That had been a hard lesson to learn.
A photo of her grandmother, taken when she was a young woman, caught Alice’s attention, and she slid her finger against the side of the frame. The picture was her favorite. Her grandmother had been so strong, and the turn of her jaw and determined eyes in the picture revealed the woman of courage she had been. And for some reason, looking into her grandmother’s eyes fueled her confidence. Like it always did.
She applied some makeup and threw on a new sundress and then checked herself in the mirror. The pretty dress hung just right over her suntanned body, maybe a bit more revealing than the one she’d worn the day before. Couldn’t hurt, right?
A cup of coffee burned its way down her throat, but it gave her back the bit of energy the alcohol had robbed her of. Radiating confidence she wasn’t entirely certain she felt, she forced a smile onto her face and headed back to her neighbor’s.
She’d convince Noah. She had to.
Noah opened the door hesitantly, half expecting his pretty neighbor to be waiting for him with an unuttered idea gleaming in her eyes, and random insults on her tongue. He’d half expected her to return the night before, but either her embarrassment or the amount of alcohol she’d consumed must have gotten the better of her, because she hadn’t shown up again. Thankfully, he’d distracted her and managed to get her to leave before he’d had to answer her questions about his job, which would inevitably lead to questions about his life. Questions he couldn’t answer. But a very male face greeted him with an easygoing smile, and his stomach dropped in unexpected disappointment.
“Are you going to invite me in?”
“Of course. Come in, Charles,” he said, and then stepped back so the other man could enter. “You know you’ve been here a dozen times in the last year alone. You don’t need the formal invitation.”
“Oh, I know, but old habits. You know the drill,” Charles said as he wandered toward the kitchen.
Noah grimaced but didn’t reply. He knew how old habits became ingrained, if you let them. Noah was all about habits. All about keeping things safe and avoiding change.
“You could stand to loosen up on some of those old habits,” Charles said, his gaze surveying the house. His frown made Noah think of Alice’s assessment that he needed more clutter. “I don’t think a single thing has moved in here since you decorated a few years ago.”
“So what’s the word?” Noah asked. His decor was fine. And it wasn’t up for discussion with his friend or his pretty neighbor.
Charles opened the refrigerator door and pulled out two beers. “Let’s talk out back.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s a beautiful, cloudy day in California, my friend. Such a day shouldn’t be wasted indoors. Especially since your deck is shaded.”
Noah took one of the beers and nodded. This couldn’t be good. Charles wanted to go outside. Had offered him a beer. His own beer, but still. The news couldn’t be what he wanted to hear.
They went out to his back deck and he shot a quick glance at Alice’s house. Her second floor balcony offered her a bit of a view of his backyard. Not the whole area, she was at the wrong angle for that, and he’d had his landscaping designed for privacy. But she could see parts of his pool. And he could watch her read out there. Which she did, almost nightly. Sometimes with a glass of wine, and sometimes with only a book to keep her company.
Watching her was wrong. He had no right. But he couldn’t seem to help himself.
“Are you okay?” Charles asked, his smooth tone curious.
“Tell me.”
“So eloquent, my friend. So polite.”
“Dammit, tell me.” Charles was stalling. Great. That could only mean one thing.
Charles took a long drink of his beer. “All right. They’ve decided to go ahead with it.”
“What the—”
“I’m still working on it. So is Alex. We’ll get it fixed, but it might be best if you get out of town while we do.” He sat down heavily onto one of the cushioned outdoor chairs surrounding the large table. “Can you do that? Shouldn’t need to be gone for long. A couple of days to appeal the ruling. Maybe a week.”
“Where exactly can I go where they won’t find me?”
“I know a boat departing day after tomorrow,” a clear voice said from behind them.
Charles jumped from his chair and Noah spun to face the intruder. When the bright dress—pink this time—came into view from around the corner of his house, he held up a hand to stop Charles from accosting her.
“What are you doing creeping around in my back yard, Miss Shepard?” He didn’t bother to keep the anger from his tone. She’d invaded his space without being invited. Listened in to his conversation. The things she could have heard—well, it wasn’t worth worrying about. They hadn’t said anything important.
Even worse, she was just as beautiful as always. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a casual design, begging to be released. A minimal amount of make-up adorned her sun-touched skin. And her body curved in all the right places.
“Alice,” she corrected, voice perky. A large smile lit up her face as if she hadn’t heard the warning in his tone. “Hi there.” She gave Charles a small wave.
Charles stepped forward and took one of Alice’s delicate hands into his, flashing her an appreciative grin. Charles’s flirtatious personality and easy confidence had never bothered Noah before, but he couldn’t keep the frown from his face when Alice smiled at his friend.
Few women resisted Charles. He looked like he should be on a surfboard with his dark blond hair, which appeared to have been highlighted by the sun, and his easygoing attitude. Charles knew exactly how attractive he was to the opposite sex. A fact of which he availed himself at every opportunity.
“I’m Charles, as Noah would tell you if he wasn’t—”
“Rude?” Alice asked with a teasing smile, and Charles let out a loud roar of a laugh.
Noah stepped next to them, slightly in Alice’s personal space. As he intended, she released Charles’s hand and stepped back.
“I can see she knows you well, Noah.”
“She doesn’t know me at all,” he said, never moving his gaze from Alice’s dark eyes. “Why are you here, Miss Shepard?”
“Alice. Why can’t you call me Alice?” She waved her hand in the air, dismissing any attempt at an answer he might make. “You didn’t answer your door, and I could see you were probably home.”
“Peering through windows now?”
“Hardly.” Her voice remained calm, but a bit of pink crept up her neck. She had enough sense to at least be a little embarrassed. “But a BMW was in your driveway—your car, Charles?” she asked, glancing to her side to include Charles in their conversation.
“Yes.” Charles replied, a big grin still engulfing his face.
She nodded to him. “Plus, you never go anywhere during the day. Anyway, I decided to see if you were out back. Pretty sculpture.” Her gaze shifted to the sun he’d painstakingly carved from wood that was set between the house and pool.
Noah lifted an eyebrow at her and grinned, his ire lifting a bit at the thought of her watching him and at her admiration of his work. “Do you monitor my back yard a lot, Alice?” He couldn’t help the flirtation in his tone. It wasn’t the right thing to do, but he’d be damned if she didn’t bring it out in him. She’d been spying on him. Somehow, that made his occasional—and that’s all they were, occasional—glances at her balcony while she read more acceptable. She was as guilty as he was.
“I do not,” she said primly, but the red that had started up her neck flushed her cheeks, and if he wasn’t mistaken, her pulse had kicked up a notch or five. “I—well, never mind.”
“And you’re here because?”
“Look, I know we don’t know each other very well. Or, at all, really. I mean, we’ve lived right next door to one another for what is it…five years now? But you’re not exactly the sociable type so—” Her words stopped abruptly and her cheeks reddened even more.
Charles coughed, stifling the laugh for Alice’s benefit, no doubt.
Noah’s mouth twitched, but he forced away the grin. “I’m aware of my anti-social nature, Miss—Alice. Please continue.”
She swallowed hard and plowed ahead. “Well, social or not, I could use your help. And there’s a free cruise in it for you. All you have to do is agree to…a little game of pretend.”
“A game of pretend,” he repeated.
“Yes. A game where you pretend to be my new boyfriend.”
He stared at her for a long, awkward moment. She wanted him to do what?
“You see,” she continued, “it’s not like we have to really do anything. I just need you to pretend to be with me during the few social events of the cruise where we’d have to show up together. Like the wedding. The rehearsal dinner. Maybe a few other events. And the rest of the time is yours.”
He blinked.
Charles gave up his fight, and collapsed into a chair laughing. “I’m sorry, Alice.” He managed. “It’s just…the look on Noah’s—”
Alice shot a quick, nervous glance at Charles, but trudged on with her sales pitch. “Not that you look like you need a free vacation. But it would really help me out and—”
He raised his hand, and she faltered.
“What are you talking about?” He waved at her. “Explain. Slowly.”
She took a deep breath and let it out in a big whoosh. “I have to go on a weeklong cruise for my sister’s wedding. The problem is, her fiancé’s best man happens to be my ex. And I don’t want to show up alone like some giant goober who couldn’t get a date.”
His amusement vanished, and Charles’s laughter faded.
“What? You want to use me to get the schmuck back?” Noah asked.