by Parin, Sonia
Tap into her female insight?
Yeah, no… that wouldn’t work since Lexie had been the subject of his conversation with his sister. Not that he’d managed to get very far into the conversation because Steph had rushed off to rescue Mason.
He should have made his situation sound more desperate. Whatever Mason had said had trumped his own problems.
Problems? Jack amended it, changing it to a rising concern about sending Lexie mixed messages. Okay, maybe concern verging on serious reason to be worried. When he’d told Steph he’d asked Lexie to be his plus one for the reception, her eyebrows had curved, and that had to mean something.
“Sit down, Jack. You’re making me edgy and you don’t have to be specific. You can be hypothetical, if you like. I promise I won’t judge.”
“Ties.” He pulled out a chair and sank into it.
“As in the sort that bind you?”
When he saw her cheeks taking on a delicate tinge he knew she’d blurted out the first thought that had crossed her mind, which made him wonder if she was referring to the ties that bound one to something, like a bedpost—
He shook his head. “I haven’t worn a tie in a while. In fact, I don’t have any.” Not since Juliette had exercised her right to express her disappointment in him by cutting them all up. Clearly, she’d never heard about donation bins.
“Is it for this… this thing we have together?”
“Is that how you’re referring to it?”
“Well, it’s not really a date and since it’s not, I’m not exactly sure what to call it.”
“A night out. A function. A party.” He brushed his hand across his chin. “You know what, there’s no reason why we can’t call it a date. It sounds better than calling it a thing.” She didn’t answer straight away and that should have worried him, but it didn’t because he was too busy looking at her.
Had she done something with her hair? It looked more playful in a bouncy sort of way. And inviting. He curled and uncurled his fingers into the palm of his hands and then brushed them along his thigh.
“So what else does your sister do?”
He tore his eyes away from her hair and focused…
On her lips.
Eyes. Look at her eyes.
“Apart from attending to wardrobe malfunctions, she gives us relationship advice, whether we want it or not.” She was also the only one of their stepsisters without ulterior motives. From the start, she’d made it clear dating either one of them would be too weird. “Mason’s caved in and begged her for help. He’s experiencing some difficulties with a new woman in his life.”
“It’s handy to tap into someone else’s perspective. I suppose it takes a village…” She shrugged and then waved her hand as if dismissing her remark.
“And who lives in your village?”
“I rely on friends for advice.”
“What about family?”
Her gaze dropped to her hands. “I have one sister. She’s a high achiever with no time for nonsense. As for my parents... Hmm... My parents... Well, clearly I struggle to define them.” When she looked up again, she seemed almost relieved, as if she’d finally been purged of her big secret. Her eyes met his, then dropped, then bounced up again.
Jack frowned. He hoped he hadn’t made her feel uncomfortable. Then he wondered if she’d told any of her friends about him. “I suppose Ava is part of your inner circle.”
She nodded and her eyes lit up. “We’re complete opposites. Ava’s a strange mix of practical and grab the bull by the horns adventurous and I’m—” She cupped her chin. “I’m a work in progress.”
That sounded familiar. While making the transition from working in an office to wearing a hard hat had been as easy as closing a door and opening another one, he was still re-creating himself. “That’s okay, so long as you’re not facing a crisis.” He didn’t think he could handle that. With so many stepsisters in his life, he’d learned to avoid being suckered in by their need for advice and opinions. They could be tricky. Make the wrong remark and it could all blow up in his face.
“Why would you say that? Do I look on edge? Desperate? About to go off the rails?”
“I don’t know if I should laugh or run for my life.” Then he remembered their first phone conversation. He’d never met anyone quite like Lexie Gardner. In fact, he didn’t know anyone who’d call him in the middle of the night with a stranger than fiction story. “You’re adventurous too. I’d even go so far as to say you’re unique.”
She nibbled the edge of her lip. “I try to keep a tight rein on that part of me.”
His eyebrows lifted. “This is something you need to control?”
“My own version of Mr Hyde,” she agreed with a nod, her face relaxed but serious.
“Your inner devil?”
She leaned forward as if about to share a secret. “Yes, but she goes by another name.”
“What is it?”
She gave him an impish smile. “I’d rather not say.”
“Are you trying to be mysterious?” This wasn’t the first time she’d held back. “You’re making me curious.” In a way he hadn’t been before about a woman. They’d always told him what he needed to know—what they liked or what they didn’t like—and that had been enough for him.
“Should I stop?”
“Absolutely not. I like being intrigued.” Which was news to him. Usually, the less guessing he had to do, the better. If he had to be honest, he’d been enjoying Lexie’s unpredictability. It kept him both on his toes and relaxed at the same time. He didn’t bother trying to understand what that meant because he was enjoying himself too much.
She gave him a half smile. “You do realize being intriguing is a boring person’s best weapon. Always give the impression you’re not revealing everything. It hides the fact there isn’t more to reveal.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. I’m guessing there are depths to your personality you don’t even know about.”
“Be careful. Scary creatures live in the deepest part of the ocean.”
“I’m braced and ready for any surprise.” And feeling more eager than he wanted to admit.
“What’s your family going to think about you not knowing anything about me?”
“If someone asks me about you I can say you’re a puzzle I’m still trying to solve.” He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Mason says we appear to click, and if he can see that, then everyone else will too.” Jack had been mulling over the offhand observation until he’d decided to agree with it. With Juliette, he’d mostly been all at sea, every conversation testing his patience, as he’d always felt several steps behind and in need of prompting and reminding. With Lexie…
It was more or less the same. However, for some reason, he could breathe easy, even if half the time he had no idea where the conversation was headed. And that, he now realized, was half the fun.
She gave a light shrug. “We probably click because we’re not trying to impress each other.”
“True. I haven’t tried to be on my best behavior with you. And we click despite initially getting off on the wrong foot.”
“You had to go ruin it with a reminder.” She smiled.
“Sorry.”
“Actually, this could be a story we tell our grandchildren.” She bit her bottom lip.
Okay. Focus. Don’t panic.
He searched his mind for a comeback but couldn’t think of anything appropriate. Had she been entertaining ideas about him? Lining him up as a long-term prospect? He wished he knew how he felt about that, or how he should respond.
She sat still and smiled without blinking. “That was your cue to run for your life, sparing me the embarrassment of having to explain myself.”
A slip of the tongue? Jack had to contain his laughter. He could imagine Lexie sending a silent plea for the earth to open up and swallow her. “I’d rather hang around and play with you.” Her eyes sparkled with surprise. He leaned forward. “Okay, let’s talk about Sa
turday.”
She nodded as if getting herself back on track. “Our plus one affair.”
“We should stick to the truth, that way we won’t get our stories mixed up.” And there would be questions. Who was she? Where and how had they met? Was it serious? Where did he see it heading?
“So basically, I hated you from the start because you ruined my view, then you tried to atone by covering my windows, we clicked and here we are. Remind me again why you’re short of a date for this shindig?”
“I’ve been busy with work, and anyone who knows me will understand that. Then I was busy locking horns with you when you objected to my project.”
“Are we using that as a reason for going out together, sort of like opposites attracting?”
“People will relate to that.”
“Because you’re the type of guy who goes out with someone who makes your life interesting?”
“I’ve never been known for that trait, but I’m so intrigued by you, I’m willing to try something new and at least we won’t have to lie about how we first met.” He looked around and caught the attention of a waiter.
“You’ve never gone out with someone who’s your complete opposite?”
At some point, he must have felt compatible with Juliette. They had been well-suited. Perhaps even like-minded. But he didn’t want to think too much about that.
“Complete opposites are too much work.” Yet he had no trouble with Lexie. Maybe she’d been right in saying they clicked because they weren’t trying to impress each other. Hadn’t he told Mason the same thing?
“I’ll be like an ice-cream flavor you’ve been resisting all your life.”
“Give me a second to mull that over.” It made sense. Lexie was a new flavor. Could he become addicted to her?
When a waiter approached, he placed his order and tried to be as brisk as Lexie who hadn’t lingered over her selection. She knew exactly what she wanted and she wasn’t shy about eating. Another first for him. The women he’d known had been tragic stereotypes, playing hide and seek with their food, and making a big deal of selecting a dessert only to then eat it with their eyes. Had he been a stereotype too?
“Steph thinks I should let you pick my tie.”
Lexie shook her head. “It wouldn’t be fair. I’m not letting you pick my dress. That would be giving you too much power.”
She sounded too matter of fact so he had to wonder if she’d had a bad experience she was trying to hide. Should he prod for more information? If he didn’t ask, he risked being perceived as uncaring, or so he’d been told.
She leaned forward. “I hate to ask, but is something wrong? You’re frowning and you look as if you want to say something. I’m usually the one who does that. I might be starting to rub off on you. If you spend enough time with me, you’ll start finishing my sentences. We might even start wearing the same color clothes.”
He drew in a deep breath and wished he didn’t have a rule about not drinking alcohol at lunch. “I’d just decided we don’t like to talk about our past experiences. That’s why we click.” When Lexie looked down at her hands, Jack realized he’d given her something to think about. “That came across as callous.”
“Who am I to judge when I refuse to choose your tie?”
“It’s probably sensible to live in the moment and not ask too much about our past,” he reasoned.
“Is that a skeleton I hear rattling in your closet?”
“I have a special closet for those and they never see the light of day.” He didn’t have to talk about Juliette’s loss of interest in him when he’d ditched his suit and tie job. Everyone who was close to him knew about it, but he couldn’t see any reason why Lexie would want or need to know.
“Okay.”
“Really?”
“You’re surprised.”
“Hell, yeah. Any one of my sisters would have grabbed hold of the opening and spent the night trying to wrench more information out of me.”
She laughed. “Yeah, it feels like being put through the wringer. I have a couple of friends who do that. And when they’re done prodding, they share their own experiences.”
“What about your sister? Are you close?”
“We are, but she’s not the sharing and caring type. Maggie doesn’t suffer fools. Her time is meticulously allocated to deliver maximum results. If I called her with a personal problem she wouldn’t hang up on me, but she’d be quick to recommend I talk to a therapist, adding that while she loves me, she wants the very best for me and wouldn’t risk misguiding me—” Lexie shrugged and turned her focus to her lunch.
As they ate, Jack thought about the inner she devil she’d mentioned. If she tried to keep it under wraps, then he hadn’t seen the best of her yet. What would he have to do to lure that side of her out? He grumbled under his breath. He was going to obsess about it until he found a way to push the right buttons.
Clearing his throat, he said, “I know you don’t want me to have a say in what you wear, but when do you think you’ll be free to go shopping?”
Her lips parted and if she hadn’t then sunk her teeth into her burger, he was sure her mouth would have gaped open.
“Do I have to get something new?” she eventually asked.
It was his turn to be surprised. Women were supposed to enjoy having something new to wear for special occasions or for no reason at all. He sat back. He really needed to stop comparing Lexie to other women.
“Absolutely. My treat. No arguments.”
“You want to go shopping with me?”
“I do have to find a tie.”
“This’ll take our relationship to a whole new level.” She took a sip of water. “It’d be interesting to see your eyes glaze over with boredom.”
Jack didn’t see any chance of that happening. Every moment he spent with her seemed to be engraving itself in his memory. “Shopping is serious business. It will either make or break the relationship.”
“You’re either a committed shopaholic who thrives on the experience or you’re so methodical, you do a walk in, grab and run and call it the best shopping experience ever.” She raised her hand. “No, don’t tell me. I’d like to see for myself. I’m not free tonight. How about tomorrow night?”
“That’s cutting it close, but okay.”
Chapter Twelve
“What are you wearing?” Lexie tried to sound nonchalant but her throat had dried up turning her voice into the crackling sound of a radio station out of tune. She watched her sister stride out of the bedroom and then stop in her tracks to look down at herself.
“Shorts and boots.”
“Yes, I can see that. I guess I should have asked why you’re wearing—” Shaking her head, she set her grocery bags down on the kitchen table. “Don’t worry. I’ll…” She’d what? Reserve judgment? Suspending it sounded like a sensible option. At least until she understood what she was dealing with. She’d spent the previous night trying to engage Maggie’s attention and while her sister had at least agreed to a game of Scrabble, the words she’d kept coming up with had been a dead giveaway to how she’d been feeling. Dead. Dire. Doom. Gloom. Lexie suspected an inkblot test would have produced similar results.
“Okay.” If her sigh had been any heavier, the windows would have rattled. “Don’t make a big deal out of it. I’m trying out a new look. Did you get chocolate fudge cookies?”
“Sorry, I forgot.”
“But I put them on the list.”
“I’m not good with lists. I either forget I have them with me or I lose them.” Lexie pulled out her cell and put her fingers to work. This had gone on far enough. She’d given it her best shot. She’d given Maggie time to resurface. She’d tried coaxing her into sharing. All to no avail. It was time for a serious intervention.
Help me. You’re my only hope.
“Feeling up to going out today?” she asked. To her credit, Maggie appeared to give the suggestion some thought.
“Maybe. I don’t know. I was thinking of get
ting my hair done.” She gave her locks a dismissive flick. “Changing the color or something. It’s… so brown. What do you think?”
That if Maggie found a cause, she’d be fully powered up and charged to rebel. And then… watch out. “That sounds like fun. I could do with a trim. How about we have a nice big salad first—”
“Salad?”
“Yeah, I have the occasional health binge.”
Maggie pulled a face.
“Fine, we could go out for lunch and then trot down to my local hairdresser.”
“You have a regular hairdresser you go to?”
“I’ve been known to frequent the same salon.” Whichever one offered the cheapest cuts… “Or we could go shopping and check out some sales,” she suggested as she strode over to Melville to sprinkle some fish food into his bowl. “We could even make a day of it and go see a movie.” She stooped down to watch Melville zipping from one end of the bowl to the other.
“I quit my job.”
Lexie peered at Maggie, the fishbowl distorting her sister like a theme park mirror, making her eyes and head look bigger.
Maggie had quit her job…
Her sister had walked away from the job that had claimed the last seven years of her life? The topnotch position she’d fought so hard to claim as her own? She must have had good reason. And she definitely had a plan. A direction. She had to. She’d been mapping out her life since she’d learned to read and write. Who knew what could happen to her if she went completely off the rails…
“Um. Are we happy about this?”
Maggie stooped down to look at her from the opposite side of the fishbowl.
“I don’t know about you, but I am, or at least I’m working up to it.”
“You have bigger fish to fry?” Melville hovered for a moment mid-motion and then zipped around the bowl as if trying to find an escape route. Lexie mouthed an apology.
“I haven’t decided yet.”
Not good. Not good at all. Twelve months before, Lexie had lost the plot but she’d found it again through her comic strip. And until a few days before, Lexie had again been in need of direction but that was nothing unusual for her. With Maggie… It could mean the end of civilization.