AKA Lexi Frost (Lexi Frost Series)

by Tori Brooks

  “How about we go back to the original plan to have a barbecue or picnic? Maybe go sailing or something so I get to know the kids? If keeping you out late unsupervised upsets Dev and Kenny, then we can have family activities instead of dates for awhile.”

  Teri looked up at him with wet eyes. “Really?”

  “Of course it means you don’t get to have much play time, but I imagine they’ll relax a bit after they get to know me. I hope so anyway.”

  “You’re wonderful.” Teri hugged him.

  “You’re worth it.”

  Paul now found himself again considering the fallout of pushing for a divorce from Sara. It was selfish of him to ruin other people’s lives, and he knew he wouldn’t do it, but the thought lingered in his mind nonetheless. Before, he only wanted to be rid of Sara, now he wanted to replace her. It was a different scenario that Paul faced, and he found it actually hurt to want to marry Teri and not even be able to consider it.

  This was what Sara wanted: for Paul to be in pain, to hurt him for his part in the train-wreck of a marriage they shared. Wish granted, Paul thought bitterly. If he thought it would help, he’d admit it to her. Acknowledge her victory and beg her to let him go. It would make her day, but it wouldn’t change her position.

  Paul vowed to put Sara behind him. Just because he couldn’t marry Teri didn’t mean they couldn’t start a life together.

  Arriving back at the hotel, Paul dismissed Charles for the night and made arrangements for tomorrow. He and Teri agreed to let her have a quiet breakfast with the kids, and Paul would come over after lunch to be properly introduced and barbecue later. Nicholas was coming, but for this first round of getting to know everyone, Tim wouldn’t be there. Paul didn’t need Tim as backup and probably would end up sending him back to New York in a day or two anyway.

  Paul walked into his room and found his bags waiting for him. He and Teri would have been busy when Tim arrived and checked in, and it hadn’t occurred to Paul that Tim didn’t call or try to contact him as he usually would have. He probably forwarded some instructions to Charles to call him when he dropped Teri off for the night. No doubt Tim brought paperwork in addition to Paul’s bags, but he didn’t see any sign of it.

  It was almost five by Seattle time, meaning Paul had been up for over twenty-four hours on his New York schedule. Paul got ready for bed and noted Tim took the time to set up his laptop. He sat down and sent Tim a quick email about tomorrow’s activities. Exhaustion hit almost immediately after he pressed send. Stumbling into bed, Paul set the alarm on his phone and fell asleep.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Flynn set his suitcase down in his new apartment. Leaving Wendy should have been harder. Not that it was easy. It’s just that he expected her to file, not make him do it. Watching the women in his life walk away was hard, but the ones he loved always left him, not the other way around.

  He pulled the half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels from his suitcase, opened it, and took a drink. Here’s hoping it would be better with Teri, he toasted the air with the bottle and took another drink. It would be different. She was different. Flynn couldn’t describe how he knew, just that he felt it deep inside.

  Wandering through the small apartment, he had to admit the decorator did a decent job. Sitting at the dining room table, Flynn reviewed his schedule. Tomorrow morning his lawyer would start the process of telling him how expensive this divorce was going to be and how fast he could get it done. Flynn was in a hurry. However, there was no reason not to multitask.

  Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he called the number of a discreet private agent. As of today, he and Wendy were legally separated. Technically he didn’t need to wait to look into the state of Teri’s relationship with Paul. There’d been plenty of time for Paul to smooth things over with her, but a woman had a right to change her mind.

  On the flight to L.A., Flynn discovered Teri’s dedication to the institution of marriage. Drew warned him she was reserved, and Flynn held a losing hand when Paul brought up Wendy. But Paul was married too, and Flynn wouldn’t be for much longer. Teri wouldn’t put up with being the other woman. Not for long anyway. She wouldn’t get too serious with Paul, she’d balk at taking any landmark steps. And Flynn would be there, single and ready, when it all fell apart.

  Paul woke at ten to his alarm going off and hit snooze without thinking about it. After twenty minutes of hitting snooze, his drowsiness finally lost to irritation at the interruptions. He got up and checked his email. Among other things was a message from Tim to let him know when he woke up. He called Tim, who answered on the second ring.

  “I’m up.”

  “Good. I’ll order breakfast and come over.”

  “I’m going to take a shower now so I’ll be a few minutes.”

  “That’s fine. You have jeans and a couple of t-shirts packed. Your tennis shoes have seen better days so I went shopping this morning. See you in a few.”

  “Thanks.”

  Paul plugged his phone in to charge and pulled a change of clothes out of the suitcase. He took the deadbolt off the door so Tim could get in, and went to take a shower and get dressed.

  By the time he emerged, housekeeping had his bed made and Tim was waiting with breakfast. Paul took the coffee cup first.

  “Later night than you’re used to?” Tim smiled.

  “Sleeping in helped a bit. Dev and Kenny are unhappy that I’m a stranger and kept Teri out later last night than they’re used to. The girls are fine, and Teri’s not worried about Jess and Bryan. I was really surprised at how concerned she was that Kenny was upset.”

  “My guess is that he’s the leader of their little band and has some influence with Dev.”

  “That was my first thought, but it really seemed like something more. Anyway, I’m forgoing more intimate dating practices in favor of family-oriented activities to let the kids get to know me and feel more comfortable.”

  “And this includes jet-lag in what sense?”

  “I thought of telecommuting briefly, but I’m not so sure it wouldn’t be a good idea for me to fly back and forth for awhile anyway to give them time to . . . I don’t know, recover I suppose.”

  “Time to talk among themselves behind your back, you mean.”

  “It’s what teenagers do. They make observations and compare notes.”

  “Gossip,” Tim clarified.

  “Technically. I’m thinking of easing them into it. Let them get to know me gradually, and that means giving them breaks instead of risking them feeling smothered.”

  “Very kind of you. So modify your New York schedule?”

  “That’s what I was thinking.”

  “I’ll do that, and give you long weekends. Now I ordered you a Denver omelet since you’re going west again, so eat it while I tell you about the cabin you’re closing on next week.”

  “That was fast,” Paul commented in appreciation of Tim’s organizational skills. He removed the lid from the tray and prepared to eat the omelet.

  “The bank took the initial offer of $600,000 when I showed them the work that was required to make the cabin inhabitable.”

  “That’s lower than you originally thought.”

  “You’re right. I figured they’d take $650,000, so I offered $600,000 and assumed they’d counter. Imagine my surprise when they took it. I’m looking into the economy up there, it might be soft. Or they might just be tired of sitting on that land and didn’t want to risk you changing your mind. I can only rush the bank so much, but I’ll get everything else ready to roll for as soon as we close. Working on the cabin is going to take time. Most of the architect’s plans include adding a little extra room — don’t make a face it’s not much. There isn’t enough square footage to allow for a bathroom that will accommodate a tub big enough for two. The sketches make it look like the changes will hardly be noticeable, but it’ll affect the roofline and foundation.”

  “Bottom line?”

  “They’re confident they can get the addition
built and roof replaced before the snow falls, but once that happens, the cabin’s on hold until spring. I consulted a landscaper too, they’re going to go take a look and see what they can get done before winter so at least it’s less to do in the spring and maybe give something a chance to get established.”

  “So nothing I get to show Teri anytime soon. Her birthday’s in April, any chance of being done?”

  “I’ll push for it,” Tim nodded.

  “Now, what to do instead. Oh, the kids will be going back to school soon, won’t they? It’s July, school starts the end of August, right?” It’d been awhile since Paul had to really think about school schedules. “I wonder if Teri will let me get involved with her school.”

  “First things first. You’ll be fine at barbecuing. Heaven knows you’ve had enough practice at it,” Tim said. “While you’re doing that, I’ll look around at apartments and offices. If you’re going to be spending any serious time here, I’d rather establish a base of operations.”

  “Do we own any companies headquartered in Seattle?”

  “No. I don’t suppose you want to purchase a small photography magazine or supply store?” Tim asked with a small smile.

  “I wouldn’t dare.”

  “I’ll look around and see if there’s anything worth buying or if any of the companies we have controlling stock in have branches here.”

  Paul nodded and finished his omelet.

  “Now that you’re done with that, do you want to hear how Teri found out about Sara?”

  Paul froze in his motion to pick up his coffee cup again. He looked at Tim for a moment while he pulled himself together. Finally he gave a curt nod and took a drink of his coffee.

  “Kenny is a resourceful lad it seems. His father is an attorney for one of the regional lumber companies and a request went out for information about you from one of his father’s associates shortly after Teri returned from New York.”

  “He called in some family favors.” Paul nodded. “He’s resourceful. So is Dev from what I saw last night. Teri didn’t say if the kids knew why she was angry with me.”

  “So you don’t know who knows what over there. Sounds like a fun barbecue. Too bad we’re past Independence Day, the fireworks would have made a nice backdrop.”

  “Don’t be a pessimist. It’s Teri’s decision. She must not be worried about it. So either the kids all know and understand or they don’t know anything. Except Kenny. And possibly Dev. And whoever they told behind her back.” Paul frowned at the thought.

  “What happened to ‘don’t be a pessimist’? I’m sure you’ll survive.”

  They went over a few business matters before it was time for Paul to leave for Teri’s house. Paul called ahead and made sure Teri didn’t have anything last minute for him to pick up on the way. Tim was paying attention during Paul’s exile and had a bouquet of roses arranged with miniature rubber ducks substituted for some of the flowers ready for Paul to take with him.

  Cassie opened the door this time when Paul arrived. Her squeals of excitement were more welcoming than Dev’s hesitant suspicion. Tiffany was by her side immediately and they quickly pulled Paul into the house.

  “There you are, right on time,” Teri said as Cassie dragged Paul into the kitchen.

  “And I bring flowers and teenage girls,” Paul smiled. Cassie and Tiffany giggled, still hanging on either side of him.

  “I’ll take the flowers, you can keep the girls,” Teri winked. “Cassie, Tiff, shoo. The boys are out back, make sure they’re not setting fire to anything.”

  The girls disappeared and Paul laid the flower and duck bouquet on the bar as he walked into the kitchen. Teri moved into his arms immediately and he kissed her.

  “Hello, beautiful.”

  “Hey, we already voted on no mushy stuff,” Jess protested as came in through the back door and passed by into the living room.

  “We were done being mushy, you missed it,” Teri called after him. “If you nag it’ll make me want to misbehave.”

  “I’m not sure he heard that last bit.”

  “Doesn’t matter, he’ll pass back through in a moment. It sounded like he went downstairs.”

  “Does that have some special meaning I’m unaware of?”

  “No, not really. Well, unless you pick up the phone and there’s a girl’s voice on the other end. That was Jess.”

  “I recognized him.”

  “Don’t tell him, he’ll get a big head.”

  “Or think you’re a stalker,” Kenny added from the other side of the bar. Paul didn’t hear him come in. “Don’t feed Dev’s paranoia.”

  “Or yours either,” Teri replied dryly, releasing Paul and returning to her preparation of potato salad.

  “It’s not paranoia if you’re right,” Kenny answered Teri, but he was still sizing up Paul. Well, he already assumed Kenny knew at least part of the story.

  “Behave,” Teri warned.

  Jess came back upstairs. “No more of the parental porn, right?” He looked at Teri and Paul apprehensively. Paul smiled and shook his head.

  “You’re safe for now,” Teri assured him.

  “Cool. Come on.” Jess grabbed Kenny’s arm and pulled him toward the back door, clearly trying to hide a small box in his other hand.

  “Whoa, kid,” Teri called out. “What’s in the box?”

  Jess froze. He passed the box to Kenny and whispered “run.” Kenny looked at it and laughed. He took the box and was out the patio door before Teri finished opening her mouth to order him to stop. Paul laughed. Teri elbowed him gently and focused on Jess again.

  “What’s in the box?” she repeated.

  “What box?”

  “The one you had Kenny run off with.”

  “I forgot.”

  “You’re not that bad, try again.”

  Jess waffled.

  “You know I’ll find out eventually, so just tell me and get it over with.”

  “Nothing,” Jess tried hopefully. Paul laughed again.

  “Paul, did you ever have yours do this pass-off-and-cover-for-each-other nonsense?”

  “My boys are five years apart, Teri. They didn’t work together until they left New York. Then all three kids bonded against a common enemy.”

  Kenny returned through the front door.

  “So what was in the box that Jess is so desperately trying to cover up?” Teri asked him immediately.

  “Nothing you’d approve of,” he said.

  “Can you be more specific?”

  Kenny looked briefly at Paul, then back to Teri. “Listen, I could tell you, but you really don’t want to know. You wouldn’t do anything about it. You’re not going to get all mad at him or tell him not to do this or that. I’m saving you a headache.”

  “Saving me a headache,” Teri repeated.

  “Or something,” Jess chimed in, giving Kenny a look. Kenny looked back at him and shook his head.

  “Jess, go help get Bryan off the roof,” Kenny waved him away. Jess left quickly.

  “What is Bryan doing on the roof?”

  “Frisbee.”

  “And Jess?”

  Kenny sighed and closed the patio door that Jess left open. “Condoms. He’s got a date tonight.”

  Teri gave an exasperated groan and banged her head on the counter.

  “Hey, at least he’s practicing safe sex,” Kenny said as he watched Teri.

  “A whole box?” Teri asked then held up a hand to stop the answer. “I do not want to go there. You make sure he’s not a bad influence on Dev and Bryan.”

  “It was actually only half-full and he was trying to be sneaky. Dev and Bryan are on the roof, so they didn’t see anything.” Kenny looked pointedly at Paul.

  “We’re being good,” Paul assured him. “We don’t want to upset Dev either.”

  “I can send Jess in to give you tips,” Kenny offered.

  “As amusing as that might be, I’ll pass, thanks.”

  Kenny turned his attention back to Teri a
nd his expression softened. “Next time Jess is involved and I tell you I’m saving you from a headache, can we just jump to this conclusion?”

  “Deal. Now Bryan’s on the roof getting the Frisbee. Why exactly is Dev up there?”

  “Tiff’s little sister, what’s-her-name, and a friend dropped by. He’s avoiding them.”

  “Tiff’s sister is Becky.”

  “Whatever, her friend’s fourteen. No one pays any attention to her except Dev, and that’s only because she won’t stop staring at him or following him around. She’s wearing a skirt and can’t climb up to the roof without flashing everyone, so Dev is safe for now.”

  “Safe is relative. I’d like him down.”

  “Would you drop it if I said we were saving you from a headache?”

  “No.”

  “On your head be it.” Kenny shook his head and went back outside.

  “What teenage boy says ‘on your head be it’?” Teri asked, turning to Paul. She actually seemed to expect an answer.

  “You said he’s musically inclined. Perhaps he’s experimenting with different ways of expressing a thought. Or he’s considering becoming a pirate.”

  “Hopefully the first one.” Teri returned to her potato salad.

  “You know it’s really nice to be able to just watch you being you. Like observing a rare bird in its natural environment.”

  “You might have been closer in Miami watching me on the beach. This is far more frustrating.”

  “Granted. I meant to ask you actually, before Nicholas conned you into taking pictures of Flynn and his associates, you were wandering around taking pictures of birds and palm trees and sometimes I wasn’t sure what you were doing.”

  “Acting like a tourist? I wasn’t.”

  “I didn’t think so then either. What were you doing?”

  “Well before I was Lexi I had a similar hobby.”

  “Accidental porn I believe it’s called now.”

  Teri blushed and grinned to hide it. “I was a bit more subtle, but yes. Things most people walk by every day and never notice. But if you stop and look just right . . . well, and have a bit of a dirty mind -”

  “You don’t see me, I’m not here,” Dev called coming in through the front door. He sprinted through the house, around the breakfast bar and into the small kitchen, finally coming to rest cross-legged on the floor at Teri’s feet.