Free Hawaiian Masquerade (Destination Billionaire Romance) by Rachelle J. Christensen Page A

he knew that Lexi had personally donated six million to start Higher Steps?
    She shouldn’t have to flaunt her charity expense record to win someone over. She wasn’t her money. She was Lexi Burke, a thirty-two-year-old educated woman, a daughter who missed her parents every day, a sister who worried about her brother—she was just Lexi. She chewed on her bottom lip, mulling over how to answer Derek.
    Whenever Lexi was stumped, she thought of her best friend, Gracie. She was a ray of sunshine, always full of life and reaching for ways to shower joy on others. Lexi checked the time to make sure it wouldn’t be the middle of the night in New York. It was close, so she dialed quickly, hoping to catch Gracie before she turned in for the night.
    “Lexi? Is this my Hawaiian sista?” Gracie squealed. “How are you?”
    “Missing your happy voice, that’s how,” Lexi replied. “This radio silence I inflicted on myself has to end now.”
    “Goodness, I know. It was all I could do not to call you every day.”
    “I know. I’m glad I insisted, ’cause I talked to Jordy the other day and it’s like he’s on another planet now.”
    “Someday your good sense will rub off on that man of steel.”
    Lexi laughed. “So what are you up to?”
    “Stretching before bed, you know the drill.” Gracie’s voice dropped a few notches.
    Lexi could imagine Gracie, a ballerina of exquisite talent and ability, bent over with her forehead on her feet or lifting one foot above her head in a perfect split with pointed toes. Gracie was a little younger than Lexi, but she’d already been dancing on the professional stage at a grueling pace for over fifteen years.
    “I saw the reviews for your last performance,” Lexi ventured. “I’m sorry that one critic had bugs on his toast for breakfast.” Gracie didn’t laugh, and the absence of her giggle left Lexi speechless. “Gracie, are you okay?”
    “No, I’m a wreck. I’m too old. I’m too tall. My feet are tired. I need to lose five more pounds. No one loves me.” Gracie’s complaints came out in quick bursts. “My agent told me that maybe it’s time to explore something different, to end on a good note. There aren’t many roles that I haven’t already played, and the ones that are left are being filled by younger ballerinas.”
    “There’s some truth to that, but what do you want to do?”
    “I don’t know. Maybe take some time off. Regroup.”
    “Gracie girl, you have to come visit me!” Lexi bounced up on her toes as she watched the ocean from her kitchen window.
    “Now that would be a dream come true,” Gracie replied.
    “Then come. You can get away for a week to find your center.”
    “How will that help me decide what to do?”
    “How long until the next audition?” Lexi asked.
    “Four weeks. If I want to try for the lead, I’m already behind.”
    “You sound stressed. Where’s my happy-dancing-feet friend?”
    Gracie laughed, but it sounded hollow. She sniffed and cleared her throat. “I don’t know.”
    “That’s it. I’m booking you a flight. I have all the time in the world right now, and I’m going stir crazy. Come visit me. You can practice here just as easily as you can in Manhattan.”
    “Lexi, I’m falling apart,” Gracie whispered. “Everything I’ve worked for my whole life . . . I don’t know what to do.”
    Lexi flipped open her laptop and found a flight with a couple connections. Gracie could leave for Kauai in four days. “I have my finger hovering over the mouse. I really don’t want to take no for an answer, so please say yes. I’ll book you a flight. You’ll be here Saturday.”
    She heard shuffling and another sniffle. “Okay, I’ll pack my bags.”
    “Squeee!” Lexi cheered. She heard Gracie laugh. “I’m going to have you squealing by Sunday. I miss your enthusiasm.”
    “I’ll be there. But hey, that isn’t why you called, is it?”
    Lexi had completely forgotten about Derek, but everything came rushing