She narrowed her skeptical eyes. “That air?”
Alex let out a frustrated sigh. He wasn’t doing particularly well for himself. Nothing he said seemed to be clicking. “You seem very comfortable here in a home like this, that’s all. That’s a sign of someone who’s had some success.”
Joy pulled her leg up and set her foot on the edge of the couch. Her toes were painted a deep red that made his pulse race. She was certainly a beguiling creature. She rested her chin on her knee and cast a thoughtful look at him. “What about you? What does Alex Townsend do?”
Part of him wanted to ignore her reply and circle back to her. She hadn’t really answered his question. She might have an even greater sense of humility than he’d realized. Or perhaps there was stress and strain involved with her occupation, and now that it was the holidays, she simply wanted a break, a concept with which he was intimately familiar. After all, she was staying in this big house all by herself at Christmas. If anything said, “I need to be alone,” it was that. “I work in finance. Investments. It’s my family’s business, but I’m running it right now. It’s not the most thrilling career, but it’s what my family has always done.”
“Are you close with your family?”
“I’m very close with my brothers. We all work together. My dad retired last year and put me in charge, but he’s not doing a very good job of being a retired person.”
“Has to keep his nose in everything?”
It was a constant point of friction, the most difficult part of Alex’s day. As the oldest Townsend son, he’d always been heir apparent to Townsend & Associates Investments. He’d looked forward to the day when his father would finally step aside and let Alex take the reins. Unfortunately, his dad second-guessed him constantly, especially now that Alex was putting his own stamp on the company and changing things, making their operation more modern and more equitable among the employees. “Yeah. You could say that. I keep hoping it’ll get better. It’s only been a little more than a year since I took over.”
“Sometimes parents can be overbearing. Mine were not happy when I decided to go to culinary school.”
“So you’re a chef? I wasn’t that off base.”
“You’re were pretty off base.” She nodded. “At the moment, my focus is baking.”
“Hold on a second. You’re Joy Baker, the baker?” He couldn’t hold back his grin. There was something extremely adorable about this revelation.
“Yes, although I’m not sure why that is so funny. I’m classically trained. Cooking is my passion. My grandmother instilled that in me.”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to make light of it.”
“Well, it’s important to me.”
Alex 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,