Page 48 of Finding Lexie
“I’m just asking, because it doesn’t seem to me as if you eat anything that’s bad for you,” Lexie said, patting his flat stomach.
Midas grabbed her hand and brought it up to his mouth, kissing the palm before placing it on his chest, keeping his hand on top of hers. “I eat junk food,” he said. “I just exercise a lot to work it off. Now what kind of cookies did you make?”
“If I say oatmeal raisin, are you going to be disappointed?”
“Hell no. Why would you ask that?”
“Some people hate raisins.”
“Not me. Is that what you made?”
“No. I mean, I like any kind of baked good. You already know all about my sweet tooth. But I decided to make my favorite, pumpkin spice with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.”
Midas’s mouth watered. “Can I have one?” he asked, reaching for her bag.
Lexie laughed and twisted out of his reach. “No, they’re for dessert.”
Midas pouted, making Lexie laugh even harder. “Wow, is that a pathetic look,” she told him.
“I didn’t know you could cook,” he said, turning her toward the building.
“Believe me, I’m not an expert by any means. But this recipe is super easy.”
“Well, I know they’re gonna be a hit. The guys are suckers for home-baked goods.”
“I hope they like them. I know not everyone is a fan of pumpkin spiced anything. I would’ve tried to make something Hawaiian, but I haven’t had time to research it.”
“They’ll love them,” Midas reassured her. “And you’ve been busy at work since you’ve gotten here.”
“I have. But I really do love the people I work with,” she said.
Midas listened fondly as she rambled on about the people she’d met at Food For All. The building the organization worked out of was only a couple blocks from her apartment building, and she’d spent the last two days getting the lay of the land at her new job. She’d met the other full-time men and women who worked there, some of the part-timers and volunteers, and had definitely jumped in with both feet as far as the people who came for food and assistance were concerned.
She’d told him last night about a woman who’d come by inquiring about free food for her and her husband, who were living on the streets. They usually earned enough to get food by panhandling, but they’d both been laid low by the flu recently and hadn’t had the energy to sit out in the sun, begging for spare change from tourists. So they were rundown, sick, and hungry. Lexie had packed up food for them and had walked with the woman back to where her husband was resting.
On one hand, Midas hated how often Lexie put herself in danger, but on the other, he was so damn proud of her. She saw people that most of humanity did their best to ignore. She saw them as the human beings they were and treated them with respect.
He held open the door to the condo complex and followed Lexie inside.
“Wow,” she exclaimed, looking around at the opulent interior of the building.
“Yeah, it’s a little over the top. We give Aleck shit about it all the time.”
“How in the world can he afford to live here on a military salary? Unless I’m totally confused and you guys are making a lot more than I think you are.”
Midas chuckled. “We aren’t. I can assure you of that. Aleck’s loaded. Well, his parents are. They’re in real estate, and they bought the penthouse in this place and kind of insisted Aleck live here. He’s working on paying them back for it, but they aren’t being very gracious about taking his money.”
“Oh, wow, the penthouse?” she asked.
“Yup.”
“I never would’ve guessed,” Lexie said.
“Yeah, he’s completely down-to-earth,” Midas said. “But I have to say, we sure do love coming here for our get-togethers. Wait until you see his balcony, the view is amazing.”
“Not like what I see when I open my curtains, huh?” Lexie teased.
It was Midas’s turn to wrinkle his nose. “Um. No.”
