by Claire Adams
"I'm going to pay them," I said. "I've got a new job, and I have plenty of time to pull double shifts. I mean, the only plan I have besides working is checking in on my stepsisters. I'm sure they've been bothering you about the rebuild, and I'm going to make sure that everything is straightened out. I'll pay back anything you may have footed the bill for."
My chest got too tight, and I couldn't catch a deep breath. I thought about taking another sip of wine, but my hand was trembling, and I didn't want Teddy to see. He was rolling his shoulders and admiring the fire, but I knew he had seen my building debt. Here he was, stuck in my tiny closet of a home, drinking cheap wine, and trying to pretend like we weren't from completely different worlds.
"How about we let our fathers worry about that," Teddy suggested.
My breath was ragged. I still hadn't heard from my father, and my brother was overdue for contact, as well. I couldn't remember the last time I had had an actual conversation with either of them, and I dreaded having to explain what happened to the cottage.
And then there was the dilemma of my stepsisters. They mocked me and were embarrassed by me, but I knew something was wrong, and they needed my help. Their mother was far away, and I was the only other family they had. How was I supposed to find time to gain their trust and find out what was wrong?
"Kiara? Are you all right?" Teddy asked.
"I will be," I said, but my voice came out high and strained.
"I mean right now," he said. His hand closed over my shoulder and gave me a comforting squeeze. "How are you doing right now?"
"Right now?" A nervous laugh bubbled out of my closed throat. "Right now I've got probably the richest man in Manhattan wedged into my tiny apartment, and I'm so embarrassed."
"Embarrassed?" He sat forward and put both hands on my shoulders. "What do you have to be embarrassed about?"
"This place, all those bills, my new job." I started to snuffle. "My new job is at the pizzeria. I'm not there doing research or consulting. I'm the newest waitress. I go in early to help with all the prep work because I get an extra few cents an hour for it."
"And, that's when you make that heavenly sauce," Teddy said. He clinked his wine glass against mine again. "I personally overheard at least fifteen people comment on how great the pizza was tonight, and I knew it was all because of you."
"Pappy's been there forever. The dough is the real reason-"
Teddy cut me off, tugging me closer. "Kiara, relax. You're amazing, not embarrassing. Look around you. This is a wonderful place. And I love your new job."
When he puffed out his chest to show off his pizzeria t-shirt, I laughed. "It fits pretty good, but I hate to think what your tailor would say."
Teddy chuckled and brought up the wine bottle again. He topped us both off and then gestured to the fire. "Honestly, I love it here. There's tasty wine, a comfortable couch, and a cozy fire."
"Doesn't your mansion have an obscene number of fireplaces?"
Teddy leaned back next to me on the tight loveseat and smiled. "And, I would trade all of them for a private little retreat like this. You know how sick I get of having to walk two miles just to get a midnight snack?"
I laughed and elbowed him in the stomach. "Is that why you're so fit?"
"Exactly. It's exhausting living in that house. I bet you could make any one of those gourmet recipes right in that little kitchen before we curled up here on the couch. What more do you need than that? And, you don't have to stumble up a huge flight of stairs to go to bed. It's perfect."
I took another long sip of my wine to cover up my disbelieving smile. Teddy noticed and gave my cheek a light pinch. "There's no way," I told him. "You'd be crazy here within a day."
"It'd be like a slice of heaven," he declared.
"Not after you realized the shower is so small you can't turn around in it. Or when you try to open the oven and it hits the opposite cupboard doors. And then there's the whole, lovely experience of carrying groceries up all those flights of stairs," I said.
"You make it work," he said. "You could show me."
My cheeks warmed as I took another sip of wine. "The laundry is all the way in the basement of the building. Coin operated. You can smell deli meats from the shop across the street when the windows are open. And, the sink is so small I sometimes have to wash pots and pans in a basin in the shower."
He laughed. "You really can make anything work, can't you?"
I shook my head. "I'm not making anything work lately."
"The wine's good," he said with a nudge of his arm.
"I'm serious, Teddy. Don't romanticize my life. I've got nothing."
He slipped his arm around my back as I slumped on the couch, then he tugged me a little closer to the tempting strength of his shoulder. "That's what I love the most about it. You're starting over and rebuilding everything from the ground up."
"Literally," I snorted.
"You can't tell me that's not exciting. You can make anything out of your life that you want to. It's all up to you. And it's not like you're completely destitute," he said. "You have a very comfortable and charming home, a job with great people, and people that care about you. Not to mention your cooking talent. So, what do you have to be down about?"
The burned down house, my father, my brother, my obnoxious stepsisters, and my lost law career all snapped in and out of my head like sparks and disappeared. They couldn't touch the cozy glow of the fire, Teddy's warm hand rubbing my shoulder, or our bodies fitting together on the tight, little loveseat. We both smelled of spicy pizza and fresh rain. The wine was surprisingly good, and I felt Teddy's contentedness seeping into me.
"It's not like what you have," I said.
He brushed my hair away and traced his fingers along the back of my neck. "Don't say that. It's better."
"How? The low-rung job? The cramped attic? The cheap wine? You could have all those things thousands of times over. What's stopping you from living like this if it's what you really want?"
His fingers continued their soft circles as his sipped his wine and thought. "I know everyone thinks I can do whatever I want, but a family fortune comes with a lot of expectations.
“Yes, I could reject the money, but that would be cruel to my father. I'm all he has, and I wouldn't just be turning my back on his lifestyle."
"Wouldn't he understand if you wanted something different?"
Teddy shrugged. "He'd hear me out, but what would I tell him? I have no idea what I really want. Lately, it seems all I can figure out is what I don't want."
"Like dozens of fireplaces?" I joked.
His smile turned into a grimace. "Exactly. The estate is beautiful, I know that, but I didn't choose it. It's part of the legacy, the image, all of it already mapped out into perpetuity. I'm not even supposed to fight for my own choice of wife. They have that all tied up for me, too. There were even picturesque proposal scenes laid out for me."
I held my breath.
Teddy drew his hand to my cheek and turned my face to him. "I didn't do it."
"You're not engaged?" My voice shook, and I caught myself before I tried to ask any more.
"She's supposed to be the perfect choice. Our families would be an epic merger. She's beautiful, cultured, well-traveled, smart…"
I couldn't help it. I shifted and cleared my throat.
Teddy laughed, "But that's the problem. She's perfect, but she's not for me. I'm not engaged to Whitney Barnes, nor do I ever plan to be. No matter what our families might want or what the gossipmongers might say."
"She made it seem like…you know."
His hand slipped to cover my mouth. "Of course she did. She was jealous."
I brushed away his fingers and hoped he didn't notice my blush. "Of what?"
"You, Kiara," he said. "All I wanted, all I want is to be near you. No one else."
I put my wine glass down before my unsteady hands could give me away. Teddy's words, his body close to mine, the way his eyes moved over my face and never l
ooked away…they were all causing a riot inside me. All of those moments at the Brickman Estate came rushing back with a sweetness I thought his engagement had soured for good. Now that I knew he was free, those stolen glances and accidental caresses were all fuel for a fire that was quickly getting out of hand.
"Maybe I should open a window. The one draw-back of having a cozy fire in such a small place," I said.
Teddy stood up with me, and I stumbled against him. I laughed, but could not push away. I was caught by his hopeful smile, his arm tight around my waist. The other hand let go of my hip and traced up my arm to brush my hair back over my shoulder. His eyes dropped to the bare skin of my shoulder, and I felt his gaze like the warm touch of his fingertips. He traced along and up the side of my neck until his eyes rested on my lips.
I gave in, my body relaxing into his steady grip, my lips parting in a soft sigh. His hopeful look turned hungry, and Teddy leaned down. He paused just an inch away and gave me a questioning glance.
"Yes, please," I breathed.
His lips seared against mine, curving into a smile before opening in a pleasured groan. I pressed up onto my toes, my arms wrapping around his neck as his searching kiss parted my lips and tasted deeper. I flattened myself against his hard chest and felt his hands clamp hard into the small of my back. We still weren't close enough.
I slipped my thigh to the outside of his, and his strong hand was there to grip it, guiding my knee up. I wrapped around him as his kiss plunged farther, drawing up an aching throb from deep inside me. The back of my leg bumped against the coffee table. Teddy shifted our weight and shoved the small steamer trunk under the kitchen table. The rug in front of the fireplace now lay bare, and he swung me into the space, my toes barely touching the floor.
I clung to Teddy, the strong core of him, as his hands roamed up and down my back. One hand swept down the back of my thigh, tracing where I wrapped around him. He pulled me tighter against him, causing a desperate friction between my legs that heated into intense longing.
He dipped down, pressing me back onto my feet, and then paused for one more searching look. I answered with an overheated smile and tugged him down with me to the soft rug.
Teddy dove in for more long, saturating kisses that left me floating in waves of pleasure and need. His sweeping hands now focused on my waistband and soon slipped me free of my pants. I arched up to help him, burning with delight as his hands drifted over my bare thighs.
I fumbled with the buttons on my blouse as Teddy tossed off the pizzeria shirt. His eyes blazed until he lowered himself against me, then both our eyes shut with the melting heat between us.
He rocked against me, and I arched up in response. My hands dragged up and down the hard stretch of his back to the firm curve of his butt. When I flexed my fingers there, he answered by grinding hard against me, making us both gasp.
He pulled back and panted against my lips. "Kiara."
My name on his breath turned me liquid, and I swelled against him.
Each breath brushed my nipples against him, and the sensation crashed through me. Teddy's hand pressed to my side, holding me still as he slowly dragged his body against mine. He slipped down to kiss my drumming heart and then moved back over me. I twisted my legs around his waist as he rocked back to pull him tight to the center of me.
He groaned as his hand dropped to tug at my lace underpants.
"Yes," I said against his searing kiss.
He slipped his hand inside the lace, palm flat against my trembling knot. The caress flooded through me and then he dipped lower, pressing inside me. I opened to him, wanting more, my hands pushing down the thin, cotton barrier of his boxers.
Teddy took his time, stroking, rubbing, bringing me right to the brink, and then he paused. I opened my eyes to see his gaze, deep, intent, and so intimate that I didn't know where we separated.
Then he nudged against me, slowly, fitting so tight that I felt every throbbing inch. I gasped, panted, and couldn't look away. He kept his eyes locked to mine until we were fully joined.
There, he let out a shuddering breath and caught my lips in a long, penetrating kiss. I drew my knees up to his waist and rocked my hips. We panted, lip to lip, the rhythm increasing by deliciously slow intervals.
My toes curled, and the tightening sensations swept up from there all through my body. When they reverberated back down to the core of me, to where Teddy pressed so deep inside, I felt the shuddering release crash apart like a wave on the shore.
Teddy tore his lips from mine and buried his head in the curve of my neck. His body pulsed against me, into me, and I answered every throb.
We were still pulsating back and forth, our hands drifting over each other in gentle waves, bodies deeply intertwined, when my phone rang. It had fallen on the floor when Teddy shoved the coffee table away. The screen lit up our faces in a flash of blue light. I squinted at the number and swallowed my shock.
"Who is it?" Teddy asked, propping himself up on his elbows above my body.
"My father," I cried. Teddy scrambled up like a guilty teenager, and I almost laughed. Instead, I apologized. "I've been trying to reach him. I still haven't told him about the cottage."
"I know," Teddy kissed my babbling lips. "Answer your phone. I'm not going anywhere."
I took the pizzeria shirt he tossed me and tugged it on as I answered. "Father! How are you? I've been trying to reach you. I have bad news."
"I have bad news, too, Kiara." My father's voice was distant, and the connection was bad. "Your brother is missing in action."
He talked fast before the connection was cut, and all I could do was assure him I heard. My brother's mission had been aborted, but it was too late; they were out of radio contact. Enemy combatants had surrounded the area, and the Marines were captured. There was a skirmish, and only a few made it back to the checkpoint. My brother was not with them. They didn't know anything else.
"Yet," Teddy reminded me after I hung up. He gathered me close and carried me to my bed.
I curled up against him and buried my face in his shoulder. The tears wouldn't come, and I could barely speak through the shock. Teddy said nothing, just stroked my hair and held me close long into the night. Sometime after the fire died, he continued to soothe me as I finally fell asleep.
Chapter Fourteen
Teddy
The scent of her hair woke me up. Kiara shifted again on the pillow, and the warm, floral scent reached me again. I took a deep breath to stave off panic and opened my eyes.
She wasn't awake yet. I let out my breath in a quiet sigh. For just a few seconds, I marveled that she was only a few inches away. Kiara was wrapped in an over-sized t-shirt and burrowed under the covers, but her bare legs were tangled with mine. I tugged lightly to free my arm from around her warm waist.
It had been early in the morning when she had finally fallen asleep. I could still hear her sleepy voice asking me to stay, to hold her. Thinking about it made me warmer than the band of sunlight creeping up the covers.
Kiara was going to wake up soon and be devastated about her brother all over again. She didn't need me hanging around, trying to hang on to those fiery moments we had together before the phone call.
I was halfway to the door when I realized I didn't have my cell phone. The sunlight touched Kiara's dark hair, and suddenly it didn't matter that I was stranded. I didn't want to leave. Instead, I turned my energy towards making a decent cup of coffee without making too much noise.
Kiara woke up like she'd heard a gunshot. She sat straight up in bed, clocked me right away, and then smoothed back her wild, wavy hair.
I glared at the loud cabinet latch and held up the coffee mugs I had found. "Thought you might want some coffee," I said.
She shook her head, tugged down the hem of her shirt, and scuttled out of bed. "No time. I have to make a dozen phone calls before I head to work."
"Coffee to go, it is," I said.
"Teddy, we don't have to do this," she said. She gri
pped the doorframe of the small bathroom. "I'm sure you have better things to do, and I've got to…"
Her words trailed off and twisted at my heart. "I'm not doing anything without coffee," I said, "and I'm not leaving you like this."
"Like what?" she snapped. She whirled into the small bathroom and slammed the door behind her.
It was easier for her to be mad at me than to admit she was terrified about what happened to her brother.
When she tore out of the bathroom, fully dressed and ready to face anything, she first gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. Then, she took her coffee and waited impatiently for me to follow her out the door.
"What are you doing, Teddy?" she snapped as she strode down the sidewalk.
"Walking you to work. Don't you think it'd be better if you took the day off?"
Kiara nearly knocked the hot coffee out of my hand. "And do what? What do you think is going to happen here?"
"I think I'm going to walk you to work, get you the day off, and then help out in any way I can," I said. "I don't have any other expectations besides that."
She softened, but kept her skeptical frown. "I'm not taking the day off."
I couldn't believe that her boss Pappy agreed. He shook both hands and his head. "No, no, no. I already have two people out, and we're nowhere near prepped for the lunch rush. People are demanding the new sauce, and Kiara has to make it."
I stepped up to the tall pizzeria owner. "Didn't you hear what I said about her brother?"
Pappy took a deep breath and stood up even taller. "You don't know how to take care of her. Kiara needs to work, needs to be busy. That way the worry can't catch hold."
"You're really that short-staffed?"
"I know ounce per ounce how much produce, dairy, and dough we go through every day. I'm telling you that I don't have enough people to move that much, much less make it taste good," he said. "I've been in this business longer than you've been alive, so when I say we're short-staffed, I'm not just breathing hot air."
It was my turn to hold up my hands and wave them - in surrender. "All right, all right. Then you won't mind if I stick around and lend a hand?"
