by Jayne, Kris
“An uninteresting one is easy. Not sexually—I wouldn’t want to be accused of having a sexist double standard. I appreciate complexity in a woman.”
“I like my men simpler, I think.” Alexa chuckled, drawing laughter from Adam and easing the tension in her shoulders. He could be so serious. What she had taken as intriguing depth in London struck her now as exhausting.
“Fine. Let’s be simple. This weather is already dreadfully warm. I fear that by summer I’ll be melting.”
“Yes. You will be. Stay inside in the afternoon, drink margaritas, and you’ll be fine. I warned you. May through September are miserable. How long are you going to be in Austin anyway?”
“At least until May.”
Shit. She’d assumed he would be here for the festival and maybe a couple of weeks more. Until May? She forced a smile. “Then, you’ll be getting out just in time.”
“If I don’t extend, then yes.”
There was no reason for the dread she felt. She’d been honest with him, but the thought of him hanging around into the summer, looking at her with that expectant depth in his eyes, made stomach knot. “You’ll set up the office, and then what?”
“I help manage systems integrations. If I stay on until that’s completed, I might be here through the summer.”
“Do yourself a favor and escape before then.”
“You can’t be ready to send me packing already?”
In the face of Adam’s unwavering scrutiny, Alexa searched the room for their waiter, shaking her glass of melting ice. Where was the drink she’d ordered when they sat down? The slight, bow-tied man caught Alexa’s roaming gaze and signaled that he’d be there in a minute.
“Of course not. Just joking about the weather.”
“Are you attending any of the festivities in the next week?”
“We’ll see how my schedule goes.”
How it would go was that she would be clearing the deck for Graham. Maybe he was a little peeved about her “thing,” but she could think of a dozen ways to make that up to him.
Adam pouted. “That’s too bad. I have passes to see The Strokes on Tuesday.”
She shook her head. “I can’t make The Strokes. You should go, though. They’re great. I saw them at ACL last year.”
“That’s another music festival?”
“Yes. Austin City Limits. It doesn’t have as much of all the other stuff going on. It’s just one big outdoor concert series in the park.”
The arrival of their waiter with drinks and appetizers distracted Adam from responding.
“Here you go. Sorry it took me so long. Your food will be out in a bit.”
“No problem.” Adam smiled, dismissing the server. “I might see if I can unload the tickets, then.”
“Don’t do that on my account. I’m sure you can find one of your clients to go. Or go by yourself. You won’t be the only one flying solo.”
“I’ll think it over. But if you can go, give me a call.”
“Sure.”
She squeezed her two limes into the clear, effervescent liquid, which she prayed had more vodka in it than her first round.
Adam ran his thumb along the full, sensuous line of his bottom lip. The loud ringing of a mobile phone at the next table shocked Alexa out of her contemplation of Adam’s mouth.
She enjoyed her trip in November—especially her time with Adam. Maybe…Why not? Stop! Knowing Adam wanted more from her than she could give him answered her question.
Plus, there was Graham. He made her laugh, and she wanted more nights like last night. She couldn’t turn herself into a piece of meat being tugged at between two alpha dogs.
She turned her attention to the goat cheese salad in front of her and ignored the burn of Adam’s ebony eyes.
Chapter Nineteen
Hiring a new cardio instructor pushed everything off Alexa’s plate. She’d advertised the opening on several job sites and in the local paper.
Of the two dozen candidates who’d contacted her, only two had the basic qualifications and sounded reliable enough to interview in person. One was free to come in that evening to talk in person.
At five thirty, Holly knocked on her door.
“Alexa, this is your five thirty. Trista Halpern.”
“Trista, hi.” The trim, muscled woman gave Alexa a hard-gripped handshake. “Have a seat. Thanks, Holly.”
Trista wore a body conscious pencil skirt and crisp white shirt with heeled sandals in an animal print. She sat erect in her chair and crossed her legs—emphasizing their tone and bulk. Her figure suggested body building—probably competitively.
“Thanks for coming in on short notice.”
“Not a problem. When I read about the opening, I was so excited. I wanted to come in as soon I could.” Her smokey voice vibrated with enthusiasm.
“How long have you been teaching group classes?”
“Seven years. I worked at a couple of national chains up in Dallas and then got my own studio.”
“Oh, you ran your own gym.”
“It was more of a yoga and fitness studio. We had free weights in the studio, but no cardio equipment or anything. A friend and I taught classes and ran the place together. I had to leave when my mother got sick. She lived here—or in Round Rock. I’ve been here the last couple of years, teaching at a chain.”
“Lived” made Alexa redirect the conversation.
“I see that you’re still there? What makes you want to leave one of the big boys?”
“I miss being able to work with customers more individually. I miss recognizing all the clients and knowing them by name.” Trista’s words skipped rapidly as she spoke.
Alexa nodded, hopeful that if she hired the woman, she wouldn’t want to run her own studio again. Two years ago, an instructor quit and took some clients with her. Of course, many of them came back. Teaching classes and running a business are two different things.
Still, Trista’s experience might come in handy. Alexa had visions of turning over some of the course scheduling if she worked out.
They chatted more about Trista’s certifications and her yoga practice before concluding the interview.
Alexa bounded toward her office door. “I have one more candidate to interview, but I’ll be in touch by the end of the week. Call me if you have any questions.”
After walking Trista up to the front, they shared another firm handshake.
“Trista?” Alexa and her interviewee turned sharply. Graham walked over, jaw slackened.
“Oh, my God! Graham!”
Trista flung herself at his taut, sweaty form.
“What are you doing in Austin?” Graham’s pitch rose as he spoke.
“I moved back down here two years ago. My mom had cancer. She passed away a few months ago.”
“Oh, Trista. I’m so sorry to hear that. She was a sharp, funny lady.”
“She was…” Trista’s voice turned wispy for a second. “But, hey, it’s good to see you. Do you work out here?”
“I do. I—” Graham flicked his eyes over to Alexa, who stood stiff, observing. “My real estate company bought the building. That’s how I found the place. I’ve been coming here for a few weeks now.”
“Well, maybe I’ll see you again, but I guess that’s up to Alexa. I’m applying for a position here.”
“Oh, you’ve gotten around to hiring a new instructor.”
It took Alexa a couple of seconds to realize Graham was addressing her.
“Yes. I’ve been putting it off, but I need to cut back my teaching schedule.”
“I—”
“Well—”
“So—”
The trio fumbled over themselves to speak. Alexa broke in again.
“Like I said, Trista. I’ll be in touch this week. It was great meeting you.” Alexa smiled and stared, and Trista gave Graham a sideways glance.
“Great. I’ll see you around, Graham.”
Alexa watched Graham watch the other woman’s toned behind
exit the building.
“You know her, huh?”
“Yes. In Dallas. I haven’t seen her in ages. At first, I wasn’t even sure it was her.”
“And here she was.”
“Wow. Trista Halpern. That’s a real surprise.”
He stared at the door and shook his head as if to dislodge a memory. The mix of shock and goggle-eyed pleasure rankled.
Finally, Graham refocused on the woman still standing in front of him.
“And she’s about to start working here?”
“I haven’t decided yet. I have some other candidates to see.”
“I remember going to her studio for yoga. Her clients loved her.”
“Good to know.”
Did he have some kind of fetish for women who work in fitness? Alexa thought back to the joke he’d made about dating women who own their own gym. Maybe that hadn’t been a joke.
“Well, I’m going to grab my things and head home. Have a good workout.”
“Hey, how about we meet up later?”
Alexa glanced at him sideways as she pretended to be fixated on the class sign-up sheet at the reception desk.
“Can’t tonight. I’m looking forward to getting home, kicking back, and relaxing.”
“I know how to relax.” He dropped his voice to a gravelly whisper.
“You’ll have to find a way to relax yourself tonight.” Or find someone else. That shouldn’t be hard. The spike of jealousy made her feel foolish. “Maybe later in the week?”
Alexa let her chest rise as she inhaled and pulled her shoulders back, willing a pleasant expression on her face.
“I’ll call you then.”
“Do that.”
Then, Alexa left Graham and his quizzical brow behind her and marched back to her office to collect her things.
* * *
Graham’s urgent Pavlovian response to his ringing phone nearly sent him sprawling naked and wet across the Italian marble of his bathroom. He didn’t recognize the Dallas number popping up, but answered it anyway.
“Hello?”
He snatched a towel off the rack and stepped carefully into the carpeted master bedroom.
“Graham! You still have the same number. I thought I’d take a chance.”
“Trista. God, it was a surprise to see you today.”
“I know. Me too. How are you?”
“Great. Things are good.”
A sick feeling settled over Graham. Why would Trista want to talk to him after all this time?
“I’m glad. I thought I’d call and catch up.”
“Oh, great.”
The last time he’d seen Trista, tears trailed salty streaks down her cheeks, and she called him a bastard who was wasting her time.
After a year of dating, she raised the prospect of moving in together—a thought that had never occurred to Graham. He responded with surprise.
“Why would we want to live together? Things are good as they are.”
He’d barely had time to duck before her glass came flying at his head. The conversation devolved from there, and they broke up. He tried to contact her again and work things out, but she wanted none of it.
In the end, Graham wrote Trista off as another woman wanting to rush into a level of commitment that didn’t match what they felt—just because she had some timeline in her head that matched up with how fast her friends were moving in with their boyfriends and getting married. Not the girl for him.
“So, how are things with you?” he asked.
“Getting back to normal since my mother passed away.”
“That’s right. Trista, I’m sorry. I know how hard it is to lose a parent.”
“Yeah. It was hard. That’s why I moved back.” Graham heard her quick intake of breath whistle over the phone line. “Anyway, I was thinking maybe we could catch up in person sometime.”
Oh, dear. That wouldn’t do her employment chances any favors. Regardless of whether he and Alexa were exclusive, he couldn’t date one of her employees. “I could go for a drink.”
“Okay, yeah. Want to meet up tomorrow?”
Jonah was driving down to hang out for the weekend. They could make it a trio for Friday happy hour. “Sure, I have a friend coming into town, so I hope you don’t mind a third wheel.”
Another silence met his comment, and he wondered if the line had dropped. “Hello?”
“I’m here. Yes. Okay.”
“Great. You remember Jonah, don’t you?”
“Yeah. It’ll be great. I can catch up with him too then.”
“Perfect. How about Logan’s, six o’clock?”
“See you there. Good seeing you, Graham.”
A friendly hangout might not be what she had in mind, but that’s all he had for Trista. He still had a small scar from the shattered glass of their last encounter. He didn’t need the drama.
Chapter Twenty
The next afternoon, Melissa had less interest in business and more interest in pestering Alexa about meeting “this mysterious Adam.”
“Every time you say that, it sounds like you’re talking about the original, biblical man. Like he’s slithering through the woods and going to offer me an apple.”
Alexa tapped her pen on the edge of her desk, cradling her phone with her shoulder. Melissa took advantage of their call to drop in another plea.
“That would be Satan, not Adam. You really could use a trip to church.” Melissa laughed. “I’m curious.”
“I know you are. How about tonight? We can meet at Logan’s.”
“I think Kyle is working late, but I’ll be there. Can you meet early, like at six o’clock?”
“I can. I have to check with Adam. And I think I’ll see if Toby or Sarah can come. The more the merrier.”
Melissa expelled a single, disbelieving chuckle. “You just want the buffer of a group.”
“Yep.”
* * *
Getting to the bar by six meant rushing out the door and hurrying through traffic. Alexa snatched her purse out of the passenger seat and rambled down the sidewalk toward the bar. The happy hour crowds mingled, and it took her a while to locate Adam’s dark head standing by the bar. Then, she saw Melissa in a corner booth.
She maneuvered her way toward Adam and gestured toward the back corner. He headed that direction, and Alexa trailed behind.
She squeezed between two partying strangers, only to be blocked by a group who’d pulled together two tables. Alexa doubled back around a post, wondering if the fire marshal might show up and shut everything down.
Her eyes stayed focused on her destination in the back corner, and she ran right into the back of a guy. His beer tipped, spilling half of it.
“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry.” Alexa fumbled to find napkins, but a familiar voice caught her attention.
“You’re normally so coordinated.”
Alexa whipped around. Graham dabbed at his wet shirt with a small, square bar napkin.
“God, Graham, I’m so sorry. It’s so crowded, and I lost track of where was going. Let me see if I can go get a towel or something.”
“Don’t worry about it. Most of it ended up on the floor. It’s not that bad. And it’s his drink anyway.” Graham stopped wiping his shirt for a moment and pointed at his friend. “Jonah, this is Alexa.”
The tall, lean, and very blond man whose beer she had ruined extended his hand. “Hi, nice to meet you. If I’d stuck with whiskey instead of ordering a pint of beer, this might not have happened.”
Alexa shook his hand and smiled, chagrined. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”
Something on Graham’s phone had him temporarily preoccupied, so Jonah had to make small talk.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, and it’s nice to finally meet you.”
Alexa hoped the blood rushing to her face wouldn’t be too obvious. She could only imagine what Jonah had heard. Graham finally looked up and shoved his phone back in his pocket. “He drove down from Dallas for some meetings a
nd is staying for the weekend.”
Alexa glanced over to the corner where Melissa craned her neck to see what had gotten her friend’s attention. Alexa held up her hand to signal for her to wait and stepped toward Graham and his friend.
“It’s nice to meet you too. Congratulations, I hear you’re expecting. Or at least that your wife is.” Alexa stumbled over her words. For the first time in a long time, she wished she still lived in New York City where randomly running into people that you know was an oddity.
“Thanks. We’re really excited about it. Are you here with friends? You should join us.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Graham wince.
“Although, I guess you probably already have a table,” Jonah backtracked, glancing at the reaction on his friend’s face.
“My friend, Melissa, got us a table.”
Alexa turned away, but then, Adam planted himself beside her.
“I’d wondered what waylaid you. Hi, I’m Adam.”
As soon as the British man spoke, a light of recognition turned on in Graham’s eyes.
“You’re her visitor from England. How are you finding Austin?”
“It’s been lovely.”
The cocky amusement in Graham’s laugh only wound the tension in her gut tighter. Alexa racked her brain for something to say to get Adam back over to the table with Melissa. Instead, to her chagrin, Melissa dodged bar patrons and walked their way.
The inevitability of all of them socializing hit her, and Alexa relented.
“Adam, this is Graham. His development company owns the building where I have my gym.”
“Ah, you’re her new overlord.”
“Landlord,” Graham snapped, smiling. “Things are quite congenial between us.”
Jonah coughed and developed an inordinate interest in whatever sporting event flashed on the television above the bar. Melissa’s eyes rounded.
“Our table is still available, Alexa.” She gestured over her shoulder with her thumb.
“I don’t want to crash your guys’ night,” Alexa proclaimed.
God bless Melissa for trying to break up the clusterfuck that was this encounter. It didn’t work.