Her Irresistible Troublemaker (A Town Named Eden Book 3) (23 page)

This time, both his eyebrows shot up. “She doesn’t own a tortoise—” He smiled. “On second thought, she probably does have one and is breeding it for its shell.”

Their eyes met and held. She’d never known anyone so willing to play along.

He turned his gaze back to the lake. “An investment banker suited her lifestyle. A builder… not so much.”

Okay. It made sense. In a twisted sort of way. “Any regrets about your breakup?”

He looked into the distance. “None. If we’d gone ahead and married I’m sure we’d be filing divorce papers right about now. That’s something I intent avoiding. By the time I was twelve I’d acquired two step moms. If I had kids, I’d want them to experience a more normal, run of the mill life.” After a brief moment, he stood up and straightened. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

“Um, do what?”

“Part ways.”

* * *

A hero.

It had taken her all this time to realize she wanted a hero in her life. A man willing to do anything to win her heart. A hero didn’t walk away. He didn’t take no for an answer. He stood his ground. He fought the fight—

“Lexie.”

“I’m in here,” she called out.

Maggie strode into the large formal dining room they only ever used for special birthday dinners and Christmas.

Stepping back from the drawings she’d taped on the dining room wall, Lexie gave Maggie a small wave hello. In a single night, she’d drawn Lulu traipsing her way across Europe. She wasn’t sure about her running with the bulls in Spain, especially as she’d never worn anything but stilettos, but for that reason alone she’d decided it would be a great addition to the images she’d selected for the snow globes and whatever other knick-knacks Mason and Maggie came up with.

The antique dining table was strewn with sketches, some scrunched up, others showing promise. In the light of day, she realized she’d spent the entire night churning out one idea after another, all in an effort to take her mind off Jack and everything she’d left unsaid.

She remembered slumping on the table and dozing off for a few minutes at a time, but sleep had mostly eluded her. She’d be paying the price today. Her eyes felt bleary, her body sluggish. She could barely form a cohesive thought together…

“You missed dinner at Eddie’s last night.”

“Yeah, I got caught up with… things.”

“So… Where’s Jack?”

Of course Maggie would assume she’d spent the night with him. “Jack had to go.” Lexie drew in a big breath and pushed it out in a huff. “I had to get rid of him. I couldn’t see any other way.” She raked her fingers through her hair. “You have to help me cover my tracks.” It would only take a passing remark from someone who’d met him, spoken at the wrong time and place, for word to reach her parents.

Maggie took a step forward, then stopped. “Lexie. W-what did you do?” she asked, her voice a mere whisper.

Lexie rubbed her eyes. “Huh?”

“What did you do with Jack?”

“I took him to the lake.” The words sounded as flat as she felt. She glanced at Maggie. She must have had quite a night. Her face looked pale— “And I ended it all.”

“You what?”

She slashed her hand across the air. “He’s gone.”

“Gone?”

“Snuffed out.”

“Okay. Let’s not panic.” Maggie turned and eased the dining room doors closed. “The sooner we establish facts, the better. How long ago?”

Lexie tried to remember. “Yesterday. Mid afternoon? Maybe a little later.” She turned to the drawings on the table and started tidying them up. “Then I came back here. I figured work would take my mind off what I did.” But it hadn’t. Every line she’d drawn had felt like a betrayal. She’d sent him away and now she wanted to get on with her life. Ha! As if he meant nothing. Double ha, she thought. As if she could flick the attraction switch off and pretend… “What happened to you? What time did you get in?”

“Me? I… I stayed in town.” Maggie narrowed her eyes and studied her as if looking for a shred of sanity to tap into. “Are mom and dad… are they okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you… did you get rid of them too?”

“Oh, sure.” Lexie smiled. “Mom heard me in here and I—” She threw her hands up. “I completely lost it with her. So I got rid of her too.”

“How? How did you do it?” Maggie’s hands clamped around her shoulders, her eyes wide.

“I told her I’d had enough. It was time to put an end to it all—”

“No!” Maggie gripped her shoulders tighter.

“Yes. I accept full responsibility for my actions, but because of them, mom and her practical expectations and dad and his quiet disapproval… I had to get rid of Jack. Jack. The best thing that ever happened to me and I had to end it all. Now it’s too late. They might as well lock me up and throw away the key.” She’d been crazy to give up even a single day of his company. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t think I had it in me. I wish I could have been stronger. I could have stopped it or handled it all differently. Now it’s too late. Any minute now I feel I’m going to break down and confess—”

Maggie stepped back. “No. Not yet. You can’t take all the blame. You were driven to it.”

“I was. Yes.”

“And… and you weren’t yourself.”

Lexie nodded. “Yes, I’m sure I could plead temporary insanity. Oh, my God. What did I do?”

“I’ll help you.” Maggie threw her arms around her. “We’ll figure something out.”

“Thanks.” Her relief was instant. If Maggie said she’d fix something, then it was as good as fixed. “So… what do you think of my drawings?”

Maggie drew back and looked at her as if Lexie had spoken in an alien tongue. She opened her mouth but before she could say anything, the door was flung open and their mother burst in carrying a plate laden with sandwiches.

“I don’t care what you said about not wanting to be disturbed, but you have to eat something. Also,” She set the plate down on the table and waved a magazine she’d had tucked under her arm, “Joyce has all the back issues of Girl About Town. I can’t say I approve of everything Lulu gets up to, but… she is entertaining.” Then she turned to the wall. “I just don’t understand it.” She shook her head. “If you can create all that here, why not move back to Eden?”

“Mom?” Maggie’s voice broke.

“Maggie. I know you’re used to a different pace, but you’ll have to adjust it. Don’t push your sister so hard. Look at her, she looks as if she’s been tearing her hair out.” She checked her watch. “I’m running late. I’ll see you girls later on.”

“You heard her, go easy on me,” Lexie said as their mother rushed out and closed the door behind her.

Maggie turned to her. “You did that on purpose.”

“What?”

“You let me think you’d done away with all of them—” She plucked a sandwich from the plate and stuffed it in her mouth. When she swallowed, she smiled. “I’m going to have to learn to keep up with you.”

“Your multi-tasking skills will be in much demand. What with keeping mom and dad at bay, promoting both Lulu and me—” She heard her cell phone beep and had to rummage through the debris on the table to find it. “It’s Ava. She sent me a photo.”

Maggie’s cell phone beeped too. “It’s Ava.” She strode toward a window and took the call.

Lexie turned her attention back to her cell phone. “Oh… No… I can’t believe this.” She turned to show Maggie, but her sister was looking at her as if seeing her for the first time.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Lexie helped herself to a croissant and nibbled it at leisure.

Thanks to Maggie, their mornings now began with a family breakfast meeting. Maggie had set the ball rolling with a presentation of their business plan. She’d suggested the full disclosure as a kick-start strategy, saying the more their parents thought they knew, the less questions they were likely to ask.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing.

It had been three days since Ava had contacted them, but neither one had been prepared to talk about it. Lexie wondered how long they could continue tiptoeing around each other, steering clear of all mention of the phone call and…

Jack.

She’d refused to talk about him. It was done. Now she had to move on. Maybe some day she’d meet a real hero who could wade through her misguided reasoning. If he’d really cared about her, he would have stayed, he would have—

“Are you having a launch party?” their father asked and didn’t wait for a response. “Have you thought about giving Lulu a super power?”

The sip of coffee Lexie took nearly went down the wrong way. His surge of interest and support was downright scary. “She’s not that type of character, dad.”

“Why not? It would only be a matter of giving her some sort of heightened skills, such as—” He brushed his hand across his chin. “I’m sure you can come up with something. You only need to think outside the square.”

Her mother nodded. “She could safeguard her secret identity by moving to a small town. All the locals would be in on the secret, and of course, they wouldn’t divulge it.”

Lexie made a grab for another croissant. If anything, her mother had found a creative outlet to express her heartfelt desires. Most parents wanted their children to spread their wings and leave the nest. Hers continued to be the exception.

“Well, this is all very exciting, but we both have jobs to get to. And you girls probably want some peace and quiet. By the way, I heard Eddie Faydon and her brother are having some apartments built in Eden.”

“Yes, we heard. There’s never a shortage of rumors in Eden. Don’t worry about the dishes. We’ll clear the table. Thanks for breakfast, mom.” For a woman always on the hop, she’d always managed to juggle home duties with as much passion as she put into her professional life.

“She puts us both to shame,” Maggie said as if reading her thoughts.

“They seem to be coping well. I’m surprised and glad. Although, still a bit wary. Have you noticed how mom is still sneaking in suggestions I move back to Eden? They must be planning some sort of covert operation to get you back on track doing the job you spent years training for.”

“They’ve never been good with subtlety. If that’s how they feel, they would have said so by now.”

Lexie grabbed a dishtowel. “You wash, I’ll dry.”

Since there were only a couple of plates, Maggie didn’t bother with the dishwasher and instead washed the dishes by hand, taking care to rinse the glasses properly and checking them for residual soap suds, which meant she was thinking. Over the years, Lexie had realized the more attention Maggie paid to a mundane task the more she was engaging her mind on a niggling problem.

“What’s up?”

“Nothing. Why do you ask?”

“You’ve been… I don’t know… standoffish? I’m guessing it has to do with your phone call. You’re avoiding talking about it.”

“The same way you’ve been avoiding showing me the photo Ava sent you and talking about Jack.” Maggie wiped her hands dry and turned to face her. “What’s the big deal? I thought you and I had made progress.”

By leaps and bounds. “Is that why you’re holding out on me?” She’d called Ava but she hadn’t had any luck getting her to reveal what the conversation had been about.

Maggie crossed her arms. “When were you going to tell me about your car accident?”

Lexie nearly dropped the plate she’d been drying. She set it down, swirled on her feet and strode out of the kitchen.

“Where are you going?”

“To call Ava and give her an earful,” she threw over her shoulder.

Maggie caught up with her. “Ava’s worried about you.”

“Is she still going on about me being afraid to move on?”

“It makes sense. Why else would you send Jack on his way? He’s the best—”

“Don’t say it.”

“How could you not tell us? All that time spent in hospital, with no family around you. Anything could have happened and we would have been the last to know.”

“I didn’t want to worry anyone.”

“Liar.”

“You were out of the country at the time.” She dug inside her handbag and retrieved her cell, but the urge to blow off steam left her.

“I would have come back.”

“Really?”

“What’s with the lifted eyebrow? I would have hopped on the first available flight—”

“You still haven’t told me why you left Sydney.” It was Maggie’s turn to swirl on her feet and walk away.

“Some things are not worth talking about. I’m moving on, which is more than can be said for you.”

“Fine. Be like that.” Lexie slung her handbag over her shoulder and strode toward the front door.

“You can’t walk out in the middle of an argument.”

Lexie leaned her forehead against the front door and sighed. “I didn’t tell any of you about my accident because I knew what would happen. You’d all gang up on me and say I’d made yet another bad decision. Sometimes you don’t even have to say anything. Your combined silences speak volumes.”

“If it makes you feel better, you’re not the only one to make bad choices.”

Lexie turned, but Maggie lifted a halting hand.

“I did something stupid but I still don’t want to talk about it.”

Lexie’s shoulders lowered a notch. “Fine.” She searched for the photo Ava had sent her. “When you’re ready to tell me, keep this in mind.” She held the cell phone out to her. “You’ll have to come up with something really extraordinary to trump this.”

Maggie lowered her eyes to the screen. “You’re kidding me. Jack did that?”

“Yeah. Jack did that, and I sent him away… because there’s a time and a place and I didn’t understand why he’d turned up as he did and anyhow, I’d already told him I didn’t want a relationship, but I do… with him… although now I have so much happening in my life, I don’t have time to fall in love, and I can’t take any of it back now because he’ll think I can’t possibly know what I want.” She stopped to take a breath.

“I’m almost afraid to admit that actually makes sense… Okay, I’m not going to tell you what to do, but in your place…” Maggie threw her hands up in the air. “I’m going to call mom and tell her you’re going back to Melbourne today. Start packing.”

“Um. Why?”

“Because you have to make this right. You can’t let someone like Jack think you don’t want him.”

“I didn’t.” Her legs shook and a quivery sensation ran up and down her thighs. Did he think she didn’t want him?

“Whatever’s going through your mind just drained you of all color. Stay. Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

Moments later, Maggie returned carrying her overnight bag.

“I’ll drive you back, and don’t stop talking. You need to unclog. Let everything out.”

Lexie settled into the passenger seat. “It won’t make sense,” she warned.

“I’ll decipher it. Come on. What are you afraid of?”

She looked down at the photo Ava had sent her.

“I hope you realize he did that for you.”

Jack had created a vertical wall garden so she’d have something beautiful to look at when she gazed out her apartment window. Flowers in every shade of the rainbow hung over the entire length of the balcony.

“This isn’t a car rally,” she said when Maggie made a sharp turn out of the driveway.

Maggie shook her head. “I’ll break the speed limit if I have to. It’s been three days. Has he called you? Have you called him?”

“No, I couldn’t call him. Maybe it’s for the best.”

“The clock’s ticking. You need to get all that rubbish out of your system before we get to Melbourne. You can’t let a guy like him slip through your fingers.”

“What if I’m setting myself up to make the same mistake again?” Leaving herself wide open for disappointment and the biggest heartbreak of her life.

Maggie tapped the steering wheel. “From what Ava told me you cut your loses with a man who nearly killed you and that hurt. But I can’t see Jack as the type who’d put your life at risk. I’m thinking this is about you being afraid that if you break up with someone like him, it would devastate you and that’s putting it mildly. Also, and I’m rather pleased with this conclusion, you’re afraid of taking another risk that won’t pay off with the long-term commitment we all crave.”

Lexie waved her cell phone. “This is a game changer. It doesn’t matter what I want or how I feel. In Jack’s mind, he sees me still living at the apartment. The garden is a beautiful gesture, but if everything worked out the way I wanted it to, I wouldn’t be living there for much longer.”

“You’re thinking long-term and he’s not. That’s one way of looking at it. But you can’t be sure what he’s thinking.” As they entered the township, Maggie slowed down.

Lexie looked out the passenger window and made a sound that sounded like laughter. “I think I just saw Joyce sneaking into Brilliant Baubles.”

“I must remember to drop by. I still haven’t met her mystery man. He—” Maggie broke off and slammed her foot on the breaks.

Holding on to the dashboard, Lexie’s eyes narrowed. “That’s Jack’s truck.” Parked outside The Gloriana. Had he come back?

“Do you think he’s holed up at the pub licking his wounds?”

“Are you suggesting I drove a man to drink?”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

* * *

“If your ego can take it, it’s okay to come home. Juliette is prancing around with her new fiancé…”

“You think she’s the reason why I came to Eden?” Jack asked.

“I was thinking she might be the reason why you haven’t returned home. It’s not as if you’re getting anywhere with Lexie,” Mason said.

“Did you ask Lexie what she wanted?” Steph asked.

Jack nodded. “She wants me gone.”

“The way you tell it, it sounds like she wants to keep you as her dirty little secret. Remember, this is Lexie. She stood by you when you most needed her. Think, Jack. What else did she say?”

Jack brushed his hands across his face and then stared at the computer screen. For the last couple of days, he’d been volleying phone calls from both Mason and Steph, covering the same ground with them and getting nowhere. Finally, he’d decided it would be best to tackle them both at once. Mitch Faydon had given him access to the pub’s computer so he could Skype them. After an hour, they were still going around in circles.

Steph and Mason leaned forward, their eyebrows slammed together. Jack slumped back in his chair. If worse came to worse, he could always switch the computer off. But it wouldn’t solve anything. He had to find a solution, a way around Lexie’s concerns. Meanwhile, he’d decided to stay put. Lexie had been staying away from town, but they were bound to meet eventually, and when they did—

“Maybe she wants time and distance to think,” Mason suggested. “Women like that. I always feel I’ve been sent to the naughty corner.”

Steph rolled her eyes.

“I’ve stayed away and I’ve given her time.” And he hoped she was doing better than he was. Was she even thinking about him?

“The fact you’ve stayed in Eden will work in your favor. She’ll know straight away you haven’t given up.”

Mason agreed with Steph, but Jack wasn’t so sure. Maybe he should have respected her wishes.

“You read romances, Steph. What do the heroes usually do in situations like this?”

“Actually, they usually do something really stupid like walk away.”

“But they eventually get the girl.”

“Oh, sure. You have to have a happy ending. But before that happens, you have to undergo some serious soul searching.”

“How the hell do I do that?”

“By digging deep. Eventually, you’ll come to terms with what you stand to lose and admit you’ve been an idiot.”

“And women go for guys who are idiots?”

“Throw in a hot bod and we’ll forgive you guys anything. That’s not to say we’re shallow.” Steph shrugged.

He had been acting like an idiot since that first time she’d called him to alert him about the intruder in his building. What if they’d never met again? He would have missed out on so much…

Mason raised his hand. “I find it also helps to apologize.”

“For what? Staying when I should have left?”

“Play it safe, cover all possibilities and offer a blanket apology.”

“I’d advice against that. You have to be clear. We want to know you’ve learned your lesson.” Steph gave a firm nod. “And just so we’re clear, we love you but you can’t hurt Lexie. Now, you need to figure out exactly what you want.”