Page 59 of Purr For Me
“Told you.”
Lexie nudged him with an elbow. “No need to be so cocky.”
He just shrugged and lifted the grill lid. Four burgers sizzled on the top rack. The intoxicating smell of charcoal and beef hit her. “When are they going to be done?” She couldn’t wait to sink her teeth into one.
“About ten minutes. I’ll go start the fries.”
Lexie snagged a piece of cheese off the plate as he left to tide her over. She walked out from under the awning, enjoying the cool water on her bare feet. Last night was largely a blur, and she barely remembered sitting on the deck with Kade. They’d talked about her grandmother, or at least she thought they had.
Now that she was sober, she looked around, curious about Kade’s home. Several yards from the deck, a small lake shimmered in the weak rays of sun that were poking through the clouds. The water was choppy from the storm and lapped at the shore in a soothing rhythm.
She did a double-take when she looked to the left. An enormous gray, two-story house with white columns along the front and a balcony that ran the whole length of it sat on a higher point of the property than Kade’s house. At least she assumed that the two were on the same property. Even from this distance, the elegance of the place was quite intimidating.
Kade came back outside. “Okay. We’ll be eating as soon as the bell dings.”
Lexie flapped her hand in the mansion’s direction. “Kade, whose house is that?”
Kade looked where she’d gestured. “Oh, that’s mine.”
Kade’s writing career must be successful, but then hadn’t his parent’s had money? “Um, then why are you living here?”
“It’s being renovated. This is my guesthouse.”
Perplexed, Lexie asked, “It must be nice to be so rich.”
“I worked hard for everything I have.”
His reply confused Lexie even further. “But your family was rich.”
Kade flashed a grin. “I gave most of my inheritance to Pastor Sal and the mission. I wanted to make my own money. Or maybe I was scared what that privilege would do to me. Look at Jason…”
“Everything did seem to come very easy for him. I don’t think he knew the word no.”
“Thinking I was above everyone else almost destroyed me. Pastor Sal showed me it’s not money that makes a man, but his actions, and what he does in life,” Kade said. “I think that’s why my books sell so well, I’m grounded in the real world.”
“Unlike Jason.”
“Yeah,” Kade replied.
“We couldn’t avoid talking about him forever,” Lexie said.
Kade started taking the burgers off the grill. “Let’s not spoil dinner.”
Lexie blew out a breath and nodded. She also realized that she wanted to get to know Kade a lot better. It became clear to her that other than sharing DNA and a love for car racing, Kade was very different than his younger brother. His brother thought of nothing but his own pleasure.
“Okay, we’re ready. Let’s eat.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
Lexie followed Kade like a rat following the Pied Piper. They ate at his kitchen table, which sat near the French doors, giving them a nice view of the lake. Throughout their scrumptious meal, she marveled at how much she was coming to care about Kade. It made her nervous because she’d been shying away from the idea of falling in love again. But deep in the pit of her stomach, she knew that she was fast approaching the danger zone with Kade.
Shoving away such troubling thoughts, Lexie was perfectly content to just enjoy being with him and living in the present.
