Romancing the Fashionista (2 page)

Lexi rolled her eyes. “You put up with my shit because I’m one of your
only
friends. Well, only true friend who will tell it like it is anyway. And ‘the Buster’ has been bantered around forever, so come on and go with me and let’s shake it. It’s time you stopped burying yourself in your work and do something different for a change. When was the last time you let loose with a man? If you don’t use it, you might forget how.”

“Hey, I use it plenty. If you haven’t noticed, I get my fair share of dates.”

Lexi huffed at that one as she flopped on the bed. “Yeah, rent-a-boys that you can control don’t count. You need something new. Some time with a man that’s not in this crazy business of ours. Someone you can’t control who won’t benefit from your connections. You have to admit these little boys you’ve been playing with look good, but babysitting has to be exhausting. Come on, tell me what can they really do for you?”

Mel raised a brow and Lex laughed. “Okay, touché. They can do plenty. But you have to want something more?”

Mel frowned. “What about you?” Her friend was divorced and currently playing man whack-o-mole, so it wasn’t like she was the pillar of relationship bliss to be handing out advice like jelly beans.

Lexi looked up at the ceiling, then shrugged. “This is not about me. I’ve made my mistakes, and I think I’ve learned from them.” Her voice went a little soft as she shrugged. “Who knows, maybe not enough?” In true Lexi form, she brushed it off. “But I’m not giving up on getting it on, and there is no way I’m letting my very best friend give up on the good d—”

She stopped short when there was a loud cough through the phone’s speaker. “I’m gonna stop you right there, Miz Lex, before you say something I can use against you in a court of law later.”

“Oh, Shelby. Hell. You know we forgot you were on the phone,” Lexi yelled.

“I didn’t,” Mel said. “Don’t worry Lexi, Shelby has pretty much signed her life away with her last employment contract and nondisclosures. She won’t be repeating a thing. Will you, Shel?” Mel directed this last comment towards the phone’s speaker.

“Of course not, though I make no promises not to tease Ms. Lex Luthor mercilessly.”

“That’s between the two of you. Now, I’m going to get to putting some blocks on this damned account. Shelby, you can tell the people asking that it is me during my early pop experimental phase, or whatever. Spin it to the gods, darling! I trust you to take care of this. Then enjoy your salt rub. Charge it to me. We have a busy week ahead of us.” With that, Mel hung up on Shelby and turned back to Lexi who had a shit-eating grin on her face that Mel had come to know and loathe.

Mel narrowed her eyes. “What are you grinning about?”

“I’m grinning because I didn’t hear you tell Shelby you were deleting your account, so that must mean my cause is not lost. As I was saying, there is no way I’m letting you give up on having a good time. All work and no play makes Mel a cranky—”

Mel raised a brow.

“I was about to say workaholic. Geeze, where is your mind?” Lexi flopped down next to her friend, scooching her over and taking the laptop. “Now, let’s give Mr. Parker here a proper looksee and examine if he’s really this delicious, or if he’s faking it like everyone else on social media. You know I can spot the difference between Photoshop and a nip/tuck job from a mile away.”

And I can spot the real deal from a cheap knock off,
Mel thought. But something about Nolan Parker’s smiling photo said he was the real deal, and it scared the crap out of her.

Chapter Two

Now there is a woman who definitely doesn’t need a nip or a tuck.

Nolan Parker let the less-than-PG thought wash over him with more than a bit of guilt as his gaze slid across the tight, but still beautifully curvy, wool-clad backside of the woman in the hotel check-in line. Thoughts like that made him feel like a bit of an ass, but since he’d been back stateside from his stint with Doctors Without Borders, he’d seen so many silicone-enhanced butts, breasts and not to mention injected faces, that when he saw gorgeous natural curves he was bound to take note. But still, two minutes back in Timber Falls and in the presence of his old teammates and he was sizing up women as if they wanted or needed his objectification. That wouldn’t do. Time to get his ego and hormones in check.

Yet there was something about the woman in front of him making his hormones hard to control.

“Well then, Shelby, they are just going to have to wait. If I’m not in town, I’m not in town. End of story.” The woman’s short and clipped, but still direct, tone to the person on the other end of the phone made the hairs on the back of Nolan’s arms rise. Worse, it caused him to involuntarily shift his stance because of the fact his dick pulsed all on its own. As the woman’s smooth no-nonsense voice got more and more choppy, Nolan felt a bit of pity for whoever this Shelby was on the receiving end. So the whole thing made no sense. Who would get aroused over some woman bitching on a phone? And why was it he found himself purposely leaning in to hear more?

“Why do they need an answer by tonight?” the woman continued. “You call Marco and tell him he will get his answer when I get back on Tuesday, and that’s final. That is, if they plan to be the venue we use for next year’s gala. One word from me and they are out. There are plenty of other spaces in the city happy to have our business.”

Nolan grinned to himself as thoughts of having her business flashed through his mind. Just then the surprisingly long line for hotel’s check-in moved forward. When he’d last been to Timber Falls, it was still a sleepy one road town and the Lodge was just about on the way to demolition, nothing like the remodeled faux ski chalet he was in now. The new owners had done a good job with renovations. Giving the place a much-needed update and putting Timber Falls on the map as a fall and winter resort destination. But the woman on the phone didn’t seem to notice the line had moved. Nolan watched as she seemed to open up another screen on her cell, her deep burgundy nails swiping left, then tapping quickly, as she then put the phone to her diamond-studded ear again, saying something about overnighting a book to her at the Lodge before ending her call and tapping on her phone screen again.

And a very pretty ear it was. The soft cocoa-brown shell was perfectly formed and delicate, leading down to a slightly plump lobe accented by a sparkling square-cut diamond. Yeah, it was a very good ear. Besides, he was one to know, considering he had fixed many deformed ears during his work with children in the Amazon.

Continuing his perusal, Nolan’s eyes wandered as he took in the woman’s regal neck and delicate collarbone peeking out of the top of her sweater. His eyes went back up, checking out what he could of her profile, shielded as it was behind large dark rounded sunglasses. Her nose was smooth and sloping down to what looked like deliciously full lips, which went to a determined chin and jaw line. He watched as she swallowed and bit her bottom lip, seemingly frustrated over something, her long fingers still flying fast.

Another person went to the hotel’s registration. He didn’t want to be rude, but really the woman should move up. So it was then that Nolan gave her a light tap on the shoulder and, the way she startled, a person would have thought he’d hit her with a full-on shove. She moved out of his reach, as if both surprised and offended as she turned his way and pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head, hitting him dead-on with eyes filled with dark fire.

“Excuse me?” she said, her voice both angry, and now Nolan noticed, altogether too familiar.

Nolan held up two hands, “Hey, I’m not Shelby, I’m just trying to let you know that the line has moved up… twice, and it’s almost your turn.” Nolan narrowed his gaze as he felt a smile come unbidden while her determined frown remained. “Is that you, Mellie?”

It took a moment for the recognition to dawn in her eyes, and he didn’t know why, but when it did, for some reason it made him ridiculously happy. The same way it had when he would tap her on the shoulder in Mrs. Gonzalez’s advanced Spanish class right before a quiz. She’d always be studying up just a bit more, as if she needed it, which she didn’t since she aced all her classes. But still, he’d tap her with the tip of his number-two eraser, and she’d turn his way with that same annoyed “I so don’t have time for your foolishness” look.

He still didn’t know why that look made him smile so. But seeing it today, and getting that same silly feeling, let him know that he’d made the right decision coming to this reunion. Nolan was about to say her name once again when he heard his own from a distance.

“Nolan Parker, as I live and breathe!”

Nolan turned toward the voice and eyed the pretty brown-skinned woman with the multi-shades of brown and blond hair piled high in a riot of curls on her head coming towards them and grinned. He should have known, where there was one, there was the other. “Hey, Lex. It’s good to see you.”

Lexi pulled her wheeled luggage behind her and released it, letting it fall with a thud before taking Nolan in a tight hug. She then turned to the cell phone hottie he’d been eyeing. “Mel, why didn’t you tell me Nolan Parker was here with you? I would have parked quicker.”

It was then that Melinda Mitchell, always Melinda or “Mellie” out loud, yet secretly “My-Linda” in his mind, finally spoke more than a curt “excuse me” in his direction. “That’s because I’m finding out right now just like you.” She reluctantly gave him a smile. Licking her lips briefly, then spreading them wide, revealing gorgeous white teeth that seemed to go on forever, transforming her entire face from one of consternation to a thing of regal beauty. Nolan had to practically lock his knees to keep from falling over. But unlike her friend, she didn’t open both arms and take him in a body-to-body hug. Instead, she put out her right hand, in a way he reserved for only the most distant of associates, and readied for a handshake. “Hi, Nolan. It’s good to see you again.”

Nolan grinned and put his hand in hers. Their touch was cool as a first winter’s breeze, but the feeling that went up his arm and hit him in the groin when they both looked up and met each other eye to eye was nothing but pure heat. He smiled wider. “It’s good to see you haven’t changed.” He saw the beginnings of a blush creep into her cocoa cheeks as she looked down briefly and began to frown, as if willing the blush away would make it so.

The person behind Nolan gave a loud cough, and Mellie turned around, seeing it was her turn to go up to the reservation desk. She gave Nolan a bright, but he couldn’t help but think this time more practiced, smile. “I guess catching up will have to wait,” she said pulling her hand away. “See you soon, Nolan.”

That you will
, he thought as he watched her and Lexi walk over to the hotel agent. Another agent opened up, so he followed immediately behind them, going to get his own room.

As he made his arrangements, Nolan couldn’t help looking over at the two women to the frustration of his own agent, a helpful young man named Paul, who was trying to keep his attention focused on his own business so he could keep the line moving. “As I was saying, Mr. Parker,” Paul said in what Nolan was sure was his most authoritative get-your-point-across-but-still-please-the-customer voice. “We have no more junior standard rooms, so we’ll be giving you an upgrade at the junior rate to one of our suites. You’ll be in 617. I’m sure you’ll find the accommodations more than satisfactory. And I see you’re part of the reunion party,” Paul passed him a card edged in Timber High’s colors of gold and blue. “There is a get- acquainted mixer tonight in our Tahoe room, so be sure to come down for the music, appetizers, and cocktails!”

Nolan gave Paul a nod. He had to credit him for his false brightness. He did his job well. But in the moment, he just wanted to get to his upgraded room. Not that anything wasn’t an upgrade from where he’d come from. Thirty-six hour shifts in clay houses and makeshift tent hospitals in the mountains. A suite will be the height of luxury.

Getting back his credit card, hopeful that the charges would clear, he glanced back over to where Mellie and Lexi were, but he only caught their backs as they headed towards the elevators. Nolan hoped he’d be able to catch up with Mellie during the weekend. Honestly, seeing her name listed on the potential guest list was when he made the last-minute decision to come. Otherwise, what did Timber Falls hold for him besides memories of wasted chances and failed expectations?

Slinging his duffle over his shoulder, he quickly headed over to the elevator banks hoping to catch up with Mellie.

He was just in time to watch the doors close in his face.

Chapter Three

“Oh my God!” Lexi screeched. “Did you get a good look at Nolan Parker? Mother Time has done him proper in all the right places.” She gave herself an in-no-way-modest pat on the back. “No need to thank me now. I’ll take all my thanks in the form of drinks at the bar later.”

Mel felt her eyes go skyward. “Really, your modesty is commendable. Now, can you cut the screeching and press the button so the elevator can move?”

But instead of waiting, Mel went to reach around Lex going for their sixth floor button. Before she could hit it, the doors opened again on their own. And there he was. Again. Mel was face-to-face with all six-foot-three-inches of way more than water, Nolan Parker.

Their eyes met. And there was no way Mel could ignore the zing of attraction this time that singed her from head to toe. Well, she could ignore it at least outwardly, but inwardly her mind raced while her body went through a quick game of erogenous zone ping-pong. Mel instinctively pulled her shades down to cover her eyes. Stupid. She knew it was a poor decision in a freaking elevator, and it was already dark enough but, at the moment, it was all the protection she had.

“You ladies going up?”

Forget going up, all she could think about was going down, and judging by the look on Lexi’s face she seemed about ready to give voice to just that same sentiment. Mel shot her friend a “don’t you dare” look, then gave herself a mental shake. What was she doing thinking things like this? This was supposed to be a relaxing getaway weekend with old friends, or what Facebook considered friends. Not the time to let her mind or hormones get twisted in a direction she knew was a waste of time. So for now, Mr. Tall Drink of extra sweet mocha latte, Nolan Parker, could just slide that sexy little, cocky half turned-up smile of his and send it in the direction of somebody who was looking for a good old boy with eyes to get lost in.

“Being that I don’t think they have rooms down in the basement,” Mel said, fighting to keep her voice all business, “I guess up is the only direction we are going.”

Nolan cocked his head to the side, shaking it a bit, his smile never wavering, though his eyes held what she thought was a bit of censure. “Like I said, still the same old Mellie.”

Mel felt her hackles start to rise at the same time Nolan put up a hand. “Sorry, I meant to say Mel.” His eyes quickly roved over her, causing her to inwardly shiver a bit in a way that was not wholly unwelcome.
How long had it been since she’d had a good shiver anyway?
She noticed his broad shoulders took up too much of the space, causing her and Lexi to part as he continued to give her that damned easy smile. “I like the new moniker. It suits you well. Very cosmopolitan, smooth, but there is still a hint of the tiger that used to annihilate me in every debate class.”

“Yeah, that’s our girl. Always up for a fight. I say she needs a good spanking,” Lexi joked from Nolan’s side.

Dear Lord, why must she speak? Like ever!
Mel leaned back behind Nolan and gave Lexi a poke while shooting her dagger eyes, and even though she was wearing shades, she knew her friend and knew she felt the sting of her blade whether she ignored her or not. It was like they were in tenth grade all over again. Mel could practically feel the heat moving up her cheeks. She wouldn’t be surprised if she was sprouting a unibrow like she used to sport before she discovered the wonders of waxing.

Unfazed, Lexi smoothly inched forward and grinned, looking dangerously like her mischievous sixteen-year-old self. Them against the Timber Blond Bimbettes, as they used to call them. With that thought, Mel bit back a laugh and for the moment didn’t regret giving into her old friend’s request of coming to the reunion. She was right; this could be fun. She slid Nolan a glance. Maybe.

But Mel’s jubilant mood faded when she noticed that instead of pressing another floor, Nolan was getting off on the sixth floor with them. The three of them did the usual looking back and forth trying to catch their bearings and find their direction. When they all turned right and then made the same sharp left, it started to feel like too much of a coincidence. Nolan stopped at room 617 while Mel and Lexi went on to 619 right next door.

“So it seems we’re going to be neighbors,” Nolan said as he slipped his card key into the lock.

Mel slipped her own key in. “And so it would,” she said by way of reply.

What were the odds of this? Nolan Parker was a way too handsome, out-of-her-league presence all through high school, and now he was shadowing her here? Mel fought the shaking of her hands and tried to appear cool. Her heartbeat quickening as if on a fifteen-year rewind back to her teen years. But she wasn’t an awkward teen anymore and he wasn’t the out-of-her-league high school jock. “You just keep your eyes on your own paper. We’re not in school anymore, so there will be no cheating going on, Mr. Parker.”

She heard his deep chuckle as she entered the room and tried to ignore the tingle that fluttered across her skin with the sound. Beside her Lexi gasped. “Would you get a look at that view?” Awe and a hint of mischief laced Lexi’s voice.

Mel took a step towards the windows, for a moment, also in awe of the picturesque view of the crystal-blue sky. The lush forest climbed up the mountains with the leaves turning glorious shades of oranges and reds before they would all too soon be blanketed with the snow to come. “You’re right, it really is beautiful. I don’t know why I never noticed it when we lived here.”

“Oh, I’m not talking about that view,” Lexi said, brow raised, as Mel’s own brows drew together in confusion. “I’m talking about
that
view.” Lexi waved her hand to the right gesturing towards the open door connecting to the room next door.

Mel took a step back and looked through the open door. There she saw a clear view of Mr. Wonderful himself, Nolan, as he waved to them both from the bedside of his adjoining suite. Oh hell. She had a clear view right past his sitting area to his bed! This was way too not-so-perfect to not be planned. Mel didn’t know if she should shake or shoot Lexi, and one look at her friend’s “I’m so innocent” expression had her deciding on the latter. But her homicide would have to wait as Nolan was saying something she should probably hear.

“Sorry ladies, I guess this could be considered a little too close for comfort,” he said as he walked forward to close the adjoining door.

“Hold up now, there’s no reason we can’t all be one big happy family,” Lexi said, rushing forward as if to stop him.

“Oh yes there is!” Mel could have sworn her voice squeaked, but that’s crazy since she wasn’t the squeaking type. As it were, she’d only admit to speaking sharply on occasion. “Besides,” she continued, forcibly bringing calm to her tone through gritted teeth, as she went around Lexi to close the door on their side. “I’m sure Nolan doesn’t want to hear our cackling or,” she did shoot Lexi a look this time, “be a witness to me killing you. You know, and have to testify in court and all. It could get time-consuming and messy.” She lifted her glasses and pinned Lexi with her best death stare, which her friend pointedly ignored as she shrugged her shoulders and twisted her curly locks around her finger.

It was Nolan’s low chuckle from his side of the door that sent a dangerously delicious tingle down her spine and reminded her he was still there watching their little floor show.

“It’s really good to see you two haven’t changed,” he said, “I was afraid when I first saw you that maybe you had gotten all citified or something. But no. I’m glad to see you’re both still the same Mellie and Lexi.”

Mel touched at the shades perched on top of her head. With his reminder of them being the same Mellie and Lexi, she was taken back. And for a moment, she saw the young man she adored so much in high school. Mr. All American, they called him. A star in all he touched, be it basketball, football or baseball. But change, it was a funny thing. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not.

She
had
changed. Most would say for the better, but she would say for the smarter. And definitely for the stronger. The professor saw to that, and because of it she could see Nolan clearly. He was not the sweet young thing she had sparred with and crushed on and wanted oh so badly way back when it could twist you inside out
. Maybe he never was, though really, it doesn’t matter
. Because her lessons had been learned.

Mel now knew what the pain of wanting and getting meant. Worse yet, the pain of getting then losing. No, she wasn’t the same. Thankfully she had fifteen years to erase the girl he called Mellie and bring on Mel. She gave Nolan an easy smile, one she used for all clients, associates and conquests, as she easily slid her glasses down over her eyes. “Let’s just say, no we’re not the same, we’re in the ‘or something’ category now.”

She saw the hint of shock as his brows rose and the bit of spark in his eyes with a deep hidden fire that was altogether new. The side of his mouth quirked up. “Okay there, Ms. Mel. Or something,” he said as she closed the door with a soft click.

Mel let out a breath.

“You don’t be a stranger now! We’re right on the other side of this door. Though I may not be—” Lexi yelled over her shoulder as Mel flipped the security lock into place then picked up a throw pillow off the nearby armchair, throwing it at her best friend.

But Lexi knew Mel well and ducked out of the way just in time. “Don’t go messing up my hair. It takes a long time to look this perfectly unperfect.”

“Messing up your hair is the least of your problems. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do here,” Mel said as she stomped across the room and picked up the bedside phone.

“What are you doing?” Lexi asked, her voice low.

“I’m calling down to the front desk to see if they have another room.”

Lexi was on top of her before she could blink, snatching the phone from Mel’s hand. Mel leapt forward and they both wrestled for a moment, perfect hair and designer outfits be damned, as they fought for the upper hand in the prize of the cheap hotel phone. It was Lexi who won. Leaning back triumphant and holding the receiver up and out of Mel’s reach, she looked at her friend with a sharp gleam in her eyes.

“There is no way I’m letting you switch rooms. Fate, for some reason, has come down and given you a gift in the form of a kid-free long weekend and a sexy-as-hell man not a few feet from your bed.” She then took the phone and pointed close to Mel’s nose. “You, Miss Boss Lady, are going to take yourself a shower and sexy it up for a change, and do whatever it takes to let that gift of a man work you out of that permanent state of grouch you’ve been in.”

Mel leaned back on the bed’s headboard giving Lexi a once over. “You know I could take offense at that? I’ve fired people for way less than what you just said. You’re implying that I need a good screw to get me in a better mood. That’s some sexist shit. Besides, we’ve established I have plenty of sex. You sound like one of those Neanderthal ‘that’s what she said’ type of guys.”

Lexi rolled her eyes. “Number one, you know your intimidation won’t work with me. Technically, I’m freelance, so I’m doing you a favor by letting you and your fancy magazine book most of my time. I can get a job at any of the top magazines out there, and you know it as well as I do. And numero B, you know this is not about the sex. This is about the kind of sex you’ve been having and you know it. You need something new. You need to let yourself go and lose the orchestrated type of boss lady, “I pick you, now service me” kind of sex you’ve been having with whatever six-month boy of the moment you’re seeing. It’s getting tiring and old, despite them being young and malleable. And if my calculations are correct, you’re about eight months behind with your latest conquest.”

Mel crossed her arms and stared. “You know you are hella intrusive. Just you wait till I make you my project. You will pay for this half-assed psychoanalysis.”

Lexi gave her back the same challenging stare. “Okay then, bring it. But tell me where am I wrong?”

Mel was silent. She was silent because she didn’t have a comeback. Lexi was right. She had been a grouch. As a matter of fact, she’d been a grouch for a long time. When the professor bailed on her, something in her changed. And it wasn’t as if she was all sunshine and light pre-professor. So yeah, when she left Timber Falls, she was already a little bit hard, but it was as if post-professor a sheet of ice formed over her heart, comfortably cooling the heat that had simmered for way too long, leaving her in a state of constant even coolness. Sadly, she’d grown to like the chill. It was something she could control. It let her know she was in charge of herself and her emotions, not anyone else.

When she was hot and uneven, it was a sure sign she was losing control. A feeling that reminded her of being back home. Of life here in Timber Falls. She felt it the moment they hit the city limits. That slight feeling of uneasiness of not quite knowing where she stood within herself.

She supposed she should be jealous of Lexi getting, and more importantly, wanting to go and visit her parents while she was in town. Lexi’s parents were wonderful. As a kid she’d made herself an uninvited fixture over at Lexi’s. Seeking refuge in the picture-perfect normalcy she didn’t get at her own home.

At her place, Mel and her mom mostly lived an out-of-control existence. Hanging on the edge of fear over what kind of abuse her father would bring home from the bar after he’d wasted money he’d hustled up on Jack Daniels and bullshit talk about the state of the country. Going on about his feelings and emotions. All the while raging about how the world “done did him wrong” somehow. How he loved Mel’s mom so much that it hurt him, so she should therefore feel some of his pain. Sure, he was always sorry the next morning after the damage was done, the house in chaos, Mel’s mother in tears, or worse, fighting to hide a bruise with heavy makeup in order to go to work where everyone would pretend not to see the truth.

Mel was more than happy when her father decided to take his special brand of crazy on the road and followed behind a waitress from the diner out on Highway 81 who he’d been having a very public affair with. No, she never missed him or felt even a hint of sadness over him leaving, unlike her mother, who she’d hear cry herself to sleep at night. But after a while those tears dried up too. And when Mel had finally gotten it together and made it in Manhattan, she’d shown her mother they could be just fine and survive much better without relying on any man. She and her daughter were happy now, so aside from getting in a weekend quickie, she had damn good reasons for not wanting any more than that.