Tangling Hearts (Hearts Series Book 3) Read online

  “Hey.” I glance over. “Stop trying to figure it out.”

  I turn left into my tandem parking spot, shift the gear into park, and shove the emergency brake to the floor, mandatory with these crazy hills in the city. Turning the key, the engine dies off and I turn in my seat to ask, “How did you know?”

  “I just knew.” He’s already onto different things, his attention grabbed by seeing my home for the first time. He gets out of the car, looking up at the building. “This is a nice place.”

  I climb out and lock the doors, watching him as I’m thinking, Annie, don’t sabotage this. Why are you getting worked up over something that happened years ago?

  “Thanks. I like it.” I lead the way up the Victorian building’s steps to the first apartment. “Let me give you the five second tour. Five seconds because that’s all it will take.”

  He ignores my deprecating joke and follows me around, offering appreciative comments on the bay window and my comfy décor as he takes it all in. Since he’s being so nice, I tell him about some great finds I foraged from yard sales and antique shops, adding details and fun stories as we walk. It’s modest compared to his place, but I’m proud of it. “It’s my first place of my own,” I smile, nowhere left to go.

  “I like it. It’s very you. And it’s more comfortable than my place.”

  “No way.”

  “It is. You’re right. Mine’s too big.”

  “No such thing.”

  He laughs. “You lived with your ex before you moved in here?”

  I stop smiling and look to a fingernail. “Oh. Yes… I did.”

  He says nothing more on the subject, but the air is heavier than it was. He turns and walks to my bookshelves, picking up what he thinks is the statue of a skull. “This is interesting.”

  I jog over and take it. “Careful. That’s a Mayan skull. It’s very delicate.”

  “A real skull?” His eyebrows fly up.

  I put it back on the shelf, carefully. “Yeah. I found it at an old Russian guy’s yard sale. He stole it from ruins in Belize when he was trekking there on an archaeological dig in his twenties. I bought it for twenty bucks.” Brendan’s looking at me like I’m an alien. “I have a dark side.”

  He smirks, shaking his head. “I can see that. You’re running short on time…”

  “Not as short as that guy.” I point to the head. “I’ll go get ready. You stay here?”

  He strolls over and plops down on my overstuffed couch, his legs spread comfortably and one foot on the coffee table. I love how great he looks in my home. I think I’ll keep him.

  “Me and the dead Mayan dude will keep each other company.”

  Laughing, I head for the bathroom. “You two do that.”

  After a speedy shower, I throw on a pair of leggings with a long, loose top and ankle boots, rolling my hair into a messy, damp bun after an insufficiently short blow dry. Running into the living room, I ask, “What time is it?” and bust up laughing. “Oh my God. What are you doing?”

  Brendan’s sitting back with one ankle thrown up on his knee, his left arm on the back of the couch, the skull seated on the cushion beside him. “Jaco and I were having a chat about the end of the world.”

  “Jaco, huh?” I pick up my purse and pull out my phone to find we have less than five minutes to get there. “And what did Jaco have to say about it not ending like his people said it would?”

  “He said, enjoy your life because the other option sucks.” Brendan looks down. “Isn’t that right, Jaco?”

  “Jaco has a point.”

  Brendan rises with a sexy look in his eyes. He motions to what I’m wearing. “I like this.”

  “Yeah?” I tilt my head up for a kiss, and he gives me a long one. Forgetting the time, I drop the purse and slip my arms around his neck. Our bodies begin to move, my leg hooking around his hip as he kisses down my neck, lighting me up with a desire for more, my head falling back as my eyes close.

  Chapter Twelve

  Brendan

  I can be myself around her. What a fucking turn-on.

  Giving her soft earlobe a nibble, I whisper, hoarsely, “Text him you’re running fifteen minutes late.” My hands go under her shirt and she raises up her arms so I can pull it off. “Mmm… pink bra. I like it.” Unfastening it with a quick snap, I free her breasts and cup them in my hands. Rub them. Caress them. She slips her fingers into my hair and cradles my head as I bend my knees to sit on the coffee table in front of her and lick the soft flesh around her nipples, then sucking them until they could cut diamonds.

  “That feels so good,” she breathes, watching me. But before I can do more, she moans disappointment and steps backwards, holding her head in her hands. “You’re driving me crazy!! But I have to go. I really have to go.” I rise up as she picks up her bra. “I will text him I’m fifteen minutes late, because that’s how late we’re going to be, already.”

  “True.” Raking my fingers through my hair with one hand, I walk to the door to hold it for her. “You’ve made it difficult for me to walk, though. Hope this goes down before we get there.”

  She swipes her shirt off the floor and glances to my crotch longingly. “I hope it never goes down.”

  Chuckling, I push at my cock, trying to make it behave. “Well, it doesn’t seem to want to, when you’re around.”

  She snatches up her purse. “You say the sweetest things.” With one evil rub with her hand, she walks out the door.

  “That’s not cool.” I smack her ass before she gets out of reach and, yelping, she breaks into a run. “Hey! Also not fair. I can’t run!”

  A few stairs down, she stops, turns and looks up at me with very mischievous eyes. “You think I’m going to pass up the one chance I have to outrun you?”

  “Why would you want to outrun me?” Annie pushes out her lips like a Muppet, and looks away, considering this. “That’s what I thought.” I walk down the steps at the only speed I’m capable of and reach over to tweak her nipple through her shirt.

  “Ouch!” Her eyes go wide as I pass her.

  “That’s for taking advantage of a wounded man.” Breaking into a painful jog, I run down the stairs, holding both railings, my arms spread wide to block her. “Oh no! What’s happening?”

  “You’re a cheater!”

  “I win.” Smiling and bowing my head, I say, “I just wanted to get here first to hold the door open for you.”

  She rolls her eyes, giving me a reproachful look as she walks outside. “Puh-lease. You just like to win. I see you now.” Her finger comes up to point at me. “Don’t think I don’t!”

  “Name one person who likes to lose!”

  A few minutes later, as we drive up to her bar, we’re fake-arguing about the merits of winning and losing and what they can do to strengthen your resolve as a human being, or not. I turn my head as she parks in front of it, and it’s like someone punches me in the gut with a hammer-fist. The plastic-bag patchwork blowing in the breeze behind yellow, police tape strips makes it look like the place is haunted. And in a way, it is.

  There’s a stocky guy standing on the sidewalk, talking on the phone. From his baseball hat, jeans, flannel shirt, and tanned skin, he has to be the contractor.

  “I have to go and talk to him. Do you want to take a minute?”

  But I shake my head and open the door of her car. “Nah. I’m good. Let’s do this.” Rising carefully, my eyes narrow as I look at the broken window, picturing the scene as Annie had described it to me – the cops shooting through it and what I must have looked like taken out on the stretcher. I glance over to the door and see the hole. That’s where Annie shot the guy. I hope it was fatal.

  “Ms. O’Brien?”

  “Yes, that’s me. You can call me Annie.” She shakes his hand, turning to the front door as she searches her keychain for the right key. “I’m so sorry we’re late. I don’t mean to disrespect your time. This is Brendan Clark. He’s a friend of mine I asked to join me. Brendan, this is Mr. Donovan.�
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  “Oh, are you one of the owners?” He asks me, turning with his hand out.

  I shake his hand, and my head. “No, no. This is all her. She’s the head honcho all on her lonesome. I’m just here since I’ve got nowhere better to be.”

  Annie laughs, bringing a smile back to my face, too. He nods and follows her inside. Bracing myself, I trail in behind them, slowly walking past where it happened, seeing the event replaying itself before my eyes. Brendan? The intense pain I felt. Annie holding my head. Brendan? I stare at the cleaned floor, seeing us there before me.

  “Brendan?”

  Coming back to present day, I turn and see Annie looking at me. Mr. Donovan is staring and wondering what’s going on with me.

  She holds out her hand. “Can I ask your opinion on this?”

  I nod and walk over, the past dissipating behind me. “Sure. What do you need?”

  She turns to Mr. Donovan to include him, shifting her attention back and forth between us. “We were discussing the patio and Brendan, you’d mentioned having a retractable awning for the weather. I’m in a little over my head when it comes to construction, but you seemed like you could see the image of how this should look.”

  I turn to the plastic covered space and hold out my hands to show them. “Yeah. Well, you’d said you want a black awning, which is perfect, and since the front of your bar has a sleek, modern feel, I’d keep that going with a short fence around the patio around this high, so it maintains an open quality, but keeps exclusivity as well. Not just tables on the sidewalk, you know? And the awning should have a see-through plastic, rolling wall accessible for when it rains. For the rest of the year, it won’t be there. Unless you want the privacy it will afford for special parties.” I turn to Mr. Donovan, knowing I have to include him in order to spark his desire to help. “You’re the expert, though. These are just ideas. I really don’t know anything about how this would work, or if it’s even possible, so please tell me if I’m way off base here.”

  “I was thinking something along the lines of what you just said.”

  “Really? Oh, great. Well, What do you think would work best for security?”

  He launches into his plan for a collapsible iron gate operated by a button next to the register he’ll install. “The tables and chairs will have to be taken in. The only reason this will work is because the building is already pushed back from the sidewalk, giving you space to build. Half the patio will be inside and half out. So if you’re doing six tables – high ones like these?” He gestures to the tables in the middle of the room behind us. Annie nods, glancing to them. “Then three of those will be officially outside. The awning will be relatively short, which frankly, saves you money. But you can’t cut into the actual sidewalk without pissing off the city.”

  Annie’s phone goes off and she pulls it out, still looking at him to say, “We don’t want to do that!” Her eyes fall to the screen and I can’t help but look, too, since it’s right there. A photo of a man wearing no shirt, smiling with a spatula in his hand, vanishes as she rejects the call, but I couldn’t help but see the name Christiano, too. Her eyes flit up to me, but I look away. Now is not the time to ask who the fuck that was. “So… um… is insurance going to cover this? Because I know I can’t.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Brendan

  They discuss financials with me staying put, like I’m listening. But I don’t hear a word they’re saying. Inside, I’m kicking myself for my fucking ego. Here I was dealing with Rebecca, and telling Annie I don’t have girlfriends. Never did it occur to me that she was probably seeing someone else, too. What an idiot I am! The more I think of that shirtless picture, the more I want to tell Mr. Donovan to take a hike.

  “How long do you think this will take?” Annie asks, walking him to the door, finally.

  “At least a month,” he answers. “It was nice meeting you.”

  With my stomach churning with jealousy and irritation, I call over, “You too. Oh, Hey. What about having the security gate built first? That way the bar can be open while you finish the remodeling. You know, if the gate’s up, there’s a way to lock up. Would that work?”

  Annie, looking hopeful, turns to hear if it’s possible. Mr. Donovan considers it. “We could do that. That’s a good idea.” He looks at Annie. “I could have the gate built in four days at the most, and you’d be back in business.”

  Annie claps her hands once and hops into the air. “Are you serious?!”

  He grins his first real smile, her enthusiasm infectious. “Could be open again by Sunday. I’ll get my guys on it. You should know though, working on weekends is time and a half.”

  “Good to know. Thank you. You can work through this weekend, but after that, weekdays only, please. Oh my God! This is so great! You guys will rebuild during the days, and we’ll open the bar at night. Perfect timing!”

  “Oh, and you wanted a number for a surveillance guy?” They both pull out their phones. As she inputs the information, I’m staring at her face. I don’t want her dating that Christiano guy. What the fuck kind of name is that, anyway? And this guy was no child. That chest had hair on it, and that smile he had for her… FUCK!

  I look away, scratching the stubble on my jaw, thinking about what to do.

  “Have a good day now.”

  I turn around and nod to Mr. Donovan. “You too.”

  He leaves and Annie walks over to me, floating on air. “What a genius idea! Thank you! I can’t believe we get to open by Sunday!!!”

  I smile, still squirming. “It’s great.”

  Her blue eyes flicker as she tilts her head. “You okay?”

  Glancing to the ground and then over to a wall, I nod slightly, not able to look at her. Who am I to make a claim on her? After all the egotistical things I’ve been saying – I don’t have girlfriends –I’ve got no leg to stand on. What an asshole I am.

  “I just need some coffee.”

  “You wanna go to Philz?”

  Shoving my hands in my pockets, I turn my head and look at her. Her eyes have a cloud hovering in them, and I did that. Here she is, getting good news about her bar, and I’m bringing her down. I walk to her, and kiss her on the nose. “Sorry. It’s just weird seeing everything.”

  “Oh, right. Here I am so excited ---”

  “---No! You should be excited. It’s just the coffee. I need some air and some java. That’s it.”

  She smiles. The phone rings again and the devil is laughing in a cave somewhere, because it’s him; the shirtless man.

  Without thinking, she lifts it up to look. We both stare at it. She looks up. “Um…”

  I blurt out, louder than I want to, “Who is that guy?”

  Annie blinks a few times and looks down at his picture. She sighs. “It’s my ex. He’s been trying to get a hold of me and I haven’t called him back yet.”

  Relief relaxes my shoulders and I say on a deep exhale, “Your ex! Oh, thank God.”

  Her ginger eyebrows rise and she cocks her head a little. “What?”

  I take the phone from her, and turn off the ringing. “I thought it was someone you’re seeing now, as in still. An ex I can handle.”

  She smiles slowly, figuring out that I was jealous. “You can handle an ex, huh?”

  I grin at her, hugely relieved. “Yeah. An ex is an ex for a reason. He’s not really competition…” I wink at her. “…if I play my cards right.”

  Her smile widens and she looks so beautiful, it’s like she’s glowing. “If you play your cards right?” She laughs.

  More animated, I explain, “That’s right. I’ve got this. He won’t be but a memory. You just watch. That frown when he called? Gone.” Slicing my hand through the air like an escaping plane, I stick her phone in my pocket, and start walking to the door. Looking back, I see her watching me with a look that makes me stop in my tracks, like I’m some sort of hero. It makes me want to be one for her. My jokey cockiness vanishes and my hands fall to my sides. “Okay, Annie, I’m
just going to come right out and say it.”

  “Okay.” She walks up, waiting.

  “I saw that guy and it drove me fucking crazy.”

  She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear, her eyes on my lips as she asks, “It did? Are you normally the jealous type?”

  On a sarcastic chuckle, I say, “Not at all.”

  “Oh!” A small smile appears as she realizes what I’m trying to tell her.

  “The way you look at me – no, it’s not just that. It’s being around you. I feel things I don’t think I’ve ever felt. Give me those lips.” She bends her head up and I kiss her smile, whisper against it, my voice hoarse. “I don’t want anyone else touching you. You got that?”

  A thousand thoughts pass over her eyes as she pulls away from me, staring up with a sort of awe. Is it love? I wouldn’t know. She slowly reaches up and touches my bottom lip. Something strange happens in my head as I feel her gentle fingertips. A strong Déjà vu feeling comes over me like this has happened before.

  “Then I won’t let anyone touch me, Brendan, if that’s what you want.”

  Struggling to remember, I stare at her. “There’s that familiar feeling again, like I’ve known you before, like this has happened before or something.”

  She frowns and blinks up at me. My phone interrupts us and even though I would have ignored it, Annie pulls away and laughs. “Well, at least we had one night without an interruption.”

  I grin, happier than I’ve been in a really long time. “We did have that! I guess that’s all we get.”

  “Let’s go get some coffee.” She walks to her purse.

  I pull out my phone, see Rebecca’s name and the words: I have something to tell you. Quickly I shove it back into my pocket. “How about we go see a movie? I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have to be at work on a weekday.”