Page 18 of Tangled Hearts
I bite my lower lip. It’s way too early to be dealing with this level of petulance.
Me
You can’t just give all your clothes away.
Nic
It’s one jacket. I’ll survive.
Me
That’s not how jackets work.
That’s not how jackets work. What does that even mean? I squeeze my eyes closed. I’m pretty sure embarrassing myself is going to be Eli’s Greatest Hits when it comes to Nic freaking… Whatever his last name is.
Nic
……that’s not how jackets work? What does thateven mean?
Kill. Me. Now.
Me
Why won’t you just take the stupid jacket back? Also, what's your last name?
Nic
Adler. Also, sorry, can’t hear you—losing connection.
I stare at my phone for a few seconds before spiraling into laughter. This is ridiculous. Fine, I’ll keep the stupid jacket. But I’m gonna do it with a belly full of boba. I fling the blankets off myself and get dressed. My eyes keep darting to the stupid jacket against my will, and finally, with a huff and an eye-roll at myself, I grab it off the back of the chair and put it on.
After I let Kassie out, I leave home to go to the bakery. My mind is still preoccupied with leather jackets and annoying brothers of my favorite uncle, which is my only excuse for barreling through the door of the bakery and slamming directly into a wall of a human. I stumble, but I’m caught by a hand gently gripping my bicep. “I am so sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was…” My voice dies off into nothing when I look up and come face-to-face with Nic.
“Going?” he finishes for me, his lips tilted up in a smirk. His eyes drop, then flare when he sees what I’m wearing.
“I’m giving it back,” I say defensively. Probably more defensively than is necessary. Andwhyis he still holding my arm? “What are you even doing here?”
Nic’s eyes find mine again, his smirk still firmly in place. “Are all of our interactions going to be you questioning what I’m doing in any particular place and then apologizing for being snarky?”
I have to work hard to keep a straight face because I really am making a habit of that, huh? “Possibly,” I answer, turning my nose up a little.
Nic laughs. It’s deep and warm, and I feel it all the way to my toes. “Noted.” He gives my arm a gentle squeeze and lets go of me. “You should really keep it. It looks far better on you than it does on me.”
And with that, he walks past me and right out the door.
Chapter 7
Nic
Iskirt around Eli, heart pounding, and into the parking lot. Holy shit.
Whatwasthat? Have I really been arguing with him through text messages about a jacket he isliterally wearing on his body?Insane. When the door closes behind me, I chance a glance backward and find Eli still standing in the same spot.
Why did I say that?It looks far better on you than it does on me.
I mean… it does. But that’s not just something yousayto people. I walk to my car, actively berating myself for flirting with my brother’s fucking nephew. Not only that, but my brother’s twenty-year-old nephew. Why why why did it have to behim?I hate this for me.
No. I will not spiral. I’m a grown man. I have control of myself and my body. I can function like a well-adjusted human being. I climb into my car, the arguably delicious scone I ate for breakfast settling in my stomach like a block of concrete.
