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

  “Would you like another one?”

  “No thanks. I never have seconds. Somehow, the first drink always tastes the best and I don’t want to spoil the anticipation of the next one.” She watched him wash the mug and wipe down the kitchen counter without making a big deal of the fact she enjoyed watching the play of sinewy muscles on his forearms. “I’m guessing there’s a reason why you can’t go alone.”

  He shook his head as if trying to dislodge a stray thought. “Spot on. If I go alone, chances are I’ll be partnered with my new stepsister and that could get complicated. I’m speaking from experience as I have five of them. Two are twins.”

  “I see. It all begins to make sense now. You need a buffer.” She could do that.

  “You won’t even have to pretend to be interested in me.”

  “But it would help.”

  He gave her a brisk smile. “I won’t argue with that. I haven’t met my new stepmother, but if she’s anything like the others, then she’ll try her best to set me up with her daughter.”

  “You want a territorial buffer.”

  His eyes brightened. “Do you think you can handle that?”

  “This is actually right up my alley.” She rolled up her sleeves. “I love pretending.”

  “We don’t need to go overboard.”

  “And you don’t need to worry. I won’t get carried away.”

  He rubbed his hands over his face.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “I’m feeling a little guilty now. As if I’m taking advantage of you and it doesn’t sit well with me.”

  Honest to the hilt. What was wrong with him? “If it’ll make you feel better, I can think of a way for you to pay me back.”

  He laughed. “You’re gaining quite a lot of high ground, what with holding the lost view over me and now this.”

  “I’ve never felt so empowered.” Lexie slid off the stool and stretched. “I think I’ll call it a night and go home before you come to your senses and change your mind about any of this. I like my high ground. It makes me feel almighty and superior.”

  “Should I be scared?”

  “Hmm. Quaking in your boots. I might ask you to return the favor one day.” And considering how much her mother had been pushing for some sort of development in her private life, it might be sooner rather than later.

  “I’ll walk you down to your car.”

  Chapter Nine

  “You look worse than you did yesterday.” Out of all the remarks she could have made, Lexie took a gamble with the cruelest one. It was all she could think of doing to shake her sister out of her ‘circumstantial mood’. The Maggie she knew preferred the blunt approach. Either she’d get a response from her or—

  “Easy with the sympathy.”

  Lexie frowned. Maggie had never been one for sympathy. “This is tough love talking.” And her last resort. She’d watched Maggie shuffling around the apartment all morning, groaning at the oddest moments without showing any sign of wanting to open up and share.

  Lexie had dropped a few hints about the shower being free and the hot water pressure being the best she’d ever had. She’d even brought out her special stash of scented soap, reserved exclusively for special occasions and dire needs. And still no response.

  “You’re beginning to sound like—”

  “Don’t you dare say it.” Lexie swung away from her desk and shot to her feet. Enough was enough. Maggie’s crisis, and clearly she was experiencing one, had thrown Lexie out of her comfort zone and into the deep end with undertows coming at her from every which way. She wanted to help her sister, but that didn’t mean she’d start sounding like her mother.

  “Why are your windows covered with paper?”

  “You only just noticed?”

  “I’ve been—” Maggie shrugged. “Busy.”

  “It’s a long story.” And she refused to be diverted.

  “What are you working on?”

  “Please stop changing the subject.” So much for not wanting to sound like her mother. Lexie drew in a breath and called for patience. What if changing the subject was Maggie’s way of working up to talking about her problems?

  Her high achieving sister had never dropped the ball. While they’d never had a best friends type of relationship, Lexie had always been able to ask for advice and Maggie had always been better than the Godfather and the I Chi put together with a sure-fire solution to everything. Sure, it would have been nice if she’d thrown in a hug with a sprinkling of warmth and sympathy, but Maggie had been hardwired to deal with emotional situations differently. She only understood the road of least resistance paved in pragmatism and practicality.

  Now she looked as if she’d fallen off the edge of her world.

  Spending the last couple of days moping around and finding every excuse under the sun to avoid talking about whatever was bothering her was a clear indication of… Lexie had no idea. Should she put away the knives?

  Or worse…

  Call her mother for guidance?

  No. Maggie had come to her. This was her chance to shine and prove she could handle serious adult issues without floundering.

  The way she had after the accident?

  She hadn’t told her parents about it or Maggie because she’d been afraid of proving them right. She couldn’t even be responsible enough to look after herself.

  Maggie sighed. “I can tell you’re busy. Don’t let me hold you up.”

  “I was thinking… maybe we could… We should do something… together.” That would be a good start. This could be their chance to bond, the way they hadn’t while growing up. She frowned at the thought. If someone tried to force a twisted arm admission out of her, she wouldn’t have to search too far for the pathetic truth. She’d been hard done by, having a sister in name only, missing out on all the benefits—

  “I can’t. Not yet.”

  “You need more time?”

  Her sister nodded. Lexie enjoyed a second or two of relief but then Maggie shrugged as if not quite sure what she wanted.

  Lexie was one breath away from suggesting she needed some sense shaken and stirred into her. “I’d be a dreadful mother,” she muttered under her breath. Raking her fingers through her hair, which even on a bad day looked better than Maggie’s did at the moment, she huffed out a breath. “I have a lunch appointment I can’t break at such short notice but when I come back we’re going to have a serious heart to heart.”

  “Do you mind if I use your computer?”

  “Go for it.” Lexie grabbed her handbag and strode toward the door. “Are you going to be okay?”

  Maggie gave her a neither here nor there shrug. That shoulder of hers was getting quite a workout.

  “I’ll be fine. I found your stash of cookies in the back of the cupboard.”

  Crap. She was in a bad way. Maggie never indulged in anything sweet, hence her trim and terrific figure. But at least she hadn’t lost her appetite. That had to mean something.

  “The plain choc chip ones or the fudge ones?”

  “You have fudge cookies?”

  No, she didn’t.

  “They’re in a safe place.” And good luck trying to find them. Lexie hid her amusement as Maggie shot to her feet and started opening cupboards. At least she was no longer adorning the sofa. “Um… Okay, I’m going now, but—”

  “Yes, yes. Go. Go.”

  “Only if you’re sure.”

  “Bring me back something to eat. I’m not sure what… I’ll send you a text when I decide what I want.”

  “Okay.” That sounded promising. Far better than a ‘whatever’ response. Surely that had to be another sign. Maggie needed her and she’d help her in any way she could. Well, in some way that didn’t involve sounding like her mother, Lexie insisted as she picked up her pace.

  She had agreed to meet Mason Riley for lunch in a restaurant not far from her place. The sun played hide and seek behind clouds, making it a pleasant day to walk to the restaurant. Not that Lexie
noticed. She had too many thoughts firing up…

  She wished she’d made some headway with Maggie. Someone must have done a thorough job on her. Although Lexie struggled to imagine a man having such an impact on her sister whose obsession with her job dictated every decision she ever made.

  Lexie felt ill-equipped to help her climb out of her despondency pit. After all, it had taken her months to get over her failed relationship with...

  She stopped and tried to think of her ex’s name but only one name came to mind.

  Jack.

  His name bounced around her head even as she spotted Mason sitting at a sidewalk table, his focus glued to his cell phone.

  She recognized him immediately, not because she’d paid any attention to him when they’d first met at the Monkey Bar Café, but because he looked like Jack. Same build, same height and coloring. It was also easy to recognize him because he wore a suit while everyone else was dressed for a working at home day.

  “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me at such short notice.” When they shook hands, Lexie realized she’d had several encounters with Jack and had spent an evening at his home, but they still hadn’t touched. When they did…

  The prospect sent her stomach into a rolling tumble and dip, which made sitting down imperative.

  He set his cell phone aside and smiled at her. “Your friend Ava said you had some exciting ideas you needed to develop.”

  Lexie felt a flush of heat explode on her cheeks. She hadn’t had time to prepare for this meeting. While she’d been swept away by Ava’s enthusiasm, it had waned overnight. In hindsight, she knew she should have spent a few minutes revving it up again. Hesitating didn’t make sense. She could trust Ava’s intuition. In the last twelve months, she’d followed her friend’s advice to the letter and had seen her talents flourish in a way she hadn’t thought possible. She had no reason to be afraid. If she failed...

  She’d definitely fail if she spent time thinking about it.

  “Yes. Absolutely.” Drawing in a fortifying breath, she launched into a summary of her cartoon strip, her words spilling out like a flood that had been held back for too long, and right in the middle of it she wondered if she should have asked Jack how he felt about her meeting with his brother.

  The intrusive thought caught her by surprise.

  She couldn’t see any reason why Jack would object.

  Besides, theirs was a strictly… platonic relationship.

  Mason surprised her by producing a couple of issues of Girl About Town—Ava’s magazine and home to Lulu McGee.

  “She looks like a lot of fun. How did she come about?”

  “She started out as a doodle. When I needed a career change, Ava encouraged me to bring her to life.”

  “Career change? What did you do before?”

  “I worked in administration.” A.k.a. office minion. Something that had made her parents happy because they’d thought she’d finally wrenched her head from out of the clouds and had settled down. Lexie, on the other hand, had preferred to think of her time working in an office as moonlighting while she decided what she really wanted to do with her life. “I guess that makes me a late bloomer.”

  “It’s never too late to find yourself.” He shrugged. “Anyway, you have a strong foundation and you know your product.”

  “This might sound strange, but I’ve never thought of Lulu McGee as a product. She’s more of a friend.” A companion who’d come to her rescue during the lowest point in her life.

  Pushing a piece of paper across the table, he sat back and smiled. “These are some ideas I’ve been scribbling. What do you think?”

  At a glance, it looked like Lulu was about to take over the world. “A snow globe?”

  “Replace the usual landmark building with Lulu wearing one of her flirty outfits and you’ve got a winner. I’m seeing Lulu in London huddled under an umbrella, in Paris wearing a beret, sitting at a sidewalk café...”

  “Wow. I was hoping for one spinoff idea. This is amazing.” Stationery. Key rings. Mugs. Make-up! “A fashion line?”

  “Why not? She could be a fashion icon.”

  When Mason laughed, his face lit up and Lexie couldn’t help thinking of the way Jack’s eyes crinkled at the edges with amusement.

  “I’m finding this a little bit overwhelming. The ideas are fantastic, but I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

  “I’ll connect you with the right people. But first, do you have a website?”

  “I guess I’m getting one.” She shook her head and laughed. “To tell you the truth, I never imagined any of this.” When she’d drawn her first strip, she’d thought it would crash and burn, right before she ran out of ideas, but that one small step had gathered momentum until she’d turned her doodle into a weekly installment, along the way collecting a number of fans.

  “Take a moment to appreciate what you’ve done in the last twelve months. It’s all going to pale by comparison.”

  A shiver of excitement rushed through her. Lexie was nearly bouncing off her chair. She wished she could share this with Jack, but how could she when she hadn’t even told him about Lulu McGee?

  Mason suggested she take some time to let everything sink in. Although, in his opinion, he didn’t see any reason why they couldn’t get the ball rolling straight away.

  As she made her way home, she wondered why her first instinct had been to find Jack and throw her arms around him. And then she remembered what she was going home to. This wouldn’t be the best time to share her exciting news with Maggie. It would probably come across as rubbing it in her face. Lexie knew the feeling only too well, having grown up in Maggie’s shadow…

  * * *

  “Why are you scrounging up your face?” Ava asked when they met for a catch up lunch the following day. Maggie had refused to join her but at least she’d made some progress, choosing to spend the day taking a luxurious bath and sipping what had looked like expensive top of the line French champagne. Lexie had given up trying to get her to talk, but who knew what would happen if she found her in a mellow mood.

  “You’re going to beat me with a stick when I tell you.” Lexie cupped her face in her hands. “I need a couple of days for it all to sink in. At the moment, it feels as if I’ve crammed all these dreams into my head. They’re bumping into each other and shoving their way around. It doesn’t seem real. It might be a case of too much, too soon. Mason came up with so many ideas and he did it without breaking a sweat.”

  “It’s what he’s good at. Don’t stress about it. They’re concepts.” Ava took a sip of her coffee. “Now you need to bring them out into the world. It’s nothing new. You’ve been doing it all these months.”

  “Who’s going to want a Lulu McGee snow globe?”

  “I will. I love snow globes and so will everyone else. Go along to the local comic book store and you’ll find shelves stacked with paraphernalia.”

  Lexie leaned forward. “What do you think people will do with a Lulu McGee doll?”

  “Dress her up in different outfits. Like Barbie.”

  “So long as that’s all they do.” She sat back and chewed the edge of her lip. “I’ve been plain, ordinary Lexie for so long—”

  Ava gave a brisk shake of her head. “You’ve never been that. You’re Lexie.”

  “I’m Lexie.”

  “Now say it with a bit of oomph. Stretch your hands out. And don’t look around. Extraordinary people don’t care what others think.”

  Extraordinary? Lexie drew in a breath and as she pushed it out, she stretched her arms out. “I am Lexie!”

  “There you go.” Although pleased, Ava’s lips twitched at the edge.

  “Don’t say it.”

  “Say what?” Ava asked.

  “You’ll never understand why women are so modest when it comes to their talents.”

  “You know me so well. And I understand this is going to take you outside of your comfort zone, but you need to start seeing this as a natural progression. Lulu McGe
e is here to stay. You can’t make her go away.”

  “You’re right. At first I saw the comic strip as a time filler until I found an acceptable... practical job.”

  “Your parents still disapprove.”

  Her folks lived in a small country town, but that didn’t stop them from being high achievers with lofty expectations. “Maggie makes them happy. That should be enough.” It was time to stop this tug of war between doing what she wanted and trying to meet other people’s expectations…

  “It’s traditional for the first child to always end up pleasing their parents. Looking on the bright side that frees you up to be who you want to be. You’re the lucky second child.”

  “True. And Maggie’s achievements should be enough. She’s always been on the same wavelength as my parents.” Although, she had to wonder if they even knew Maggie had come to Melbourne. She didn’t think so. Otherwise, she’d be hosting her entire family instead of one confused overachiever.

  “Did you ever consider letting them prove themselves to you? Instead of trying to please them, you might give them a go and let them see how happy you are, doing what you love doing.”

  How often had she heard her father tell her that if she did what she loved, she’d never work a day in her life because they weren’t hiring. “My parents—” Lexie’s shoulders slumped. “They’re practical, salt of the earth, no-nonsense type of people. They still haven’t forgiven me for moving to the city. While Maggie was free to go forth and conquer the world, they’d expected me to—” she gave a small lift of her shoulder, “I don’t know. Be someone else… something else.”

  Lexie could easily imagine her mother’s reaction when and if she ever got around to telling her about her plans for expansion, right after she told her about her comic strip, of course.

  Retail? You’re going into retail?

  There would be no yelling and no raised eyebrows. The words would be delivered in a flat-line tone followed by an unnerving silence stretching long enough to pay the last respects to a life wasted. And finally there would be a sigh cast over the smoldering pile of aspirations, the sort every mother holds for her youngest daughter.