Page 86 of Finding Lexie
He stood then, holding his woman to his chest as he did. She giggled as he headed for the door.
“The dishes,” she reminded him.
“We’ll get them in the morning,” he said. They had more important things to do. Like she said, they needed to celebrate the first day of the rest of their lives.
Chapter Fourteen
Lexie missed Midas horribly. She’d known his being on a mission would be hard, but she hadn’t understood exactly how difficult it would really be. Especially after seeing or talking to him every day for the last month or so. Going cold turkey and having no idea how he was doing was torture.
She’d been working a lot in the last week, trying to keep her mind off how much she missed him. Natalie was appreciative of the amount of time she’d been spending at Food For All, and she’d gotten to know all of the part-time employees—Courtney, Christine, Stephen, Richard, Aolani, Lopaka, Mandi, Tabitha, Josie, Ramon, and Beth—fairly well. She was also becoming more familiar with the volunteers.
For the most part, her days had been uneventful. She’d begun helping Natalie with some of the paperwork, determining which families they’d assist and talking to businesses on the phone to try to drum up donations.
Theo still came by frequently, and Lexie was keeping a cautious eye on him. He was definitely watching her too, which was a little disconcerting, because she didn’t know his motives. Ashlyn had noticed, and even Jack had said something about it, about how she had an admirer. Lexie wasn’t sure about that, and for her own peace of mind, other than saying hello to him in the mornings, she didn’t talk to him much.
They hadn’t seen any of the four men who had caused the ruckus two weeks ago, though every now and then, there were other visitors who seemed determined to disrupt the peace for whatever reason.
But generally, work was work. Lexie supposed that wasn’t a bad thing. She didn’t need excitement in her life, not like the fight that had broken out when she’d been on the phone with Midas. And he wouldn’t be happy if something else happened while he wasn’t in town. Lexie could take care of herself, but if the shoe was on the other foot, she’d be extremely worried about him, so she understood.
Despite missing Midas, she was looking forward to tonight, which was going to be more fun than her usual evening plans. Instead of going home and listening to an audiobook and going to bed early, she’d invited Elodie and Ashlyn over for dinner. Of course, knowing Elodie was a chef, and anything Lexie made could certainly fall short, she had the idea to have an hors d’oeuvre dinner, where everyone would bring an appetizer. That seemed like a lot less pressure than making some big main dish, especially in her small kitchen.
Lexie had made another batch of pumpkin spice cookies, since she knew Elodie had liked those when she’d had them at the barbeque a while back, and she’d also made some deviled eggs, put together a charcuterie board with meat, cheese, and crackers, and baked some crispy cheese twists. They looked super fancy, but were actually just puff pastries twisted into a rope with shredded cheese.
She’d also gone a little overboard with the drinks, not sure what the other women liked. She’d gotten some bottled water, White Claw, some Smirnoff Ice mimosas, a bottle of red wine a nice lady in the grocery store had suggested when she saw Lexie looking lost standing in the wine section, and some light beer, just in case. Anything she had left over she’d bring to work and let her fellow employees have their pick.
Lexie wasn’t much of a drinker, but she enjoyed the occasional alcoholic beverage. She was more excited about getting to know Elodie and Ashlyn better. Tomorrow was Saturday, so she had two whole days off to recover if she binged. Of course, the weekends weren’t quite as exciting without Midas.
A knock on her door sent Lexie scurrying to look through the peephole, and she saw both of her guests standing on the other side. She quickly opened the door and invited them in.
As they entered, Lexie said, “Welcome! I know it’s not much, but—”
“It’s fine,” Elodie interrupted before Lexie could finish her words. “It reminds me of the room I was renting when I first got here,” she said. “I loved my landlady, Kalani, and my room was just as tiny.”
“My place is a lot like this,” Ashlyn said. “No worries.”
“I should probably introduce you two,” Lexie said.
“No need! We chatted on our way up here. We arrived at the same time. We’re practically besties now.”
Ashlyn smiled at Elodie and nodded.
“Right, great. You can bring your stuff in here and we’ll see what needs to be thrown in the oven for a while to be heated or cooked, then start on the food that doesn’t need to be hot.”
The two women put their bags down on the counter and began to unpack.
“This was such a good idea to have an appetizer dinner,” Elodie said. “Mostly because I freaking love hors d’oeuvres!”
“Right?” Ashlyn said. “My favorite part of going out is all the appetizers.”
“Don’t get me started on the chips and salsa at Mexican restaurants,” Elodie warned with a chuckle.
Lexie smiled. She loved that the other two women were so excited.
“What did you guys make?” Ashlyn asked.
“Bacon-wrapped water chestnuts, garbanzo-stuffed mini peppers, and sausage wonton stars,” Elodie said absently, still unpacking.
Ashlyn and Lexie stared at each other for a moment, before they both burst out laughing.
