Chase had spent longer with Alexa than Nolan had, and Nolan was still finding his feet around her again. Maybe he should risk trying the “alpha male” thing?
“I might have spoken with Chase,” he admitted.
“Ganging up on me isn’t fair.”
“Fair or not, we’re still going hiking.” Nolan leaned in close and kissed her forehead while also preparing to duck. “I don’t play by the rules either, baby.”
“Ugh.”
Was that acquiescence? “We’ll take a picnic. I made a chocolate gateau.”
He’d baked it in the middle of the night when he couldn’t sleep from worrying about Alexa. She might have hated exercise, but the way to her heart was through her stomach, always had been. Nolan figured he could bribe her beyond Wi-Fi range with cake.
“Well, I’m not going up any hills,” she grumbled.
“This whole vineyard is on a hill. We’ll go downhill on the way back.”
“Sometimes, I hate you.”
“I prefer to think of it as deferred adoration.”
“Just make my coffee, okay?”
“How hungry are you?” Nolan asked as he heard footsteps approaching in the hallway. He’d packed bread, three kinds of cheese, and olives, but the cooler wasn’t big enough for the whole gateau to fit inside.
“I brought my own salad.” He’d almost forgotten Marielle was still in the house. In the week since the barrel racing contest, she’d kept a low profile, much to his relief. “Do you realise how many calories are in that cake?”
The design contract was so damn close to completion. To Nolan’s untrained eye, the bathroom looked more or less finished, and there couldn’t be more than a week needed to tidy up the second cottage.
“Alexa doesn’t count calories.”
“She might get away with that now, but just you wait until she gets older. Middle-aged spread is going to hit her hard.”
Lord, give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the patience not to strangle my interior designer. Nolan nearly told her to forget the rest of the work, that he’d make other arrangements, but he didn’t want to drag Alexa’s team in from San Francisco when the project was so close to the finish line.
“How about you focus on getting the bathroom done instead of insulting my girlfriend?”
“Girlfriend? Wow.” Marielle shook her head, incredulous. “She’s done a real number on you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“An old acquaintance you haven’t spoken with for years shows up out of the blue with a male ‘friend,’ then fast-forward a couple of months and he’s nowhere to be found, but she’s moved in? Believe me, that girl is after something. Money, probably.”
“Alexa doesn’t want my money. She has her own.”
“You know that for sure?”
“Well, I haven’t seen her bank statements, but?—”
“And where does she live, huh? She showed up here with a bunch of suitcases, and I bet she has no intention of leaving. Are you charging her rent?”
“Of course not. I?—”
Marielle’s tone softened, and she rested a hand on Nolan’s arm. “I’m just looking out for you as a friend. The whole thing is weird, if you ask me. I bet Alexa and Chase are running some kind of con together. It’s only a matter of time before you catch her in a lie, and then the whole house of cards will come crashing down around her ears.” When Nolan didn’t answer immediately, she followed up with, “You know I’m right.”
He opened his mouth to issue an emphatic denial, but doubts crept in. He’d laid all his cards on the table with Alexa, but she still held so many of hers close to her chest. Yes, she was gradually opening up, but she wasn’t anything like the woman he’d expected her to become, and Nolan doubted she’d ever let him in completely. Cut her and she’d bleed secrets.
And she did lie.
