Her Charming Heartbreaker (3 page)

He stood there,
watching how the play of light around her hair brought out a
fascinating blend of rich russet red shades with hints of gold.
When Theo caught himself appreciating the lovely shape of her butt,
he forced his attention back to hunting through his overnight
bag.

“Moonlighting as Dani?”
he asked. So far, he’d seen Eddie working at the bar, serving the
lunchtime and dinner crowds and at one point, he suspected she
might have been doing the cooking. One thing he knew for sure,
she’d been doing her best to avoid him.

She turned and
surprised him by curving her lips into a smile. “I’m trying out for
the role of
Cinderella
. Although, instead of wicked
sisters, I have brothers.”

And no life to speak
of, according to the gossip he’d been force-fed the night before
when he’d settled at a corner table to have dinner. As the place
had filled up, it hadn’t been long before someone had asked to
share his table, taking the opportunity to impart some local
knowledge.

She’d been recently
dumped. Or turned down. The version had changed a couple of times,
and while the facts had been hazy, he hadn’t been interested enough
to encourage an in-depth discussion of Eddie Faydon’s private life.
If he wanted to know more, he could always ask her.

“Actually, I drew the
short straw... for the umpteenth consecutive time. My brothers are
devious enough to cheat, but I’d need to get inside their male
brains to figure out how they do it,” she said and gave him a
speculative look.

Theo put his hands up.
“Sorry, I can’t help you. I’m an only child with no tricks up my
sleeves.”

“I’ll figure it out.
They’re bound to slip up sometime.”

“So… what happened to
Dani?”

“She had a gig last
night. I hope the music didn’t keep you up.”

He shook his head.
“Dani the cleaner is also Dani Reid the singer?”

She nodded.

“A town of
multi-talented women,” he mused as he slipped his wallet into his
back pocket and searched around for his car keys.

“Dani’s singing is her
ticket out. She’s been doing monthly gigs in Melbourne and will be
heading north to Townsville for the country music festival. She’s
one of many trekking out into the wider world.”

“And you hope to join
the mass exodus?”

She shook her head. “I
have no reason to.”

What little he knew
about life away from the bright lights of the city he’d seen in
movies or read about in books. He strode toward the door and then
stopped. “Well, there’s a trend to move back to the country. That’s
something to look forward to. New people…”

She shrugged. “Over the
years, we’ve had a few newcomers, but not many outlast the novelty.
As for the locals, if you don’t stand to inherit a job, then your
only option is to head to the city and try your luck there.”

“Clearly, you have no
such trouble.” He’d met all three of her brothers and had heard
positive comments about her father. The pub had been owned and run
by the Faydon family for as long anyone could remember.

He leaned against the
door, his hands in his pockets, his attention fixed on Eddie as she
made quick work of tidying the room.

Eddie. Short for...
Edaline?

Theo shifted away from
the door only to lean against it again. He was in no hurry. After
all, he was about to barge in on a complete stranger unannounced.
He should at least do it at a more reasonable time of the day or
maybe even try calling first... again.

Her shoulders rose and
fell as if she’d drawn in and pushed out a heavy breath.

“Working here takes
care of the fact that I have no aspirations.”

She turned then and he
saw her cheeks had reddened.

“I have no idea why I’m
telling you all this.”

He shrugged. “I’m a
stranger.” The dimple he’d seen that first day made an appearance
on her cheek.

“There’s that. I guess
I’m also trying to work up the courage to apologize.”

“For?”

She chuckled. “I’d like
to think I could be off the hook and not have to offer an apology,
but it wouldn’t sit well with me. It’s bad enough I’ve put it off
this long.” She straightened and looked at him without blinking.
“I’m sorry for the other day... you know, the dart.”

“Think nothing of it.
We all have our bad days.” And it had been entertaining. Almost
like walking into a movie set.

“Crap,” she said under
her breath. “I should have known it wouldn’t take long for chins to
wag.”

Theo shifted. “There’s
really no need to apologize.”

“We don’t get many
tourists around here but I’d hate for you to walk away thinking
we’re... I’m feral and inhospitable.”

“The thought didn’t
even cross my mind.”

She smiled. “Sure it
didn’t.”

Well, there had been
that one remark… “Then we’re even. It was insensitive and
judgmental of me to suggest you were being inhospitable.” Theo
willed himself to move.

“So...” She gave him a
quirky smile. “What brings you to Eden?”

The question caught him
off guard. Theo knew he’d left himself wide open to curiosity, but
he hadn’t expected it from Eddie who, until now, had been happy to
give him a wide berth. “I take it you don’t get many Americans
around here.”

“A few. During the
skiing season. Mostly backpackers. Some get lost on the way up to
the resorts, others wander down to town expecting to find a hot
tourist spot, but there’s not much here to keep their interest. I
don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the town has one foot in the
grave, so to speak.”

He’d noticed that when
he’d arrived and had taken a closer look during his morning jogs.
Half the town looked derelict. In fact, the entire street on one
side reminded him of unused movie sets while the other side
appeared to be thriving.

“I’m sure there’s a
story in there somewhere.”

“A long one. And
someone thinks you might he related to the heiress.”

Theo took a step back
inside the room. “Okay. I’ll take the bait.”

“Is that a yes or a
no?”

“A no.” At least, not
as far as he knew.

She rounded the bed and
focused on plumping up the pillows. “Zoe Wilde owns the ghost side
of town.”

“I guess that means
there’s not much of a fortune for her to inherit.”

She shook her head.
“The Wildes are loaded. News about her has been splashed in all the
newspapers. She’s from your neck of the woods and she’s only
recently inherited.”

“Are you all expecting
her to make an appearance here?” he asked.

“No one knows what to
expect. But we’re having fun speculating. Your sudden appearance
has made it more interesting. Maybe you’re a fortune hunter looking
to get a head start in case she comes this way.”

“Do I look like a
fortune hunter?”

She straightened and
put her hands on her hips. “You dress well, so you’re either a man
of means or you’re down on your luck but still managing to keep up
appearances as you look for your next meal ticket.”

He tried not to laugh.
“Sounds like you’ve been doing some serious speculating.”

“If you stay here
longer than a week, you’ll give the town enough to talk about for
several generations. You could become part of our folklore.”

“Is that a roundabout
way of asking how long I’ll be here for?”

“You seem to be cagey
about it.”

“I’m undecided.” While
he had a return flight to catch, his business here could be wrapped
up in the next couple of hours, leaving him no reason to linger. He
shrugged. “There’s a difference, and the fact I haven’t made up my
mind yet should work in your favor.”

“How do you figure
that?”

“I’m taking the focus
away from you.”

“That would make you a
knight in shining armor.”

“In disguise,” he
agreed. “Don’t forget, I’m here to catch myself an heiress.”

Chapter Three

“Are you okay?”

Here comes the cotton
wool, Eddie thought. Being the youngest of four siblings and a girl
to boot made it almost impossible to escape her father’s tendency
to overcompensate with extra attention. His tone suggested she was
about to receive a bonus dollop of pampering. “How was your fishing
trip?” she asked.

“Relaxing.”

Eddie didn’t bother
asking if he’d caught any fish. Everyone knew her father’s trips
were about catching up with a certain widow. Although why he kept
it all hushed up, she had no idea. He’d been alone for twenty-nine
years and Laurie Melville had lost her husband ten years ago. Her
children were grown up. In fact, they’d moved to Melbourne years
before to study and then to establish themselves in their
respective careers. Eddie didn’t think they would object to the
relationship. As for her…

She was used to seeing
everyone around her in happy-ever-after relationships.

Her father cleared his
throat. “I’ve been hearing all sorts of stories. Are you sure
you’re okay?”

Eddie sighed. She
really needed to put an end to the coddling. “I’m fine, dad.”
Although, her frame of reference for fine still felt shaky. As for
her new habit of wiping her hands against her jeans every time she
stepped out into the public bar...

Nothing but a bout of
self-consciousness and flagging confidence, Joyce had said.

“You can rest easy now.
I’ve put a stop to the yammering. Anybody wants to eat or drink
here, they’ll have to keep their trap shut.”

“Won’t that make eating
and drinking difficult?” she asked, trying for humor but her voice
sounded as flat as the pancakes she’d been flipping all morning
because their cook had called in sick.

“I’ll have a word with
Adam—”

“Oh, dad. Please
don’t.” She’d definitely die of mortification. “I’m a big girl. I
can look after myself.”

“You don’t have to.
That’s what your brothers and I are here for. If Adam led you
on—”

“He didn’t.” She took
the griddle off the stove and stacked the pancakes on a plate. How
could she explain to a grown man that his only daughter had made a
fool of herself? Not once, but twice. “Please let it go, dad.”

He held her gaze as if
trying to draw out the truth from her. “Okay,” he finally said. “If
you say so.”

“I say so and I better
take these out before they get cold.”

“I can do that.”

“That’s okay. It’s the
last one and I need to stretch my legs.” Also, she needed everyone
to see she hadn’t become a menace to society, or worse, a shrinking
violet. Pulling off her apron, she strode out of the kitchen and
headed toward the bar, her steps steady as she approached the
counter. So far, so good, she thought as she set the plate down in
front of Theo Kendrick and gave him a no-darts-up-her-sleeves
smile.

“These taste as good as
they smell and look,” he said after only one mouthful.

“You sound
surprised.”

“I’m relieved. I jogged
around the town five times this morning. My tank’s running on
empty.”

She tidied up behind
the counter and checked on supplies, all the while letting her
attention stray to Theo Kendrick. Instead of sitting at one of the
tables, he’d chosen to sit at the bar, not making it easy for her
to ignore him.

“More coffee?” she
asked.

He nodded. “How many
shifts are you pulling today?”

“I’m off for the rest
of the day.” She had a hairdresser’s appointment to keep, courtesy
of her friends, Sophie and Helena. It was all part of Sophie
Wright’s run up to her wedding in a few week’s time, but mostly it
was a chance to catch up. Eddie knew her friends were miffed about
her not saying a word about Adam and were eager to get the inside
scoop.

She set the coffee down
in front of Theo and leaned back to sip some water. “What’s with
all the jogging? Do we have an upcoming marathon around here I
don’t know about?”

When he smiled, his
eyes lit up with amusement. “I started jogging when I moved to
Oxford to study. It’s the best way to see a city. Every day I’d set
out along a different route and in no time I knew the place like
the back of my hand. It’s become a habit with me now.”

She rested a hand on
the counter, but stood at an angle, as if about to resume what
she’d been doing. “I thought about taking it up.”

“What happened?”

“It was a New Year’s
Eve resolution. I woke up the next morning with a hangover. We had
an Irish backpacker working as a bartender. He made the most
delicious cocktails.” She shifted and leaned back against the
counter thinking she’d let him end the conversation.

“It’s never too late to
give it another go.”

“Maybe some day.” Eddie
gave him a chance to resume his cell phone vigil but when his
attention remained on her, she decided she’d chat with Theo
Kendrick the way she did with anyone coming into The Gloriana, and
then she’d move on to the next customer. “Why did you choose Oxford
to study?” There were plenty of Ivy League schools in the
States.

He took his time
thinking about it, or perhaps avoiding giving her a straight
answer.

“I was going to spend
some time in England. It fit in with my plans.”

“And how does Eden fit
into the scheme of things? I’m sure you didn’t come here on a
whim.”

He smiled as he studied
her. “What’s the latest theory?”

“There are a few
floating around. You’ve committed a white-collar crime and chose
Eden to hide out in.” She could imagine him wearing a suit and
mixing with powerbrokers and high flyers. “You’re a writer looking
for inspiration.” That wasn’t her favorite because she might end up
in one of his books as the village madwoman. “You’re searching for
a long lost relative.” Or a girlfriend looking to get as far away
from him as possible, while leaving a trail of crumbs for him to
follow. “You haven’t asked about any of the locals so maybe you
want to do some fact finding first.”