Page 19 of Summer Heat
She was glad Becky and Tessa had invited her out tonight. She needed a break from routine. It would be good for her to go out, have a drink or two, and just have fun for once in her structured life. And if she was really lucky, she wouldn’t think about Kaden Barnes at all.
* * *
Kade let Luke and Derek drag him out to his favorite steak house for dinner. They hit this place at least once a month, and Kade always picked up from here on Helen’s day off, when he was responsible for his own supper. He’d planned on hanging out in front of the television tonight, but the guys insisted they go out. For a prime porterhouse cut, he’d give up his planned solitary evening.
“A toast,” Luke said, holding up his glass of single malt scotch.
Derek raised his glass and Kade did the same. “What are we toasting to?” he asked.
“To one full week with the same personal assistant. I haven’t decided if that means we should be toasting you for your achievement or Lexie for her ability to put up with your shit.”
“I’ll drink to both,” Luke said, treating Kade to a shit-eating grin before tapping Kade’s, then Derek’s glasses and taking a long sip of his drink.
“Fucking comedians,” Kade muttered. The last person he wanted to discuss was Lexie.
Over the delicious meal, they talked about moving forward with their company, careful to avoid discussing Julian and his lawsuit in public. Never knew who might be lurking nearby for a story. Somehow Kade made it through dinner. He didn’t want to discuss the fact that he’d struggled to cut the meat, had needed help, and was generally frustrated by too many things at the moment.
He downed the rest of the alcohol in his glass and signaled the waiter, planning to top off his steak with another drink.
“What can I get you?” Andrew, their usual waiter, asked.
“A refill,” Kade said, lifting his tumbler. “Macallan 18, neat, filled three-quarters of the way full,” he reminded the man. Although he served them every time they came in, Kade left nothing to chance. “I’ll also take a fresh bottle of natural spring water, room temperature, and a straw please.”
“Of course.” The waiter tipped his head discreetly and headed for the bar.
“You’re really going to do that straw and water thing again?” Derek asked.
“You know he is, so why bother questioning him?”
Kade shook his head. “Four or five drops of water helps a whiskey—”
“Open up in the glass,” Derek and Luke said, repeating his often-used refrain at the same time.
“If you remember, why ask?” Kade posed the rhetorical question.
They did it to give him a hard time as only they could. Because they knew he liked his scotch a certain way, compounded by his need for routine. Only these two men could get away with making fun of him.
The waiter returned and placed Kade’s fresh drink, bottle of water, and straw beside his plate.
After the waiter poured the fresh spring water in a glass, Kade used the straw to deposit exactly four drops into his drink. Too much diluted the whiskey. This, at least, he could do without too much help. He’d had an appointment with an orthopedist, who’d merely confirmed the ER doctor’s diagnosis and had given him the same talk about not overdoing things. Though he’d said he’d take another look in a month and consider removing the splint then.
Derek placed his napkin on the table. “I’m not ready to go home yet. I heard some people from work say they’re hanging at Lights. Want to stop by for a drink?”
Kade hadn’t planned on going out late, but he couldn’t say heading home alone right now appealed to him either. “Why not?”
“I’m in,” Luke said, signaling to the waiter for a check.
“Who’s going to be at Lights?” Kade liked to know what he was walking into. “Is that where the coders hang out?”
Luke accepted the folder with the check from the waiter before turning his gaze on Kade. “Actually it’s Tessa and Becky,” he said, flipping open the billfold.
Kade’s stomach twisted at the mention of their personal assistants, who, he’d noticed, Lexie had grown more comfortable with over the course of her first week of work.
He glanced from Luke, who was busy putting the company credit card down, to Derek, who, as usual, had a guilty look on his face.
Don’t ask, don’t ask, don’t ask. “Anyone else?” he asked, hoping that was vague enough to keep his friends from giving him a hard time.
“Let’s go find out,” Derek said, meeting Kade’s gaze with an amused one of his own.
