Coming Home: An LA Lovers Book

by Jourdyn Kelly

  Greyson heard the clatter of silverware against fine China, and looked over in time to see Pricilla storm off with Courtney hot on her heels. He shouldn’t feel the sense of satisfaction he felt, but he did manage to hold back the grin.

  “I’ll ask her. But I swear, if you make her feel uncomfortable in any way, it really will be the last time you see me.”

  MEET ME? —G

  Greyson typed out the message, then sat back in the rich leather seat of his car. He loved this car, and knew it was the Steele fortune that allowed him to have it. Same with his penthouse apartment, and the ability to go anywhere he wanted at a moment’s notice on the company jet. But he didn’t need all of this. Cade did well, lived comfortably. And, Greyson knew that working with him would keep him comfortable as well. Maybe not the Steele interpretation of comfort, but Greyson was good with that. He was used to eating MRE’s, sleeping on the ground and not having access to hot water for days.

  His phone chirped and vibrated in his hand, jerking him out of his thoughts.

  Where? —B

  His smile was involuntary.

  Diner? —G

  Greyson was beginning to understand that the best way to keep Blaise happy is to feed her. And he needed her to be especially happy when he asked her to meet his family next Sunday. Immediately, he began doubting agreeing to his mother’s request when he thought about how it may come across to Blaise. Two dates and he’s already asking her to meet the parents? She was going to think he was insane. Hell, even he was questioning his sanity.

  Sounds delicious. :-) Twenty minutes? —B

  Greyson chuckled in the empty car. Insane or not, he could see a future with Blaise. He wanted that future, and Greyson will do whatever it takes to make Blaise see that.

  Perfect. —G

  So perfect, he thought, then shook his head. Springing the parents on Blaise so soon is not a good idea. He needed her to know him better first. Ease her into his family life. He couldn’t lose her if she fell for him before his family got to her. Shit. Greyson Steele was acting like a love-struck teenager.

  BUTTERFLIES IN THE stomach. Blaise couldn’t remember the last time she had butterflies. Maybe never. But driving to the diner to meet up with Greyson has the little buggers going crazy.

  “Silly,” Blaise said aloud. Thirty-two year olds should not be acting like infatuated teenagers. And, yet, she was acting like Jessie did when she had a crush on some boy at school. To make matters worse, Blaise knew she wasn’t going to have Ellie as a buffer today as she normally took off during the afternoon on Sundays. She shook her head at that thought. They had been alone before, so what was the problem now? The problem now, she thought, is that she seriously wanted Greyson. And she didn’t think she had the will power to keep waiting.

  Blaise pulled up behind Greyson’s sleek car, smiling to herself at the thoughts that always came to her mind when she saw it. If Greyson could read her mind…

  “Blaise?”

  She jumped at the sound of his voice through her cracked window, and the thump, thump, thump of his knock.

  “Hey.” She killed the engine, grabbed her purse, and smiled at him when he opened the door for her.

  “What were you just thinking about?”

  She took his outstretched hand as he helped her out of the car, silently enjoying his chivalry. “Nothing. I just really like your car,” she smirked.

  “Yeah?” he grinned. “Maybe I’ll let you drive it one day.”

  “Hmm.” Her smile widened when he didn’t let go of her hand as they walked into the diner.

  “Hey, Blaise!” Jessie bounced—yes, bounced—out from behind the counter. “Mr. Steele.”

  Blaise saw the slight blush when Jessie looked at Greyson. She didn’t blame the girl. Greyson was certainly blush worthy.

  “I thought we decided on Greyson?” He gave Jessie a charming smile which had Blaise giving him another point in the ‘good guy’ column. “I finally got this one to call me Greyson. You going to make me work as hard as she did?”

  “You just lost your point, stud,” Blaise murmured, receiving a confused look from Greyson. She just released his hand before sliding into ‘her’ booth. “Tea and some cake for me, please,” she ordered from the waiting Jessie.

  “Without the gross stuff, right?”

  Blaise chuckled. “Yes, without the ‘gross stuff’.”

  “And, for you, Greyson?”

  Blaise laughed at the emphasis Jessie put on Greyson’s name, and gave Jessie a conspiratorial wink.

  “Why don’t you pick something for me? I’m sure you have a favorite your mom makes.”

  And, just like that, he regained his lost point.

  “Everything mom makes is great. But I’ll pick something for you. Would you like tea? Coffee?”

  “Coffee would be great. Thanks, Jessie.”

  She blushed again before scurrying off to get their order.

  “I think you have an admirer.”

  “Unless it’s you, I’m not interested.” Greyson reached over and stroked Blaise’s fingers gently.

  Blaise smiled. “I think it’s safe to say you have many admirers. And one just happens to be me.” She pulled her hand away when Jessie came back, her tray expertly balanced on one hand. Jessie had been very young when Ellie opened this place, so she practically grew up here. It didn’t surprise Blaise one bit that at the tender age of sixteen, Jessie was already a pro.

  Jessie placed the tray on the counter, and set Blaise’s tea in front of her, followed by the red velvet cake. She then put Greyson’s coffee down before delivering a plate full of samples of each of the pies that were available that day.

  “Wait! Why does he get a sample plate and I only get one slice of cake?”

  “That’s what you asked for, and Greyson asked me to choose for him.” She smirked and turned to Greyson. “Everything mom makes is my favorite, so I thought you’d like to try them all. We offer this to people who aren’t as… decisive as Blaise is.”

  “Decisive must be the nicer word for obsessed,” Greyson chuckled. “I’ve never seen someone quite as enamored with red velvet as Blaise is.”

  “Keep it up,” Blaise mumbled around a huge bite of deliciously sinful red velvet cake. She shot Jessie a mock glare of irritation when she giggled. “I would like some water, traitor.”

  “Coming right up, Ms. Knight.” Jessie giggled again, then grabbed her tray and all but skipped away.

  “You two seem to have a good relationship.”

  Blaise noted that Greyson took his coffee black when he sipped it without doctoring it up first. She would file that away for whenever she made him coffee… “Um, yeah.” She cleared her throat in an attempt to clear her mind of thoughts of cooking breakfast and making coffee for Greyson. “I’m Jessie’s Godmother. She was just two years old when I met Ellie, so she pretty much grew up with me in her life.”

  Greyson nodded thoughtfully. “Well, she couldn’t have better role models raising her.”

  A wide smile bloomed on Blaise’s face. “What a beautiful compliment. Thank you.”

  Greyson grinned his boyish grin that Blaise found endearing. “I call ’em as I see ’em, doll.” He took a bite of one of the pies on his plate. “Hmm. Coconut.”

  “Oh, El’s coconut custard pie is to die for!” Blaise eyed his plate with a touch of envy. Red velvet would always be her favorite, but sometimes she wondered why she didn’t get the sampler plate more often.

  “You want some, don’t you?”

  “No. I’m perfectly happy with my own.” She took a bite to illustrate her point.

  “Mmhmm.” She watched as he sampled another. “Strawberry.” He paused, smacking his lips a bit as if he were tasting a fine wine and trying to taste all of the flavors. She knew exactly what those flavors were, and her regret for not getting a sampler grew. “And, rhubarb. Very nice. Sure you don’t want any?”

  “Well, since you’re insisting I have some,” Blaise reached across the tab
le, fork in hand. But at the last minute, Greyson pulled the plate away from her. “Hey!”

  “If you want some, you have to answer a question first,” Greyson told her with complete seriousness.

  “You’re kidding. You know, I could just go back to the kitchen and get a plate for myself.”

  “You could. But where would the fun be in that? Come on, Blaise. You’re not afraid to answer a question are you?” Greyson challenged. And, damn it, Blaise could never back down from a challenge.

  She sighed heavily. “What’s your question?”

  “What are we doing here?”

  Blaise frowned in confusion. “You asked me to meet you here.”

  “That’s true. But I want to know what you’re looking for, Blaise. Casual dating? A relationship?” He leaned forward. “A fuck buddy?”

  Her pulse picked up considerably at the intense look in Greyson’s eyes. “I wasn’t looking for anything, Greyson. And, I’m definitely not looking for a fuck buddy. You’re the one who pursued me, remember. Perhaps I’m the one who should ask you what you’re looking for.”

  Greyson sat back, and rubbed his hand over his fine beard. “You took your hand from mine when Jessie walked up. Why?”

  Blaise sat back as well. She didn’t know how to answer that question. Hell, she wasn’t accustomed to having a man be so direct with her. At least not when it came to feelings and the future. Sex? Yes, of course. No man had trouble talking about sex, or wondering when they would get it. But she had a feeling that Greyson wasn’t thinking about sex. Not entirely. “It wasn’t… I didn’t…”

  “I don’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable, Blaise. I’m just trying to figure you out. That’s not an easy task.”

  “I’m really not that complicated, Greyson.”

  “Oh, but you are, doll. I’ve never known a woman like you before. The women I’m used to make no secret about what they’re after with me. It’s either money or sex. Or both. You don’t seem to care about either.”

  “That’s not completely true,” Blaise responded, taking a sip of her tea. She noticed the small quirk of Greyson’s eyebrow as he took a drink of his coffee, and knew what he was probably thinking. “I never said I didn’t care about sex.”

  Greyson started coughing, trying valiantly, she guessed, not to spit his coffee all over her.

  “See?” he asked once he got his coughing under control. “You never cease to surprise me.”

  “And, you surprise me by dating women who care about your money. Why do you do it?”

  “Dating is not the word I would use. And, I’ll answer your question if you promise to answer mine.”

  “What question?”

  “Why you took your hand away.”

  Damn it. She was hoping he had forgotten that she didn’t answer. She blew out a breath. “I don’t know, really. Maybe it was because I don’t know what you want from this, from me. Or, maybe it was because I didn’t want Jessie to get the wrong impression, and go and tell Ellie. Then, I’d have to endure question after question from Ellie, and Jessie would get into it because she’s a girl and that’s what girls do…” Greyson was grinning at her, and Blaise promptly stopped her long-winded answer that wasn’t really an answer. “And, I’m rambling. Anyway, that’s the long answer. Now it’s your turn.”

  “All right, Blaise. You want answers? Here you go.” He paused long enough to take a bite of key lime pie, then offered Blaise a bite of the same pie. She closed her lips around the fork, trying not to think about how that same fork was just in Greyson’s mouth. She also tried not to focus on how his eyes darkened when she moaned a little (whether that was from the thought of the fork, or the spectacular pie, she didn’t know).

  “Um,” Greyson cleared his throat. “Answers. Right. Let’s start with the easy one. I see these women because it’s what’s expected of me from my family. A ‘suitable’ mate.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Blaise mumbled around a bite of her cake.

  “Yes, it is,” Greyson chuckled.

  “I’m sure they’d love me,” she said sarcastically.

  Greyson said nothing.

  “They already know about me?” Blaise asked incredulously.

  “Yes.”

  “How? Why?”

  “Does it matter? They know, and that brings me to the more difficult question. What do I want from this?” Once again Greyson leaned forward. “I want you, Blaise. I want to know where we can take this. I want to know you. All of you.” He took her hand. “If I said everything I was thinking I’d probably scare the hell out of you.”

  “Then it’s probably best if you don’t say them,” Blaise answered quickly. She was having trouble wrapping her head around what he just said already. But to her credit, she didn’t take her hand away. “You’re looking for a… relationship?”

  Did she really just stumble over a simple word?

  “Yes. And, if it makes you feel any better, I’m just as freaked out about this as you seem to be.”

  WELL. HE DID it. He told Blaise he was looking for a relationship. Much to his surprise, and relief, she didn’t get up and haul ass. Fuck. Cade was going to have a field day with this shit.

  “If it’s what you’re looking for, why are you freaked out?” Blaise voice was almost timid. It wasn’t a word Greyson associated with Blaise from what he knew of her so far. It made him more determined to solve the mystery that is Blaise Knight.

  “I’ve never been one to want a relationship, Blaise. It was never in my wheelhouse. Never seemed the right thing for me.” Greyson sipped his coffee, watching Blaise’s reaction carefully. “When I was in the Army, having any kind of lasting relationship just seemed selfish.”

  “Selfish?”

  “I could never promise to return from any given mission. How could I possibly put someone I professed to care about through that?”

  He noticed Blaise shiver slightly, then nod.

  “Okay, I get that. And, after the Army?”

  “After, I became too involved in my family’s business. Like we talked about in your hallway while eating Coffee, Coffee Ice Cream, Preston had made bad decisions, so my life consisted of fixing everything that he screwed up. That took a lot of my time. And, of course, it also put me in my mother’s crosshairs as an eligible bachelor.”

  “Hence, tall, skinny blonde?” Blaise asked with a neutral look on her face. Greyson knew that she was anything but neutral when it came to Pricilla.

  “Yes,” he laughed. “However, I certainly don’t want to talk about her now. I’d rather talk about where I am now, and what I would like with you.”

  “A relationship.”

  “You make that sound like a bad word.”

  “It’s not bad. It’s just not something I think about.”

  “Why is that?” Greyson found that the answer intrigued him very much. Why wasn’t this beautiful, smart, sassy woman taken? He thought better than to ask Blaise that particular question. She didn’t seem like the type of woman that would enjoy being seen as ‘taken’. Oh, but Greyson wanted to take her. Without a doubt.

  “That answer costs more than a couple bites of pie.” Blaise gave him a small smile, then reached over for a bite of his strawberry rhubarb pie.

  “All right. I’m willing to pay whatever your price is. I need to know what I’m up against here, Blaise.”

  “Do you guys need anything else?”

  A look of relief, if Greyson read it right, flashed over Blaise’s face when Jessie showed up. He wasn’t about to let that question go, though. He’d file it away for later, but he would get the answer.

  “No, thank you.” He smiled at Jessie. “Blaise?”

  “I’m good.”

  Greyson pulled some money out of his pocket.

  “Oh, no charge. Mom never charges Blaise.”

  Greyson paused, then continued to take two twenty dollar bills out. “Consider this your tip, then.”

  “Wow! Thank you!” Jessie took the money, and stuffed it in t
he pocket of her apron.

  “Hey. Tell your mom I’ll call her tonight, okay?”

  Jessie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay.”

  “Jessie, you need to give your mom a break. She loves you, you know that.”

  “I know. I just don’t know why she has to be a hard ass all the time.”

  “Jessie!”

  “If I may?” Greyson’s gentle interruption had both ladies turning their gaze to him. “I’ve only just met your mom, Jessie, but I can tell that you are the most important thing in her life. Perhaps that’s why you feel she’s such a ‘hard ass’. But everything she does is in your best interest. I’ve been in places where children were nothing more than… well, they weren’t very important. You should feel honored that you’re that important to someone. That someone loves you enough to be hard on you when they feel it’s necessary for your well-being.”

  Jessie had the good grace to blush a little with embarrassment. She nodded slightly at him, before turning to Blaise.

  “I’ll tell her. I think maybe I’ll make spaghetti tonight. You’re welcome to come over, if you want.”

  Blaise smiled one of the most beautiful smiles that Greyson had ever seen.

  “I think you two should talk, but you better save me some of your amazing spaghetti!” Blaise stood, and gave Jessie a hug. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

  “’Kay. Thanks, again, Mister… Greyson. Have fun on the rest of your date!” Jessie rushed away as Blaise swatted at her.

  “Ready?” He held his hand out to Blaise, and was beyond pleased when she took it. Greyson kept her hand in his, tugging her closer. “Walk a bit with me?”

  She leaned into him with a smile. “You know, you’re quite a mystery.”

  “Me? I think I’ve been perfectly clear about what I want.”

  Blaise laughed. “Not about that. You gave a sixteen-year-old girl forty bucks as a tip. While I am a bit biased, and think Jessie is responsible, forty bucks is too much for a teenager.”