by Parin, Sonia
“No dancing on the tables,” Joyce said and they all nodded in agreement.
“I organized some dips and vegetarian tartlets,” Hannah said.
“We heard you were tarting up the menu,” Joyce laughed.
“Hannah’s personally responsible for introducing egg white omelets to The Gloriana, much to Mitch’s dismay,” Lexie explained to her sister. Joyce’s impish grin suggested she was more than pleased with her role in bringing Hannah to Eden.
Lexie had heard about it during her recent visit. When Eddie had moved out of The Gloriana and set up house with her fiancée, the pub had lost their Jill of all trades as she’d often stepped in to prepare breakfast when their regular chef couldn’t make it in. The Faydon brothers had dealt with the dilemma by doing away with the morning breakfast service, something Joyce hadn’t been pleased about since it had sent the overflow of customers from The Gloriana to her café, giving her far more work than she wanted. Her solution had been to find them a new chef.
When their drinks arrived, Joyce stood up and called for a toast.
“I’ll spare you the preview and cut to the feature. It’s not every day we have two Gardner sisters in town, sitting at the same table. May this be the first of many.” When Joyce sat down again, she patted Maggie’s hand. “We’ve humored you long enough. It’s time to explain why you’re parading around as Lulu McGee.”
“I don’t need to explain myself.”
“Well, you’ve got the attitude down pat.”
Lexie frowned. “Did you just call her Lulu McGee? How did you…”
“I make it my business to know as much as I possibly can.” Joyce laughed and turned her attention back to Maggie. “I didn’t think you had it in you. You’ve always been so grounded in a fastidious sort of way. At school, you were the only one who always had perfectly contacted notebooks without a single bubble in sight. I hated you for it. You’ve no idea how many notebooks I went through trying to get it right only to realize how ridiculous it was to even cover notebooks with plastic. Then there were the pencils. Always sharpened, color-coded and lined up ready for use. We all thought you suffered from some sort obsessive compulsive disorder.”
“You’re one to talk,” Eddie said and then turned to Lexie. “She has this little ritual which borders on OCD. When her copy of Girl About Town arrives on Fridays, it can’t be unwrapped by anyone else but her. Whoever’s working on Fridays knows this and they also know the corner table has to be reserved. The café could be filled to capacity, she’ll still sit down at exactly ten o’clock sharp to sip her cup of tea and read her magazine. And she doesn’t get up until she’s read it from cover to cover. Then we all get a turn at catching up with Lulu McGee’s antics.”
They all knew she was responsible for the comic strip? “Not to drum on, but all this time, you’ve known about me and you didn’t mention anything?” Maggie had kept quiet about it too. Yet she’d been supportive.
“We wanted to respect your privacy. Of course, if you want us to publicly acknowledge your celebrity status and treat you with due respect, then…” Joyce laughed, “You can forget about it. No matter how high you climb, you’re still one of us.”
Lexie threw her nose up in the air. “Some sort of accolade would go a long way.”
“We could cut a give and take deal.”
“What have you got in mind?”
Joyce tapped her finger against her chin. “We could sprinkle some praise your way if Lulu goes undercover and finds out where a certain crate full of tea cups is being hidden.”
Eddie groaned under her breath. “This is not going to end well. You should let it go, Joyce. And you, Lexie, shouldn’t get involved.” Eddie went on to explain how Bradford Mills, the owner of Brilliant Baubles, was hiding a crate of crockery his uncle had purchased during his last buying trip overseas and how Joyce had taken every opportunity to tear the place apart looking for it.
“Lulu loves snooping around,” Lexie mused. “Let’s get together and talk some more. Now that I’ve been outed, I should do some sort of homage to Eden.” Lexie took a sip of her champagne and smiled to herself. She’d been doing well, paying attention, following and joining in the flow of conversation, but now…
Her eyes skated around the pub.
Where was Jack?
After their encounter with Maggie, the three had made their way to the pub for a late lunch. Then Jack had excused himself and Maggie had wanted to spend the afternoon working on their marketing plan. She knew he was still in town because she’d seen his truck parked outside The Gloriana.
“I wish to make an announcement.” Joyce raised her champagne glass. “I am a love anorexic.”
“How did you come to that conclusion?” Lexie asked and took a sip of her drink to chase away the sudden clogging in her throat. Had Jack needed thinking time before meeting her again? Was he hanging around long enough to tell her it had been a mistake to kiss her?
“I’ve lost track of how long it’s been since I was last involved in a romantic relationship.”
“It’s that time of the month,” Eddie explained. “Joyce has been binging on her junkie magazines. She’s upgraded her internet connection so now she’s downloading them.”
“I was running out of bookshelf space. And now my computer needs to be upgraded because I’m using up all the storage space. But that’s neither here nor there. Please don’t criticize my choice of reading material. Where else will I read an article about a woman who has so many sets of crockery, she had a storage warehouse built on her estate to house them? I need to feed my hunger for encyclopedic knowledge.”
“You could get an external hard drive,” Maggie suggested while everyone else demanded explanations about her self-diagnosed condition.
“My external hard drive’s full so that’s something else I’ll have to upgrade. As for the other matter, acknowledging my problem is the first step toward resolving it. I’m at risk of missing out on my best years. If I don’t do something soon, I’ll have to settle for bouncing everyone else’s kids on my lap, assuming you’re all going to have children.”
“We have overseas guests coming for the wedding,” Eddie shrugged, “You never know, you might meet the love of your life.”
Joyce rolled her eyes. “What are the chances of another man… The Man, coming to Eden—” She threw her hands up in the air.
“Why not? I’m living proof it can happen. Theo spent his life jet-setting around the world and yet here he is, settling down with me.”
“He’s the exception.”
Lexie couldn’t help thinking it only took one to be the exception. A stream of colorful curses played around her tongue. One kiss and she was expecting… demanding a—
Don’t even think it, Lexie. Just don’t.
She gulped down the rest of her drink and, turning toward the bar, she waved her empty glass at Mitch Faydon. He made a point of checking his watch as if to suggest it was too soon to serve her another drink.
Lexie shot to her feet, wobbling slightly.
“Are you right there, Lexie?” Eddie asked.
“The first drink always goes straight to my legs. I’ll sip the next one.” She strode over to the bar and leaned against it, her fingers tapping an impatient tattoo on the counter. Mitch finished serving a customer and came to stand in front of her.
“You have a deep ridge between your eyebrows. Is something wrong?”
“You made me get up and walk over to the bar.” A trick he reserved for anyone he thought had had one too many, but she’d only had one glass.
“You have a friend staying at the pub.”
It took a moment to catch his drift. When she did, she spoke as if by rote, the words spilling out while she focused on self-control. She would not ask for details. “We’d like another round of champagne, please.”
“He’s been asking questions.”
“Actually, send a couple of bottles over.”
“Questions about Wilde Eden.”
&n
bsp; Lexie knew this could go on all night. “Don’t mind him. He’s just curious.”
“What does he do?”
“Why didn’t you ask him yourself?”
“That would have been too obvious. Besides, how would I know if he’s telling the truth?”
“So you want me to vouch for him?”
“That would be a good start.”
Her eyes danced around his face. “I have met his entire family. Is that good enough for you?”
Mitch grinned. “So you two have something going. Is he here to meet your parents? Is that why you’re hitting the bottle?”
“I’m not—” She huffed out a breath. “Just send those bottles over.” She swung away from the bar and walked straight into Jack. “What are you doing here?” she asked, the sight of him turning her brain to drool. A spark of intelligence shouted at her from far away. He’s staying here, you idiot. Snap out of it!
* * *
“I just had a bite to eat in the dining room and now I’ve been challenged to a game of pool.” Since parting ways earlier that afternoon, Jack hadn’t had a moment to himself. Everyone he’d met had wanted to stop for a chat and he’d happily gone with the flow.
“Oh. Okay. Um… I’m over there.” She pointed at a table at the far end. “It’s called the Captain’s table as in a ship’s Captain. And… I’m sitting there, but I already said that.”
She dug her fingers through her hair. Jack couldn’t help smiling and because she looked so flustered, he brushed his hand along her waist, “I’ll catch you later,” he said as he moved away.
He looked over his shoulder in time to see her taking a step and then stopping, changing direction, and then spinning around, she propelled herself back toward the Captain’s table.
He knew the feeling only too well, but in his case, he hadn’t been able to take a single step after kissing her. Technically, Lexie had kissed him. He’d given her a teasing brush of his lips and that had fired her up, her eyes blazing with heat and determination. Just as well they’d been out in public. If they’d been somewhere more private, he wouldn’t have hesitated—
“Heads or tails?” Matthew Faydon asked as he patted him on the shoulder and drew him toward the pool table. The pub co-owner had introduced himself earlier on and had invited him for a game of pool, which took care of being at a loose end and having too many thoughts bouncing around his head while Lexie caught up with her friends.
* * *
Lexie told herself to settle down, but her heart insisted on beating a happy pitter-patter tune. In a few days she’d look back and think what an idiot she’d been for worrying. Jack had stayed because there had been something to that kiss. It was going to take her places…
Lexie sunk into her chair, her thoughts, her body in a daze—
“You have three options,” Joyce said. “Volunteer information, face being interrogated or submit to our guesstimate. We can’t promise to go easy on you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You turn up only a couple of weeks after your last visit, you bring your sister with you and, just in case that wasn’t enough to stockpile our conversation topic for a year, you also brought a man with you.”
“I didn’t bring him. Jack came of his own volition.”
“Because paying Eden a visit was at the top of his to do list?” Joyce asked.
Lexie called on her finite reserve of patience and pressed her lips together.
“He’s charming,” Joyce said. “You should see the way his eyes linger on Lexie, makes one want to step back and give them some privacy—”
“Hey!”
“No, you had your chance. But you chose to clamp up.”
“That doesn’t give you, what’s the word I’m looking for, Maggie?”
“Carte blanche.”
“What she said.”
“As I was saying,” Joyce continued, “There’s some serious sizzling going on between them, but that’s not all. These two,” Joyce waved her finger between Lexie and Maggie, “Seem to be playing some sort of game with him. He thinks Maggie is Lulu—”
“To be fair to Lexie, she had nothing to do with that.”
Lexie cocked her head. Once again, Maggie had jumped to her defense.
“But I know what you mean about the sizzle.”
Great. Give with one hand, take with the other. “Innkeeper, where’s our champagne?” she called out to Mitch. Just because she was going to be skewered and roasted slowly didn’t mean she had to remember any of it.
“He reminds me a bit of Theo. During those first few days in Eden, he looked all out at sea. It was so refreshing to have someone new to play with. Now that he’s marrying Eddie, he’s like our own captive audience. Maggie, do you think that’s where they’re headed?”
“Don’t take the bait,” Lexie said under her breath.
“Hard to tell,” Maggie said. “They’re still working through their fake relationship.”
“Fake relationship,” they all mouthed.
Maggie nodded. “I’m actually more curious about Bradford Mills. I’ve been hearing some interesting tales about him and you.”
Joyce drained her glass. “Where is that champagne?”
“Hey, isn’t that him?” Lexie asked.
Joyce’s head whipped around, her lips parted slightly, her eyes glazed over. When she realized she’d been teased, she turned back and sat forward. “Okay, let’s call a truce. There has to be something else for us to talk about.”
“We have been a little bit obsessed about men lately,” Eddie admitted. “But how else are we supposed to keep ourselves entertained? They’re such easy targets.”
“When they’re not being annoying,” Lexie agreed, “They are a good source of amusement.”
“Did anyone catch sight of the Grange boys today?” Hannah asked. “I heard something about a beer bottle being hurled at a building.”
Lexie nodded. “And I saw Luke Sterling cross the street.”
“To the Wilde side?” Eddie asked, her tone lowered. “I don’t think that’s ever happened.”
“I saw him with my own eyes,” Lexie offered. As the largest landholder in the area, Luke had serious influence in the town. “Hey, you don’t supposed…”
“Don’t say it.”
For as long as she could remember, there had been rumors about the Wildes coming back to Eden. Whispers carried by the wind, as one of the oldest residents was fond of saying. Everyone had known about the two Wilde sisters but then there had been news of a boating accident and, from one day to the next, a new heiress had surfaced.
The Wright sisters looked at each other. “We should tell them.”
Helena Wright shook her head. “We can’t be sure it was her.”
“Her?” They all asked.
“The heiress,” Helena mouthed.
Their drinks arrived and they all turned their attention to Mitch.
“If anyone knows anything, it would be you.”
“I know plenty,” he said with a shrug. “Like, never linger for too long when there are more than two women congregated. Pretend I’ve been listening even when I haven’t been, although I always listen to Elizabeth. And always know when to beat a hasty retreat.” He swung on his feet and strode off.
Helena shrugged. “I can’t be sure, but I saw a swanky car drive toward the old homestead.”
When the conversation about the heiress wound up, Eddie cleared her throat.
“I hope everyone’s remembered tomorrow’s dinner at the restaurant. The official opening is next week and we have to get everything right. Please don’t let me down.” Eddie turned to Maggie. “That includes you and Lexie.”
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Maggie said.
Lexie looked over her shoulder toward the pool table. Jack had his back to her and that was fine. She had come to appreciate Jack from any angle or distance, for short conversations and lengthy ones—
“Lexie?”
“Will you be bringing someone?”
“Nice try, Eddie.”
“I’ll wait until you’ve had a few more drinks.”
* * *
Jack had seen enough. His brother had been right. The air was thick with pheromones. Add some fresh country air, and it could turn into a toxic mix. Too many eyes were flicking toward Lexie.
His body thrummed with a rising need to...
What?
Stake his claim?
If he didn’t take action, someone else would. The Faydon brothers weren’t in the running, but there were others. And they were all keeping him busy playing pool.
“This is the last game,” he declared.
“Last man standing, those are the rules.” Matthew Faydon twirled his cue stick and bobbed his eyebrows. “You don’t want to make it too obvious.”
Jack didn’t bother asking what he meant.
“And don’t throw the game just because you want out.”
Jack lined up his shot, his gaze lifting to land on Lexie who’d been stealing glances his way all night. She’d been laughing hard enough to make her mascara run and Maggie appeared to be wiping it off.
Mitch Faydon strode up to the pool table and handed him another beer. “So, you and Lexie.”
Jack made his shot and straightened. “Yeah, me and Lexie.” When everyone around him looked up, he knew his voice had carried the message. It would have to do for now. As for what he’d do about it…
He’d downloaded a few issues of Girl About Town, but following Lulu McGee’s adventures didn’t bring him any closer to understanding Lexie Gardner. According to Steph, Lulu was modeled on her creator. The sparkly, live for today so you never have to worry about tomorrow, imp liked having fun. She had a list of priorities—personal mountains to climb. While marriage didn’t rate a mention, she was always on the lookout for something better than a fling.
Had Lexie been lying all along when she’d said she wasn’t looking for a relationship? And what if she had been lying? What would he do about it?
