Fair Play (11 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Ashlyn

It had been a risk coming to Noah this way. One I’d been willing to take for the sake of the play, even if it was at the expense of my heart. Based on the ideas already swirling in my head, vying for a spot on a page, I knew that risk was going to pay dividends.

“You lost your shoes,” Noah said, holding my stilettos by the heels. He followed that by saying, “Leave the coat. I’m thinking of having it bronzed.”

“Very funny,” I said, slipping my arms in the sleeves. “If you have it bronzed, we can never use it again.”

His brows rose as he set the shoes aside and finished fastening the buttons on his jeans. “Okay, but I still want the coat back…someday.”

I picked up one of the shoes, bent my leg behind me, and slipped it on my foot.

“Lucas was here,” Noah said. “Right before you.”

My gaze dropped to the other shoe. “Let me guess. He’s concerned because I haven’t given him anything in over a day and a half.”

Noah nodded.

Just great. Noah had questioned my seeking him out, but he hadn’t resisted in the slightest. While the part about sex between us having a positive effect on my writing had been true, he’d accepted my thin link between recreating rituals and Quinn’s unspoken blessing of our relationship—a fact that sent my heart down a path of hope. But Noah having talked to Lucas prior to my arrival explained everything. He’d been acting as Andy as much as I claimed to be acting as Caroline, making that path a dead end trail. Even the way he kissed me at the end probably hadn’t been real.

“Wheels, look. What if we’re making this more complicated than it needs to be?”

“How do you mean?”

“If sex is what you need…”

“I know what you’re getting at. Sex confuses an already weird situation, and neither one of us intended to take it there. The fact that it helps my writing is something I don’t like any more than you do.”

“Don’t like it?” Noah snorted a laugh. “Could have fooled me.”

“I don’t like the
complication.
The sex is…” Unable to help myself, I let out a dreamy sigh. Then I noticed Noah looking at me, a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

What an ass. The smugness was entirely uncalled for.

I cleared my throat and started over. “After everything that happened the other night, I wrote. And not only did I write, but it’s
really
good. Better than what Lucas read before.”

“So what you’re saying is that sex with me blew the cobwebs out.”

“In a manner of speaking.”

Noah rubbed his jaw. “And what you’re getting at, without really saying it, is that I need to suck it up and take one for the team.”

I half-smiled.

He took a step forward, crowding me with his body. “You don’t know how hard this will be for me, Wheels.”

“Pun intended?”

“When you hit the cover of
The New Yorker,
” he said, backing me against the door, “I better get some recognition.”

“I’ll dedicate my two-page spread to you.”

Noah’s hand found the opening in my trench where a button should have been and slid a hand up the inside of my thigh. “You’d better.”

Desire pulsed through me as his touch inched closer and closer to the hidden place that longed for only him. And then he pulled away. The tease.

“Okay, then, since you say we sort of have Quinn’s blessing, we’ll do this for the play.”

“And when the play’s written…”

“We stop.”

Noah and I had finally come to a new and workable agreement, but dread lined the pit of my stomach. The more time Noah and I spent together, the more we became Caroline and Andy…or vice versa. And this was the part in the story where the very thing that brought my characters together also tore them apart.

“Before it goes any further,” Noah said, “there’s something we need to talk about.”

My head rolled against the door. This couldn’t be good. “What?”

“Pritchard. It’s time you tell me exactly what happened between the two of you the other day. And I mean everything.”

My body tensed. “Noah, I’d really rather not.”

“His being here isn’t a coincidence.”

It wasn’t. Kyle was out for revenge.

Noah backed off me, as if he realized I needed some space, and poured us both a drink from his personal supply while I took a seat on the leather sofa. “I respected your privacy on this for as long as I’m going to,” he said, handing me a glass of scotch. “Now it’s time to talk.”

Given how volatile he was where my safety was concerned, spelling out Kyle’s threats seemed counter-productive. When Noah saw red, he had a tendency to lose control.

Considering Noah had told me how to find Kyle, I felt I owed him full disclosure. But as I watched his facial expressions, and his body language in reaction to what I said, something inside told me Noah already knew.

“Nothing happened,” I said, standing.

Noah stood, too. “Ashlyn—”

“I handled it.” My chest squeezed tight as I walked out. Brushing past him, I added, “That’s all you need to know.”

…

Holed up in my apartment, sitting on Noah’s beanbag three hours later, I sensed something still off with the play—which was odd considering the amazing sex I’d just had. Regardless, the character of Andy had changed ever so subtly, and I couldn’t put my finger on how or why.

Maybe it was Noah and the wall I sensed had gone up after we’d made love. A wall I had no idea how to tear down.

Or did I even want to? Walls might be better…for both of us.

A walk around the park might do me a world of good. I needed fresh air, anyway. Something other than Noah’s last beer in my fridge wouldn’t hurt, either. I made a grocery list and put on my tennis shoes.

The thick scent of rain greeted me when I stepped outside The Marshall Theater. A storm blowing in from the north brought with it cooler climates and a welcome cover of clouds.

Preparations had already begun for the annual festival and kick-off parade. Shopkeepers busied themselves by sprucing up window dressings, hoping to entice tourists to buy souvenirs. Lights strung through live oaks would soon be added, and the burned out M on The Marshall Theater sign had been replaced yesterday.

I spotted Lucas, sitting with Babs in the park pavilion. They looked deep in conversation. Debating whether or not to interrupt, I headed that direction.

“Ashlyn,” Babs said. She darted a glance at Lucas, who looked visibly upset.

“Hi Babs,” I said. “Lucas, is everything okay?”

With a shaky hand, he pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of his cardigan and wiped at watery eyes. “I should tell you now, Ashlyn. You probably need to gather your things. City inspectors came by this morning. They’re concerned about liability should something catastrophic happen. They’re thinking of closing the theater before the festival.”

My heart dropped. “What? They can’t do that. The festival is as important to the town as the theater is.”

Babs reached over and placed a comforting hand on his knee.

“They’re concerned about fire risks to an over-taxed electrical system. There also appears to be structural issues with one of the balconies.”

Shell-shocked and numb all over, I asked, “When will we know for sure?”

“City engineers and the county fire marshal are weighing the options. It will be another week before we get an answer. If the theater is closed down, it’s possible the festival could be cancelled.”

I dropped to the bench beside Lucas.

“Considering the danger of fire,” he said to me, “I think you should gather your things and move out.”

Move out? Where would I go? I thought about the little bit of padding I still had in my bank account, and how quickly three weeks in a hotel would run it up.

“If you need a place to stay, Ashlyn, you can stay with me,” Babs said.

“No,” Lucas said. “She should stay with Noah. It only makes sense, considering the play isn’t finished.”

Finding out I didn’t have AC, Noah had ordered me to stay at his house. Now that I was essentially homeless, I didn’t think he would turn me away.

Movement behind a tree caught my eye. I turned to see a golden retriever fetching a tennis ball. The dog ran and dropped the ball at his master’s feet. Kyle Pritchard looked up. A grin slowly spread across his face. I quickly turned my back on him. No way would I let that jerk see me sweat.

I shoved off, leaving Lucas and Babs alone, and headed to the open-air market at the opposite end of the park. The clouds in the sky darkened just as I felt a presence behind me. The obnoxious scent of French after-shave surrounded me in a fog. I fought back a gag.

Kyle.

“Peaches are good this time of year,” he said. “There’s something else I imagine tastes a lot like peaches.”

Refusing to acknowledge his disgusting comment and what I could only presume to be his meaning, I said, “This is against the rules, Kyle.”

He stepped closer. “I overheard Lucas Marshall, crying to the barmaid. Haven’t you small-town people learned how the real world works? An envelope full of cash handed under the table to the right city official will ensure the theater remains open for as long as it’s needed.”

“Are you saying Lucas should stoop to bribery?”

“It’s just a suggestion. I’d hate to have come all this way for nothing.”

“Is that how you paid for that expensive Air Stream and over-priced aftershave?” I snapped out. “Do people pay you for positive reviews?”

“Do I hear wishful thinking in your tone? You think your rich boyfriend can buy you a spot on Broadway?”

Stepping around him, I searched the market for a fruit or vegetable that couldn’t be used for sexual innuendo. I found it two tables over in the asparagus. Unlike the peaches I’d loved but would never be able to look at without revulsion again, the asparagus seemed safe.

“I always play fair. And so does Lucas Marshall. If there’s legitimate danger, he’d never put people’s lives at risk.”

“Whatever you say, Ashley,” Kyle added. “Like I said, I’d hate to have come all this way for nothing. But if it’s Broadway you want, perhaps we could make an arrangement with or without the festival.” His dog, tied to a nearby tree, barked. Kyle stepped that direction. “My offer’s still open.”

I swallowed my revulsion as I watched Kyle cross the park. A gust of cool, shivery wind followed as he walked away.

…

A while later I walked back into the Double Shot. At the bar, Dusty and Butch turned and caught sight of me. “Hey-hey, Training Wheels,” one said, while the other let out a whistle.

I self-consciously waved. My gaze darted between them then narrowed when Noah stepped out from his hiding place behind the two.

Should’ve known he’d put them up to it. I went to my usual stool and took a seat. Noah handed me a drink.

“I need a favor.” I pushed my drink aside, leaned across the bar, and cleared my throat. “I’m getting kicked out of my apartment.”

His eyes narrowed, trying to figure out how that could be. “Did you not pay your rent?”

I explained how I’d run into Lucas and Babs at the park and the city inspectors’ findings. “I can probably stay with Jessica. Babs even offered. Of course Lucas thinks you are the best alternative. He’s so freaked out right now I didn’t want to cross him.”

Noah scratched his chin. “If memory serves, I recall a similar offer made recently that was thrown back in my face.”

“Once again, your memory is skewed. It wasn’t so much an offer as an order.”

He leaned in. His finger traced along the pulse point on the inside of my wrist. “What do I get in return?”

I tilted my head, offering my best smile. “Besides a chance to keep your bar and your town and your big expansion deal with Cambridge Hotels?”

“Looks like we have ourselves quite a conundrum.”

“Why is that?”

“Quinn wouldn’t want you sleeping in my bed any more than he would want you sleeping in your car. If you stay with me, Ashlyn, you will be sleeping in my bed. At least, until you finish the play.”

I reached for my drink. “Thing about that is, writers aren’t done until the show’s had its run.”

Noah trying to hide his smile only made his mouth irresistibly sexy. “Guess that’s lucky for me.”

Butterfly wings fluttered against my stomach as that old familiar tug pulled on my heart. Unlike him, I couldn’t hold back my grin any more than the wistful little sigh that escaped.

He tossed me a set of keys. I caught them mid-air.

Game on.

After packing up my car and following Noah’s directions to the letter, I drove down an oak-lined lane, six miles outside of Phair, until I reached Noah’s house. Set in a valley between rolling hills, the rounded edges of the hills softened the corners of the house’s stone pillars. I parked my car in the garage, punched the code to deactivate the alarm, and traveled through the wide archway to a side door.

The hairs on my arms rose as I went from room to room. Inspiration in the form of sex wasn’t what I needed from Noah, at least not today. It was this—seeing who he was when no one was watching.

Though small colorful rugs graced them, hardwood floors were otherwise bare. Walls not made of glass were spartan. Architecturally, the house was stunning, but it was an empty shell. It had no soul.

I continued to wander through the house then let myself out to the hidden sanctity of the enclosed sun porch. The second I stepped through the door I felt the essence of Noah surround me. The house might be empty, as if waiting for someone to live in it, but not this space. Various photographs of Noah with his friends from Phair lined a low table. A chenille throw lay bunched up on an antique metal bed, with a book lying face down on top of it. I ran my fingers along the book’s threadbare cover first before picking it up.

Henry David Thoreau. Based on the worn, dog-eared pages and highlighted passages, he’d read Walden a lot.

A smile tugged at the corners of my lips. Just when I thought I had him mostly figured out, he threw me a curve ball.

He loved Phair. That much was true. And because of his turbulent family life, part of him probably even needed the calm pace, the loving support of a tight-knit community. Even though he was a businessman who wouldn’t hesitate to cut his losses and move on if it came to it, I had a strong sense he didn’t want to. Phair was his family now.