And Akara. Him and me. He has the most reason to be upset.
I’m concerned about Jane. More than anything. Because if I’m not on her detail, then it’s wide open for the taking. “Will you put Banks with Jane, sir?” I ask.
“You’d love that,” Price snaps. “No, it won’t be your twin.”
Donnelly is up for transfer.
Donnelly, then. I’m praying.
“Her new bodyguard is going to be Tony Ramella.”
I solidify.
The man I wouldn’t trust with a fucking goldfish—and I’m supposed to let him protect her? I would die for Jane. All of SFO would die for Jane. And I can’t say that Tony would.
And that’s the level of dedication she needs if I can’t protect her.
“He’s the best man for the job,” Price continues. “He has the highest skillset and experience from security services in LA. It’ll benefit Jane.”
No. I breathe coarse breath, trying to control my temper. “Respectfully, sir,” I say, pausing so I don’t growl out a fuck no. “He got his own client beat up.”
“No,” Price refutes. “Xander Hale asked to be in the fight. He was abiding by his client’s wishes. He followed protocol.”
My eyes tighten. “Xander is a minor.”
“Tony spent years protecting one of the most internationally recognized boy bands, teenagers close to Xander’s age. He’s experienced and understands the nuances of this job.”
We’re talking about the same guy who slept with my high school girlfriend.
I try again. “Jane doesn’t trust Tony, sir. In my professional opinion, they’re not suited for each other.”
Sinclair cocks his head. “You sure you aren’t just jealous, Moretti? This sounds like personal crap-in-a-bag to me.”
“Sir, you can talk to Jane,” I say sternly. “She’ll tell you.”
Price retorts, “We can’t have your personal feelings towards a bodyguard affecting Jane’s view of him. Tony is one of the best guards. The end. If she’s feeling uneasy because of your grievances, you can help her learn to trust him.”
I hear, help her learn to fuck him.
Goddammit.
But I can’t lose what they’ve just given me. My job. It’s the best way I can protect her. Even if I’m not on her detail.
“You don’t have a voice in this, Moretti,” Sinclair snaps. “Stand down.”
I’m not a lead. Seniority. Hierarchy. Everything that I cherish and honor and respect.
Akara pockets his phone and speaks to Price and Sinclair. “As formality, we should take a vote.”
Akara should vote with them. To gain favor.
I watch and listen as the Tri-Force do a quick vote for both transfers. Me to Xander. Tony to Jane.
Both votes are 2-1.
Akara opposed. He’s die-hard SFO, and by still vouching for me, he just made it known to the Alpha and Epsilon leads.
I rub my tensed jaw. “Are we done?” I ask. I just want to see her. Hug her. Tell her myself. Take the good and put away the bad for now.
And Jane—she’s everything good to me.
“One more question,” Price says. “And this stays here. We won’t tell anyone. But we need to know so that we can see the warning signs when we hire new guys.”
I stiffen, having no clue what’s coming.
Price says, “Was it for the fame or the sex?”
“Neither,” I say, not even hesitating. “It was just her.”
It was always just her.
47
JANE COBALT
I’m frozen, hands cupped over my parted lips. Tears filling my eyes, the kind stirred from a skipping heart and stolen breath.
I stand on the foot of the staircase. Staring at the closed adjoining door that Thatcher left through. I could hear everything when their voices grew louder.
He was willing to quit for me. So we could be together.
He’s sacrificed so much of what he loves. All for me. And I’ve never had someone make so many endless declarations. I feel them swelling up inside me.
He’s still a bodyguard. I didn’t take that from him. He kept something, and that breathes sunlight into my lungs.
The door blows open.
Thatcher instantly lays his eyes on me, and we take sharp breaths. “Jane,” he says huskily, soaking in my overcome expression. “You heard?”
I drop my hands off my mouth. My heart racing, nearly floating out of me. “I heard,” I confirm.
He comes straight for me.
And I can’t shut up.
“I heard…all of what you said, and I… I think you’re… I find you…” I watch his unwavering stride—not faltering, not hesitating—his strong eyes already clutching me before his hands do.
Swiftly, Thatcher lifts me against his chest, a gasp breaking apart my lips. My legs instinctively wrap around his waist while he holds me. While I clasp his hard, scruffy jaw between two palms. Staring deep into his yearning and affection.
His mouth brushes mine, longing in the air between our lips, and we kiss with unraveling passion.
He carries me up the narrow stairs, and when we get to my room, he kicks the door closed. Our lips haven’t parted. Each kiss like a blazing promise—this will happen again tomorrow. And the day after that. And after that.
No one is telling us this has to end.
We only break apart when my back hits the bedpost. Lips swollen and red, breathing heavy, and heartbeat sputtering a mile a minute.
Cats dart past his heels, and my animal-print drapes blow in a gentle breeze. Window cracked, blinds open and light shining through.
I speak, words tumbling out of my mouth at rapid pace. “I’m feeling so many things at once… and it’s so overwhelming.” Our eyes graze each other, and I just think aloud, “Will you stay with me here in my room?”
“Right now?” He brushes a piece of hair off my lips.
Heat flushes my cheeks. “I meant longer. You won’t be able to live in security’s townhouse if you’re not my bodyguard. But you can stay in mine, here with me—you can say no. I just thought it’d be easier and with the suspect not caught, the one who broke-in…” I trail off because he’s already nodding. He’s been nodding for a while.
Maybe since I first explained.
“I want to live with you,” he says strongly against my lips.
I dizzy. “And you want to be my boyfriend,” I say out loud, my lips lifting into an overwhelmed smile. “My real boyfriend.”
“You want to have a boyfriend.” He says what is true. I’m no longer closed off from the idea of a relationship. My heart is open for him to hold.
And to protect.
Breathless, I whisper, “Only if that boyfriend is you.”
His hand encases my cheek. “I love you, Jane.”
My lungs swell with deeper emotions.
He cradles my gaze. “You don’t have to say it back. I know it may take time for you because of your feelings about love—”
“I’m falling so terribly in love with you,” I say, my heart speaking for me. It feels good and right and perfect. “I think I’ve been falling for you for some time now.”
He inhales, his forehead pressing to mine. I thread my fingers through his soft hair.
We kiss again. This one sensual and tender, and as our lips pull back in a breath, we turn our heads, sensing something outside the window.
Snow flutters softly down. I watch the wind carry the white flakes in whirling arcs.
“It’s early,” I say to him. “One of the earliest snowfalls, if I remember correctly.”
“First snow of November,” Thatcher breathes, but his eyes have already returned to me. Hands still holding me. Protecting me.
He may not be my bodyguard anymore, but he doesn’t have to be for me to feel unequivocally safe in his arms.
And the road ahead may be filled with more potholes and storms, but I’m not driving down a one-way street. We’re together.
What
ever we have to face, that’s all that matters to me.
We’re together in love.
* * *
Thank you for reading Tangled Like Us ! We hope you enjoyed Thatcher & Jane’s love story! Ready for more from the broody bodyguard and the cat-loving American princess? Jane & Thatcher’s romance continues in SINFUL LIKE US (Book 5 in the Like Us Series)…
Are you craving more Thatcher & Jane and Maximoff & Farrow? While you wait for the next Like Us series novel, check out all our extra content! We have over 25 bonus scenes (over 80,000 words!), podcasts, and behind-the-scene snippets from the entire Like Us series — featuring all your favorite characters (including side characters!). And there is new content releasing…Every. Single. Month! It’s all available on our Patreon !
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FURTHER READING
Want to learn more about how the Calloway Sisters and their families became famous? The entire Addicted & Calloway Sisters series are now available! Start with Lily & Loren Hale’s story in Addicted to You.
ADDICTED TO YOU
She's addicted to sex. He's addicted to booze...the only way out is rock bottom.
No one would suspect shy Lily Calloway's biggest secret. While everyone is dancing at college bars, Lily stays in the bathroom. To get laid. Her compulsion leads her to one-night stands, steamy hookups and events she shamefully regrets. The only person who knows her secret happens to have one of his own.
Loren Hale's best friend is his bottle of bourbon. Lily comes at a close second. For three years, they've pretended to be in a real relationship, hiding their addictions from their families. They've mastered the art of concealing flasks and random guys that filter in and out of their apartment.
But as they sink beneath the weight of their addictions, they cling harder to their destructive relationship and wonder if a life together, for real, is better than a lie. Strangers and family begin to infiltrate their guarded lives, and with new challenges, they realize they may not just be addicted to alcohol and sex.
Their real vice may be each other.
One-click ADDICTED TO YOU to read now!
* * *
Want to read about Jane’s parents — Rose Calloway & Connor Cobalt? The entire Addicted & Calloway Sisters series are now available and it’s possible to start with the Calloway Sisters series! Rose & Connor’s story begins in Kiss the Sky.
KISS THE SKY
A virgin "ice queen" heiress & The arrogant god-like man who wants to melt her
Rose Calloway thought she had everything under control. At twenty-three, she's a Princeton graduate, an Academic Bowl champion, a fashion designer and the daughter of a Fortune 500 mogul. But with a sex addict as a sister and roommate, nothing comes easy.
When Rose's fashion line is in peril, she plans an unconventional solution to save it. Making matters more intense, she agreed to be in a real relationship with her "godly" college rival.
And now they're living together.
For the first time.
At twenty-four, Connor Cobalt bulldozes weak men. Confident and smart-as-hell, Connor vows to help Rose outside of the bedroom and inside. But melting this ice queen is a challenge no one has been able to win.
This Romance can be described as Friends meets The Real World. Expect fist fights, sex of varying degrees, crude humor and competitive alpha males. Definitely for mature audiences only.
One-click KISS THE SKY to read now!
* * *
For release alerts subscribe to Krista & Becca’s NEWSLETTER and follow their BookBub page .
Also by Krista & Becca
ADDICTED SERIES
Addicted to You
Ricochet
Addicted for Now
Thrive
Addicted After All
The Addicted Series Box Set
CALLOWAY SISTERS SERIES
Kiss the Sky
Hothouse Flower
Fuel the Fire
Long Way Down
Some Kind of Perfect
LIKE US SERIES
Damaged Like Us
Lovers Like Us
Alphas Like Us
Tangled Like Us
Sinful Like Us
Book 6 (Maximoff & Farrow)
Book 7 (Oscar & Jack)
Book 8 (Sulli & Akara)
STANDALONE ROMANCES
Amour Amour
Infini
About the Authors
ABOUT KRISTA & BECCA RITCHIE
Krista & Becca Ritchie are New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors and identical twins—one a science nerd, the other a comic book geek—but with their shared passion for writing, they combined their mental powers as kids and have never stopped telling stories. Now in their twenties, they write about other twenty-somethings navigating through life, college, and romance. They love superheroes, flawed characters, and soul mate love.
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND UPDATES
Visit Krista & Becca Ritchie on their website and like their Facebook Page . Subscribe to Krista & Becca’s NEWSLETTER to receive updates on free books, bonus content, new releases, cover reveals, giveaways and more!
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Pronunciation Glossary
The Italian used in this book is an Italian-American language developed by Italian immigrants. It is an incomplete language and uses Italian, English, or both. Different Italians speak different dialects in certain areas, and what is used in the Like Us series is prominent on the East Coast. Words may vary in pronunciation and spelling in different communities.
agita : pronounced AA-jih-tuh (Origin: aciditá)
braggiol’ : pronounced BRAAJH-oel (Origin: bracciole)
cornic’ : pronounced kor-neek (Origin: cornicello)
cumare : pronounced KOO-mar (Origin: comare)
gabbadost’ : pronounced gaa-baa-dahst (Origin: capa dura/capa tosta)
gomesegiam’? : pronounced go-maa-say-GYAM (Origin: come si chiama?)
ma che bell’: pronounced maa-KAY-bell (Origin: ma che bella)
maliocch’ : pronounced maal-YOAK (Origin: malocchio)
mannaggia : pronounced MAA-NAA-juh (Origin: male ne aggia/male ne abbia)
mapeen : pronounced maa-PEEN (Origin: moppina)
menzamenz : pronounced mehnz-AA-mehnz (Origin: mezza mezza)
scustamad’ : pronounced skoo-stoo-MAAD (Origin: scostumato)
statazitt’! : pronounced stah-tuh-ZEET (Origin: stai zitto)
vaffangul’ : pronounced VAA-faan-GOOL (Origin: vai a fare in culo)
veni qua : pronounced veh-nee-kwaa (Origin: vieni qui)
Acknowledgments
Usually, our acknowledgments are filled with a list of people we need to thank and all the outpouring of gratitude to the people who made this book possible. Writing Tangled Like Us was different, and so this section is also going to be a little different, too.
Each of our books has a piece of ourselves in them. Personal, always. Even if we don’t come out and publicly say what specific part came from our lives, it’s there. Tangled Like Us has so much of ourselves in it. But the most important—it has our family. Our big, loud and loving Italian-American family.
It has our grandma.
Her spirit and love exists inside of Thatcher’s grandma. When we were writing Tangled Like Us, we talked with our Grandma Lou about her childhood and the Italian she grew up with in her home. Our long conversations discussing how to pronounce words like gabbadost’ and cumare , and how her mom traveled to America alone at twelve-years-old with jewelry sewn into her panties will be some of the things we cherish most about writ
ing this book.
We didn’t expect her passing. It came suddenly and unexpectedly while we were finishing the last part of Tangled, and it rocked our world to its core. One of our last conversations with her was talking about the cornic’ and how it would play an important role in the story.
Her excitement and enthusiasm over this book, which she never read but knew would exist, was such a fuel for us. She would say, “my Italian will be in the book, right?” Yes. Your Italian, Grandma, is in this book. She never believed that the way she spoke was “correct” because it was a broken Italian that those in Italy wouldn’t understand. But the Italian-American immigrant language is so very special and close to our hearts. It’s what we heard growing up, and since we didn’t know any other Italians in the area, it felt like only our families understood the words.
Our grandma was a light in the world. Now she’s a spirit in the sky, but she has impacted so many people with her love and generosity. And when our mom needed her when we were born, she packed up her bags and traveled hundreds of miles to be with our mom. Without hesitation.
Tangled Like Us Page 41
