Untangle My Heart (Tangled Hearts) (2 page)

“Last one in puts away the leftovers,” Edward called over his shoulder toward his brother.

Charles extricated himself from Meghan, came into the kitchen, and started pulling out storage containers. “What are your plans for later?”

“I’m going to grab a pint with a friend at a club in the Village,” Edward said. “You’re welcome to join me.”

“Anyone I know?” Charles asked.

“Do you remember Ingrid Fredrikson?”

“Hmmm. Tall, blond, with endless legs and a huge artificial chest, right?” Charles said.

“That’s Ingrid, all right. I’m surprised you remembered,” Edward said.

“I don’t. However, I know your type.”

“Well, in this case you’re spot on,” Edward said.

“How do you know this Ingrid?” Kyle asked.

“We met at a club a few years ago when I was visiting. We’ve kept in touch whenever I’ve been in the city,” Edward said.

“Which is my brother’s way of saying he has a recurring sleeping arrangement with her,” Charles said.

The corner of Edward’s mouth lifted. “I can assure you little sleeping is done.”

Charles shook his head and spooned candied sweet potatoes into a plastic bowl. “So why are you seeing her now? I thought you were interested in Kate.”

Edward placed the pot he’d been drying on the counter. “I was, or rather, still am interested in Kate. Unfortunately, she’s spent the time since I’ve moved here avoiding me and turning me down every time I ask her out.”

Charles put the last of the leftovers in the refrigerator. “Fancy that. You must be losing your touch.”

“Humph.” Edward shrugged. It would be easier to accept her lack of interest had he not caught the heated glances she’d tossed him when she thought he wasn’t watching. No. He didn’t believe for a minute she wasn’t still attracted to him. But how did he get her to stop being stubborn and admit she was as hot for him as he was for her?

Kyle laughed. “Kate does have a fiery Italian temper.”

Edward turned to Kyle. “You have a history with Kate. Any advice you can give me?”
Aside from kissing her stubborn mouth that turns me on even when she’s ranting at me.

Kyle turned off the water and dried his hands. “That was years ago and we rarely talked outside the times we saw each other, which wasn’t often.”

“You’d never tried to pursue something more permanent?” Edward asked, curious as to what one of Kate’s former lovers could say that would help him understand the walls she kept throwing up around her.

“Not really. I was getting established in my job in Maryland, and Kate has a lot of emotional baggage.”

“Like what?” Edward asked.

Kyle crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned against the counter. “Something traumatic happened to her years ago. She’s never gotten over it and I’m not sure she can.”

“So you’re saying pursuing her is a waste of my time.”

“It’s not going to be easy. Is she worth the time and hell she’ll put you through first?”

And she’d been giving him plenty of that over the past month. He’d always avoided women with emotional baggage. Why start now?

Kyle walked over and clapped his hand on Edward’s shoulder. “If it helps, I don’t mind taking Ingrid off your hands for tonight.”

Edward laughed. “Sorry, mate. However, I’m sure she has a friend to bring along.”

They were headed toward the living room when Charles grasped Edward’s forearm. “Assuming Kyle is right about Kate being skittish toward relationships, you may want to be careful. However much she fights it, she’s drawn to you, and I can see you are to her.”

“You certainly wouldn’t know it by what she says. I’ve never had the time or patience for high maintenance females,” Edward said, pulling his arm away.

“Nothing worth having comes easily.”

Edward tried but couldn’t help but resent his brother’s presumption. For years, Edward had sat back and allowed Charles to shoulder most of the responsibility of running their family’s architecture firm. How long would it take to prove to his brother he was no longer reckless and irresponsible?

“Meaning I’ve always taken the easy road?”

“The easy road might have worked in your twenties, but maybe it’s time for an adult relationship now. Don’t fuck this up with Kate because you’re thinking with the wrong part of your body,” Charles said.

“I have no problem controlling all parts of my body. It’s not meant to be with Kate and I’m moving on.”

“Fine, I’ll back off. You were there for me when I had trouble with Meghan, and I’m here if you want to go off about Kate, or anyone else,” Charles said.

Edward nodded. “I know and thanks.” He followed Charles out of the kitchen.

Yes, it was time to move on, and Ingrid would definitely take his mind off Kate and the frustrated state she’d kept him in since he’d been with her over the summer. If being with Ingrid didn’t help, he didn’t want to think what that meant or what he did from there.

Chapter Two

The next morning, Edward awoke with a hangover that thumped like the loud music at last night’s club. He opened his eyes and winced at the sunlight streaming in through the blinds. It served him right for drinking more than usual, at least more than he had in quite some time. A few years ago, he regularly spent the weekends overindulging in both alcohol and women. However, since his battle with lymphoma over a year ago, he’d curtailed his more promiscuous ways. That was, until last night.

The events of the prior evening came back in fragments. With a groan, he rolled over and buried his head under the pillow as the details came into focus. What the bloody hell was wrong with him? He’d been a thoughtless git more times than he could count, but never as bad as last night.

He and Kyle met Ingrid and her friend, Yvonne, at a club. After several hours and too many tequila shots, the next thing he remembered was the taxi ride to Ingrid’s flat. She’d been all over him, not that he’d been complaining. After all, they’d been doing this for years, and sex was the climactic end to their evening. They danced, they drank. Then they fucked. End of story. There was no love, no romance between them. Never had been and never would be. Sure, he’d developed affection for her over the years, but it had never been anything but sex—for either of them.

Despite his allusions to his brother, he hadn’t planned on sleeping with Ingrid, but the combination of alcohol and his need to forget Kate drove all common sense from him. Once at Ingrid’s, it wasn’t long before they were naked and in her bed. What would have happened if Ingrid hadn’t spoken, hadn’t snapped him out of his vision of making love to Kate? What if they hadn’t stopped?

“For fuck’s sake,” he mumbled and rolled out of bed.

He stumbled into the bathroom and splashed water on his face. A glance in the mirror showed a man he almost didn’t recognize. Dark shadows haunted cold and unfeeling eyes. When had he become this person, or had he never truly seen himself? He wasn’t sure, but he didn’t like what he saw.

While under the jets of the shower, he recalled Ingrid’s reaction when he blurted Kate’s name. He’d been lucky all she’d done was make a snide remark and not belt him across the face—or somewhere more vulnerable. At what point had he morphed Ingrid’s pale blond hair and model-thin physique into Kate? It’s not like the two could easily be confused. Kate was the polar opposite of Ingrid, with a mane of auburn curls, olive-toned skin, and soft curves that could—and had—brought him to his knees on multiple occasions. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever known or wanted, and she didn’t want anything to do with him. And after his behavior last night, he couldn’t blame her.

After dressing and popping two acetaminophen to ease his pounding head, he started coffee. Last night was a wake-up call he hadn’t wanted to acknowledge. Kate wasn’t out of his system, and he couldn’t escape his desire for her in the arms of another woman.

Wasn’t that what his brother told him yesterday? That he needed to stop running from situations that made him uncomfortable. Maybe it was time to deal with whatever this was between him and Kate, and force her to deal with it, too. He pressed his hands to his temples as the mere thought of this made his head throb harder.

He chose a blueberry muffin from the pastry box on the counter, thankful he’d had the foresight to stop at his favorite bakery yesterday morning, and had eaten about half of it when his cell rang.

It had to be Charles, wanting to find out how his evening went. Even if it was warranted, he sure as hell wasn’t in the mood for a lecture from his brother. He pressed the answer button quickly, anxious to end the blasted ringing. “What?” he snapped.

“That’s a hell of a way to answer the phone. Good morning to you, too,” an irritated voice shot back.

Caught off-guard, he struggled to find his voice. “Kate. I’m sorry. I didn’t look at the display and thought you were Charles.”

“He must have royally pissed you off to deserve a greeting like that.”

“Maybe I’m not in the mood for conversation this early.”

Kate snorted. “Early my ass. It’s almost eleven. You sound hung over. You must have had a hard night partying last night.”

He wasn’t up for their usual banter. “Is there a reason you called? After our last conversation, I didn’t expect to hear from you until Monday at the office.”

“As a matter of fact, yes.” She paused, and he imagined her biting her lower lip like she usually did when dealing with things that made her uncomfortable. “I was hoping you could help me, my family, actually.”

He sat up straighter in his chair. In the short time he’d known her, she’d never asked for help. “And you’re asking me? As I recall, you said you’d rot in hell before you came to me for anything outside work.”

“Yeah, well…I was angry, and you know how I get.”

He most certainly did. Kate had a tendency to speak before she thought, without considering the repercussions.

“Right.”

“Come on, Edward. I’m sorry for what I said. Are you going to make me beg?”

An erotic image of Kate begging flashed through his mind, causing heat to shoot down to his groin. He cleared his throat. “What is it you need?”

“There’s a restaurant my family wants to lease. We need an opinion on how much it will cost to fix it up and get it operational.”

“I thought your family had a business. Are they looking to expand?”

Kate sighed. “No. The pizzeria isn’t doing well, and they’re going to have to close. They plan to open a more sophisticated, upscale sort of place.”

“I see. And you need
my
help,” he said.

“I don’t need
your
help, Edward. I could have gone to Charles, but I’m asking you.”

He swung his long legs off the bar stool and walked into the kitchen to refill his coffee. “My brother turned you down, didn’t he?” Edward could envision the indignant expression on her face and a hand on her hip.

She huffed out a breath. “Okay, fine. I called Charles and he wasn’t available to help me today. He suggested you might be.”

Edward didn’t believe for a minute his brother wasn’t available, but rather, said he was busy simply to throw Kate and him in the same room together. While a part of him wanted to throttle his meddlesome brother, he supposed it was best to not delay confronting his feelings for this woman considering the events of last night.

“Where is this place?”

“On City Line Avenue, just outside Philly.”

“When do you want me there?”

“I’m here now with my dad. We don’t want to take too long to make a decision because they’ve already lost another place to a competitor.”

“I suppose that means today, then?”

“If you can. My mother offered to make you a home-cooked Italian feast for dinner.”

“And you? What will you do for me?” he teased.

“Not near anything close to the thoughts running through your perverted little mind.” She paused. “But I’ll be eternally grateful for your advice.”

The idea of Kate’s eternal gratitude brought a smile to his lips.

“I like the sound of that, luv. Tell me where to meet you.”

After getting directions to the restaurant, Edward packed a small overnight bag in case he wanted to crash in a hotel later. After grabbing something more substantial to eat at his favorite deli, he headed out of New York.

It would be interesting to meet Kate’s family, and he was curious how she would show him her gratitude. For the first time that day, he was optimistic he may be able to use this to his advantage.

****

Kate stared out the front window of the restaurant, searching for Edward’s BMW.

“He should be here soon.” She glanced at her watch for the twentieth time that minute. “He was close when he sent the last text.”

Joe grasped his daughter’s hand and led her to the bar. “Relax. I’m sure he’ll be here shortly.”

Relaxation would not be possible in the presence of her former lover. Not when every time she saw him reminded her of the weeks they’d spent together that summer. She didn’t regret their brief affair—how could she regret something so fantastic—but working beside him every day while pushing aside her attraction grated on her nerves.

She opened a bottle of water and took a sip. “I want to make sure we have enough time before we have to return the key to the real estate agency.”

“We’ll have plenty of time. Ah, I think your architect just arrived.”

She turned to the entryway as all six feet of Edward Weston strolled through the doorway, a blast of cold November air following him. Dark brown hair tousled from the wind and a day’s worth of beard only enhanced his distractingly good looks. A cocky grin greeted her when his blue-gray eyes met hers and held. Her heart skipped a beat before resuming at a rapid pace. Damn him. Why couldn’t Charles have come instead? Then she wouldn’t be forced to see this man’s full lips and remember how fantastic they’d felt.

After taking a steadying breath, she hopped off the bar stool and walked toward him, wondering if he was still annoyed at her for turning him down the other day. But from his expression, he didn’t seem any more aloof than usual.

“Hi. Thanks for coming so quickly,” Kate said.

“I’m glad to help.” He held up a container holding three cups from Starbucks. “I would have been here ten minutes ago, but I popped in to fetch us some coffee. I got your usual. I hope that’s okay.”