Page 61 of Purr For Me
Jason laughed again, apparently amused by her reaction.
“You haven’t changed at all. You might not get high anymore, but you’re still as much of an asshole as you always were.” Yet his words had found their mark, goddamn it. She felt guilty.
Jason’s smug expression infuriated her even more. “Have a good day, Lexie. See you around.”
Lexie watched him walk to his car with her stomach churning. She should warn Kade.
Jason peeled away from the curb and Lexie went inside. She stood in her living room, shaking with anger over the encounter. Hating herself for giving him the satisfaction of rising to his bait.
She glanced at the clock. She’d be late meeting Kade now. The happiness of spending the morning with him faded. They both knew this day would come. She didn’t know what she had been expecting, but not Jason sober and wanting her back in his life. He didn’t love her. To him, she was merely a possession.
She walked to her car, wondering if she’d been wrong to get involved with Kade, but deep in her heart she was glad. Being with Kade was the only time she’d been happy in years.
She just hoped he didn’t lose his brother over her. Would he resent her in the future?
* * *
Kade tapped his pen against his kitchen table as he reviewed the outline he’d just finished for an article on a new NASCAR model that Ford was working on for next year. It needed some tweaking, but that was nothing new. He never wasted a lot of time on detailed outlines because he always ended up switching the order around.
Although it took longer, he often preferred doing rough drafts old school. There was something about working with pen and paper that stirred his creative juices. He grabbed a clean sheet of paper and started on a second draft of the outline.
A knock on the doorjamb of the kitchen door interrupted him. Looking up, he saw Lexie standing there with an odd look on her face. He hadn’t heard her arrive.
He got up and warily approached her. “Hey, babe. I lost track of time. I’ll be ready in a sec.” He tried to kiss her, but she avoided him. “Is something wrong?”
“That depends.”
Kade cocked an eyebrow at her cryptic reply. “Okay. What’s going on?” He motioned towards the living room, but Lexie stayed put.
She lifted her chin, her gaze guarded. “Jason showed up at my place this morning.”
A jolt of surprise ran through Kade, but he just frowned. “Is he okay? And what did he want?”
Lexie sighed. “He seems fine—good health, too. He claims he’s been in rehab. He changed after a near-death experience. The funny thing is… I believe him this time. But he’s just as much of a tool as he ever was. He’s refusing to sign the divorce papers. And of course the money is gone.”
Kade pulled her into his arms, but she held herself stiffly. “I told you I’d give you the money.”
“He knows about us. And he’s pissed.” She looked into his eyes. “I don’t know why. He doesn’t really love me. I suspect he’s terrified of the ‘where to go from here’ and I’m familiar.” She pushed out of his arms. “I think we should cool things down while we get this sorted. I don’t want our relationship used as an excuse to push him back into drugs.”
Going to the fridge, Kade got out a bottle of water and twisted off the cap. “If heisclean, I want him to stay that way, too, but I don’t want to put my life on hold or deny my love for you. I’ll talk to him. Did he say where he was staying?”
She shook her head. “No.”
Going to her, Kade slid his arms around her waist. “You’ll see. I’ll talk with Jason and get everything sorted. I won’t let him hurt you ever again.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Let’s go for that run. Burn off all this nervous energy. We can’t do anything more until Jason gets in touch again. Let me go to the bank and pay the loan off. Once this situation is done and dusted, I’m looking forward to you and I spending a long week in this cabin. I’d love you to share your memories of your time there… and we could make some of our own.”
Thankfully, his words pacified her. But as he was getting changed into his running gear, he wondered if it would be as simple as he made it sound.
