He inclined his head. “My pleasure.”
Hope snatched her arm, pulling her behind the barrier of the open car. She whispered, “Lexi Harper, what the heck is going on?”
Her other friends joined them. Lexi threw a desperate glance through the window only to realize that her mom had managed to drag Brett several feet away and currently had him engaged in deep conversation.
She probably didn’t want to know about what. Lexi just hoped it had nothing to do with her childhood. She’d already humiliated herself plenty in front of Brett Newcomb without dredging up unwanted memories.
“Nothing’s going on,” she mumbled.
Tatum snorted.
Jenna just stared at her expectantly, waiting for the details to spill. Hope, ever the journalist, couldn’t resist the urge to dig.
“Gage told me Brett was at your store yesterday afternoon, but he didn’t tell me y’all were sleeping together.”
That surprised Lexi. “How do you know we’re sleeping together?”
Jenna finally volunteered some information. “Mrs. McKinnon has been telling anyone who’ll stand still long enough to listen that Brett didn’t come back to the inn last night.”
Lexi groaned. Great. In about five minutes the entire town was going to know that she was sleeping with him. Just what she needed. Couldn’t she have kept this to herself for a little while? Hell, they’d only just made it to bed last night.
“And even if she hadn’t, I’d have known,” Tatum offered. “That glow in your eyes and the way he keeps glancing over here waiting for another glimpse of you. Waves of heat are rolling off you both. He’d devour you right here and to hell with what anyone would think.”
All of the women around her sighed with satisfaction.
Just what she needed, her best friends spinning this up into a fairy tale. She was having a hard enough time not doing that herself.
Waking up with Brett beside her had been...amazing. Then he’d made her waffles. And they were good. Carbs weren’t her normal weakness, but she could happily gorge herself sick on Brett’s waffles.
No man had ever cooked for her. Especially not in her own kitchen. And she hadn’t cared.
Lexi was grateful when their tête-à-tête was interrupted by her mother calling for her to hurry up unloading the car. Brett materialized beside her and her friends scattered, carrying boxes of candy, cookies, pies and cakes with them.
“That was interesting,” he murmured for her ears only.
“What do you mean?” she asked softly out of the side of her mouth.
“Do you ever get used to the intense scrutiny?”
Lexi’s mouth twisted into an unhappy line. “Not really.”
Without waiting for his response, Lexi walked away, her arms laden. It took them less time to unload than it did to load because of the extra hands. Once all the boxes were lined up across the tables, Lexi started to arrange the platters she’d brought.
Leaning his delectable rear against the table, Brett watched her. “Why are you doing that?”
“Because it’s good business.”
“I think your skills speak for themselves. You really don’t need the flourishes. Come play horseshoes with me.”
Grabbing her hand, he pulled her around the other side of the table. And she let him.
* * *
BRETT WRAPPED HIS arms around her, repositioned her hand on the heavy metal and helped her launch it into the air. With a ringing ping the horseshoe connected with the stake.
Lexi whooped. Her enthusiasm launched her into the air. Her hand punched up in triumph. Her hair bounced against his face and her scent clouded around him. With his arms still around her, she slid back down to earth, her back rubbing against his chest.
And he immediately had a hard-on.
He really wanted to spin her around, dip her backward and devour her. Who cared that the entire town was watching.
And they were. The entire day he’d fought the urge to rub a hand down the prickling sensation at the back of his neck. It was disconcerting, being under the microscope. Brett didn’t like that.
This town—this woman—made him nervous.
Maybe it was time to put some distance between them.
Lexi spun, her arms ringing his neck, and planted a huge smacking kiss on his cheek. She looked up at him with those sparkling chocolate eyes. Her skin glowed beneath the late afternoon sun.
But not today. And certainly not right now. Not without revealing to the entire town just how much he wanted her.
Apparently, everyone was at the park. And while that concept boggled his mind just a little, he’d taken the opportunity to mix and mingle. Lexi had introduced him to plenty of people he hadn’t already met and he’d used the chance to talk about the resort. And if he wasn’t mistaken, the tone seemed to be shifting. More and more people were actually listening, instead of dismissing him out of hand.
Suddenly, a nasty voice cracked across the easy happiness of the gathering. “Alexis Harper.”
Several people around them fell silent. Lexi stiffened, her smile of jubilation fading away to nothing.
Brett didn’t like that at all.
A woman—the one he’d seen that first evening in her store—stomped towards them from several feet away.
The old harpy was dressed inappropriately for a picnic. While most everyone around them wore shorts and T-shirts, she’d opted for Sunday best, complete with what had probably once been an Easter bonnet. In full jewelry and makeup, he wasn’t sure how she managed not to melt. Possibly through a deal with the devil.
“You should be ashamed of yourself. What a spectacle you’re making. Fawning all over this boy. Letting him paw you in public.”
Brett couldn’t remember the last time anyone had called him a boy. Possibly not since he was ten.
The woman reached out and smacked his arm with the edge of an old paper fan, the kind with a paint stirrer stapled to the end for a stick. The damn thing hurt.
“Where’s your pride, for this town if not for yourself? You know he’s just using you to get to your daddy.”
Lexi sucked in a sharp breath. Her entire body started trembling, although pressed tight against him, he was the only one who’d notice.
Brett’s hand flexed around the metal horseshoe still clutched in his hand. His teeth ground together. He was so angry that his jaw wouldn’t unclench enough to form the scathing words ringing through his head. Luckily, Lexi didn’t have the same problem.
Straightening her shoulders, she turned in his arms to face the other woman, but made a point of keeping his palm pressed flat against her body.
“Mrs. Copeland, I don’t believe I asked for your opinion.”
The other woman’s mouth tightened into a thin line. For the first time Brett noticed that the heavy lipstick she wore had feathered into the fine lines around her mouth, making her look even more like a deranged clown.
“I thought you’d learned your lesson before, but apparently you don’t have the sense you were born with.”
“My sense is just fine.”
“Obviously not. He’s handsome and charming.”
Normally Brett would have taken those words as a compliment, but the way Mrs. Copeland sneered them sounded more like something a seasoned sailor might say.
“Men like that go for tall blondes with perfect hair, plenty of wit and no stretch marks from an unfortunate childhood.”
Around them several people started to murmur. Brett didn’t have time to worry about them, he was too busy trying to fight back a blinding rage.
How dare this woman humiliate Lexi this way? In front of everyone.
Ignoring the fact that she’d pegged his normal type perfectly, Brett growled, “Who the hell do you think you are? You owe Lexi an
apology. Right now. She’s a beautiful, intelligent and caring woman and any man would be lucky to have her.”
Mrs. Copeland wheezed. Her face flushed hotly, but unfortunately, Brett didn’t think it was from embarrassment.
“I’d expect you to say that.” She smacked his arm again with the flat of her fan. “Men like you always want something and it’s never anything good.”
Her focus turned back to Lexi. The woman’s eyes glowed with indignation and bitter self-righteousness. “Mark my words—he’s only using you, Alexis Harper. Everyone here knows it. And when you finally figure that out don’t come crying to me.”
Lexi muttered, “As if I would.”
The heavy heel of Mrs. Copeland’s shoe ripped a hole into the grass when she turned and stormed off. In front of him, Lexi’s shoulders slumped forward. He didn’t like seeing her that way. There was something so wrong about it. She was bright and a fighter. She’d had no problem going toe-to-toe with him any time she’d thought it right.
But Mrs. Copeland’s words had taken all the fight out of her.
At least, he thought so. Until he reached out and touched her shoulders.
She jerked straight again, spun on him and blasted him with the burning fire of her anger.
Pushing his hands away, she lashed out. “What were you thinking?”
Brett wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it definitely hadn’t been her temper.
“I was defending you.”
11
“I DON’T NEED you defending me. I’m perfectly capable of handling her myself. I’ve been doing it for years.”
Through necessity instead of desire, but that didn’t really matter.
Brett’s eyes flashed hot before going icy cold.
All around them people stared unabashedly. Great. They’d become the entertainment for the afternoon. No doubt the story would be recounted and embellished for the next several hours. And the entire town would weigh in on her relationship. Or lack of one.
She could hear the voices now. Brett couldn’t possibly be interested in her.
With a sigh, Lexi turned away from Brett, all the fight suddenly draining out of her.
He grabbed her arm, but she shook him off. “Just—just give me a few minutes, all right?” she asked, without looking at him.
Mrs. Copeland had trod all over her deepest, darkest fears. How did the woman always know just what buttons to push to inflict the most painful wound?
But that wasn’t Brett’s fault. And even as she’d lashed out at him, Lexi had known that. She needed a few minutes to get her emotions back under control so she could look at everything logically.
Walking back to the gazebo, she found Hope, Willow and Jenna in a cluster by themselves. That’s exactly what she needed. Some clear, female perspective.
Walking up, she’d intended to tell them what had happened, but was sidetracked by the snatch of conversation she caught.
“He has a point.”
Willow nodded. “A good one. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks so.” She looked around, her soft eyes studying each of their friends. “I have to admit I was hesitant to say anything though.”
“Well, I’m not,” Jenna declared, crossing her arms over her chest.
Lexi asked, “What are y’all talking about?”
The three of them exchanged quick glances. Hope shrugged one shoulder. “Brett.”
“What about him?” Lexi frowned, not following.
“We’ve been talking to him and think he has some valid arguments for the resort.”
She’d wanted to talk to her friends about him, but this was not the conversation she’d expected to have. “What?”
“Look, he’s right. Our businesses all stand to benefit from increased tourism. During the peak season the Briarwood is packed to the rafters. How much business are we missing out on because the inn is full? And what about off-season? I don’t know a single business that couldn’t use a serious influx of cash during the fall. Brett has some great ideas on how we could market that season and increase traffic.”
Lexi stared at Jenna. With wide eyes, she slowly turned to Willow and then Hope. Her friends nodded their agreement.
“But the plans are hideous,” she said softly.
Hope shuddered. “They are, but Brett said they could be changed. In fact, I think maybe he’s already got new ones in the works.”
That was news to Lexi. And she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She was sleeping with the man and her friends knew more about what he was doing than she did.
It bothered her.
Why hadn’t she realized that before now? Was he purposely keeping things from her? Not lying to her, per se, but omitting important details?
This hit a little too close to Brandon. He’d been evasive, every time she’d tried to find out about his life he’d managed to change the subject. Brandon had been slick and cunning.
And while she was intelligent enough to realize it wasn’t precisely the same thing, it was close enough that a shiver of dread and remembered pain snaked down her spine.
Was she being stupid? Was Mrs. Copeland right?
Her chest tightened painfully.
“Lexi? What’s wrong?” Hope asked, picking up on the distress she was trying desperately to suppress.
She didn’t want to give voice to the fears she was struggling with so instead she said, “Mrs. Copeland just had a go at me. In front of everyone.”
“Will God strike me down if I pray for her painful and lingering death?” Jenna’s falsely sweet voice dripped with venom.
“That woman is a nuisance,” Willow agreed.
Lexi definitely couldn’t argue with that.
Hope grimaced at her in commiseration. Willow wrapped her in a hug. Jenna offered to slash Mrs. Copeland’s tires. All of them coaxed a weak smile from her.
She had no idea what she would do without these women in her life. They always knew the perfect thing to say or do.
Lexi wanted to spill her guts to them. To tell them just how confused she was and completely tied in knots over Brett. Vulnerable. She didn’t like to be vulnerable. Hadn’t planned on letting herself go there.
The two of them together didn’t make any sense.
There was no logical reason Brett should be interested in her. Not when there were so many other women around who were skinnier, prettier and more sophisticated. Hell, right beside her were two prime examples. Hope would have been one of them, but since she was already taken...
Mrs. Copeland’s words had hurt because they’d rung true in her own head. The problem was, Lexi didn’t want them to be.
She was frozen with fear. Holding pieces of herself in check because if she let go completely she just knew Brett was going to hurt her.
How could he not?
She wanted to voice her fears to her friends. They were the most intelligent women she knew and they’d be able to give her an objective opinion.
But the lump in her throat wouldn’t let the words pass. And then the moment was gone.
“There you are,” Brett said, sauntering up beside them. His hands were stuffed deep in his pockets, but they were jangling something metallic.
He watched her, warily, with those sharp blue eyes that saw way too much. “You okay?”
Lexi nodded. It shouldn’t have meant something when he barely glanced at her friends gathered around. But she couldn’t help it. It did.
How could he make her feel so...visible? After years in the shadows it was unnerving and exciting and tempting.
She didn’t want to respond to him, but her body did anyway. Coming alive, every cell pulsing with anticipation.
Reaching out slowly, he pulled her against him, giving her plenty of opportunity to duck aw
ay if she’d wanted to. But the moment his skin touched her own she was a goner.
“You ready to leave? I think I’ve had about all the Sweetheart fun I can handle for one day.” His mouth curled up at the corner in the beginnings of a playful grin.
A few days ago she would have said that “playful” and “Brett” didn’t belong in the same thought. But then she’d gotten to know him.
Taking a huge breath, Lexi held it inside her body, letting all of her cells absorb the clean, crisp scent of him. It calmed her. Took away the sting of the past half hour.
But it couldn’t quite wipe away the niggling sensation of impending doom.
This was too good, and in Lexi’s experience that meant something terrible was going to happen.
It always did.
* * *
THE DRIVE BACK to Lexi’s was quiet. The heavier the silence between them got, the more his body tightened. He kept pulling glances at her, trying to gauge what she was thinking. Not that her calm, still face gave anything away.
He sucked at this.
He wasn’t good at it. Emotion and relationships baffled him and always had. This was precisely why he preferred women who didn’t give a damn about anything but themselves. It was so much easier. At least then he always knew where he stood and what reaction to expect.
But that so wasn’t Lexi. She was sweet and giving and he could tell that the harpy’s attack had really hurt her. She was upset, and it bothered him because she wasn’t talking to him. Worse, he had no idea how to fix it.
Even realizing he wanted to was a revelation. One he didn’t have a clue what to do with.
Following her inside, he watched as she dropped her purse and bag on the small table in the front hall.
A ball of fur streaked from the back of the house to curl around her ankles. Lexi bent down, rubbed her hand back and forth across the cat’s arching back.
“Who’s that?” Brett asked. He’d only taken a few steps inside. Unlike before when her house had felt so inviting and warm, he couldn’t shake the sensation that she didn’t want him there.
She was pulling back and he had no idea how to stop her.
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