning?”
“It wouldn’t be this late if you hadn’t roped me into going tonight. I need to get a few things ready. You’re welcome to go home.” Ellie began gathering whatever ingredients she needed for whatever she was planning to make. Blaise couldn’t distinguish the flour from the sugar, so she just let Ellie do her thing.
“Are you upset with me?”
“No, sweetie. Just remember to never do this again, okay?”
“I said I wouldn’t,” Blaise pouted, then became aware of what she was doing and cleared her throat. “I thought Cade was nice.”
“I didn’t say he wasn’t.”
“So, what is the problem?”
“Blaise.” Ellie’s heavy sigh filled the air. “The problem is you don’t respect the fact that I don’t want this.”
“El, I didn’t make you go tonight. And, I do respect… okay, maybe I don’t understand why you don’t date.”
“Do you have to understand?” Ellie waved her hand in the air. “It doesn’t matter. The thing is, no matter how nice or gentlemanly Cade is, he’s just not my type.”
“Okay. So tall, dark and handsome isn’t your type. What is?” Blaise thought of Ellie’s ‘friend’ Frank who was currently occupying Ellie’s guest bedroom. He was stout, and a bit too hairy for Blaise’s taste. She couldn’t imagine he would be Ellie’s type, but there are stranger things.
“Sweetie, for the sake of our friendship, and your love for my red velvet cake, let’s just drop this. Okay?”
Blaise blew out a frustrated breath. “Fine.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t go home with Greyson.”
“Ha! You’re just upset that you lost the bet. You owe me twenty bucks, by the way.”
“I’ll subtract it from your tab. I’m happy for you. Greyson seems like a great guy.”
“He does, doesn’t he? I’m waiting to see how bad his faults are.” Blaise propped her head up with her palm, and began spinning around a stray egg.
“Sweetie, you’re never going to have a successful relationship if you keep waiting for the proverbial ‘other shoe to drop’.”
The word relationship had Blaise’s head popping up. “Whoa! Relationship? We’ve had two dates!”
Ellie chuckled. “Anyone can clearly see how enamored you both are with each other. That was the one topic of conversation Cade and I could agree on.”
“So you didn’t get along?” Blaise asked, trying to deflect the conversation away from talk of a relationship.
“I didn’t say that,” Ellie answered. “And, I know what you just did there. But since you’re clearly afraid to talk about a relationship, we’ll leave it alone.”
“I’m not afraid. It’s just too early to be talking in terms of relationships.”
“Mmhmm. Well, I think Greyson is already thinking in those terms,” Ellie grinned mischievously, and Blaise knew she was just trying to razz her.
“After two dates? A man like Greyson thinks in terms of when they’re getting laid, not when they can officially call a woman their ‘girlfriend’.” Blaise frowned when Ellie snatched her egg away from her.
“Do you say things like that to Greyson’s face?”
“What do you mean?”
“You are categorizing him as some arrogant playboy, Blaise. Surely after two dates, he’s shown you a different side than that.”
Blaise leaned back in her chair and groaned. “You’re right. He accused me of doing the same thing when we went to dinner. Though, in my defense, he did the same to me.”
Ellie laughed. “That doesn’t make it right, sweetie.”
“I know, I know.” Blaise tilted her head and studied Ellie. “You know, you’d be a really great relationship therapist.”
Ellie barked out laughter. “I doubt that. But I know you, and I know how you try to find reasons to not get serious.” She stopped whisking whatever concoction she had conjured up in a large bowl and walked over to Blaise. She put her hands on Blaise’s shoulders. “Stay out of your head, sweetie. For once, listen to your heart.”
“Fine. I’ll try. Deal?”
“Deal.”
“Good. Now hurry up, so we can get out of here. My bed is calling.” Blaise pushed Ellie back towards the other side of the counter. “Wait! What do you mean my ‘tab’? You’re keeping track of how much cake I eat?”
“Cake, food, tea, whiskey…”
“Shit. I’m going to need to turn Knight in Bloom into a franchise to pay for my addiction!”
“GREYSON, IT’S RUDE to be on your phone during lunch with your family,” Nora chastised.
Greyson finished his text to Blaise, then slipped his phone in his pocket. “You are the one who insists I be here every Sunday, Mother, and I oblige. That doesn’t mean I don’t have other things to attend to.”
“Like that bitch with the stripper name?” Pricilla lashed out.
“Pricilla! We do not use that language at the table,” Nora scolded.
“Fuck that! You do not speak about Blaise like that period,” Greyson snarled at the blonde before turning to Nora. “You want me to keep coming to these ‘family’ lunches, she needs to not be here.”
“Pricilla is Courtney’s best friend, and your…” her voice trailed off when Greyson gave her a look.
“It’s me or her, especially if she speaks about the woman I’m seeing with disrespect.”
“Seeing?” Pricilla scoffed. “What happened to ‘I don’t date’?”
“You need to learn to keep your side activities more discreet.” Preston sipped his tea, which Greyson knew was spiked with enough alcohol to drop a horse. Spending more than an hour in this house with his family made spiking his own tea extremely tempting. And, thinking of spiked tea made him think of Blaise.
“Blaise is not a ‘side activity’.” Greyson threw his napkin on the table and stood up. “If all of you have
a problem with me dating Blaise, I can remedy that.”
“Thank God,” Pricilla mumbled, to which Courtney readily agreed even though she had no idea who Blaise was.
“It’s what’s best.” Preston tossed back the rest of his drink, then signaled the maid for another.
“You know we’re just looking out for you, Greyson. This woman is using you for your money.” Nora gave Greyson the most infuriating self-satisfied smile, and he had to will himself not to hurl a plate across the room.
“Because no one could possibly want anything from me other than money, right?” He shook his head. “I didn’t mean I’d stop seeing Blaise. What I’d stop is this.” He spread his arms indicating the enormous table of food that they never even finished half of. “I’d stop working for Steel Industries, and work with Cade like I want. You can rely on Preston to keep Steele Industries afloat, and we all know how he’s fared so far with that.”
“Fuck you!”
“Preston!” Nora stood, raising her hands to Greyson in a surrendering gesture. “Now, Greyson, let’s not argue. I am merely looking out for your best interests.”
“No, you’re not. Or I would be doing what I want to be doing, and seeing who I want to be seeing without you trying to interfere. You don’t even know Blaise, yet you continue to judge her.”
Greyson stepped away from the table, politely pushing in his chair as he had been taught since he was a boy.
“Greyson, wait. Please, son?” Nora looked pleadingly at him. “You’re right. We don’t know Blaise. Perhaps that’s the problem. If you’re really serious about this young woman, bring her next Sunday. Let us get to know her, and see her as you do.”
“You can’t be serious!”
Nora shot Pricilla a look that Greyson was sure would freeze a normal human being.
“She’s right, Mother. You can’t seriously think I would subject her to your scrutiny.”
“She will have to get to know us eventually, son. Especially if this woman is who you see your future with.”
Coming Home: An LA Lovers Book Page 13
