Tangled Web: A Small Town Romance (The Cortell Brothers Book 6)

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  “My feet are freezing and my legs are sore,” I whined.

  “Fine,” he sighed. “Get in the damn truck.”

  I trudged to the other side of the truck and got in, pushing my hands in front of the vents to warm my hands. “Crap, it’s fucking cold out there.”

  “And you were so sure we weren’t going to get any snow,” he smirked. He started plowing, pushing the snow off to the side of the driveway. It was going to take a little while to get all the way up the driveway with the drifts.

  “It’s fucking December! When do we ever get snow in December?”

  “There’s a first time for everything. So, why didn’t you leave Lorelei’s the other day while you had the chance?”

  I shot him a look, telling him he knew exactly why. “I was helping her paint. Well, I would have if I hadn’t fallen and cracked my skull open.”

  “It’s hardly cracked open. How’d you fall anyway?”

  “No idea. The last thing I remember is talking to her. Then I woke up with her standing over me.”

  “Well, what did she say?”

  “She said she had gone upstairs to get a sweatshirt, so she didn’t see what happened.”

  He blew out a breath. “You’re lucky, man.”

  “Don’t I know it.”

  It still bothered me that I didn’t know what happened, but I had let go of the idea that Lorelei was responsible. I just couldn’t see her having anything to do with my accident after what had happened over the last few days.

  “So, is this serious between you two?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean you don’t know?”

  “I mean…I have mixed feelings here. I really like her. I…shit.” I stared out the window, only now realizing what a terrible situation I was in. I couldn’t tell Eric. He would totally flip out. If I told him a potential serial killer was around him all day long, he would rip me a new asshole, and not just because he was there, but because of Kat.

  The problem was, I had lied to Lorelei for weeks. She thought I was just interested in her. What would she think if she found out that I had been lying to her all this time? Everything between us would be wasted.

  “Are you in love with her?” Eric asked incredulously, laughing slightly.

  “Shut up,” I grumbled.

  “No, this is great, man. Really great. Why are you so nervous?”

  I sighed, deciding to tell him just a little. “Because I haven’t been totally honest with her, and I’m afraid that when she finds out, she’s not going to want me anymore.”

  “What haven’t you been honest about?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Well, obviously it does. Besides, what could you have possibly hidden from her that she would be so upset about?”

  Luckily, I didn’t have to answer because Lorelei was walking down the steps of the porch just as the truck was reaching the steps. I flung the door open to get out.

  “Hey, I wasn’t done—“

  I slammed the door so I didn’t have to answer him and grinned at Lorelei as I walked up to her.

  “Hey, you didn’t wake me up.”

  I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close to me. “Well, you looked so damn beautiful, I didn’t want to wake you.”

  She laughed. “I looked like I’ve been sleeping on a couch in the cold without a shower for days.”

  I grinned. “It’s like you know exactly what I’m looking for in a woman.”

  “That’s just disgusting,” Eric said from behind me.

  “Hey, this is an A-B conversation, so why don’t you C your way out of it.”

  I heard his huff of irritation. “Great, so we’ve gone from Millennial talk to the nineties. That’s great.”

  I ignored him and leaned down to kiss Lorelei. It turned heated instantly, and despite the cold, I wanted to throw her over my shoulder and take her inside for another round of sex. I’d been fucking her for days, but I wasn’t tired of her. If anything, I wanted her more and more.

  Eric cleared his throat and I finally pulled away from her, giving her a wink. Turning to Eric, I shot him a bored look. “Did you need something?”

  “Yeah, do you need a ride?”

  “Nah, I got this.”

  “Sure, now that I did all the work,” he grumbled, walking back to his truck. He got in and finished digging out my truck. I’d still have to shovel around the truck so I could get out, but now I would actually be able to leave at some point. And that just made me sad. Sighing, I figured it was better to get it over with now.

  “I should probably get to work on the snow around my truck.”

  “Yeah, you should. Are you planning on heading home today?”

  “I guess. I mean, I have to see if I have any work waiting for me.”

  She nodded, taking a step back. “Right. Well, I don’t want to keep you from your work.”

  “It’s not like that. I just…as much as I want to stay here with you, I have to at least go check in. But I can come back after I have stuff squared away. Maybe I’ll take a shower so I don’t smell.”

  She smirked at me. “Do you want some company? I need some more groceries.”

  “I could just pick them up for you.”

  “But you don’t know what I need.”

  “Well, you could make a list.”

  “Or I could just go with you.”

  My brows furrowed. “Well, I mean, that wouldn’t make any sense, for me to go home with you only to come back here…”

  She sighed heavily. “Or, I could go home with you, take a shower so I don’t smell. I could get my groceries, and if you have too much work, I can come home. And all this time, you would understand what I’m saying.”

  I grinned, pointing my finger at my nose and pointing at her with the other hand. “I gotcha. See, I almost didn’t catch that.”

  “You didn’t catch that at all. I had to explain it to you.”

  “Right,” I cleared my throat. “Well, I got there eventually.”

  She rolled her eyes at me. “You start digging out your truck and I’ll get something warmer on and come help.”

  She ran inside while I got to work on my truck, but when I looked at where her car was, I knew it was pointless to try and dig her out. She came bounding down the steps, all bundled up. She tossed a bag on the steps and headed toward me.

  “I think your car is going to have to stay where it is for now.”

  “Why?”

  She glanced over my shoulder to see the massive amount of snow around her car. Her shoulders slumped. “Well that sucks.”

  “It’s okay. I’ll take you into town, as long as you don’t mind waiting around for me.”

  “It’s fine. I can hang around town for a while.”

  “Well, let’s go then.”

  After we both showered, I stared at her naked body for way too long, refusing to give her a towel. The only reason I finally handed it to her was because Joe walked in the door, and there was no way I was letting him see her. We got dressed and headed out to the bakery for something to eat. There wasn’t much to eat in the apartment, and neither of us had bothered to eat before we left this morning. I was in desperate need of some coffee.

  “That’s your brother’s shop?” she asked as we passed it.

  “Yeah, I’m surprised he’s even open today.”

  “Well, I doubt he can afford to shut down.”

  “Why do you say that?” I asked curiously.

  “Well, small businesses can’t afford to just take days off. They need to be open to thrive.”

  I draped my arm over her shoulder as we walked toward the bakery. “You said there were a lot of poor people in your town. Did a lot of businesses close down?”

  She snorted. “The only thing that stayed open was the gas station that had the mini-mart attached.”

  “What happened to the town?”

  “Andrew!” a woman’s voice shouted. I searched down the
street, but the voice was coming from across the road. I groaned when I saw it was old lady Cranston.

  “Who’s that?” Lorelei whispered.

  “Mrs. Cranston. Resident busybody and she also happens to have a Facebook page dedicated to dirty pictures of Eric.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah, she took them in secret when he was working on her house.”

  “That’s disgusting,” Lorelei said, grimacing at Cranston.

  “It’s actually pretty funny. She’s got a pretty big following. Even Kat follows the page.”

  “Eric’s girlfriend?”

  “Yep.”

  Mrs. Cranston rushed over to us, smiling brightly. “It’s so good to see you, Andrew. And who is this?”

  “This is Lorelei. She’s new to town.”

  “Oh, that’s nice. And you’ve been showing her around?”

  The way she said it, it was like she was hinting at this being more.

  “Yeah, I’m showing her around. Eric’s doing work on her house.”

  “Oh, I was wondering why I hadn’t seen him in a while. Oh well, I’ll just have to take my car in for Josh to work on.”

  “Starting another page?” I asked, a grin plastered on my face.

  She turned to me with a hidden smile. “Starting? Oh, Andrew, it’s been up and running since Josh opened the shop.”

  She turned with a wink and walked away. I shuddered, thinking about her taking pictures of my brothers.

  “That is so perverted,” Lorelei laughed.

  We continued walking down the street, catching a few stares from people as they passed. I nodded and ignored them, but Lorelei had no clue what was going on.

  “Why are they staring at us?”

  “Hell if I know.”

  “Is this unusual for you?”

  “To walk down the street?”

  “With a girl.”

  “Oh, well, yeah, that’s a little weird.”

  “You would think people would just mind their own business.”

  I huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, you’re going to have to get used to people knowing all your business in this town.”

  I opened the door to the bakery and ran smack dab into Corduroy. He tipped his hat at Lorelei and grinned at me. “Andrew. The lovely Lorelei.”

  I wanted to smack that look off his face. “Give it a rest, Corduroy.”

  “What? She’s very pretty. Way too beautiful to be with someone like you.” He turned to Lorelei, lifting her hand to press a kiss to her knuckles. “Enchanté.”

  I rolled my eyes at his antics, but Lorelei blushed. “Don’t let him fool you. That’s the only word in French he knows.”

  Corduroy glanced up at me with a quirked brow. Then turned to Lorelei. “Vos yeux brillent comme le soleil.”

  “Seriously, give it up, man. She’s not going to fall apart just because you’re speaking French.”

  “Oubliez cet idiot et fuyez avec moi.”

  I had no fucking clue what he was saying, but then Lorelei surprised me. “You have to do a lot more than speak French for me to run away with you.”

  Shocked, Corduroy stood tall, then burst out laughing. “Holy hell, woman. Seriously, forget this guy.” He pulled his hat off and held it over his heart. “Say you’ll run away with me.”

  She leaned in a whispered something to him that I couldn’t hear, and when she pulled back, Corduroy looked stricken. I tsked and slapped him on the shoulder.

  “Another woman lost to a Cortell brother. You know, you can’t win ‘em all. Or…any of them actually.”

  He flipped me off and walked out the door. I was laughing when I turned to Lorelei, but she didn’t look nearly as amused.

  “That wasn’t very nice.”

  “It’s all good-natured ribbing. Besides, he’s used to losing women to us.”

  Mary Anne came rushing out from behind the counter, wiping her hands on her apron. “Andrew! It’s so good to see you!”

  I frowned at her. “I just saw you the other day.”

  “I know, but so much has changed since then.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well…all the snow…And Lorelei, I see you’ve met our last single Cortell brother. Very handsome, isn’t he?”

  “Yes,” she grinned. “He’s very handsome.”

  “And single.”

  “You mentioned that.”

  “You know,” she said, wrapping her arm through Lorelei’s, walking her toward the counter. “Our Andrew hasn’t had anyone snag his eye in a very long time.”

  Lorelei glanced back at me for help, but hell if I knew what to do. I shrugged.

  “Hey, man.” I turned to see Josh standing beside me, jerking his chin at Lorelei. “Who’s she?”

  “Lorelei. She moved into the old Granville mansion.”

  “Is that the job Eric’s working?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So, how did you meet her?”

  I shifted from one foot to the other nervously. “Uh…you know, around town.”

  His eyebrows shot up and he looked back at Lorelei. “You just met her around town.”

  “Yeah, you know…the hardware store or something.”

  “The hardware store.”

  “Yeah, I was buying paint for Sofia.”

  “Which you still haven’t helped her with, by the way.”

  “I’ll get to it.”

  “Not if you’re spending all your free time with the sexy new lady in town.”

  “I just got a little sidetracked. How is she, anyway?”

  “Joe has her wrapped in a bubble. She’s not allowed to work at the shop anymore. Late nights are not conducive to having a baby, you know,” he said, rolling his eyes. “So, she’s been helping Carly out with Alessa. Of course, one of us has to be there to escort her up and down the stairs anytime she comes and goes.”

  “I’m surprised he lets her walk to your place.”

  “Oh, haven’t you heard? I need to pick her up every morning and drive her to the townhouse.”

  “Well, it is five blocks from the apartment to your townhouse. And it’s winter. She could slip and fall.” I shook my head. “I don’t like this. There are too many of them pregnant at once. It’s too dangerous. You need to wait until at least all of them have their babies before you and Carly start trying.”

  “Oh, I do, huh?”

  “Well, come on. Three pregnant women and only six of us here to watch them? If you add a fourth to the mix, that’s just asking for trouble.”

  “And what about Lorelei? Are you planning on sticking it to her for more than a week?”

  “I think it’s a little early to be talking about babies with her. I’m not stupid like the rest of you. I don’t go out and get a woman pregnant at the drop of a hat.”

  “Hey, I was with Carly for years before she got pregnant.”

  “Yeah, and still not married.” I sighed heavily. “Yeah, that’ll never happen to me, and you know why?”

  “Please, inform me,” he said drolly.

  “Because I’m the responsible brother now.”

  He sighed heavily. “Really, please do tell me how you’re the responsible one.”

  “A, I have a really good job and I make a ton of money. B, I haven’t gotten anyone pregnant. And…”

  “C?”

  “I’m thinking.”

  He huffed out a laugh, slapping me on the shoulder. “Yeah, when you think of that third reason, you let me know.”

  He headed for the counter to order while I stood there and tried to figure out what the third reason was.

  Lorelei

  After Andrew left the bakery to go check his business emails, I headed to the grocery store. My pantry was basically empty and my fridge didn’t look too much better. Not that I would be loading up on refrigerated items. I wasn’t even sure when the power would be back on. I could ask Andrew if I could stay with him, but he was already living in a small apartment with two other people. So, as much as I wanted to stay with
him, I would just have him take me home. If he chose to stay with me, great, but I wasn’t about to beg. I had taken care of myself long enough that I didn’t need a man. I just wanted one.

  Entering the grocery store, I grabbed a cart and headed for the produce section first. Even though oranges weren’t as good this time of year, I really wanted some. Besides, I could make smoothies or something. I was just grabbing a bag of navel oranges when a woman rushed over and crouched down behind the orange stand. I looked at her curiously, but she held up her finger, telling me to be quiet.

  I averted my eyes, making sure not to give her away, though I wasn’t sure who hid in the produce section. Glancing around, I saw a man wandering through the store, obviously searching for someone.

  “Stalker?” I asked, not looking at her.

  “Brother-in-law,” she whispered.

  I glanced back over at the man, frowning. He looked familiar…”Do I know him?”

  “Maybe. Do you know the Cortell brothers?”

  My eyebrows shot up. “That’s one of them?”

  “That’s Robert. He’s a lawyer. My husband is Eric.”

  My eyes lit up as I looked down at her, but she waved me away. Rolling my eyes, I watched the oranges again. I felt stupid standing here next to them for so long. Like anyone took this long to pick out oranges.

  “Eric is doing work on my house.”

  “You’re Lorelei?” she perked up.

  “Yes, and you must be Kat.”

  She reached up between the stand and my cart, holding out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “Really? Eric and I don’t really talk that much.”

  “Not from him,” she whispered. “From Andrew.”

  “Oh.” I glanced down at her again. “Can I ask why you’re hiding in the oranges?”

  She sighed. “Because all the Cortell men have lost their minds. Well, all except for Josh. He’s the only normal one.”

  “And why have they lost their minds?”

  “Because Anna, Robert’s girlfriend, myself, and Sofia, Joe’s girlfriend, are all pregnant.”

  “Okay,” I said slowly.

  “Okay, long story short, I lost a baby almost two years ago. Now, they all think that we can’t be trusted to be on our own, like we’ll step inside the grocery store and suddenly lose our babies.”