Her Charming Heartbreaker (16 page)

“I feel safe enough
walking off lunch. Besides, if you girls want to rope me into being
an accomplice in one of your little adventures, I’m sure there
won’t be a rock big enough to hide under.”

“I haven’t seen you at
the pub lately.” In fact, it had been two whole days since she’d
last caught sight of him, day or night. She’d moved from one moment
to the next, pulled by her rising expectations. Any minute he’ll
walk through the door, she’d thought. And then she’d settled for
waiting for his unexpected arrival, losing herself in the moment,
talking to one person and then another, hoping to be caught off
guard. It had given her a taste of what to expect when he finally
left.

“I thought I’d try the
bakery. Their pies are exceptional. And it’s good to have a place
to fall back on in case I suddenly find I’m no longer welcomed at
the pub,” he said not looking the slightest bit worried. Probably
because he hadn’t been around and had no intention of ever going
back to the pub, Eddie thought.

“Okay, well… I guess I
should… I need to get going.” She turned to leave. He was clearly
trying to keep his distance and she should take a leaf from his
book. Do her bit to maintain their new status quo.

“Before you trot
off.”

“Mmm?”

“Who handles rental
properties in the area?” he asked and nodded toward the building
he’d been looking at.

One of the prettiest
ones in the street with lace awnings typical of the Victorian
era.

“Are you thinking of
setting up shop?”

“I’m only curious. Is
there an agency in the area?” he asked.

“There is, but the
owners are currently on holidays. You could ask Tom Ellis about it.
He’s the town lawyer. He should be able to point you in the right
direction.” This time she managed to shift her feet. Not exactly
progress when her feet weren’t even pointing in the right
direction, but it was a start.

“You look like you’ve
been to Sunday service, but it’s only the middle of the week.”

She gave her dress a
light tug. “I’ve been to afternoon tea with Mrs. Larson. She likes
to dress up for the occasion and always insists I wear a dress.”
She shrugged. “I better push off.” If she lingered, she risked
tempting fate. Joyce had been tight lipped about her conversation
with Theo after she’d put her foot in it and had asked if Ben knew
he was his father. As far as Eddie was concerned, she’d washed her
hands off the subject when she’d walked away. She didn’t owe him an
explanation or even an apology.

* * *

Make Eddie happy. Break
her heart. Give her a third disastrous relationship.

Third?

Joyce had tried to
explain the reasons for the odd suggestion. Theo supposed if he
scraped off enough surfaces, he could get to the bottom and find
the method in the madness. But he’d still struggle to understand
it. No woman went into a relationship wanting to fail at it.

He’d tried staying away
from Eddie. While keeping his distance smacked of cowardice, he
hadn’t trusted himself around her. Before she’d approached him on
the street, he’d stopped to look at an empty shop as a way of
diverting his attention from the fact he’d been making a beeline
for the pub...

“I should have asked
for an option C.” There had to be one.

“You’re holding a
Lalique vase and grumbling under your breath,” Bradford
murmured.

Theo turned the vase in
his hands. “This is a rare find. How did you come by it?”

“My uncle was a
hoarder. Every cent he earned he spent on traveling the world and
hunting down antiques, which he was supposed to sell, but of course
he didn’t because he couldn’t bear to part with them and you’re
getting off the subject. Not that I care.”

He watched Bradford
skim through an old-fashioned ledger book. “It doesn’t have a price
tag.”

“It’s not for
sale.”

Theo sent his gaze
skipping around the antique store. Everything he saw captured his
attention and everything he missed on the first sweep eventually
emerged like a precious discovery. “You had a soft spot for your
uncle.”

“He wouldn’t like it if
I sold it.”

“You don’t strike me as
the long haul type of guy. If you don’t sell, how are you going to
move on?”

“Are you using me to
work through your inner demons?” Bradford laughed and shook his
head.

Theo set down the vase
and sat on what looked like a beautifully restored piece from the
Georgian period with intricate scrollwork carved into the armrests
and royal blue and gold striped upholstery.

“You’ve been in Eden
for a while. Have you ever dated one of the local girls?”

“I’ve been too
busy.”

Theo brushed his hand
across his chin. “Are you saying no one has caught your attention?”
He shifted in his seat. “Let me rephrase that. What if someone
catches—”

“Not going to
happen.”

“But, if—”

“It’s not going to
happen because they’re too smart and they’ve read the warning
sign.”

“That’s just a
frown.”

“To you, but to them,”
Bradford pointed to his forehead, “It spells danger in capital
letters.” He closed the ledger book. “Don’t tell me you’ve done
something stupid like fall in love.”

He hadn’t given himself
the chance to do that. The only time he’d ever come close he’d
ended up being second best. “I’m nowhere near that state of mind.”
But his body was happy to dabble... test the waters... For now,
both he and Eddie were in the same place, at the same time. Both
available. Both responsive.

“Someone didn’t follow
my advice. Are the girls playing mind games with you?”

Theo had no business
becoming involved with Eddie. He’d come to Eden with a purpose in
mind. Now that it had been sorted out, he should be moving on.
Instead...

What if he took Ben out
of the equation? He would’ve been on his way back—

Home?

He didn’t have a
home.

He had places where he
stayed at out of necessity.

“The girls are playing
by their own rules and probably making them up as they go, so I’m
not sure where I stand with them. I figured if I keep to myself...”
he brushed his hand across his face. “They’re bound to tell me if
I’m doing something wrong soon enough.” After giving him a piece of
her mind, Joyce hadn’t banned him from the café, but she was
practicing economy with her conversation. And while Eddie had
approached him for a chat, she’d been brief...

“Let me know how you go
with that.”

“You sound
skeptical.”

Bradford lifted an
eyebrow.

“What would you do in
my place?”

“You’re beyond saving
now. If I’d caught you in time, I would have suggested taking the
bull by the horns. Draw the line before they do it for you.”

“They haven’t
emasculated me... yet.”

“Like I said, let me
know how you go. Okay, I’m done here,” Bradford said. “Time to
start thinking about dinner. Are you interested?”

“I’m trying to stay
away from the pub.”

Bradford shrugged. “The
Copper Pot does good stews and pasta. It’s the only other option
for dinner.”

“Sounds good. I’ve been
meaning to try it.”

* * *

“You’re off with the
fairies.”

Eddie usually looked
forward to having dinner with Mrs. Larson’s grandson, Jimmy. He
could always talk her ear off with news about his comings and
goings in Melbourne, his latest love interest, and the many
subliminal messages he wove into the conversation suggesting ways
for her to improve her non-existent dress style.

“Sorry, my thoughts are
in the clouds.” She picked up the menu, and then set it down again.
“I know what you’re thinking.”

Jimmy leaned toward her
and took her hands. “Man trouble is better than no trouble.”

“Joyce said something
along those lines. She’s green with envy because I’m daydreaming
about someone. Never mind that he’s not available.”

“There’s something
dreadfully capricious about attraction and sexual chemistry. They
always strike at the oddest, and at times, most inconvenient
moments. But you take what you can get because they’re both rare
but vital commodities. And if at the end of the day you have to
settle for daydreaming...” he shrugged, “We take what we can
get.”

“There has to be an
alternative.”

Jimmy patted her hand.
“There is. It’s called settling for a mundane life with no heart
thumping excitement.” He smiled. “Actually, there’s a better
alternative. Find someone else. And here’s your chance. In fact,
two golden opportunities just walked through the door. Remember to
peer over your shoulder discreetly and be warned, they are both
mouth wateringly delish. Now, on the count of three, tip your head
back and laugh at something delightfully funny and slant your gaze
to the right, your right not mine.”

Eddie didn’t want to
look, not while her body and her mind remained filled to capacity
with thoughts of Theo. Even thinking about him made the pit of her
stomach quiver. Eddie’s attraction wasn’t capricious, it was
downright finicky and it worked in deranged ways. The couple of men
she’d been involved with in long-term relationships hadn’t exactly
been God’s gift to women, lacking the essential wow factor in the
looks department. While she didn’t want to think too long and hard
about her attraction to Theo, she knew it had a lot to do with
their verbal exchanges. As for his looks…

They made her legs
wobble.

She took a sip of her
ice-cold water but it did nothing to put out the heat blazing
through her. Sighing, Eddie did as she was told only to sink into
her chair.

“Something tells me you
don’t care for what you see.”

“It’s him.”

“Him? Which one? The
one who looks like he stepped off a Times Square billboard
advertisement or the one about to set off on safari?”

She gave a small,
misery filled nod. “The well dressed one.”

“It’s safe. You can
come up for air again. They’ve settled at a table in the opposite
corner, and... Hang on a sec. Oh, that’s interesting.”

“What?”

“Don’t look.”

“You’re making it
difficult for me not to. What’s happening?”

“I’m being assessed.
The man in question is giving me the head to toe scouring look. I
believe I’m being tagged as competition and that hasn’t happened
since the third grade when Quentin Reed caught me holding hands
with the girl he liked.”

“Be serious.” She
should at least turn and wave hello. Then again, he’d seen her
first, so he should have come over…

“I can see why you have
a problem. You say he’s with another woman yet he just marked his
territory and gave me the look that threatens serious repercussions
if I don’t back off.” Jimmy raised his glass of wine in a mock
salute. “When did Eden become so interesting? I might have to
postpone my departure...”

“Oh, would you?” She
sat forward. “Sophie’s wedding is just around the corner and the
sooner I can land a date for it, the better. Sitting at the singles
table is turning into the walk of shame for me.”

“This doesn’t add
up.”

“What?”

“He doesn’t strike me
as a glutton.”

“You’re speaking in
tongues.”

Jimmy rolled his eyes.
“According to you, he’s with Claire Muldoon. And that threatening
death glare he gave me says he’s staking a claim on you. There are
guys who do that. They’re with someone but are interested in
someone else...” he rolled his eyes again, “It’s like casting a net
and claiming all the fish in the sea as your own. That makes a
person a relationship glutton. Wanting every woman they see for
themselves.”

Eddie shook her head.
“So?”

“Are you sure he’s
taken?” Jimmy tapped his chin. “There’s something oddly monogamous
about him. I can smell the idiosyncrasy a mile away.” Jimmy topped
up their wine glasses and sat up. “Time to roll up my sleeves.
Let’s analyze this. Take the attraction out of the equation.”

She nodded. “He’d be a
great gay friend, like you. And I think I could call him after
months of not seeing him and pick up the conversation from where we
left off.”

“Now, let’s pretend
there is no Claire in the picture. Step right inside the fantasy,
what do you see.”

“Months of joy. Him
leaving after—” she snatched her glass of wine and took a big gulp.
“I do not have abandonment issues.”

“Put away the scowl.
Everyone has issues. You’ve had a couple of relationships that
didn’t end well, your mother—” He took a sip of his drink. “Sorry.
Actually, no, I’m not. If my mother had abandoned me days after my
birth I’d probably spend a lifetime on the therapist’s couch and
second guess every decision I made.”

“You’d milk it for all
it was worth.” She tried to smile but her lips wouldn’t
respond.

“And you haven’t, which
begs the question. Why?”

She tried to speak, but
the words piled up in her throat and refused to budge. What could
she say? Did she have abandonment issues? If she didn’t, how could
she justify the slip of the tongue remark? “My mother had issues.
Not me.” She lifted her chin. “As for thinking Theo would
eventually leave, I’m being practical. A guy like him would get
restless in a small town.” Besides, he was taken.

“And a girl like you
would feel out of her element in New York or London. And if
everyone relied on commonsense to guide their decisions, we’d all
be single.”

“Am I supposed to throw
caution to the wind and...”

Jimmy shook his head.
“You don’t need me to tell you to be deliberately reckless. A
little bird tells me you’ve been doing that all by yourself,
plotting your own downfall and chasing after a heartbreak...”

She picked up the menu
and pretended to read through it. “Flippant remarks are not written
in stone.”