Her Irresistible Troublemaker (A Town Named Eden Book 3) Read online

  “What a jerk.” Ava sighed. “But that shouldn’t stop you from going out tonight.”

  Lexie shook her head. She wanted to spend the evening at home and enjoy her own space. The month she’d spent in Eden diverting attention from herself and evading hard to answer questions had left her drained and in need of recharging.

  Could she get away with fibbing again? She’d pulled it off earlier that morning when she’d told Jack Riley she had a hot date lined up for the night. Not surprisingly, his reaction had been to hotfoot it out of her apartment.

  “I couldn’t give it away even if I tried.” Lexie sprung upright. Where had that come from? And… “Did I say that out loud?”

  “You sure did, and you sounded pathetic, but at least it shows you’re back on track. Be honest, you want to move on.”

  “You got that from a simple slip of the tongue?”

  “A Freudian slip. And let me remind you that a year ago you’d sworn off men.”

  With good reason. Her lips parted but no words came out. Not even a squeak.

  “I know you trusted Jamie and he nearly killed you, taking you on a wild ride in his new convertible and neglecting to mention he’d been partying and mixing drugs and booze—”

  “Thanks for the reminder.”

  “I just want you to know I’m not being unsympathetic. What he did to you was criminal, but it’s been a year…”

  “It’s all behind me, Ava. As ironic as it might sound, I have a lot to be grateful for. If not for the accident, I’d still be with Jamie.” He’d been fun to be with and an easy going boss but the accident had opened her eyes. Deciding to cut all ties with him had been a no-brainer, especially as he’d made no effort to alter his lifestyle and do something about the drug addiction she’d only then become aware of.

  She’d spent close to a month in hospital, and while the broken bones had mended, and the scars had eventually faded, her mind had kicked in, erecting a layer of wariness, something she’d discovered after six month’s worth of therapy.

  If it happened once, it could happen again.

  Lexie cringed and dismissed the self-defeating thought. Take one day at a time, she reminded herself. “And… most importantly, I’m looking at the sparkly bright side of life. If not for the accident, I would never have created Lulu McGee.”

  “Yes, yes, but you need to get out there again.”

  “Finding someone is so low on my list of priorities, besides, I don’t want to hurry—”

  Ava started humming the Beatles Can’t Hurry Love tune.

  “Are you being sarcastic?”

  “How about Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.”

  “Yes, I get the message.”

  “I’m not suggesting you go out there and hunt down Mr Right straightaway. Sift through. You never know what you might find.”

  Lexie tipped her keyboard upside down and shook off a mixture of crumbs and what looked like traces of chocolate. “I met Jack Riley today,” she blurted out. “He’s full of self-righteousness. You know how men stand with their feet apart and take up twice as much space as they need to? Well, even without that trait, he swallows up a room. And to top it all off, he didn’t give me the time of day. He also thinks Lulu McGee’s my girlfriend and I hate him.” She drew in a deep breath and heard Ava do the same.

  “He doesn’t know Lulu’s a comic strip character?”

  Okay, she’d sort of fibbed about that, by omission, at least. Lexie raked her fingers through her hair. What the hell had come over her? She didn’t have anything to prove to anyone. “That’s all beside the point. He thinks he can ride roughshod over me and have everything his way just because he’s a big hotshot developer.” She peered between the gaps of paper at the building opposite. With her windows blocked, she hadn’t caught sight of him all day, but she could see lights on in the place.

  “He doesn’t know Lulu’s a comic strip character?” Ava asked again.

  “For heaven’s sake. You know what I’m like when I’m put on the spot. All chatter and nonsense. Well, it just sort of came out and snowballed.”

  “Lying is like starting off on the wrong foot,” Ava reasoned. “You need to fix it before it gets out of hand.”

  “He wants nothing to do with me.” And she didn’t blame him. The way she’d been fixating about her lost view...

  Of course, it made sense to her. She did a minimum of eight hours work every day with nothing but a few phone calls to break up the tedium of working alone. Looking out her window at the sky, or if she leaned out far enough, at the river across the road, had always been a treat.

  She tapped on her mouse and opened the email Jack had sent her, and then clicked on the attachment. His face filled the computer screen. Lexie sat back and took in the smiling eyes and the slight curve of his lips.

  He’d smiled…

  “I need to know exactly what went on between you two,” Ava demanded.

  Lexie wanted to deny anything had happened but instead, she delivered a cathartic deluge of stilted bullet points summarizing her encounter with Jack Riley.

  “Are you skipping over the juicy bits? You know, the part where you told him to go jump?”

  “Brace yourself. I folded. I was putty in his hands. There’s something about him... Ugh!” She thumped her fisted hands on the desk. “Something both infuriating and appealing. I can’t put my finger on it.”

  “Is your finger pointing toward attraction?”

  No way on this earth could she be—

  Okay. Physically, the man was the best eye candy she’d come across in a long time. But the rest...

  The arrogance.

  The assumption that he could have things his way, or no way…

  “This dry spell is really doing my head in, but if you hear me complain again, feel free to give me a swift kick. I’m off to work on that new adventure for Lulu.” Work had plucked her out from the post-accident doldrums, so it could bail her out again and help her skate through the rest of the evening.

  * * *

  Jack would bet anything she’d been naked under her robe.

  “You’re not doing yourself any favors,” he muttered. He’d been doing a lot of that during the last ten hours of non-stop work, growling and shoving aside thoughts about Lexie Gardner as he added another coat of paint.

  She had a hot date tonight.

  With someone new?

  Maybe it wouldn’t work out.

  “Yeah, that sort of thinking is not really going to help,” he insisted. The sooner he evicted the sewing circle that kept using his head as a regular meeting place, the better, he thought doing a final check of the building to make sure everything had been switched off.

  She had a date…

  He hadn’t been on a date since he’d come to his senses and realized every woman he met reminded him of Juliette. Same type, same merry-go-round experience. It had been well over a year since he’d ditched his suit and tie and it still amazed him how quickly everything had changed. The mere mention of a switch in careers had sent Juliette running in the opposite direction. To be fair to her, she’d stuck it out for a few months. It should have demolished his ego, but instead, he’d embraced the new perspective the experience had given him. Women had been attracted to the full package deal and without it…

  Jack shuffled his way out of that thought and calling it quits for the day, he caved in to the need to eat something.

  Instant gratification in a burger, that’s what he wanted. And, after a day spent working alone, he wouldn’t mind rejoining the herd, albeit from the sidelines.

  With his thoughts fixed on satisfying his neglected hunger pangs, he made short work of packing up and leaving.

  He didn’t go further than the local Monkey Bar Café. Although small, the place seemed to be quite busy, so he had ample time to look at the menu board and decide what he wanted to have. When he placed his order, Jack turned and leaned against the counter.

  Maybe he’d been thinking too much about Lexie. At firs
t he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but the longer he looked, the less convincing he needed. Wearing a light pink blouse, a lime green cardigan, Capri pants and ballet slippers, she didn’t look anything like the vixen he’d seen that morning.

  She sat at a table by the door, her head lowered, her rich brown hair falling over her face, which was half hidden by a magazine. He was about to turn away when he decided he should say hello. After all, they’d already met. Sort of.

  With any luck, his order would be ready before they even had a chance to fall into an awkward silence, or worse, engage in the verbal altercation he’d denied her when he’d hung up on her last night. Then again, she’d had the opportunity to have a go at him that morning, and she hadn’t taken it.

  A group of people strode past, for a moment blocking her from view. Jack considered turning around and pretending he hadn’t seen her. But as he debated what to do, his body took over and sent him on a sauntering beeline toward her.

  The tension he’d been feeling in his shoulders melted away and every muscle clenching thought that had been knocking around in his head disappeared. This was his chance to clear the air. The idea of her walking around thinking he was a pervert who peered at women through windows didn’t sit well with him. It had been an accident. Besides, he hadn’t really seen that much...

  He came to a stop in front of her table and cleared his throat. When she looked up, her eyes widened and she appeared to shrink back into her chair.

  “I wanted to apologize for last night—”

  She put her hand up to stop him. “No need.”

  Jack shifted and looked around. He could nod, leave it at that and move away. She didn’t expect or need an apology. So… Yes, he should go. “That’s very gracious of you.”

  She sat up and looked at him, her eyes now crinkling at the edges. “Call it opportunistic. I love the idea of having something to hold over you.”

  What? He mulled over her response. He couldn’t tell if she wanted to have the last word or engage him in conversation. “You’ll never let me live it down.”

  She took her time looking at him. When she smiled, a dimple appeared on her cheek. “So, the more clothes I wear the more talkative you become. Interesting.”

  Okay. Out of all the follow through responses, that would never have occurred to him. “I talked to you this morning.” And she’d been wearing a robe that had barely covered her thighs.

  “I don’t remember you saying that much.”

  He nodded. “I really needed to get back to work.” Otherwise who knew what he would have done. Taken the road of least resistance, according to his brother.

  “You took off like a bat out of hell and didn’t give me a chance to thank you.”

  “Thank me for leaving?”

  “Thank you for the window screens.” She took a sip of water and kept the glass pressed against her lips.

  Jack wished he had a glass he could use as a stopper. “It was the least I could do.” He moved to make way for a waiter and then he moved again to make way for someone leaving the café. When he had to move a third time, Jack knew he could use it as an excuse to return to the counter and wait for his order. Besides, he suspected their conversation had reached a dead-end and the longer he lingered the more he’d feel inclined to say something else. “Is your date late?” He could have kicked himself for asking. She looked great but not exactly dressed for a date with a hot guy. Or was it a hot date with a guy?

  Before she could answer, a waiter appeared with his order on a plate instead of the take-out he’d asked for.

  “Enjoy,” the waiter said and hurried away.

  “Hang on. I ordered a burger to go,” but he spoke to thin air. Jack looked around for an empty table. When he’d first walked in, the place had been busy, now it looked filled to capacity. Turning back toward Lexie, he bit the bullet. “Do you mind? I promise I’m hungry enough to swallow it in one bite.”

  Her eyes darted around as if trying to hunt down a sure-fire reply that would discourage him from joining her. But then she surprised him.

  “Sure. Go ahead.”

  * * *

  Lexie slid her gaze over to the counter and beamed a threatening I’ll-get-you-for-this glare straight at Rhys. The café owner smiled back. Oh, yes. He’d definitely mixed up the order on purpose.

  The Monkey Bar Café was her home away from home. The time she’d spent in hospital recuperating had been made bearable by the constant supply of meals delivered every day if not by Rhys, then by one of his staff. Then, there’d been the occasional times she’d missed coming into the café because she’d been on a deadline. Rhys had called to see if she was okay. She could count on Rhys and everyone at the café for anything, but that was no reason for him to think he could go into a frenzy of excitement just because a man appeared to be paying attention to her. For all he knew, Jack could be an axe murderer or a stalker…

  Chapter Four

  Shove the food in your mouth, thank her, and leave.

  Had he asked if he could share her table out of sheer necessity or because he’d listened to some distant prompt telling him to grab the opportunity and spend more time with Lexie Gardner?

  Jack volleyed the thought around in his head but he knew no amount of reasoning could make sense of the impulse that had nudged him to approach Lexie and then ask if he could join her.

  He’d be polite, eat his burger, and then leave.

  He went into automatic pilot, taking the first bite, chewing it—

  “You’re eating that without a drink?” she asked.

  “I was too hungry to think.”

  A waiter appeared and set a beer in front of her. “Better bring another one over, Rhys. My… table partner forgot to order one. Oh, and some fries too.” She put her magazine aside and poured some beer into a glass. “The fries here are too good to pass up and it wouldn’t look good for me to be seen drinking alone.”

  Jack took his time chewing his food and deciding if her eyes were hazel or green. “Do you often worry about what people think?”

  “It’s a habit I’m trying to break. Maybe I should start now and cancel the order for that beer.”

  “I’d rather you didn’t.” He chuckled and took another bite of his burger.

  She raised her glass in a mock salute, her eyes skipping from one shoulder to the other. “Hard going at the salt mines today?”

  “Hard enough. Painting can be thirsty work.”

  “I’m surprised you’re doing it all alone.” She took a sip of her beer and smiled. “I walked past a couple of times today and noticed the building site parking lot was empty.”

  “I couldn’t expect people to give up their weekend.”

  The admission made her frown. Jack ran through what he’d just said. Nothing too revealing.

  “So you don’t like to impose on people.”

  His brain woke up and he supposed he had the bite of burger he’d swallowed to thank for the surge of alertness. He could have called in a few favors, but he hadn’t. And while he didn’t really like to impose on people, he’d forced her to deal with her new view—like it or lump it.

  He shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a complex character.”

  “That sounds like one of those lines you hear on TV and can’t wait to try out in real life. I do that all the time.”

  Jack took another bite of his burger. He had the feeling he’d need all the sustenance he could get to keep up with Lexie Gardner. When his beer arrived, he tipped some into a glass and took a pensive drink, his eyes fixed on hers.

  The fries she’d ordered followed, along with her meal.

  It took a moment for his brain to kick in again, but instead of asking if her date had bailed out, he took another drink and decided her eyes were more green than hazel.

  “Sorry, I would’ve waited for your food to arrive but I figured the quicker I wolf this down the sooner I’ll be out of your way.”

  “You might as well know—” She took a quick si
p of her drink. “I’m here alone.” And, shrugging, she turned her focus to her meal.

  “Sorry to hear that.” He could’ve tried to sound more convincing but the remark coincided with him tasting the fries and that set his taste buds off into a happy dance. “You were right about the fries, and… it’s his loss.”

  She looked up and studied him. “Are you trying to make me feel good?”

  “You sound surprised.”

  She looked at him without blinking and then she laughed, the sound light and carefree. “In my eyes, you’re still the big bad wolf. I no longer have the sun shining into my bedroom in the morning.”

  “Some people would be grateful.”

  “And still, I can’t look on the bright side.”

  He watched her dig into a burger twice the size of his. “Is that the ultimate burger to have when you’re down in the dumps?”

  “What makes you think I’m—” She waved her hand as if to erase the remark. “I wasn’t stood up, if that’s what you’re thinking.” She drew in a deep breath and pushed it out slowly. “If you must know, there wasn’t a date.” She gave a firm nod of her head and after a moment, she resumed eating.

  Almost, Jack thought, as if she’d waited to see if her admission had caused the earth to stop spinning.

  Studying her over the rim of his glass he couldn’t help smiling. “Why did you say you had a date?”

  She shrugged. “Kneejerk reaction fib.”

  His eyes danced around her face. A tinge of light pink spread across her cheeks. Had he ever seen a woman blush? “You lied to me? I’m wounded.”

  “You’re a big boy, you’ll get over it.”

  His beer nearly went down the wrong way. “I don’t think I can ever trust you again.” He kept his tone casual, the remark sounding like something he’d say to his brother or one of his many sisters.

  She chortled. “As if I can trust you. If I hadn’t caught onto your little deception last night,” she said wagging her finger, “You would have let me believe someone had broken into your building.”