Her Irresistible Troublemaker (A Town Named Eden Book 3) (13 page)

Chapter Thirteen

“I’m naming my next goldfish after you. Maggie got up at the crack of dawn to go out for a run… of all things. Then she went out after lunch and she just called to say she’d been held up.” Lexie set the bowl of kitty treats on the floor for Ulysses who’d followed her into the apartment for one of his brief visits, and grabbing the phone off its cradle, she strode into her bedroom to look at the dress Jack had insisted he should pay for because after all, Lexie needed to be compensated for giving him her time and bailing him out.

Lexie shook her head. No matter how many times she ran it through her mind and justified the purchase, it still didn’t feel right.

“Maggie needs some time to chill and maybe do some things she’s been missing out on,” Ava explained. “She hasn’t had a vacation in years. She’ll be fine. Don’t worry about her. Once she gets her motivation back, there’ll be no keeping up with her. I actually called to ask about you. How’s it all coming along?”

“I think I’m getting in too deep.”

“Too much too soon?”

“We went shopping for a new dress. I’m trying not to read too much into it, but I think it’s a sign, of what I’m not sure.”

Ava hummed. “We’re talking about implementing the new ideas, the ones Mason, the marketing guru, helped you come up with? Why would he take you dress shopping?”

“I’m talking about going dress shopping with Jack. It’s all I can think about because suddenly, he is all I can think about and that’s not going to do me any good because he’s not interested in me. He only wants a platonic relationship and I thought I did too, but now I’m not so sure. And that’s why I should focus on Mason and his suggestions for exploiting Lulu.”

“Now we’re on the same page and you need to take a deep breath and calm down.”

“Mason has some great ideas but I’ll have to hire an assistant just to keep up with him. There was even talk about a Lulu doll, then again, you know that already. The T-shirts and mugs I can live with, but having a replica of Lulu would probably freak me out.” She drew in a calming breath. “I’ve already agreed to attend this wedding reception with Jack, but after Saturday I’m going to have to knuckle down and—”

“Focus on the graphic novel?”

“Yes. I’ll throw myself into my work body and soul and—”

“Spend the next twelve months looking out the window and watching life pass you by?”

“I’m going to be too busy for that to happen.” She’d have to make sure of it, because by then Jack would have moved on and she couldn’t afford to spend any time obsessing about what might have been.

“Busy is good, finding a healthy balance between work and play is even better.”

“Let’s talk about you for a change. You said you found Mason attractive but you think he’s a player.”

“I don’t think it, I know it. Have you seen how many female friends he has on facebook?”

Lexie cleared her throat. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you only have four female friends. The rest are all men.”

“Thanks for reminding me. As soon as you have your first product ready, you’ll need to post something on my page and start promoting your stuff. These guys are always short of gift ideas. Needless to say, there’ll be advertising space for you in the magazine and we might even run an article. An inspirational piece. From doodle to comic strip to must have merchandise.”

“You’ve caught my sidetracking bug. Either that or your brain never sleeps.”

“Both, and I’ll find someone special when I least expect it. That’s why I’m always ready.”

Lexie stood in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom and took in her reflection. Last night, she’d turned down Jack’s invitation to dinner in favor of coming home to do some more work. Changing out of her street clothes, she hadn’t given any thought to the mismatched flip flops she’d slipped her feet into, or the cut-off jeans and the T-shirt that had been washed so many times she couldn’t even remember the original color—one more wash and she might have to bid it a fond farewell. Today, her choice of work from home clothes hadn’t improved. What would Jack think if he saw her now dressed as she was? That she took her downtime seriously. Lexie poked her tongue out at her own reflection and turned away.

She’d either make an effort and work on her wardrobe or she’d hold out for true love, the sort that saw beyond surface appearances.

“So, tell me more about this dress Jack bought for you.”             

* * *

“Was I expecting you?”

“That’s no way to greet your favorite sister.”

Jack waved Steph in and closed the front door.

“I came by last night but you were out.”

“I went shopping with Lexie.”

“Interesting.”

Jack folded his arms. “That’s your answer to everything I say. I always feel I should lie on the couch so you can delve into the inner workings of my mind.”

“By interesting, I meant that both you and Mason are manifesting symptoms of adaptability.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“You’re both bending over backwards for women without expecting anything in return and I want to know why.”

“Beer?” he offered.

“Sure,” Steph said and made a beeline for the sofa.

He checked his watch. Steph looked like she’d settled in for the long haul, so he had to cancel all thoughts of calling Lexie, something he’d been thinking about since she’d opted out of having dinner with him the night before saying she was working on a deadline and needed to get home early. “Here you go.” He handed Steph a beer and sat on the opposite side of the sofa. “So, how exactly am I bending?”

“You’re doing stuff you wouldn’t normally do, like shopping with a woman.”

“Is that what Mason’s doing?”

“No, he’s doing something really scary, and I’m not supposed to tell you because you’ll never let him live it down.”

“It serves him right if the new woman in his life is driving him up the wall. He’s had it easy all his life. Time for him to see how the other half struggle.”

“You’re only saying that because he’s not here.”

He lifted his beer in a salute. “First chance I get, I’ll say it to his face.” He grinned. He’d been waiting a long time to get stuck into Mason and give him a taste of his own medicine. “Are you going to tell me what he’s doing or do I have to find some arm-twisting threat to get it out of you?”

“I promised to stick to my code of confidentiality. If I break it, Mason will never confide in me again. As for you forcing the information out of me,” she shook her head, “I don’t have anything to hide. Therefore, you have nothing to use against me. Not now, not ever.”

“Your day will come.” Jack watched her shift on the sofa and wondered if he’d imagined her look of discomfort. “Sooner rather than later, I think.” He brushed his hand across his chin. “Your slanted gaze and pouty lips are a dead giveaway. Something’s up with you.”

She gave him what sounded like a forced laugh.

“Women don’t hold exclusive rights on intuition.”

She laughed harder. “Next you’ll try to convince me you’re sensitive.”

“Now you’re being unfair. You know we have sensitivity beaten right out of us in the playground.”

“I’m not taking pity on you.”

“Come on. It’s your turn to be pathetic.”

She sat forward. “What does it mean when a guy—” Shaking her head, she pushed out a sigh and sat back.

“Man trouble?” It would be a first for Steph who remained constantly pragmatic, liaising with men on a trial basis, always giving them the benefit of the doubt until they invariably shot themselves on the foot and proved how right she’d been to be suspicious of them in the first place. Jack took a sip of his beer and stretched his legs out on the coffee table. “Do I have to beat someone up for you?” That got a half-hearted chuckle out of her.

“It’s not what you think. This guy is so busy, he hired me to decorate his new apartment, but instead of getting on with whatever keeps him so busy he hangs around the place, day in, day out.”

“Is he bothering you?”

“You can roll your sleeves back down. I’m so over you guys saying one thing and meaning another.” She jumped to her feet. “Thanks for the beer.”

“Hang on, you can’t leave now.” She didn’t look upset, but she did look preoccupied. “Sit down and spill. Then you can go. Or you can have one too many and use the spare bedroom to crash for the night.”

She nipped the edge of her lip. Her face relaxed and she took a step toward him. “Give and take. You first. Tell me about Lexie. What are you doing with her?”

Because this was Steph and he trusted her opinions, Jack launched into an explanation, covering everything from his initial meeting with Lexie to their shopping spree the previous night.

He watched Steph tapping her finger on the armrest and knew she was processing all the information and trying to read between the lines. He also knew she’d tricked him into opening up to her. “In the last six months, I’ve worked at several building sites and this is the first time I’ve had anything to do with one of the local residents.”

“Does it make you wonder why your lives intersected? Maybe it was a full moon last Friday. People do strange things during full moons.”

He pulled out his cell to check. “No, it wasn’t. So I guess I have to put it down to coincidence. I hadn’t planned on working late but one of the painters called in sick. We’d already had one major delay when Lexie objected to the top floor going up—”

“You’re kidding me. She’s the one? I remember you saying you wanted to throttle her.”

“So how does your story compare with mine?”

“Winthorpe is a customer, nothing more, nothing less.”

Jack frowned. There really was a guy. In the years he’d known Steph, he’d never heard her talk about her private life or even seen signs of her having any trouble. “Winthorpe? That name must have landed him in trouble from birth.”

“You wouldn’t say that if you saw him. Anyway, he goes by Win.”

“But you prefer to use his full name.”

“Only when he calls me Stephanie.”

It was his turn to say, “Interesting.”

“There’s nothing going on.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

“Hey, I could say the same about you, but in your case...” she threw her hands up in the air, “You’re a man so we know what goes through your mind every few seconds. You say there’s nothing going on, but you’d have a hard time convincing me you haven’t been thinking about something happening between you and Lexie, thinking about the next step…”

* * *

Did he find Lexie attractive? Yes, he did. He had from the start. Steph hadn’t asked him, but Jack knew the question, or one like it, had been on the brink of being asked all night.

Exhausted from all her pushing and prodding for information, she’d finally given up and called it a night without, Jack realized belatedly, telling him the full story about Winthorpe…

Jack plumped up his pillow and stared into the darkness. “I might be more than attracted to Lexie.” Reaching for his cell phone, he checked the time. He had no idea what time Lexie went to bed. Eleven o’clock didn’t seem late to him. Before he could change his mind, he composed a brief text message.

“I’m looking forward to Saturday.” If she read it tonight, she’d think he wanted to make sure she hadn’t changed her mind about being his date. Pressing send, he decided to give sleep a go. Within seconds, his phone beeped a message.

There are things you should know about me.

He sounded out the words in his head using different tones.

Hesitant.

Alarmed.

Worried. Malevolent. That one caught his attention. “There are things you should know about me,” he said trying out his best Count Dracula impersonation.

Should he be worried?

“Too late for that,” he typed and hit send. Smiling, he waited for her response. Ten minutes later, his cell phone rang.

“Great, you’re still awake,” she said when he answered the call. “I’m worried the color red will make me a target. I know nothing about your family.”

“We can exchange it tomorrow and why did it take you so long to call?”

“For your information, and I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, I do have a life. If you wanted a fake girlfriend who’s at your beck and call, day and night, you should have picked someone else. Anyway, I’m not complaining about the color per se.”

“I promise my relatives won’t try to shoot you.”

“So you didn’t have an ulterior motive for picking red? Like wanting me to stand out in a crowd… increase my visibility to drive the message home.”

“Red suits you.”

“I think it makes me look ripe. But enough about me. You’re worried I’ll embarrass you and that’s why you texted, and I’m worried you don’t know enough about me to pull off this little ruse of yours.”

“I hope this conversation doesn’t give me nightmares. Okay. What else should I know about you?”