Page 7 of Tangling Hearts

I shrug again. “He’s wrong, you know.”

Brendan grins and shakes his head, a burst of laughter taking him over. We eat until there is only salt flakes and drips of ketchup and BBQ sauce left. “Come on.” He stands up and, watching his body move and his light-hearted face glance back at me, I follow him to the other end of the penthouse. He opens a door and I gasp, stopping centered in the doorframe of his room with him just inside it.

He’s watching my face and he stands back as I walk into the room, astounded by the view, my eyes wide. Floor-to-ceiling windows on three long walls surround his king-sized bed, the skyline of San Francisco lit up in front of us. I turn around and stare at him, breathless. And because I can’t help myself, I joke, “It’s a good thing the nearest building is that far away,” I point my finger to the tallest one. “…because they’re about to get a show.”

His grin switches gears and he walks to grab my hips and pull me in for a kiss. With my hands cupping his face to keep a cool distance between me and his bandage, our lips move together as goosebumps roll down my body, lighting up my arms before my legs. I shiver and pull away slightly, my eyes still closed.

“You okay, Freckles?”

I nod. “Yeah. I’m good.”

“You’re sleeping here… right?”

I open my eyes. “Mmhmm.”

He kissed my cheeks, my nose, and my lips. “ You’ve got the contractor coming tomorrow.”

I’m breathing him in, and nodding. “Mmhmm.” My fingers slide into the thick waves of his hair and our tongues find each other, teasing and touching slowly… then faster.

“I want to pick you up and carry you to the bed,” he says, huskily.

“Another time.” I lean up to kiss him again and we pull apart and hold hands to walk together to his insanely huge bed.

“Shit!”

I look up at him, surprised by his tone and the ferocious look on his face. He lets go of my hand and takes several angry strides to the nightstand to grab up a woman’s black hair-tie, walking past me to the bathroom where he disappears to throw it away. I watch him, realizing what’s happening and gulping down jealousy. He reappears in the doorway and leans on it, looking from me to the hardwood floor. “Annie…”

“She did that on purpose.”

He nods, his mind on her and not happy about it. His jaw is tight, his teeth clenched. “Look…”

My hands go up and I walk to him. “Wait! No. It’s okay. I know you’re seeing her and probably a lot of other people, too. I get it. You said, no girlfriends. I’m just happy and I really don’t want to think about any of that right now, if that’s okay. Not tonight. Please. Let’s just have one uninterrupted night before reality stops us again!”

He’s staring at me, like he can’t hear me, or doesn’t believe it. “She hit a new low. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. She’s probably hurting.”

The cloud in his eyes flickers and he smiles and looks away to the view. “Yeah.”

“Are you?” I can’t believe I just asked that! No, no no… I don’t want to know!

His eyes flick back to me and narrows them, thinking. “No. I think I’ve stopped hurting now.” He walks to me and picks up my chin to kiss me. He pulls back and looks at me. “No more interruptions.”

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