Coming Home: An LA Lovers Book

by Jourdyn Kelly

  “You look exquisite, doll.”

  His low voice reverberated through her, causing her skin to break out in goosebumps. Exquisite? No one had ever used that term for her. She wondered if half the men she dated even knew what the word meant.

  “Right back at you, stud,” she said, finally finding her voice again. Blaise tugged gently at his sweater until his body was against hers. “As great as you look in these clothes, you make me want to stay here and get you out of them.”

  “That can be arranged,” Greyson growled, kicking the door shut with his foot.

  It took all of Blaise’s willpower to push him back before he attacked her lips. She wanted to kiss him. Wanted to do exactly as she said, and stay here. But she wasn’t going to let his mother think she was right about her. No flaking out.

  “Later,” she husked. “We have a lunch to get to.” She chuckled at his frustrated grunt, giving him a playful swat on his impeccable ass. “You’ll live.”

  UNFORTUNATELY FOR BLAISE’S nerves—which she still tried to deny—the drive to the Steele estate took less that fifteen minutes. The text she just received wasn’t helping at all.

  I warned you.

  Warned me, Blaise scoffed silently. Who the hell did this person think they were? She still believed the culprit was tall, skinny bitch. Most importantly, what the hell did they think they could do to her? Blaise almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of it all. She probably would have if it weren’t so damn annoying.

  Her attention was brought back to the present as Greyson slowed down, and pulled up to a… well, a monstrosity.

  Blaise’s jaw dropped. “How many people live here? It’s big enough to house a small country.”

  Greyson laughed. “It’s ridiculous, isn’t it? It’s only Nora, Preston, Courtney and her fiancé now.” He shook his head, a look of embarrassment crossing his features. “Even when I was here, I felt it was too much. They don’t even use three-fourths of the place.”

  “Four people.” Blaise shook her head. “How many rooms?”

  “Don’t make me tell you, doll. It’s embarrassing.” Greyson glanced down at her with a sheepish grin.

  Blaise easily let it go. She wasn’t particularly interested, anyway. She just wasn’t able to comprehend why anyone would want to live in a place where they would have to send out a search party to find the other occupants. Then she sniggered to herself. Perhaps that’s why.

  Greyson, to Blaise’s surprise, knocked on the large, ornate door. She glanced up at him, noting the set of his strong jaw. Blaise knew he didn’t want to be here, but she also knew he wanted his parents to know her. To show them how wrong they were about her. If Greyson could endure spending time with people he is currently not on good terms with, Blaise certainly could, too. Her internal musings were interrupted when the door opened, and a tall, lanky man dressed smartly in black and white.

  “Master Greyson, it’s good to see you again.”

  Blaise bit her lip, fighting not to laugh at the ‘master’. Apparently she didn’t quite succeed, as she received a small bump from Greyson.

  “Rupert.” Greyson nodded his head amiably. He placed his hand at the small of Blaise’s back, and gently pushed her inside. “This is Blaise Knight. Blaise, our house manager, Rupert Hughes.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Hughes,” Blaise greeted him, cheerfully offering her hand.

  Rupert took her hand with a light touch, and bowed slightly at the waist. “Miss Knight. The pleasure is all mine.” As he released her hand, he turned to Greyson. “You’re expected in the sitting room, Master Greyson. Master Preston was called away unexpectedly, so lunch has been delayed.”

  Rupert was the epitome of a professional butler, but Blaise noticed a small smile as he turned back to her to bid her adieu.

  “Damn it,” Greyson gruffed. “Nora should have called me to cancel if she knew Preston wouldn’t be here.”

  Blaise slipped her hand around his arm. “I’m sure they’re still going to have lunch, right?”

  Greyson shook his head as he guided her towards what she assumed was the sitting room. “Lunch is never served until all members of the family who are supposed to be here are here.”

  “Oh.” Now Blaise wished she had eaten another croissant for breakfast this morning.

  He brought his hand to hers, giving it a slight squeeze. “I’m sure if lunch hasn’t been cancelled, that means Preston’s business shouldn’t take long.”

  Oh goodie.

  The Victorian sitting room was ostentatious in Blaise’s opinion. She tried not to be judgmental, but the furniture looked as garish and uncomfortable as the furniture in Greyson’s apartment. What made it even worse was the tall, skinny bitch perched on the flower upholstered, wing-backed settee as though she owned the place.

  “Fuck me.”

  Greyson’s muttered expletive told Blaise all she needed to know. He was not expecting Pricilla to be here. Blaise lightly squeezed his arm where she held on to him. She wasn’t happy to see Pricilla, but she wouldn’t let this get to her, either.

  “Well, well. You actually brought her. I didn’t think you would have the balls.” The smile on Pricilla’s face was ugly, and nowhere near reached her eyes. “Actually, I didn’t think she would agree to come here.”

  “She is sitting right here,” Blaise returned pleasantly, though she had to unclench her teeth to do so. “And, she has no problem with being here.” Except for the fact that you’re here, she amended silently.

  Before Pricilla had a chance to respond, Greyson’s sister walked into the room, giving Blaise a weary look.

  “Hello, Greyson.” Courtney hugged Greyson awkwardly, and Blaise wondered if the siblings got along at all. Behind Courtney stood a man of average height, with sandy blonde hair. He wasn’t what Blaise considered handsome. He looks like a Ralph Lauren catalog threw up on him. She bit her lip to keep herself from laughing. Pompous. That was the word that popped into Blaise’s mind upon seeing him.

  “Courtney,” Greyson greeted his sister with little affection. I guess they don’t get along that well, Blaise ascertained. “This is Blaise Knight.”

  Blaise gave Courtney a small smile, deciding that Greyson didn’t need to know they had already met—unofficially. “Nice to meet you, Courtney.”

  Courtney leaned in closer as Greyson acknowledged the man that had come in with Courtney. “You should have stayed away,” she whispered close to Blaise’s ear, causing Blaise to step back in surprise.

  Greyson’s sister? That’s who has been sending me the texts? Anger turned to confusion as Blaise saw the sadness in Courtney’s eyes. She didn’t have long to ponder that since Greyson was making more introductions.

  “Doll, this is Ethan, Courtney’s fiancé.” Though Greyson’s tone remained even, Blaise heard animosity in the undertones. She could hardly blame him since Ethan was practically leering at her as he took her hand in a limp shake. Limp handshake equals limp d…

  “The pleasure is all mine, doll,” Ethan said with what Blaise was sure he thought was a charming smile.

  “Blaise,” she corrected, extracting her hand. It took all of her effort not to wipe it off on her dress. Not worth the dry cleaning bill. First chance I get, I’m scrubbing my hands. Discreetly, Blaise took a step in front of Greyson as she could virtually feel the rage rolling off of him.

  “Mother and father are running a little late,” Courtney stated, seemingly oblivious to the tension between her brother and her fiancé.

  “So we heard. Why wasn’t I informed? We could have postponed this little ‘get together’ until another time.”

  Courtney shrugged, the gesture making the woman seem younger, less poised. “Father said to keep the lunch, and make sure you get here.”

  From the corner of her eye, Blaise saw Greyson frown. Not that it wasn’t something he hadn’t done since they got here, but this one was different. She didn’t know why, but this particular frown stirred her uneasiness.

  “Now t
hat the introductions are out of the way, why don’t we all have a seat, and get to know our new addition.”

  Pricilla’s suggestion sounded saccharine sweet, but Blaise caught the sinister smirk. Perfect. An inquisition before the inquisition.

  “Drink, doll?”

  Blaise shook her head at Greyson’s inquiry. Yes, she could use a stiff drink, but she wouldn’t give any of them the satisfaction of thinking she needed it.

  “Since I am on the board of a couple of major charities,” she began with a smug smile. “I find it my civic duty to get to know you. So, tell us about yourself, Blaise.”

  The way Pricilla emphasized her name made Blaise want to roll her eyes. A childish action for a childish action.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Greyson has told us that you own a quaint flower shop.”

  Was there a question in there, Blaise wondered, knowing full well the other woman was trying to get Blaise jealous by including herself in Greyson’s discussions. She turned to Greyson, who was currently glaring at tall, skinny bitch.

  “Quaint doesn’t sound like a word you would use,” Blaise smirked.

  Greyson grinned at her, his eyes twinkling. “Nope. It sure doesn’t.”

  When she turned her attention back to the others, she couldn’t help but notice the glower on Pricilla’s face. Don’t like that I know him so well, do you?

  “Yes, I own Knight in Bloom.”

  “Hmm. I can’t say I’ve heard of it,” Pricilla lied.

  Blaise chuckled inwardly. Trying to see if I told Greyson about your little visit?

  “Really? I do most of the arrangements for the major charities in the area. As you’re on the board, I find it odd you wouldn’t know about my shop.”

  Pricilla’s composure slipped a bit before she plastered the fake smile on her face again.

  “I delegate unimportant tasks such as flower arrangements,” she remarked snidely.

  Blaise felt Greyson bristle beside her, and she purposefully took his hand in hers. She smoothed her thumb over his knuckles, feeling him instantly relax.

  “It must be nice,” Pricilla the witch continued. Blaise simply raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. “Flowers. Such a mindless job. You must find it difficult to keep your brain stimulated.”

  Blaise chuckled, much to Pricilla’s dismay she was sure. “You think what I do is mindless? I have PhDs in botany and horticulture.” She felt Greyson flinch a bit as he pulled her close.

  “Why didn’t I know that about you?” he whispered close to her ear.

  She smiled, leaning in herself. “We’re still getting to know each other. Don’t worry, you’ll learn everything eventually.”

  Pricilla cleared her throat irritably. Courtney and Ethan just sat quietly, their heads swiveling back and forth as though they were watching the slowest tennis match in history.

  Blaise flashed her a sly smile. “I create arrangements for my clients. Weddings, funerals, birthdays, romance. Flowers are used for many reasons. However, if you want to know how I keep my ‘brain stimulated’, I do it by cultivating plants and flowers that are needed for research or medicines. Just recently, I was asked to bring back a medicinal flower that had become extinct centuries ago. That’s how I keep my brain stimulated. And, you?”

  Blaise heard a low laugh come from Greyson. She imagined he had questions about what he just heard, and Blaise would gladly tell him. At the moment, he seemed quite content with watching Pricilla squirm. The blonde’s mouth open and closed like a fish a couple of times before she clamped it closed with a snap. It didn’t take much of an imagination to realize TSB was grinding the gears in her head, trying to find something that would break Blaise’s composure. Bring it.

  Pricilla straightened her back—though Blaise wasn’t sure how she pulled that off since tall, skinny bitch was already as rigid as she thought possible.

  “Has he let you in on his habits, yet?” she asked with yet another ugly smile. “A little friendly advice, woman to woman, he doesn’t start out being demanding, but as time passes, sex will be how he wants with little regard to how you feel about it.”

  “Pricilla, that’s enough!” Greyson averted Blaise’s response with a low, intimidating voice. Blaise was weirdly intrigued by what she meant, wishing Greyson had allowed the blonde to continue. Yes, Greyson was demanding, so was she. But there was never a time when Blaise didn’t feel taken care of—multiple times.

  “Afraid your little girlfriend here will leave if she knew how you really were?” Pricilla taunted before turning back to Blaise with a shit-eating grin. “He especially loves getting blow-jobs in the back of limos.”

  “Goddamn it, Pricilla, stop.”

  “That’s not what you said that night on the way to the gala.”

  Much to her chagrin, Blaise’s demeanor faltered for a moment, and she couldn’t stop the small gasp of surprise. It was irrational for her to be jealous. So call me irrational, Blaise thought irritably. Bitch.

  Pricilla brought her hand to her chest, feigning distress. “Oh! Should I have not told her that, Greyson? Maybe you didn’t want her knowing about our little thing that night.”

  Greyson opened his mouth to speak, but Blaise held her hand up, stalling him. Pasting a smile on her face even though what she really wanted was to claw the other woman’s eyes out, she responded. “Greyson and I weren’t together at that time, so what he did or didn’t do that night is none of my concern.” But it hurt. To know he had been intimate with Pricilla that night, and then pursued Blaise, even tracked her down with Cade’s help, hurt more than she was prepared for.

  “That’s not what happened, doll.” Greyson turned to Blaise, and she could see the desperation in his eyes. “I swear to you, that’s not what happened. I…”

  “Really, Greyson. I don’t need to know. Let’s just let it go, okay?” She didn’t want to hear it. She didn’t want to think about it, so she gave Greyson a quick peck on the lips, and a wink to let him know it really was okay. At least for now.

  “You’re a fool,” Pricilla said suddenly, directing her abuse at Greyson. Anger marred her overly made-up face, causing it to contort in a very unflattering way.

  “I beg to differ,” Greyson responded with a smile. “Seems to me that I made an extremely smart decision getting involved with Blaise.”

  “Pricilla is right. You’re an idiot.”

  Blaise frowned. She turned towards the refined, deep voice, and saw an older—though not quite as handsome—version of Greyson.

  “Preston.”

  The name coming from Greyson’s mouth sounded like an expletive and warning all in one, causing Blaise to shiver slightly, and not in the good way. Oh yay. Daddy is home, she thought sarcastically.

  “She’s playing you, Greyson.”

  Blaise struggled not to fall off the sofa when Greyson stood abruptly.

  “I told you not to do this. I told you this would be the last time you saw me if you made Blaise uncomfortable,” he snarled. “Let’s go, doll.”

  She reached for the hand he held out to her. Confused and hurt, Blaise couldn’t understand what the hell just happened. Blinking, she suddenly realized that Preston wasn’t alone. An elegant woman with short, impeccably styled dark hair, and dressed immaculately in a dark blue pant suit, stood quietly beside him. If looks could kill, Blaise would be in a heap at Greyson’s feet right about now with the death stare she was currently receiving from who she presumed was Nora Steele. She hadn’t even said a word to Greyson’s parents, and things were going horribly wrong.

  “You’re not leaving until this woman tells you the truth,” the elegant woman stated firmly.

  Blaise felt her hand being tugged on, noting that Greyson did not respond to his mother’s demand.

  “Tell him who you really are, or I will.” This came from Preston, causing even more confusion for Blaise. She actually looked around to see if there was someone else he could possibly be talking to in the room. All she f
ound was a very triumphant smile on Pricilla’s face, and an almost apologetic look on Courtney’s. Ethan looked as confused as Blaise felt.

  “Greyson knows who I am,” Blaise answered confidently. Whatever they thought they had on her was completely bogus. That much, Blaise knew. She had nothing to be worried about.

  “We’re leaving. Nora,” he growled when the older woman stepped closer with a hand raised. “Get out of our way. I knew this was a mistake.”

  “Your mistake, Greyson, was getting in bed with the enemy,” Nora lashed out.

  Blaise’s head snapped up as though she had been struck. “Excuse me? I am not Greyson’s enemy. I don’t know what’s going on here, but it seems like the enemy would be you at this moment.”

  Nora was practically shooting daggers at Blaise. So much so that Blaise fought the urge to take cover. Finally, Nora tore her murderous gaze from Blaise, and addressed Greyson. “The woman you chose to be in your life? The woman you turned your back on your family for?” She snatched a folder from Preston’s hands, thrusting it at Greyson. The annoyed look on Preston’s face would have been funny to Blaise if this situation wasn’t so damned crazy. “She’s none other than Blaise Olivia Francesca Knight. The main shareholder of EK Enterprises.”

  A sharp inhale of surprise filled the room, but Blaise wasn’t quite sure if it came from her or someone else. How the hell did they find that out? She forced her slack-jaw closed, and looked up at Greyson. What she saw broke her heart in two.

  NO. IT WASN’T true. It couldn’t be true. He had finally found someone he thought he could trust. Someone that wanted nothing from him, except him. Or so he thought. Looking down at Blaise now, he saw the truth in the shocked look on her face. Didn’t think it would be found out, did you? His heart was breaking in two as he stepped away from her.