Love by Design (Crystal Falls Book 1) Read Free Page B

last thing she wanted was him feeling sorry for her. She moved out of the room, giving her yoga breathing another shot as she pulled out her notebook and made her way back into the main living area.
     
    More than an hour later, Noah finally pulled himself away from Christina by begging off for another client meeting. The woman had flirted her way through every room of the house with him and he felt like he needed a stiff drink, despite the fact that it was barely ten o’clock in the morning. It was a delicate balance, trying to make his clients feel taken care of while avoiding their advances. It wore him out.
    “You sure know how to kiss ass. I’ll give you that much,” Lily said as he came down the front steps toward his truck. She was leaning against her car, her arms folded. She watched him a minute and then turned and slung her bag into the passenger seat but didn’t get in.
    “I know how to make a client happy. It certainly hasn’t hurt my business. You should try it sometime.” He couldn’t help but taking a jab at her. The constant heated arguing had always been a weakness in their relationship, but it had led to some pretty amazing sex as well. Looked like some things never changed.
    “You are an asshole Noah Caldwell. And I don’t want anything to do with you. Unfortunately it seems I don’t have a choice right now. But hear me,” she moved toward him, her eyes narrowed and a finger pointed at his chest, “you’d better keep your distance. I have nothing to say to you.” The last words were punctuated against his pecs with the tip of her finger.
    He stood his ground, his eyes hot, willing himself not to grab her. At the moment he wasn’t sure if he wanted to shake her or kiss her, and he knew neither one would make much sense. The steel gray intensity in her eyes had him all hot and bothered, something he did not like one bit.
    “Fine,” he finally replied and used up the last of his resolve to back down from her and get into his truck.
    She stood still a moment, looking unsure of herself. He’d always taken the bait with her, fought back. But not this time. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He sure hoped this job was worth all the trouble.

Chapter Two
     
    The Blonde Bear, a local bar and restaurant, was only three blocks from Lily’s new apartment. The closeness of the bar was one of the only reasons she’d settled on the aging complex she now called home. Well, that and her pocketbook. She would have otherwise considered the place far beneath her standards. She’d stored up a decent nest egg working for Blackwood but it had dwindled fast over the last few months without a paying job. Lily and her sister Rachel had been coming to the Blonde Bear since they’d moved to Crystal Falls years before. Thankfully it was one of the few places Noah hadn’t liked coming, so she felt fairly safe continuing to go there. In fact, she’d spent many of the nights immediately after the Big Fight in this very bar, drinking cheap wine and eating too many potato skins.
    Lily walked past the small hostess station in the front of the restaurant and into the bar area that was separated from the main restaurant by a big brick wall. The room was dim but cozy with soft overhead lights bouncing off the long mirrored bar. The smell of french fries and grilling steaks made her mouth water. In keeping with the ski resort vibe, a couple of deer heads decorated the walls, along with beautiful oil paintings of the mountain during every season painted by a local artist. Dark brown leather booths took up most of the wall space and cocktail tables dotted the rest of the bar area.
    It didn’t take long for her to spot her sister Rachel at one of the high cocktail tables in the corner. Not only was her sister waving a freckled arm wildly at her but Rachel’s carrot-red hair would have caught her eye even in the most crowded room. It was one of the few ways Lily’s younger sister didn’t resemble her - other