Summer Heat: A Steamy Romance Boxed Set

by Carly Phillips

  Lexie rose to her feet too. “Kade said he wouldn’t,” she told her sister, looking to him for reassurance.

  He nodded, indicating he planned to keep his promise, and she breathed a long sigh of relief. He paused, as if waiting for her to say something more, but she was spent, lost, and hurting. And Kendall was silently sobbing in relief, hanging on to Lexie with everything she had.

  Kade gave her one long, lingering look. “I’ll just let myself out,” he finally said.

  “Thank you,” she mouthed at him.

  One side of his mouth lifted in a small smile before he turned and walked out.

  Kendall collapsed then, dissolving into a heap on the floor, consumed by huge, gulping sobs. So Lexie did what she always did; she knelt down and took care of her twin, pushing aside the fact that this whole mess had affected her life too.

  She’d lost her job and a guy she really cared about because Kendall had once again spiraled out of control.

  Chapter Twelve

  Kade knew he had to make decisions about a lot of things in his life, starting with Julian. It was unacceptable that he’d go after anyone in Kade’s life, let alone target a woman who’d never done anything to him. Worse, a woman with a mental illness who would never have seen him coming. Kade didn’t just want to stand up for Lexie, he wanted to look out for her sister.

  Instead of going to work the next morning, he headed for Julian’s apartment in Midtown. He walked up the stairs of the old brownstone building, his temper rising as he reached the apartment and knocked hard on the door. He timed his visit before nine a.m., hoping to catch Julian at home and, yeah, maybe at a weak moment. Who knew what he’d been doing the night before. For damn sure he hadn’t been with Kendall.

  When no one answered, he banged harder. “Julian, open the fucking door.”

  Just when he thought he was going to have to turn around and come back later, the door swung open, and his old friend stood in front of him. This was the same guy he’d met freshman year and bonded with from day one. Julian had spent holidays with Kade and his father when his parents couldn’t be bothered. But at some point, drugs had become more important than friendship, and nothing had been the same since.

  “Can I help you?” Julian greeted him, arms folded across his chest, dressed for the day in a pair of jeans and a white tee shirt and surprisingly clear-eyed.

  Kade brushed past him and walked into his apartment. No way he wanted to have this out in the hall. He waited until Julian shut the door behind him before confronting him.

  “I’m here so we can have this out between us. Because only a coward hides behind a woman.”

  “You figured that one out, huh? I have to admit it was fun getting one over on you. Did you think I was fucking your girlfriend?”

  Kade was too aware of his already fractured knuckles to haul off and punch his former friend. “I’m really glad that gets you off, buddy. Too bad the woman you hurt has other issues. Good job, asshole.”

  Julian flinched, and a telltale muscle twitched near his left eye. A sure sign he hadn’t done his homework on Kendall Parker before he’d seduced her and set her up.

  “What are you talking about?” Julian asked.

  Kade wasn’t about to give away private information. “Nothing you need to worry about now that you used her, dumped her, and she’s completely aware of what a prick you are.”

  “I didn’t mean to hurt her,” Julian said, his voice low, looking and sounding more like the man Kade used to know. “She seemed like she was up for a good time.”

  “Yeah, well, you never were the best judge of character. Where’s my watch?”

  “Gone. I pawned it.”

  No shock there, Kade thought. “And the cash? God knows you didn’t give it to Kendall to help pay her debts.”

  Julian didn’t reply. Again, Kade wasn’t surprised. He hadn’t come here expecting to get anything back.

  “It was never about the money. I just wanted you to know I could get to you. Mission accomplished,” Julian said, sounding smug and pleased with himself.

  “What do you want?” Kade asked. “What’s it going to take for you to go away?”

  “Finally, he sees reason.” Julian’s eyes flashed dollar signs. The greedy bastard obviously thought Kade was here to cave. “Given what I’ve got on you, I want one-quarter of Blink’s net worth. I was there when the four of us came up with the idea together, and I’m going to profit like the rest of you.”

  Kade shook his head. “You were drunk and high when we came up with the idea. No way are you taking close to that amount.”

  “Maybe you’re forgetting I’ve got Lila. I can blow your cushy life sky-high.” Julian’s grin exuded overconfidence, and that would be his downfall. “I own you,” Julian said.

  “That’s where you’re wrong.” Kade pushed past him, heading for the door. “Nobody owns me but me.” And he knew just what to do to prove it to himself once and for all.

  * * *

  Lexie couldn’t get out of bed. She wanted to. She needed to pick herself up and move forward, but she decided she needed time to mourn the relationship she’d had, however briefly. Kade had brought something to her life she hadn’t known she needed. She’d spent so much time taking care of her sister and putting her own needs aside she’d almost forgotten she had desires that most women took for granted.

  For a short time, she’d enjoyed being the focus of a man’s attention. And not just any man. Kaden Barnes had shown up in her life and turned it upside down. He was unique on so many levels. Intelligent to a degree she couldn’t come close to comprehending. His arrogance was a cover for insecurities over things he couldn’t control. His ADHD, his anxiety, all things that were a part of what made him unique and defined him also set him apart from others.

  She was pretty sure he had his mother to thank for making him feel those things made him less than … less than his brother. Less than a man. Ironically, those were the qualities she found his most endearing. He was also generous and giving despite being hurt over and over. He could so easily have pressed charges against her sister. God only knew what that watch cost. But he hadn’t and she’d be forever grateful to him.

  Kade deserved a woman who could embrace those things that made him unique, which she did, and be there for him one hundred percent, which she obviously could not. No matter how much she loved him, and she did.

  She loved him in a way her younger self couldn’t have imagined, and she wanted to give him everything. But she was pulled in two different directions, the twin she loved, who had no one else by her side, ever present. Always demanding.

  As if on cue, a knock sounded on her bedroom door. After Kade had left, she and her sister had both retreated to their own rooms. They’d eaten dinner separately, each alone with their thoughts. Lexie hadn’t been ready to deal with her sister, and she suspected Kendall had been too upset and humiliated by everything Julian had done to face Lexie.

  Apparently Kendall was ready now.

  “Come in,” Lexie called out, bracing to deal with her sister. She pushed herself upright in bed as Kendall walked in, looking no better than Lexie felt.

  She still wore the same sleep clothes she’d been in when she’d met Kade yesterday, her hair was a tangled mess, and her eyes were red-rimmed from crying. Lexie had a feeling she was looking in the mirror.

  “Can I sit down?” Kendall asked softly.

  Lexie nodded. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Not really.” Kendall eased herself onto the bed and folded her legs beneath her.

  “I’m sorry about Julian. You never should have been targeted by that bastard.”

  Kendall shrugged. “I shouldn’t have done the things I did either. I knew I wasn’t feeling right. I knew the meds Dr. Kay switched me to weren’t working, but I was riding the high. I’m the one who got myself in debt. I’m the one who stole Kade’s watch. It wasn’t Julian who did those things. It was me.” Her voice caught as she choked on a sob.

>   Lexie wanted to pull her twin into her arms, but she understood this was a breakthrough and Kendall needed to have it. So she waited for her sister to pull herself together and to go on.

  Kendall shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m so sorry,” she said, rocking back and forth. “I’m humiliated, and I don’t like the person I’ve become. I’m so lucky your boyfriend is such a decent guy or I’d be in jail right now.”

  Lexie expelled a long breath, grateful her twin was coming to these realizations on her own. She met Kendall’s gaze. “He’s not my boyfriend,” she said, correcting that misconception.

  “But I thought you two were involved.”

  “We were. Until he accused me of stealing and betraying him with Julian.”

  Get the fuck out.

  She shivered at the memory of his cold, accusatory tone and how he’d thrown her out of his office as if she meant nothing to him.

  “Oh my God. That’s my fault too.” Kendall looked up at Lexie with big, watery eyes. “I’m sure you can fix things. He knows it wasn’t you, and he isn’t pressing charges against me. That’s got to be because of you. Because he loves you.”

  Lexie shook her head hard. Love? She was pretty sure he considered himself well rid of her. She brought complications no man in his right mind needed in his life. Because of his relationship with her, he’d ended up vulnerable to Julian’s manipulations.

  “Don’t worry about me,” Lexie murmured. “Let’s talk about you.”

  Her sister let out a harsh laugh. “What about me? I think I’ve hit the proverbial rock bottom.” She looked away. “I called Dr. Kay and told him I wanted to check myself into an inpatient facility and get help.”

  “Kendall!”

  “Long term, this time. Not a two-week-and-I’m-out sort of deal. I have to learn to function on my own. To find the right cocktail of meds, to have the correct therapy. I can’t go on like this anymore. The ups and downs are killing me, and worse, they’re hurting you, and I’m so, so tired of hurting too.” Her sister’s rocking continued as she broke down in gulping, loud sobs.

  Lexie couldn’t believe her sister was finally reaching out for real long-term help. Admiration welled up inside her.

  She crawled over the bed and grabbed her twin, hugging her tight. “It’ll be okay,” she murmured. “I’m so proud of you. So proud. And I’ll be by your side the whole time. You can do this. I know you can.” She stroked her sister’s hair and whispered comforting words in her ear, doing all the things a mother would do. If only they had a capable mother.

  Kendall held on to her as she cried like a little girl while Lexie choked back her own tears. Tears for her twin, for the hard life Kendall had, and for Lexie’s own choices and losses.

  For Kade, the man who meant everything to her. And the man she had to let go.

  * * *

  Kade shouldn’t have been surprised when Lexie didn’t show up for work the next morning. He’d fired her. Not just fired her. He’d told her to get the fuck out. Despite all that had gone down with her twin sister yesterday, he hadn’t asked her to come back to him. Not as his PA and not as his woman.

  The PA had been a mistake. On a professional level, he needed her to keep things running smoothly. She was always two steps ahead of him and the perfect assistant for a man like him.

  Coming back to him, that was another story. Without a doubt, he knew he wanted and needed her in his life, by his side for the long haul. But he was about to make some extremely drastic moves, and he didn’t think it was fair to ask her to stand by his side as he made them.

  “Kade.” Luke walked into his office, Derek right behind him.

  “Shut the door,” Kade said, walking around his desk and joining his friends.

  “I don’t know why. You don’t have an assistant to overhear anything,” Derek said, his sarcastic tone indicating he wasn’t happy with Kade.

  He got it. He wasn’t happy with how he’d treated Lexie in this very room yesterday either. He still had to apologize for that, and would when he explained why she no longer had a job. He didn’t want her thinking she was fired. It was more complicated than that. But this meeting had to come first. When all was said and done, he might not have a position for her to return to.

  “Let’s sit,” Kade said, easing himself onto the edge of his desk, facing his friends.

  Derek and Luke eyed him suspiciously as they settled into their chairs.

  “What’s going on?”

  Kade cleared his throat. “First you should know I admire the hell out of you two. You’re my brothers, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Which is why I’m pulling out of Blink.”

  Derek was out of his seat, but Luke, ever the more rational and calm when it came to personal decisions, pulled him back.

  “Let him explain,” Luke said.

  “I went to see Julian. He’s not going to back down until he gets what he wants, and he’s demanding one quarter of what we’ve built.” He curled his good hand around the desk. “No fucking way will I let that happen.”

  “You know we can fight him,” Derek said.

  “And we’re willing to go all the way.” This from Luke.

  Kade shook his head. “That’s why you’re my brothers. That’s also why I won’t let you. He’s proven he’s willing to play dirty and hurt people who don’t deserve it. People who won’t see him coming and aren’t capable of fighting back.”

  “Lexie,” Derek said.

  Kade nodded. “And her twin. Her sister is bipolar,” he said, trusting these two men with the truth. “And that bastard used her and dumped her like yesterday’s trash.” He couldn’t get Lexie’s face out his mind, the concern for her sister, the fear in her eyes aimed at him. “I won’t add to that.”

  Derek groaned. “Let’s take a breath and regroup.”

  Kade shook his head. “I called a tech mag reporter I like and trust. I’m telling the truth about my past and signing over my shares of Blink evenly between the two of you. I’m taking away Julian’s power to destroy Blink.” And to destroy his best friends and their legacy.

  “Fuck no.” Derek rose and Luke did the same.

  “For the record, I agree. You are every bit as much a part of this as we are,” Luke said.

  Kade rolled his tight shoulders and smiled at his friends. “I appreciate that. But it’s my past threatening the empire. I’m going to handle it the only way I know how.” Ironically he was at peace with his decision. “Just promise me one thing.”

  “Anything, man. You know that,” Derek said.

  “When you settle with Julian, and the lawyers already said he’s going to get something if we go to court, make sure it’s the bare minimum and no part of the company.”

  Luke pulled him into a brotherly hug. “I admire the hell out of you.”

  Kade slapped the other man on the back, then turned to Derek.

  “Are you sure there’s no other way?” Derek asked. “Like admitting to the Lila situation and we ride out the storm together?”

  He shook his head. “I made some calls, spoke to some investors, and if I stick around, the IPO goes up in flames. But even more importantly, I won’t let him go after anyone else we care about, and if I remain a part of Blink, my gut tells me he’ll keep coming.”

  “This sucks,” Derek muttered.

  Kade grinned. “There are worse things in life than losing billions.”

  Like losing the woman he loved.

  * * *

  Lexie sat with the computer open to Indeed and Monster.com, looking for a job. Kendall was at a therapy appointment, and Waffles was asleep at her feet. In another open window on her computer, she worked on her resume. She hoped Kade would give her a recommendation, although she knew it didn’t look good to have held her last job for a mere couple of weeks, and for the one before that, she lacked references. She didn’t think Kade would be looking to hurt her professionally, although deep down she knew she didn’t deserve anything from him at all.
He’d already given her the biggest gift he could, not reporting her sister to the police.

  As she narrowed her search choices, she decided to stick with secretarial and professional-assistant-type jobs, knowing, at the very least, that’s where her skills lay. Once she had her sister situated inpatient somewhere, she could apply for a job without worrying about Kendall wreaking havoc, at least until she was released.

  Lexie sighed and went back to looking. She didn’t know how long she’d been at it when the doorbell rang. Maybe Kendall had forgotten her keys. She strode over and opened the door.

  “Kade!” He was the last person she expected to see, and damned if her heart didn’t pick up speed at the sight of him.

  In his khaki pants and green Army shirt, he was every inch the sexy tech god she adored. She pushed back the flood of desire, knowing it had no place between them. Not anymore.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “Can we talk?”

  She deliberately squelched the spark of hope in her chest because nothing had changed. She’d decided that earlier today. “Of course.”

  Waffles jumped up on his hind legs, his front paws on Kade’s jeans, begging for attention. “Hey, buddy.” He petted the dog’s head, talking to him in silly tones that made Lexie smile and warmth fill her at the sight. Of course he would be good with dogs too.

  “His name is Waffles,” she said.

  Kade groaned. “Thanks to who?”

  “My sister.” Lexie laughed. “I suppose you’d have a manlier name for a dog?”

  He shrugged. “Never gave it much thought. I didn’t have a pet growing up.”

  “Maybe you should get one now. Dogs are soothing.”

  He glanced at the furry thing still begging for attention. “I’ll take your word for it.”

  She hoped he’d consider it. There were therapy pets meant just for people with anxiety and other unique needs, and she wanted to know he had company at night. Furry canine company would be her preference, but she also wanted him to have a full and happy life. She didn’t want to consider just what that meant.