CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER THREE

“You have to stop giving me free drinks,” Lex said, accepting it with a grin. Of course, she didn’t want to complain too hard. Free drinks were nice, and every cent saved was one more to go toward investing in her own shop.

“I just wanted to make sure you would be well hydrated for your date,” Cassie said, with a layer of faux-sweetness that was belied by the way her gaze slid craftily toward Noah.

For Noah’s part, he sat up straighter with a jerk, taking his nose out of the textbook he was reading and pushing his gold-rimmed glasses further up his nose. Something about the gestational cycle of sea mammals, Lex saw, glancing at the illustrations upside-down. “Where’s mine?” he asked, instead of rising to what was obviously a deliberate fish for information.

It was becoming as natural as breathing, spending time with Noah. Whenever Lex saw his sandy curls through the window, she rushed over with a leap of excitement in her heart. Despite their first date being absolutely disastrous—consisting of Lex insisting they leave dinner early to check on Montgomery, at which point Noah ended up fainting from low blood sugar while facing off against an erstwhile robber and murderer—it had not made things awkward between them. In fact, Lex really was hoping to set up a second date, one that didn’t involve sitting in the crowded café with Cassie Blacksmythe.

Not that Lex was against spending time with Cassie, either. The café’s red-headed owner had been Lex’s first friend in Incanton, not to mention providing her with a place to live, and she was also a genuinely good person. This much was evidenced when, without Lex even asking, Cassie had appeared at her side with her favorite summer drink before Lex had even greeted Noah and sat down.

“You don’t get one,” Cassie said, putting her hands on her hips as Lex sat down and put her red berry cooler on the table. Beneath her hands, a teal green dress cut in a ’50s style sprayed out over a white mesh petticoat. “Not until you ask Lex out on your next date.”

Lex froze halfway through looping the strap of her purse over the back of her chair. “THANK YOU, Cassie,” she said, hurriedly, trying to get the other woman to go away. When she’d complained out loud—not really a complaint, more like a wish—that Noah hadn’t made another move yet, she hadn’t expected Cassie to try to make things happen faster herself.

Noah chuckled, but when Lex glanced at him sideways, she saw that his face was as pink as hers must be. “All right. Lex, would you like to go for dinner this weekend?”

“Yes,” Lex said quickly, trying to get over the sheer embarrassment. She was thirty-two years old. Why did she feel like a teenager all over again?

“Well?” Noah said expectantly, looking back at Cassie. There was, at least, a spark of amusement in his gray-blue eyes that made Lex feel a little bit better.

Cassie’s lips, outlined in bright retro red, curved into a smile. “Another cappuccino, sir?”

“I’d better not.” Noah grinned, the red fading from his cheeks. “There’s such a thing as being too caffeinated. I’ll take one of those coolers, too.”

“Coming right up.” Cassie beamed, turning to go.

“Wait!” Lex called. With the day of mystery she’d had, Lex wanted something to take away the sting. “A slice of your lemon drizzle cake too, please. I’ll pay before I go upstairs.”

Cassie nodded, one red-manicured finger going up in the air to indicate the order as she headed back to the counter.

“Well, that wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t exactly not awkward, either,” Noah said, turning his full attention back to Lex with a sheepish grin.

“You don’t really have to take me out if you don’t want to,” Lex said, feeling absurdly shy.

“I want to,” Noah said, his grin lingering. Those eyes of his, that always reminded her of the restless sea, flickered down to her lips for just a moment before he looked away. “We should try a new place. How about the inn? They’ve got a great restaurant.”

“That sounds great.” Lex nodded, tucking her hair behind her ears. She was already familiar with the Stay Inn Canton, having discovered it recently. “Friday night?”

Noah made a face. “Better make it Saturday. Friday is their seafood night, and it’s not the chef’s specialty.”

Lex laughed. “I’ll bow to your local knowledge,” she said. “Talking of locals, something strange happened today.”

“Again?” Noah laughed.

“Someone came into the store and offered to buy a book for a lot of money,” Lex said. “I mean, a

lot

of money.”

“Isn’t that what the purpose of a store is?” Noah teased.

“I haven’t gotten to the strangest part yet,” Lex said. “Montgomery turned it down.”

“Why?”

“Well, that’s what I’m trying to figure out. Montgomery said it was because the guy wasn’t from around here.”

Noah burst out laughing. “That’s so Monty,” he said. “What an odd bird he is!”

“Well, don’t you think it’s strange?” Lex pressed.

“Of course it is,” Noah said, waggling his eyebrows. “I could even say that it’s…

curious

.”

Lex rolled her eyes at his obvious play on the bookstore’s name. “I’m just sick of all of these mysteries. Will you help me figure this out? I just can’t stand it anymore.”

“Of course I will,” Noah said, turning serious. “You know, whenever you need some research done, I’m your man. I’ll dig into whatever you want. It’s just that we haven’t managed to turn up much of anything before now.”

“Well, you found those weird property deeds,” Lex pointed out. “Saying that Montgomery David has been the owner for, well, far too long for them to be really him.”

“Yes, and you told me it was probably just Montgomery’s father,” Noah said, smiling good-naturedly. “But I can help you with this. We just have to figure out how to approach it.”

“When I figure that out, I’ll let you know,” Lex said gravely. “Maybe if I find out who the customer was, we can look into him. Maybe even track him down and ask him what it was all about.”

“That sounds like a plan.” Noah smiled.

Lex looked up, her thoughts interrupted, to thank Cassie for bringing her lemon drizzle cake over as it appeared in front of her. Lex took a bite of it immediately, craving the moist texture of the cake and the mixture of sweet with bitter. The tart sauce layered inside the two sponges, and drizzled over the icing, hit her tongue like a blast of fresh air. It was just what she needed—that and Cassie’s perfect buttercream topping, flavored with real lemon for a hit of sugar that was just right.

“Hey, isn’t your mom coming into town tomorrow?” Noah asked.

“Yes, first thing,” Lex sighed. “I’ve taken the day off so I can fetch her from the train station and show her around.”

“Aren’t you looking forward to it?” Noah asked, clearly picking up on her tone—which was more weary than anything.

“I don’t know.” Lex shrugged helplessly. “I’m half looking forward to it. I’m hopeful I can show her that I’m making a good life for myself here. That she doesn’t have to keep trying to drag me back to Boston. Of course, I’m also dreading that I won’t be able to convince her.”

“Well, you’re doing okay, aren’t you?” Noah asked. “You’ve got a stable job, a place to stay right in the center of town. Friends.” He ended his sentence on a slightly higher note, as if he was hinting at something else.

Which, of course, he would be. Himself. Lex figured he wanted to add that she was dating someone, but wasn’t quite sure how she would take it. And how would she take it?

“Yeah,” Lex said, doing her best to sound convincing and failing miserably.

“Are we going to get to meet her?” Noah asked, gesturing toward the counter casually so that his question included Cassie as well.

“Um…” Lex hesitated, ducking her head so that she wouldn’t have to make eye contact. “Maybe.”

Truth be told, she wasn’t looking forward to that part. Maybe it was better if she didn’t introduce Noah to her mom at all. The last thing she wanted was to invoke drama over who she was seeing, and thus overshadow the real reason Lex wanted to speak to her mother: the church, and the bookstore that it might one day house.

It wasn’t that she was ashamed of seeing Noah. He wasn’t fabulously wealthy like Roger Black, her mom’s second husband. He also wasn’t a slob, like Lex’s ex-boyfriend, Colin. He had a good job, prospects, a sensible lifestyle. In fact, he was a perfectly respectable boyfriend to introduce to your parents.

But that didn’t make a difference, because it wasn’t Noah Lex was worried about. It was her mom. No matter who she’d dated in the past, her mom had never once approved. Not of a single boyfriend—not even of a single date. Things had only gotten worse over time—Colin had been persona non grata as far as Lex’s mother was concerned, and even mentioning him had been cause for an argument. Right up until the point when Lex broke up with him, which was when her mother had become convinced that she was throwing her life away.

Go figure.

This thing with Noah was still new—so new that it didn’t even have a name yet. Lex didn’t want to jeopardize that by introducing her mother into the equation too soon.

If Noah was upset by her lukewarm response to the idea, he didn’t get the chance to show it. The door to the café swung open to admit another customer, and Lex looked up, in search of a distraction more than anything else. With another bite of the exquisite lemon drizzle cake filling her mouth as an excuse for not talking, she saw a man step in through the door. He wasn’t anyone that she recognized, although there was something strangely familiar about him.

He was tall, his head crowned with a shock of red hair, and looked fit despite his advancing years. His eyes roamed the café as if he was looking for something—and he must have found it, because before Lex could blink, Cassie shot out from behind the counter and advanced on him, shaking a fist in the air.

“You!” she called out, rushing toward him as if she would chase him right back out the door. “You’ve got a lot of nerve showing your face around here!”

Lex straightened up in her chair, wondering if her friend needed someone to rush to her aid. The newcomer was such a big man that Cassie looked like a doll next to him, and the expression on his face had turned into a glower. Lex’s heart leapt up into her throat at the thought that Cassie might get hurt.