was again having a hard time not smiling. He loved her fire, and how nice it must be to have a family connection to a career that didn’t involve money and was rather related to something homey or creative. “So if it’s so important, why didn’t you parents approve?” She averted her eyes, and Alex fought his first inclination, which was to think that a woman was hiding something when she looked away. It had become a habit, one he was desperate to be rid of. He wanted to trust. He truly did.
“They thought I’d never make enough money, which isn’t exactly wrong. It isn’t always a high-paying line of work. But I’m not in it for the money. I’m in it because I love doing it.”
Joy was a breath of fresh air. He had to admire her bravery. She’d gone against her parents’ wishes to pursue her passion, and she’d clearly done very well for herself. He wished he felt so strongly about something. “I think that’s fantastic. It’s very impressive.”
“You know, you didn’t say anything about your mom. What does she do?”
It felt as though the air around him had gone flat, which was too bad considering how sparkling their conversation had just been. “She passed away when I was in college.” Even years later, the guilt over not being there when his mother died was immense. She’d suffered greatly and Alex had been hundreds of miles away in New York.
“I’m so sorry.”
The pity in Joy’s voice was a mixed blessing. It was genuine, and he appreciated that more than anything. So much in his life no longer felt real, not since Sharon had betrayed his love with lies. But he also didn’t want Joy to feel sorry for him. He wanted her to see him as strong and capable, not weak or vulnerable. “Tell me more about your parents. What do they do?”
Joy closed her eyes for a moment. “You know, maybe this is a conversation best left for another time. I’m feeling pretty tired. I should probably head up to bed.”
Was that deflection? Or was she truly tired? Alex couldn’t arrive at a conclusion. Stop with the paranoia. She’d been through a lot tonight, all of it set in motion when he’d lost control of his car. “I hope you don’t have a headache.”
She shook her head and got up from the couch. “No. I feel fine. Truly. I’m just tired.”
“Okay. Sure. Where do you want me to sleep tonight? I can crash on the couch if that’s best.”
“Don’t be silly. There are a bunch of bedrooms upstairs. You can stay in the first one on the left in the hall upstairs. I’m two doors down from that.”
She’d been sure to leave some space between them, which Alex had to respect. He was a strange man staying in her house. It would set any woman on edge. “Thank you. I appreciate that. I’m also wondering if it would be all right for me to move my car into the garage. No telling how much snow we’ll get tonight.”
“Oh. Of course. The door is to the left after you walk through the entry. I believe one of the bays is empty.”
“Thank you so much. Good night.”
“Sleep well.” With that, Joy left him to his own devices.
Alex found the garage with little trouble and opened the door. The wind had picked up considerably, and the snow was already drifting in the driveway. There were three or four inches on the ground, and although his Bugatti had a lot of firepower, it wasn’t a huge fan of the snow. It took a bit of convincing to get it into the garage. He grabbed his gym bag from the back seat. At least he’d have clean underwear and some toiletries.
He shook off the cold when he got back inside. He wasn’t sure he’d ever gotten himself into a more bizarre situation. He couldn’t bring himself to be upset about it, however perilously close the incident with the car had come to hurting her. At least he had a temporary interruption to his very dull and lonely Christmas vacation.
Still, there was something about Joy that wasn’t quite right, and that worried him. However much he hated walking around with his defenses up, he couldn’t be the guy who could be fooled more than once. In his position, with a vast personal fortune and a professional reputation to maintain, he had to be leery of everyone. The one time he hadn’t been careful, it had nearly destroyed him. If the unthinkable had happened and he’d married Sharon, his former fiancée, the woman who duped him into thinking not only that she loved him, but that they didn’t need a prenuptial agreement, his face would’ve eventually been splashed all over the cover of tabloid magazines. Half of his money would’ve been gone.
Alex trailed through the foyer and back into the living room, dialing the number for Paul, the Townsend & Associates Investments staff investigator. His primary duties for the firm involved due diligence on potential mergers and acquisitions, but he was especially good at digging up skeletons. He’d been at the company for a long time, since Alex was a teenager. Alex’s entire family trusted Paul implicitly. In some ways, Paul was like a dad figure to Alex. Alex could speak openly with him and have a real discussion without it turning into a referendum on Alex’s style of leadership.
“Aren’t you supposed to be on vacation?” Paul asked when he answered.
Alex walked to the far side of the room. He didn’t want Joy to overhear him. “I am on vacation. And I’m enjoying myself. But I want you to check into something for me.”
“Something or someone?”
Paul was a smart man. No question about that. “Someone. A woman.”
“Oh, boy,” Paul said. “I hope you aren’t putting yourself into a delicate situation again.”
Alex closed his eyes and blew out a breath through his nose. Paul had every right to be wary. He’d suspected something about Sharon from the moment he’d met her. He’d kept it to himself for quite a while, but when it got close to the wedding day, Paul had taken the initiative and started digging. What he found was a trail of lies. Alex had let his heart cloud the issue when it had come to Sharon, and he’d come close to paying for it dearly.
“It’s not exactly a neat and tidy situation. I met a woman tonight, but only because I hit a patch of ice and nearly ran into her with my car. I’m at her house right now. I just want to make sure there aren’t any surprises I should know about. She’s lovely. I’d like to ask her out, maybe take her to dinner. But there’s also something about her that seems off. I’m not quite sure what it is.”
A few moments of silence played out on Paul’s end of the line, and Alex knew he was thinking, hard. “Off in what way? I don’t want you to be unduly paranoid because of Sharon. The vast majority of people are mostly honest.”
“Mostly?”
“We all tell little lies. The question is how little.”
Indeed. “Do you think you should look into it?”
“It can’t hurt. What’s her name?”
“It’s Joy Baker. She’s from Santa Barbara.”
“California, I take it.”
“That’s what I assumed.”
“Can you tell me anything about her family? Does she own any businesses?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know anything about her
