Page 31 of Blake

She watched him pale underneath his permanent Malibu tan. “Grace!” His eyes traversed her face and if she didn’t know better, she would say he looked shaken.

“Hey, Dad,” she answered her voice sounding stronger than she felt.

He pulled the door open as if remembering his manners and ushered them inside. “Come in, come in,” he said regaining his usual aplomb.

She stepped through and felt the familiar ache in her chest at the house that used to be her home. It was spectacular with large open spaces, marble floors, and a large double staircase leading to the second floor. An entranceway ran through the middle with the kitchen and dining room to the left and the living room and library to the right.

“Dad, this is my boyfriend Calvin Blake,” she said introducing the two men. “Blake, my father Robert Paxton.”

The two shook hands and she could feel them sizing each other up. In a normal situation this would have been the two most important men in her life meeting and would have been significant. Maybe in another life but not now. It was funny to think that without the rift between her and her father she never would have had the life she did now. She never would have met the man who was fast coming to mean everything to her.

“Your mother is by the pool; we’ve just finished a late lunch.” Her father seemed to be trying to fill the silence as he led them through to the back patio and pool area.

“You have a beautiful house.”

Pax felt it significant that Blake didn’t say home and tried to see it from his view.

This house had been her home but as she looked around at the stylish residence with priceless art and not a single thing out of place, she realised she wouldn’t swap her tiny home for it. Her home was filled with warmth and candid snaps of her and her friends in frames.

The only pictures in frames in this house were the stuffy portraits that she’d hated having done.

The sun was starting to wain as they stepped out onto the patio, it was spectacular, and she could see all the way over the manicured lawns to the canyon and beyond. Her mother Henrietta Paxton was a beautiful woman. She stood from the sun lounger as they approached, her long shapely legs on full display as she sashayed towards them.

“Grace, my darling, what happened to your face? You look awful.”

Pax felt Blake squeeze her hand and looked up to see his face had hardened. Pax definitely got her looks from her mother who was tall, slim to the point of being almost too thin, and constantly reminded Pax how she should watch her weight. Both had red hair although her mother’s hair was more blonde than red now. Her mother had blue eyes though, while Pax followed her father for that. She also had her mother’s creamy complexion which her mother was very proud of, hence the reason she wore a sheer cover-up to protect her skin. At fifty-two she was a beautiful woman and Pax had always felt like the ugly duckling to her mother’s swan.

“I was mugged.” Her eyes landed on her father to see if he reacted at all to what he’d had done to his only child.

“Well, you should really be more careful,” her mother admonished.

She could have sworn she heard Blake growl but dismissed it as she watched her father.

“Henri,” her father said sharply and angrily, if she wasn’t mistaken. He seemed furious and concerned filled his face when he turned back to her. “Sit, please, both of you.” He rang a bell and a pretty maid in a white dress came through. “What would you like to drink?” he asked as she and Blake took seats on the cream sofa.

“I’ll have sparkling water.”

“I’ll have the same.” Blake held on to her hand as if he knew she needed his touch.

The maid ran off to get the drinks as her parents sat opposite.

“Tell me about what happened. Did you call the police?”

She felt an odd moment of doubt. Her father seemed so genuinely concerned for her it made her want to weep.

“No, it was dark. I didn’t get a good look at them.” She watched his reaction.

He went still at her words. “Them? There was more than one? Oh, Grace, I do wish you would come home where I can look after you.”

“She’ll be looked after in her home from now on. I’ll see to it personally.”

Her father must have realised he had ruffled Blake’s feathers. “I meant no disrespect, Calvin. I’m merely worried about her safety. I’m heartened to see my Grace with a man such as yourself. You have an excellent reputation in your field as a PPO. To the Queen no less. Knowing she has you makes me feel happier. Although our relationship has been somewhat strained over the last few years, she is my daughter and I love her with all my heart.”

Pax had to swallow the tears down. He sounded so heartfelt. She wanted desperately to believe him but then she thought back to the terrible night she’d found out the truth and hardened herself to his words.

The maid came back with their water and talk turned to other things—her job at the gallery, Blake’s work in private security. Her mother flirted with Blake every chance she got, touching his arm or knee in a mock-friendly way which Pax ignored. She’d seen it done to every boyfriend she ever brought home until she stopped bothering after she found her mother and the last one in a very compromising position.

Her father stood, bringing her out of her reverie and glanced at his wife for a second, a warning look in his eyes before he turned to Blake then his eyes came to rest on hers. “Pax, may I have a second of your time? I need to discuss a personal matter with you.”