I was only slightly surprised when I checked my bank account on Monday evening and saw that I had an extra sixty thousand dollars in the account. After the way that Kade had left me on the pier the day before, I wasn’t sure if he’d follow through. I’d had a nagging doubt the whole day. I didn’t call or text him about it because I was worried that it would make me look like I was gold digging. Considering the way I felt about my mother, that was the last impression I ever wanted to make on someone.
After checking my account, I called the bank to find out how I could access it. They told me for that amount of money to be withdrawn in cash, they needed twenty-four hours’ notice, and I had to do it at one of the main branches, the nearest being in Torrance. I put in the request, and hung up the phone with a sense of at least partial relief. Regardless of how things went with Kade, I thought, I could at least get Sydney off my back.
Yeah, and perhaps you’re going to be the President some day, the inner voice inside me jeered. By the way, if you’re going to actually go after Kade, you might want to start by telling him thank you.
I didn’t know if Kade was still in Los Angeles, or if he’d gone back to Portland, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to check. I got in my car and drove out to Laguna Hills, knowing that if he was in town he’d probably still be there.
As I drove, I thought about Kade. For most of our relationship, since about the time I turned fifteen or sixteen, he’d done a lot of teasing of me. Not in public, mind you, but in private, he always had a little taunt for me. I wondered as I drove if perhaps Kade’s teasing was just his way of trying to deal with the attraction that I realized I’d felt for him most of the time I’d known him. At first it had just been a little teenage crush thing. I mean, there I was, thirteen going on fourteen, and Mom was dating a guy whose son was tall, muscular, handsome, smart, just a total dream. He was like the unattainable perfect guy, and I dismissed it as I focused on getting started in modeling, and yes, learning to date myself.
Later on, as Kade left Los Angeles and established himself up north, I thought I’d moved on. Still, every time he came back to town, I found myself admiring him and occasionally having the little fantasy about him. I know it had cost me one boyfriend, who’d come by the house at the same time Kade was in town and broke it off with me two weeks later, stating I was obsessed with someone else. I never told Mom, Derek or Kade about it though, and just tried to put it out of my mind.
Pulling up to the house in Laguna Hills, I saw that Kade’s car was still out front, which gave me a flare of hope. There was another car there, but I didn’t think about it, since it was still during the staff’s business hours. I figured it belonged to the maid or something.
Heading inside, I listened for any signs of Kade being around. While his car was out front, that didn’t mean he was actually there. He could’ve gone out with an old buddy for all I knew. Tossing my bag on the table next to the door, I walked upstairs. “Kade? Hey, Kade, are you around?”
I heard movement from Kade’s room, and I walked toward the sound when the door opened and Kade came out, a pair of shorts on and nothing else. “Alix,” he said, closing his door behind him. “What are you doing here?”
He looked surprised to see me, and there was something else on his face that I wasn’t sure I could identify. His face was flushed, and there was a light sheen of sweat on his upper body, his six pack shining in the dim light of the hallway. Each muscle was flushed and defined, and he looked sexier than I’d ever seen anyone look in my life. I had to swallow twice to get enough lubrication to free up my vocal cords.
“Uh, I just wanted to come by and say thank you,” I said, making sure to keep my distance. I didn’t know if I could trust myself with the way he looked standing there. “I just talked to my bank and . . . ”
The door behind Kade opened and a pretty blonde girl walked out. She was shorter than me, and she looked like she was at least partially Asian, at least from her facial features. Considering she was wearing an emerald silk bath robe, I knew for certain that she was a knockout, while at the same time I also knew exactly what they’d been up to. “Oh.”
“Kade, after that, I am so going to need a shower,” the girl said with a confident, sexy little smile and swagger to her voice and body. She looked at me with frank consideration, and then her smile grew larger, like she had just discovered a secret. “So you’re Alix. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Rita, a . . . friend of Kade’s from a long time back. Good to finally meet you.”
Rita offered her hand and I shook it out of pure instinct. She sauntered off down the hallway, giving Kade a little wave as she disappeared into the guest shower. “So . . . ”
“Alix, I’ve known Rita for a long time,” Kade said. “She and I, there’s no emotional bond there. We’re just friends.”