Lexi blinked at the phone and then him. “Why do I get the feeling that there is so much more to the story than you are letting on?”
“When have I ever lied to you?” Well, besides the time you asked me if following Jeff to New York was a good idea and I said yes.
“Never.” She frowned. “But I still don’t believe that this woman spent just a few nights with you and now she’s all stalker.”
“Believe it.” Marc smiled. “I’m that good.”
“She’s watching you. She threatened to steal my grandmother’s recipes! What kind of women are you dating?” She stopped, raising a hand. “You know what, never mind. I don’t care. I am so over men and their choices in women.”
Someone cleared her throat—loudly. Lexi jumped at the sound and let out a yelp when she turned and saw Natasha smiling at her from the end of the alley.
Lexi slowly turned back to face him, her mouth gaping open, her eyes forming two pissed-off slits. “You. Slept. With. Natasha. Duval?”
Marc shrugged, feeling way more anxious that he was letting on. “I was clear with her, nothing serious.”
“She’s been trying to corner you into serious since sophomore year.” Oh yeah, he’d forgotten that. “When you made me break up with her for you. Twice.” Lexi looked down the alley and gave a little wiggle of her fingers and shouted, “Hey, Natasha. Long time no see.”
Natasha gave an eat-shit smile in return. No wave.
Lexi turned back to Marc. “Make that three times. And she’s still here. Like that freaky cat off Pet Sematary.”
“I can hear you,” Natasha said, pointing to her wireless earpiece with her long red nails. They looked like claws. Sharp, red claws made for sinking into a man and never letting go. Marc shivered.
Natasha pocketed her phone and swished her way toward them, her hips working double time, then plastered herself to Marc in a hug when she got close enough.
“Hey, Marc,” she said too sweetly, finally pulling back from the hug.
“Hey, Natasha,” he began, stepping away from her. To avoid saying something stupid, like agreeing to another date, he focused on her eyes and away from her cleavage. She subtly shifted, crossing her arms and smashing her breasts together, and “Sorry about not getting back to you” came sputtering out of his mouth.
“That’s okay, I get it. The Showdown is next month, and I know you’ve been swamped with trying to get your celebrity judge and a new caterer”—her eyes flickered to Lexi, and Marc felt his heart literally slam into his chest—“which is why I was trying to set up a time to chat. There’s a guy I cater for sometimes, anyway he’s an editor at Martha Stewart Living. I told him he should do a spread on your hotel for their summer-getaway issue.”
Natasha was positioning herself and trying to use their history and her connections to lock down the Showdown catering gig, which pissed him off even further, but he was willing to agree to anything if it meant getting rid of her before she said something that would make Lexi’s homecoming even worse.
“That’s great. How about dinner?”
“Really?” Natasha sounded way too happy for a no-strings former fuck buddy. “I can’t wait. Plus, I want to hear all about your trip to New York.” She emphasized the last words with a pointed glare. At Lexi. Whose lower lip trembled. Ah, shit! “That is, if you’re done with your meeting.”
“Oh, we’re done,” Lexi said.
CHAPTER 2
Done was such an understatement, Lexi thought as she took off down the alley toward Main Street.
“Screw the dress.” And screw her homecoming.
Lexis tugged her T-shirt farther down her thighs, turned right on Main Street, and stormed toward her grandmother’s shop. It was the one place in her world where Lexi had always felt safe. And all she wanted to do was crawl into her grandmère’s arms and settle in for a good cry—and maybe some homemade fudge.
“Hold up, will ya?” Marc yelled after her.
Lexi kept right on going, even though Marc had no trouble keeping up. With his long legs, she had to take two steps for his every one to ensure she made it inside before he got to her.
“I see you still walk fast when you’re mad.”
“I’m not mad,” she said truthfully.
She was livid, and she didn’t understand why. Lexi knew why Marc had gone to New York recently, and apparently so did Natasha. It wasn’t as though she’d expected Marc not to