No wonder she’d fallen asleep at her desk, he’d kept her up too late.
“I’m sorry your day was hell.” His instinct was to take her in his arms. But he’d been pushing for too much too fast, and Livie needed to come to him on her own.
“And now I’m sounding like a whiner.”
“No,” he said gently.
She drew a deep breath, looked at him. “Would you mind driving? I’m not up to handling the traffic.”
At six, the traffic would still be a bitch. “No problem.”
He chirped her remote, then opened the car door for her. “Why don’t we go out for a bite? Your sister won’t have to see us together. Then I’ll take you home.” He lifted her chin with his finger. “And I promise not to beg you to let me stay.”
She looked at him a long time, her eyes unreadable in the dim light of the garage. “What I really want is to take off my shoes, get into my sweats, and eat a big bowl of wonton soup.”
He let his mouth lift in a smile. “I can pick up my car and get the soup while you go inside and grab your sweats. You can meet me at my place.” He was still pushing, dammit, but he didn’t want to leave her. “Go home whenever you’re ready.”
She considered him a long moment. “What Chinese place do you go to?”
“King Hunan, down on El Camino.”
“They have great wonton soup.” The glimmer of a smile curved her lips. “Deal.”
He almost wanted to punch the air. But he refrained. After all, he’d won. Anything else would be unsportsmanlike conduct.
Chapter Twelve
The King Hunan version had loads of vegetables, yummy shrimp, and to-die-for wontons. Bern had gotten a large order for her and broccoli beef with rice for himself. Livie stole a piece of his broccoli.
Instead of using his kitchen table, he’d carried the boxes into the family room, set them on the coffee table, and thrown some pillows on the floor to sit on.
“Thanks. This is just what I needed.” Right along with not having to face Toni when she’d run up to her condo. Livie was relieved Toni hadn’t answered any of her calls either.
“In addition to the comfy sweats?” Bern asked.
They didn’t have any holes in them, but they weren’t sexy either. Bern didn’t seem to care. He’d traded his suit for faded jeans, though his jeans were a darn sight sexier on him than she felt in her sweats.
The house had no formal living room or dining room. When she was growing up, those rooms never got used, and they were a waste of space. The great room he’d seated them in was outfitted with a large leather sofa, two overstuffed leather armchairs, and a monstrous flat screen TV. The kitchen was spacious, with a large eating nook that overlooked the nicely kept back garden. The place wasn’t new, but he’d kept it in pristine condition, and the carpet was plush beneath her bare feet. The hall down which he’d disappeared earlier had four doorways, so she figured it was a three-bedroom, two-bath home.
He hadn’t forced the rest of the house on her, the bedrooms, to be specific, as if he sensed she wasn’t ready for that.
She finished another wonton, wanting to groan with pleasure. She resisted. “I’m not crazy,” she told him.
“I don’t think you are.”
She’d been embarrassed by her overshare in the garage, from the nightmare to Mr. Donaldson’s dressing-down to Julia suggesting a therapist. “It’s just these nightmares. I was so tired.”
“My sister’s a psychiatrist,” he said.
Livie stopped dead, a shrimp splashing back into her bowl.
“What I’m saying is that I have nothing against psychiatrists. I don’t think people who see them are crazy. Sometimes you need to talk about something you can’t tell anyone else.”
He sounded so reasonable as he deftly scooped up a broccoli flower with his chopsticks. Livie had never mastered chopsticks.
“Does that mean you’ve gone to a psychiatrist?” she challenged him.
“No. But my sister’s special. She does hypnosis. And I’ve let her hypnotize me. That’s how I quit smoking.”
“You smoked?”
“Yeah. She helped me quit fifteen years ago. So you could say I’m a believer.”
She gestured at him with her spoon. “And you think she could hypnotize the dreams out of me?”
He laughed. “It’s not quite that simple. But you said you had them when you were a kid, and sometimes hypnosis can get at the root cause fairly quickly. It’s regression hypnosis. She takes you back to your childhood.”
Livie shivered. “I’m not sure I want to go back there.”
“She’s told stories of people being cured after one session.”
“Cured?” He obviously thought there was something wrong with her.
He dished more broccoli beef onto his plate. “Sometimes reliving something takes away its power, and it no longer causes problems.”
She was definitely having a problem since she’d screamed in the office. But a psychiatrist? And his sister to boot? She’d just met the man after all. And here she was revealing all her deep, dark secrets.
Still, she’d slept with him. Not just sex, but sleeping. Somehow that was more intimate. “I don’t think I’m ready for that.”
“I’m pressuring you again.” He didn’t apologize, merely stating it as fact.
“I need time,” she said, concentrating on her soup. She needed time because the truth was that he hadn’t pressured her. She’d called him. She’d put condoms in the drawer. She’d given him the keys to her car. There was symbolism in that. A woman doesn’t hand over her keys to just anyone.
In the kitchen, his cell phone began to ring with an old-fashioned landline tone. “It can go to voice mail,” he said as explanation when he didn’t immediately rise to answer it.
“I won’t ask you to spend the night,” he said, as if her jumble of thoughts were written on her face. Leaning close, he stroked her cheek. “I’m not even going to seduce you.”
She wished he’d do just that and take the decision out of her hands. “You probably think I’m a freak, not knowing my own mind, changing it constantly. It’s just that it’s hard to think when I’m around you.”
“That’s not such a bad thing.”
He might be right. There was something exciting about getting carried away. “But I hardly know you. I’ve never been like this with anyone, impulsive and...” She paused. And what? Drawn to him? He made her want to throw caution to the winds. Her reaction to him frightened her. She was too intense with him. And when you got emotional, things usually ended badly. “I don’t know,” she finished softly because she couldn’t say any of that aloud.
Her phone started buzzing on the coffee table. They both looked as the vibration turned it round slowly. She could see the readout. Toni. That’s what it all came down to. Her sister. She could probably handle the intensity, but she couldn’t handle Toni.
She snatched the phone up. Unlike him, she couldn’t just let it ring; it would go on and on ten times. “Hi.”
Bern was looking at her, his gaze suddenly dark, his features tense.
“Where are you? I’m waiting here for you.” Toni punctuated with a little sob.
“Waiting where?”
“At your place.”
Livie looked down at the bowl she’d set on the carpet. The soup was growing cold. “What’s wrong?”
“He’s ignoring me.”
The boyfriend again. She glanced at Bern. His gaze was steady, yet unreadable. He didn’t move, didn’t touch the food on his plate. He simply watched.
She chose her words carefully, though really, did it even matter? He didn’t know Toni. “I’ve told you that you need to move on.”
“He’s got someone else.”
A chill slithered down her spine. “How do you know he does?”
Toni paused. Far too long. “It’s just a feeling.”
Toni could get a little obsessive. All right, a lot obsessive. Was she spying on him? “I’ll be hom
e in a little bit.” Then she lied. “I had to work late, but I’m near the airport so I won’t be long.” Too late she thought about the fact that she was wearing her sweats. How would she explain that? She’d think up an excuse on the way home. “Just stay put, okay?”
“Okay.” Toni sniffed.
“All right, see you soon, bye.” Bern studied her intently as Livie ended the call. “I’m sorry,” she told him. “I have to go. My sister.” She shrugged meaninglessly. “She’s not feeling well.” His silent regard unnerved her, and she said more than she should. “Trouble with a man. He dumped her. Just like a man,” she said flippantly, nervously, “taking what he wants, then dropping her flat.” Damn. That didn’t sound good. Like she was a male basher. Or thought Bern would do the same. She needed to shut up. Right now. And get out.
Everything about him was tense, rigid. “You didn’t tell her where you really were.”
She shouldn’t have lied so blatantly in front of him. Why had she answered that damn call? “I did mention that she and I have some issues.”
“Yeah. You did.” His tone was sharp.
“It’s just easier for me to keep my stuff private.” She scrambled to her feet, bending to pick up the bowl, then held it uncertainly, her phone in her other hand. He remained right where he was, still seated on the floor, watching her. “Thanks for dinner,” she said, uncomfortable now. “Sorry I can’t stay.”
Finally she fled to the kitchen, leaving the soup on the counter and retrieving her purse. When she turned, he filled the doorway, big, dominating.
“Livie.”
Her heart pounded, a reaction to his intensity. Then he snaked out a hand, wrapped it around her nape, and pulled her to him. The kiss was hard and openmouthed. She tasted the tangy sauce and the spiciness of man. He overwhelmed her. She clutched his shirt with one hand, her purse and phone with the other. She let him devour her until Toni’s needs no longer mattered.
Then he eased her back down to earth, her feet once again flat on the floor.
“Don’t let her stop you.” That was all he said.
Livie touched her lips, then backed away. Toni always stopped her. Toni always would. Her sister was like a rope binding her.
Bern might very well be the one to undo those bonds. Or he might simply undo her.
* * * * *
It was like a hand reaching inside his chest and ripping his heart out. He stood in the front doorway long after she’d gone. The night air chilled him to his bones.
In the kitchen, he glanced at his phone. The screen prompted him that he had a new message. He knew exactly who it was from. She’d called him, then only moments later, Livie’s cell began to ring.
He could still see the name on her phone. Toni. He was an idiot. He remembered that first night when Livie told him her last name. It had turned out to be the goddamn cosmic joke he’d feared. Toni. Short for Antonia. He should have asked her sister’s name right then, but no, he was just a like a man and took what he wanted.
Now he was totally screwed. How the hell was he going to explain he was the man who had dumped her sister?
He wished to God she’d said a little bit more. Maybe he should have asked. He tried to rub the ache from his forehead. It didn’t work. He had to tell Livie before it all blew up in his face. But how?
Just like a man, taking what he wants, then dropping her flat.
But that wasn’t what he’d done. It had been nothing more three casual dates. Antonia—Toni—must have claimed they’d had sex. She’d lied, made everything sound worse and laid the blame squarely at his feet.
But the worst? Livie had denied him. She’d lied about where she was, what she was doing, and who she was with.
He’d tried taking her back with that kiss, but it hadn’t accomplished his goal. She’d left anyway.
Damn Antonia Scott. She was going to ruin him and Livie.
* * * * *
Toni’s hand shook as she unlocked Livie’s door. She’d raced to beat Livie. Once inside, she slammed the door and tripped on the carpet as she rushed to the small dining table to throw her purse down. Luckily, she hadn’t turned an ankle. Dragging off her jacket, she tossed it on the chair. What else? Shoes. She flipped off her high heels. Then she marched into the kitchen straight to the fridge. That’s what she always did, check Livie’s fridge.
She was breathing hard as she leaned down to survey the contents. Nothing good. Except the half full bottle of wine in the door. Chardonnay. Cakebread. A fuse blew in her brain.
Goddamn Livie. She had Bern’s favorite wine. He’d probably brought it with him last night.
“I hate you,” she hissed through gritted teeth. She could have been saying it to either of them, both of them.
While Livie lied about working late—driving by the airport, almost home, don’t go anywhere—Toni had been parked on Bern’s street and looking straight at Livie’s car.
Her sister was a complete bitch. Toni shuddered with anger as she yanked the bottle out of the fridge and crashed it on the counter. It should have broken; she wished to God it had broken.
They would pay. But she had the advantage. Because neither of them knew she’d seen what they’d been up to. Was tonight the night to spring it on Livie?
Toni sucked in a breath and felt deliciously sexual. As if cruelty and desire went hand-in-hand.
She poured the wine, downed half the glass, and felt the rush of cold through her whole body. The alcohol weakened her knees.
The front door opened. Livie hadn’t been far behind her. What had Toni interrupted? The act itself? Had he been inside Livie?
Tears of anger, frustration, desire, and excitement welled up in her eyes. Toni took another swallow, smaller this time, wiped her sleeve across her mouth, then filled the glass to the brim.
“Are you okay?” Livie’s voice was high, anxious.
Toni smiled, then wiped that off her face just as she had the wine. She turned, the tears overflowing and rolling down her cheeks. “No.” She sobbed.
Livie was wearing her baby blue sweats.
“I thought you said you came from work,” Toni accused.
Livie looked down at herself. “I did. But I changed in the gym because I wanted to be comfortable while I was finishing up some work on a spreadsheet.”
How bogus could you get? “Why didn’t you bring your clothes home?” Toni felt gleeful inside as she drove the knife deeper. Let’s see how many lies her sister could come up with.
“I didn’t feel like going back down to my locker.” Her sister lied smoothly, not even a blink.
“Here, I poured you some wine.” Toni held out the glass.
Livie took it, sipped.
“I’ve never seen this one here before.”
Livie glanced up into the corner of the kitchen as if the perfect lie was written there for her to read. “A coworker mentioned it, and I thought I’d try. It’s not all that good, so I wouldn’t spend the money again.”
Toni retrieved another glass from the cupboard, filled it.
Livie held out her hand. “Let’s sit down and you can tell me what got you so upset.”
Toni hadn’t thought through everything she wanted to say. She’d been too pissed. Now that she was thinking rationally, she wished she’d done things a bit differently on the phone. But no matter, she could just change the story slightly.
In the living room, she set her glass on the coffee table, then flopped dejectedly into the corner of the couch, curling one leg beneath her. “You’re not going to like what I did.”
Livie lowered her eyes, but Toni recognized her mental groan. “Go ahead, tell me. I promise not to say anything negative.”
Hah. Livie couldn’t help being negative. Toni hung her head, pulled at a stitch on the hem of her pants. “Well, I was upset on Sunday. And you weren’t around.” She glanced up to make sure Livie felt the jab. “Since there was no one to talk me out of it, I, um”—she sounded suitably hesitant—“went over to his place.” She snif
fed quite effectively.
Livie touched her knee, then withdrew. “Go on. Tell me everything.”
“We made love.”
“Oh, Toni.”
“And he hasn’t called me since.” Toni put her hand over her eyes and sobbed. Once. Choked it back. It was an award-winning performance. Especially since inside she was feeling quite murderous. The satisfaction she’d get when Livie discovered who Reese really was would be the payoff. Because honestly, she didn’t think Livie knew. Here sister was clueless. Toni wasn’t even sure Reese knew. That didn’t make her hate either of them any less. Reese had still been two-timing her, then the asshole had chosen Livie.
“He had sex with me,” she said. “Then he dumped me again. I’ve texted him. And I called him just before I called you, after work, so I wouldn’t be interrupting anything. But he ignored me. Why is he doing this?” She gave a pitiful moan, sniffed.
Her plan was brilliant. Livie soaked up her misery, handing her the box of tissues, murmuring soothingly as she blew her nose, then handing Toni the wineglass.
“He isn’t worth it,” Livie said. “Don’t go back.”
“But how could he love what we did so much, but that very night stop taking my calls all over again?” How could he do her in the afternoon and Livie in the evening? That’s what her sister would be asking herself when Toni chose the absolute perfect moment for the big reveal. She added insult to injury. “That’s why I think he’s got someone else. He went into the other room to make a call and when he came back he hustled me out of there. Like he had someplace better to go.” She blew her noise violently for effect. God, she was good.
“Didn’t you follow him to find out where he was going?” Livie asked softly.
“Nooo,” Toni wailed the denial, drawing out the sound. “I thought of what you’d say, how dumb that was. How badly it ended the last time I did that.” She wasn’t feeling bad anymore. In fact, she felt quite good. Thrilled. Planning Livie’s downfall almost made up for what they’d done to her. It was actually fun.
Twisted By Love, Reincarnation Tales, Book 1 Page 10
