“I somehow doubt you will.”
“Parts of the experience are fuzzy. A little alcohol and a parrot and things got crazy, but—”
“Parrot?”
“No big deal. The charges were dropped before trial.” He reached out and traced a thumb along her chin.
“Unless you want to lose a finger, now is not the time to touch me.” She brushed his hand away. “So, this parrot issue is in addition to the time in prison?”
“Jail.”
“What’s the difference?”
“A trial and a conviction, and I didn’t have either. And, by the way, no harm came to the bird.”
“You didn’t tell me any of this, Noah. You still haven’t, really. We were engaged for two months. You never said a word.”
“That’s what I don’t get. If you didn’t know about this stuff, then how could it matter?”
“Being purposely obtuse is not helping your case.”
She wanted to scream, but the women had edged closer and no longer pretended not to listen in. No need to give them more of a show or make it easier to eavesdrop.
“None of what happened to me before we met means anything to us,” he said as if he actually believed it.
Even if that was true, there was still the problem of the theft of a client’s money and trade secrets. “What about the part where you forgot to tell me you were married?”
The older woman of the two gasped. For some reason the idea of Noah being in prison did not warrant a sound, but news of a wife did.
If Noah heard the noise, he ignored it. “Yeah, you yelled a lot when you found out about Karen.”
“Your wife.”
“Ex.” He smiled at the women he had charmed earlier. “She conveniently forgot to mention the divorce.”
One of the woman treated him to a tsk-tsk sound, then started whispering to her companion.
“The existence of an ex-wife is not one of those things that just slips your mind,” Lexy said.
“You shouldn’t assume that. Karen is a pretty forgettable lady.”
“Not to me.”
“Because you never met her. If you had, you’d see a certain similarity between Karen and jail time.”
“This isn’t funny.” It managed to be the exact opposite of funny as far as Lexy was concerned. Hearing him talk about another woman as his wife—the role Lexy at one time thought she would fill—made her wonder why she traveled to Utah instead of just turning him over to the police and letting them figure out his crimes.
But she knew the answer to why she stayed involved. Despite everything that happened, Lexy wanted to believe in him. To hear a simple and understandable explanation that would amount to something other than a string of nonsense and lies. Seeing him appear in Utah caused hope to flicker to life inside her.
But his words…well, nothing changed that she could see.
“Lexy, listen to me.” Those dark eyes softened in a way guaranteed to crush her defenses against him.
“Don’t call me that.”
He rested his head back against the wall and made a strangled sound. “It’s your name.”
“My name is Alexa.”
“Alexa Annabeth Stuart. We slept together for eighteen months, honey. I took the time to learn your full name.”
“Then use it.”
“Also figured out in the first hour the name didn’t fit you.”
“Meaning?”
“Alexa Annabeth is a stuck-up rich woman’s name.”
“Annabeth happens to be my mother’s name.”
He lifted his eyebrow. “Your point?”
“Sure, it’s not as pretty as your wife’s name.” Lexy sneered over the word. “Karen. How lovely.”
“Ex. We’ve been divorced for more than a decade.”
“So you say.”
“Back to your mother.”
“What’s wrong with her?” The dangerous question came out before Lexy could stop it.
“What kind of woman saddles her kids with names like Alexa Annabeth and Grayson Jameson but then calls her dogs George and Martha?”
“Mom wanted the corgis to be patriotic.”
Noah’s jaw dropped. “You know that’s crazy, right?”
Lexy did. Over-the-edge nuts. That described her parents. They were successful to a shocking degree and smart, but that was all to the outside world. In the eyes of those who really knew them well, which was almost no one, they were utterly dysfunctional.
And the whole damn family adored Noah. Her brother Gray turned out to be Noah’s biggest supporter. Gray whined almost daily about her decision to break off the engagement. Tried to talk her out of it about a hundred times. Her dad grumbled about Noah being a man who could handle her. Her mom, well, Noah charmed the woman right out of her expensive designer shoes.
Noah worked hard with Gray and refused to quit even after she dumped him. Since the entire family sided with him, Lexy got stuck with a reputation as an unreasonable outcast. Little did they know she was trying to save their collective butts.
“You know, if you had asked me about any of this before you stormed out, I would have told you. There was no reason to go to limp dick—”
She growled in frustration for the first time in her life. “William.”
“You sleep with him yet?”
“That’s not your business.”
“We can debate that point if you really want to.”
“I’m not playing this game.” She tightened her hold on her bag.
“You missed me.” The idea made Noah grin like a monkey on speed. “I can tell.”
She did. Every single day. “I prefer grown-up men now.”
That killed his stupid smile. “Limp ones.”
She wondered if her head would explode from the back-and-forth. “There’s nothing wrong with William.”
“All of his body parts work? You’ve been to bed and he passes?”
“William is a friend and—”
“So you haven’t slept with him.” Noah nodded nice and slow, even shot the watching ladies a smile. “Good, don’t you think?”
“I didn’t say…what’s so good about it?”
“Because you’re not cheating on me.”
“It would be hard to do since we broke up,” she said in an attempt to point out the obvious.
“Semantics.”
“It always is with you.”
He sighed. “Seems to me we’re still not communicating effectively.”
“How’s this? Get lost.”
“Clearer, but not going to happen. See, I’m thinking I could use a vacation, too.”
“You haven’t taken a vacation since high school.”
“Then I’m overdue.” He nodded toward her bag. “Any chance you packed my bathing suit? Last I knew it was in your apartment.”
“If so, a homeless guy has it, since I donated all of your leftovers to a shelter.”
He let the shot whiz on past him. “Well, the gift store probably sells men’s trunks. If not, we’ll have to hope the spa has a liberal policy on skinny-dipping.”
No way was she sticking around for that show. “I’m going to my room.”
“See you at dinner.” He winked at her.
That stopped her hasty exit. “You are not staying here.”
“Yeah, babe, I am.”
“I am not your babe.”
“Whatever you want to call yourself, you can’t hide from me.”
Oh, she bet she could.
Chapter Four
F our hours and two ice-cold showers later, Noah sat in the oversized dining room nursing a beer and his fractured ego. He passed over the salad bar and trays of something called macrobiotic food in favor of the bottle he had smuggled into the joint.
“Not having dinner?” asked a tanned, trim, salad-eating guy as he sat in the chair across from Noah and started a full-fledged unwanted conversation.
“I prefer food.” Noah hoped the guy would pick up on the cues and disin
terest and move on.
“I assure you, all of our selections are very healthy.”
“Whatever.”
“The food has the optimum mix of fiber and protein.” The man flashed a huge smile before swallowing a green glob off his fork.
“So does this.” Noah took a long swig and kept his gaze locked on the white double doors in front of him.
People buzzed in and out. Some mingled near the entry. Others broke into groups and claimed big tables set up in the middle of the all-white room. All that heat and hiking made them chatty, which explained the sound of laughter bouncing around the room and why Noah picked the empty four-person table closest to the door.
He was not there to make new friends. He had friends. What he lacked at the moment was a fiancée.
But Lexy had to eat sometime. Since the place had one location to get food, or what passed for food, Noah figured she would wander in and across his path eventually. Probably eat some grasslike entrée and then run off again, but he would catch her first.
“Where did you get the beer?” the unwanted table guest asked.
“Brought it in.”
“The rules forbid alcohol.”
“So?” Noah took a nice long pull to emphasize his point.
“It’s a pretty big violation of policy.”
“Yeah, I got that the first time you said it. You gonna turn me in to the health police?”
“I’d have to report you to me. I’m afraid we haven’t been introduced.” The man extended his hand across the table. “I’m Tate Carr. I own and manage the place.”
“Noah Paxton.”
“Yes, of course. Our newest guest.” Tate sat back after his too-long, too-squishy handshake and adjusted the collar of his green and white striped button-down shirt. “You were a tight fit.”
Noah thought the phrasing of that sentence needed some work. “If you say so.”
“I’m sure you will find everything satisfactory in your room.”
Only if he found Lexy waiting on his bed. “It’s fine.”
“The one problem we have is that beer in your hand.”
“It’s not a problem for me.” Noah clutched the bottle. Good luck to any moron who tried to pry it out of his hands.
“There are restrictions here.”
Noah figured one of them required Tate to wear clothes that matched the color of the food. Why else would a grown man choose to look like a green bean?
“You know what they say about rules, Tate?”
Tate sent him a look of pity. “Not this one. See, the diet and nutrition concerns are reviewed quarterly for optimal fitness and output.”
Everyone in the joint qualified as a walking, talking brochure. First Lexy. Now the green guy. “Why?”
“People enjoy exercise and good health. We aim to give them what they need and seek. We pride ourselves on producing results.”
“I meant why not eat real food and drink whatever you want. Like a hamburger. That’s a good source of protein, right?” Noah would trade the beer for any nonbark food at this point.
“Well, we can’t…”
“Yeah?”
Tate adjusted his collar a second time. “It wouldn’t be…”
Since he wanted the conversation over, Noah offered the guy an assist. “Nutritious?”
“Exactly. These vegetables are natural and better for you than the processed food most people eat.”
Noah did not want a lecture. “If you say so.”
“See, in a macrobiotic diet—”
“Don’t explain.”
“You’re probably right.” Tate reached out and rubbed his hand up and down Noah’s bicep. “You look like you’re in good shape without too many dietary changes. Nice and firm.”
“Whoa.” Noah jumped out of his chair.
This is what happened when he tried to have a conversation. He should have told this Tate dude to get the hell out the second he sat down. Now Noah had to get the guy to back off without killing him. “Look, man. I’m not interested.”
“Excuse me?” Tate asked.
Noah tried words one more time. “I like women.”
“I still don’t—”
“I’m engaged. She should be here any minute.”
The news chased the confused look off Tate’s face. “Your fiancée is at the spa?”
As far as he was concerned they were still engaged, so yeah. “Lexy Stuart.” And if she did not show up in the next three minutes, Noah vowed to hunt her down.
“Alexa?”
Hearing her full name made Noah’s head pound. “That’s her.”
Tate nodded toward the back of the hall. “She slipped into the room a few minutes ago. Looks like she’s grabbing something to take back to her room.”
Noah spun around and watched the little sneak creep around the salad bar. Tough to miss her, since she wore a bright blue dress that tied around her neck and showed off her lean bare arms and fit back.
No way was he letting her get away with a graze-and-run. It took less than three steps to pin her against the salad bar. “Still hiding, dear?”
Lexy froze in the act of scooping her uncooked food into a bowl. “The name is Alexa, and I’m just getting something to eat.”
“That’s not food.”
“If you don’t like it, you could always try a restaurant back in San Diego.”
He rested his palms on her shoulders, letting the heat of her skin soak into him. Touching her never got old. Never felt wrong. Hell, he had to fight off the urge to lean down and place a kiss on her exposed flesh.
“In the mood for cherries and squash?” He whispered the question into her ear.
“It’s healthy.”
“It’s barely a snack. I tried to tell Tate over there before he…” Last thing Noah wanted to do was describe that moment in detail.
She peeked over her shoulder. “What?”
“Nothing.”
She turned around until the edge of her plate stuck Noah in the stomach. “Oh, it’s something. You look mad enough to hit someone.”
“Finally noticed that, did you?”
Her face fell. “What did you do?”
“Why do you assume it was me?”
“Experience.”
Noah frowned. “That’s harsh.”
“I left you alone for two hours—”
“Four.”
“—and you got in trouble with the owner of the spa.”
“He started it and was lucky it ended without bloodshed.”
“Very mature.”
As insults went that one was not too bad. She had called him much worse.
“Come sit with me,” he said.
“Let me guess. You’re the one with an illegal beer at his chair.”
Noah glanced over his shoulder and saw the bottle. Watched Tate eye it. “The brochure did not mention anything about forbidding alcohol.”
“It actually did.”
She grabbed her plate and dodged around Noah to go over and greet Tate with a hug and cheek-kisses. Noah realized he got screwed on the hello kiss from Lexy. They should be at the makeup sex point by now, but Lexy proved more stubborn than he expected.
Leave out a few historical details here and there and the woman went nuts. Why she even cared about his past ticked him off. None of it mattered. That’s why it was in the past. It was over. Since it sucked, it should stay buried and forgotten. She should trust him and move forward. Picking through history could only lead to trouble.
And Lexy qualified as a trouble magnet.
Her decision making made him wish for a less independent woman. Maybe one with fewer smarts and no inclination to take off on her own. Sounded better than the reality where she broke it off, handed over the reins of her private marketing firm to her partner, and ran two states away to sit around in a bikini without him.
For a woman who thrived on perpetual motion, ran her own company, and worked for the family business on the side, she was spending a lot of time si
tting around doing nothing. The scenario did not make any sense.
Tate threw an arm around Lexy’s shoulders and pulled her close. “Alexa, I didn’t know you were engaged.”
“I’m not.”
“But, I thought…” Tate glanced at Noah. Whatever Tate saw convinced him to let go of Lexy and sit down.
Good choice. Two more seconds and Noah would have body blocked the guy into the wall. Gay or not, no man had the right to paw Lexy.
“We’re having some trouble communicating at the moment, but we’ll work it out,” Noah said instead of hitting.
“Funny but you’d think the word ‘good-bye’ would have been clear,” Lexy mumbled.
“As you can see, we’re still working on those issues,” Noah added.
Tate nodded. “That explains the two rooms.”
“You keep track of the sleeping arrangements of all your guests?” As far as Noah was concerned, some things were private or damn well should be.
Noah pulled out the chair next to him for Lexy. When she refrained from stomping off or sitting at another table, he breathed easy again.
Tate kept right on nodding. “Of course.”
Did not even deny it. “Kind of nosy, aren’t you?”
“Noah.” The warning tone in Lexy’s tone came through loud and clear.
“Just having a conversation with our host Tate here.”
“You were picking a fight.” She opened her napkin with a snap. “Stop.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“So, Noah, if you are not here for the food and exercise, then why are you here?” Tate picked up a glass of something burnt orange in front of him and took a long swallow.
As far as Noah was concerned, there was not enough beer in all of Utah to make up for drinking something that color. “For Lexy.”
“I see.” Tate forced out a small smile. “Alexa, how was the hike this morning?”
“Invigorating.”
“Happy to hear it.”
“You’re both insane,” Noah grumbled under his breath before finishing off his beer.
“Tomorrow’s planned hike is even more strenuous.” Tate made that pronouncement with an eager gleam in his blue eyes.
Noah had the opposite reaction. He stared into his bottle, hoping more beer would appear. Getting through a long hike on nothing more than alcohol fumes did not sound like his idea of a good time.
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