Her Irresistible Troublemaker (A Town Named Eden Book 3) Read Free Page A

of her now. It was bad enough he got to lord it over her…
    “He probably thinks I’m a neurotic, two-headed mutation from the planet Bizarro.” Lexie pulled the bed covers over her head and told herself to focus. “Stop obsessing and make a list.” She had plenty to do, starting with a new storyline to plot out for Lulu McGee’s weekly appearance in Ava’s magazine, Girl About Town.
    Lately, Lulu’s search for love had taken a detour, and while Lexie tried to steer clear of autobiographical references, sometimes it couldn’t be avoided.
    In keeping with her own squiggly life trajectory, Lulu had traipsed her way through a dozen unfulfilling jobs, occasionally catching a whiff of a possible career in the making, but never sticking to anything long enough to find out how badly she’d fail at it. Then, facing a lackluster future, Lulu had hit on the idea of acquiring a mentor, someone to guide and inspire her. In the process, Lulu had become a mentor herself, helping her new friends through their spills and thrills. And that, Lexie knew, was definitely not autobiographical. She’d been the family screw-up since birth and her friends had seen her crumble once too often to ever think of tapping into her dilemma solving skills.
    “At least Lulu gets to have fun.” And so she should. After all, Lulu had saved her bacon…
    Yes, yes. That’s all very well, Lexie. But when are you going to grow up and get a real job or better still, get married and give me grandchildren...
    “When my thoughts start sounding like my mother, it’s definitely time to get up.” Stretching again, she reached for her cell to check her regular Saturday morning message from her sister, Maggie.  Reading it, her nose wrinkled.
    “We need to catch up?” Had something happened? Her high achieving sister hadn’t taken time off from her prestigious post in an investment company in over twelve months. She hadn’t even broken her pace for the Christmas break, opting for a working holiday instead of the usual family get-together at their parents’ place in Eden.
    Mulling over the unusual message, Lexie ignored the snappy rap on her front door. However, when it was followed by a more demanding knock, she sprung out of bed.
    At this time of morning it was bound to be one of her neighbors wanting milk or sugar for their morning coffee. She’d lived in the landmark Art Deco apartment building for over a year and it hadn’t taken long for everyone in the building to discover she always had both milk and sugar in abundance because she worked from home.
    Best to put them out of their misery now because she hadn’t had time to do the grocery shopping, she thought as she slipped into her faded kimono robe, and strode to the front door. When she pressed her eye to the peephole, she frowned.
    “No way. No way!”
    Not bothering with the security chain, she drew the door open and gave Jack Riley a confident head to toe sweep, taking in his lean hips, his arms crossed against his broad chest and the fierce scowl fixed in place.
    Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Ulysses lurking by the stairs, probably waiting for the coast to clear before he came in for his morning kitty treat.
    Trying to be subtle about it, she lifted her chin and straightened her back. Jack Riley was more than a head taller than her, and she didn’t want to give him any more intimidating advantages than he already had.
    “Do you normally open your door to strangers?”
    “Someone with ulterior motives wouldn’t be wearing that scowl on their face.” Besides, he had his name written on his hardhat.
    The edge of his lip lifted. “I see you’re not a morning person.”
    She folded her arms across her chest and nodded. “My coffee beans cower when they see me coming.”
    “Does that mean it’s too early for all other pleasantries?”
    “I get the feeling you didn’t come here to be sociable.” Which made her wonder why he had come. Dressed in paint splattered jeans and