by Joss Wood
Callie cupped Tanna’s cheek with a cool hand. “Oh, don’t get me wrong. I was very cross with you for a long time. But you’re back and I am thrilled to see you.”
Tanna needed to say something about Ray, Levi’s father. He’d died a few months after she’d left, and she’d sent flowers. “I’m so sorry about Ray, Callie. He was a lovely man.”
Callie nodded and grief gently touched her face before wafting away. “Thank you for the white lilies. They were lovely.”
Holy crap, Callie had a good memory.
Callie tucked her hand into the crook of Tanna’s elbow and steered her toward the kitchen.
“I have a new partner and he keeps me on my toes.” Callie flashed a brilliant smile. “He’s ten years younger than me, is seriously ripped and has quite a few tattoos.”
Tanna laughed at the excitement in Callie’s voice. It was obvious her new man was making her very happy, in all the ways that counted.
Callie patted Tanna’s hand and kept her feet moving forward. “We have so much to catch up on. I want you to meet Mason. He’s so lovely and makes me so happy. But first, you have to give the girls a chance to take a bite out of your very pretty hide.”
Fabulous.
“They are interrogating Levi in the kitchen. They want an explanation about why you are back. I wouldn’t mind one myself.”
Callie was sweet and gracious and altogether lovely but Tanna heard the note of steel in her voice. The Brogans were a tight bunch and Levi once told her that, while they argued like crazy, they were loyal to the nth degree. If you fought with one, you fought with all.
Tanna braked, not wanting to fight with anyone.
“You might as well get it over with,” Callie said on a light laugh. “Pull up your big-girl panties, darling.”
“But what if I don’t want to?” Tanna wailed. “What if I don’t own any big-girl panties?”
“Then suck it up, sunshine,” Callie said cheerfully before placing her hand between Tanna’s shoulder blades and propelling her into the kitchen.
Five
Levi sat at the scarred wooden table, his hand around his coffee mug, his head angled toward the doorway, expecting Tanna to appear any moment. He knew she was on her way because there was something about how the air changed when she was near. It was almost as if the atmosphere held its breath, waiting for her to arrive.
Or maybe that was just him.
Tanna stepped into the kitchen, her hands tucked into the back pockets of her jeans. She’d shed her thigh-length leather jacket, and her thin, light-green-colored silk sweater clung to her small breasts and slim curves. With her ballerina’s body, she wasn’t voluptuous by any means, but to him, she was as sexy as hell.
And he couldn’t believe she’d agreed to sleep with him. Well, not in so many words, but yeah, she was still here, wasn’t she? Her presence in his kitchen was proof she accepted that sleeping together—having hot, raunchy sex—was a definite possibility.
Hoo-damn-ray.
Levi leaned back in his chair and watched Tanna’s glance bounce from one twin’s face to the other and he was impressed by her composure. He admired her calm attitude and her courage to face his sisters.
Because his sisters could be pretty damn scary. They loved hard and they loved deeply, and hurting someone they cared about—even if he was their annoying brother—made them want to do some ass kicking.
He’d never let them tag team Tanna, but he appreciated their willingness to do so.
Levi transferred his attention to his mother, caught the speculation in her eyes and immediately dropped his gaze. Callie had a fully functioning mom-dar. She’d always been too intuitive for his own good and he didn’t want her seeing anything that might give her hope there was a second chance for a happy-ever-after for him and Tanna.
There would be a happy ending, for both of them, several if he had his way. But a happy-ever-after? He didn’t believe in those anymore.
Tanna broke the awkward silence in the room. “Jules and Darby, it’s nice to see you again.”
Such a lie, Levi thought. If she could’ve she would’ve avoided this conversation. Hell, if he’d had the choice, they wouldn’t be having this conversation either, but while this house was now legally his, it was also their childhood home and the home they had all shared up until a few months ago.
Frankly, he’d need a nuclear bomb to dislodge them.
“Tanna,” Darby responded, making her name sound like week-old trash.
Such fun.
Levi looked longingly at the cupboard containing his ten-year-old whiskey and wished someone would pour him a shot, or two. But he couldn’t drink alcohol with the pain meds, more’s the pity.
Well, if he couldn’t have whiskey, he wished one of the many women in his life would get him another cup of coffee.
He opened his mouth to ask for a refill, but Darby responded before he could speak.
“I wish we could say we were happy to see you,” Darby said, as forthright as ever. Jules had more tact than her twin, but probably because he was as straightforward, Levi liked Darby’s shoot-from-the-hip style. He always knew exactly where he stood with that sister. “Why are you back, Tanna?”
“And if you’re back only to mess with Levi’s head, then we’d like you to leave,” Jules interjected, folding her arms across her chest.
“He broke his knee, not his head, so he won’t be taking you back,” Darby continued.
Levi started to tell her she didn’t talk for him, but before he could speak, Tanna held up her hand in a silent plea. When she was sure she had the floor, she straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “Are you two done?” she quietly asked the twins.
Jules nodded and Darby shrugged.
“Thank you,” Tanna said, her voice smooth but holding a don’t-mess-with-me edge. “I’m back because I had something to say to Levi—”
“What?” Darby demanded.
Levi considered responding but decided Tanna was doing a fine job dealing with his sisters on her own.
Tanna raised her eyebrows at Darby’s interruption and Darby flushed. “Sorry,” she muttered. “Go on.”
“Thank you,” Tanna said again. After a moment of silence, she continued, “What Levi and I discussed has nothing to do with his family. That’s between us. As is our arrangement. While I appreciate your protective streak, I can assure you there is no chance of a reconciliation between us—”
Her declaration was a sharp-tipped blade, stabbing him in the stomach. What the hell was the matter with him? There was no way in hell he’d give Tanna a second chance, even if she wanted one...
Which she obviously didn’t.
“—but I have agreed to help him out while he recovers. The reasons behind our decision have nothing to do with you,” Tanna said, moving over to the coffee machine behind where Callie was sitting. She turned her back to him and reached for a mug in the cupboard above. They all waited while the machine dispensed hot black coffee and Levi was surprised when she swapped his empty cup for the full one.
“Thanks,” Levi murmured.
“Hungry?” she softly asked.
“I ordered pizza. It should be here soon,” Levi told her, embarrassed when his stomach released a low growl. He was hungry for the first time since his accident and not just for food.
He wanted this woman...
Now, here. Immediately. How soon could he get his family to leave?
“That’s all very well, Tanna, but you must understand your returning to Boston sounds fishy,” Darby said, breaking their stare.
Levi blinked at Darby’s statement and shook his head. Right. He loved his sisters but enough was enough. Injured or not, he could fight his own battles.
He cleared his throat. “While I appreciate your concern—”
“No, you don’t,” Calli
e interrupted, laughter in her voice.
Not helping, Mom. Levi scowled at her and looked back to the twins. “I don’t need you to protect me. Or to interfere in something that has nothing to do with you.”
Jules and Darby both rolled their eyes. In that moment, in their disbelief, the fraternal twins looked the same.
“Our love lives had nothing to do with you but that didn’t stop you from interfering,” Darby pointed out.
“I never interfered,” Levi stated, knowing he was on thin ice. It was true. No good deed ever went unpunished.
Damn, but he longed to feel in control again. In the past week, he’d injured himself, was housebound and his ex-fiancée was not only back in his life, but in his home. What was next? A meteor strike? A swarm of locusts?
“Pfft. What about the time you took Matt outside and threatened him if he messed with DJ?” Jules demanded.
The ice cracked. “I’m not arguing with you about this, twins.” Levi lowered his voice so they had no doubt he was losing his patience. “Tanna and I have come to an understanding and I’m asking you to respect that. And her,” he added.
Both Jules and Darby looked mutinous, so Levi spoke again, his tone suggesting he wasn’t interested in any of their opinions. “Tanna came back and she apologized. The fact that she was willing to do that is worthy of respect.”
Levi ignored the surprised look on Tanna’s face, the gratitude flashing in her eyes. He didn’t want her gratitude, he wanted her mouth under his, their legs and arms tangled. He wanted her naked, preferably immediately.
And the sooner his interfering family left, the sooner that could happen. He started to lift himself to his feet and just managed to swallow his yelp of pain. Yeah, damn, he’d moved too fast. And if he couldn’t move, then he certainly couldn’t make love to Tanna the way he wanted to, the way their first time deserved.
He wouldn’t be making love today. Probably not tomorrow either...
Hell.
“Girls, it’s time to go,” Callie said, sending him a you-can’t-fool-me look. No matter how old they were or how independent, when Callie used that tone of voice, they all made haste to obey.
Jules and Darby rose and they both, as they always did, dropped a kiss on his cheek. Callie, surprisingly, ignored him to wrap her arms around Tanna, who still had her back to them. Levi saw Callie’s squeeze and wondered what his mom whispered into her ear.
Sometimes, back then, he’d arrive at the hospital and find Callie lying next to Tanna in her hospital bed, Tanna’s head on Callie’s shoulder, talking or watching a movie. His mom and Tanna had become close very quickly, and he’d been a little jealous at their easy camaraderie. His relationship with his mom had been collateral damage in his ongoing fights with his dad; she’d been caught in the middle, her loyalty torn in two.
Levi’s warnings, his doom-and-gloom prophecies about Ray’s risk-taking, had caused tension and a hundred arguments, and then Ray died. Levi was still the only person who knew that Ray, at the time of his death, was about to acquire new cell phone technology that he said would revolutionize the industry. He’d handed over personal and business sureties and had been on the point of signing away everything they owned...
The technology, as Levi discovered after the funeral, was a dud. It didn’t work.
They would’ve lost every damn thing they owned had the deal gone through...
And people wondered why Levi liked to be cautious, why he needed to be in control? His father had taught him how dangerous freewheeling could be...
Callie turned away from Tanna and stood in front of him, waiting for him to meet her eyes. He finally did and Callie shook her head, looking a little amused.
“There’s nothing to worry about, Mom,” Levi told her, hoping she’d believe him, that he’d start to believe himself.
Her mouth tipped upward at the corners. “Oh, I know there isn’t.” She bent down and dropped a kiss on his forehead. “I’m not worried at all. Are you?”
Hell no. Even if he was, he’d never admit it to the Grand Interrogator.
Callie’s smiled broadened at his negative response. “But I do know that, from tonight on, my darling, your life is never going to be the same again. And I, for one, am thrilled.”
Levi watched her walk across the room and resisted the urge to call her back, to try to convince her that she was letting her imagination run wild. That she was seeing stuff that simply wasn’t there.
He wanted to explain that he and Tanna were just two people who no longer had anything in common other than their mutual wish to strip each other down and put their hands and tongues to work.
But there were some things you couldn’t say to your mom, even if she was one of the coolest people you knew.
“Bye, Mom.”
Callie, and her great smile, walked out.
* * *
Tanna dropped the pizza crust onto her plate and wiped her fingers on a napkin, thinking it was going to be a very long six weeks if she and Levi couldn’t get past their awkward silence.
She took a sip of red wine and tucked her feet under her bottom.
Levi sat in his easy chair, his busted leg resting on a leather ottoman, his hand wrapped around a glass of water and his expression pensive.
“I went to Murphy’s today,” Tanna said and watched as his eyes flew up to meet hers.
“Yeah?”
His expression was interested so Tanna nodded. “When I left Carrick’s office, I couldn’t resist popping into the viewing rooms. They are holding a vintage dress and accessories auction soon and the items on display are amazing, one-of-a-kind pieces from some of the most iconic designers of the past. And they are also auctioning off a collection of Henry Moore’s work, so I spent some time in the viewing room.”
Levi pulled a face. “Remind me who Moore is?”
Levi still wasn’t an art connoisseur. “Twentieth-century sculptor? English, best known for his huge bronze sculptures. He dabbled in abstractions of the human figure, often depicting mother-and-child figures. He was a little obsessed with the female body—”
“Aren’t we all?” Levi murmured. Okay, she wasn’t touching that comment with a ten-foot pole.
“—and his forms often contain hollow spaces,” Tanna continued.
“Thank you, Wikipedia,” Levi stated, his voice dry.
As she always had before, she provided far too much information when Levi asked her about art. She couldn’t help it; art facts stuck in her head like lint stuck to Velcro. She adored art and loved to share her knowledge.
“Did you ever finish your degree in art history?” Levi asked her, his index fingers tapping his strong thigh.
Tanna shook her head. “I got...distracted.”
“But I bet your bedside table is still stacked with art books.”
Tanna smiled at his observation. It was. Her bedtime reading was catalogues raisonnés and autobiographies of artists.
“It’s the first time I’ve been back to the business since I left when I was nineteen,” Tanna said softly, thinking about her visit to Murphy’s. She felt Levi’s eyes on her face and wondered why she felt the need to tell him something so personal.
Levi put his plate down on the table next to him and tipped his head to the side. “Really? Why haven’t you been back?”
Tanna looked down into her glass, gently swirling the liquid so it stuck to the sides of the crystal. How could she explain this? Should she even try?
“Tanna?”
She wrinkled her nose and met his inquisitive gaze. “I’ve only been back to Boston a handful of times and I didn’t want to go back to Murphy’s because I was scared it would be too hard. And that I would question my choices about my education and my career.”
“And did you?”
She sent him a small smile. She wasn’t ready to admit to Levi that it had
been hard, a little.
“I watched this woman walk up the stairs. She was wearing an amazing pair of red heels and I followed her up. She was talking to a client about a Schiaparelli dress—”
“English, Murphy.”
“Elsa Schiaparelli was an iconic Italian designer. Coco Chanel was her greatest rival, and she was big between the two world wars. She was influenced by surrealists like Salvador Dalí.”
Levi groaned and Tanna knew she’d provided too much information again. “Anyway, this woman was talking about this vintage dress and doing a really poor job of selling it. I wanted to rip the phone from her and take over the conversation.”
“I presume you managed to restrain yourself?” Levi asked, amused.
Tanna pulled a face. “Barely. She wasn’t enthusiastic about the product, didn’t respect the process. You’ve got to have a passion for the product if you’re going to sell it effectively, Levi.”
“You aren’t short of passion, Tanna.”
Tanna ignored the obvious double entendre. “Maybe, but that’s not my field anymore, Levi. It was something else I gave up when I left.”
“It was your choice to walk away, Tanna. That’s on you,” Levi said, dousing her with a hard dose of reality.
Of course it was, but surely she was allowed to reflect on what she’d given up? She could’ve had a career at Murphy’s; she could’ve married Levi, be living in this house and having a totally different life. Surely it was normal to wonder what it would be like working with her brothers, indulging her deep love of art, textiles and ceramics, and sharing her passion with collectors?
She could see herself leaving Levi’s bed, maybe after some fun in the shower, kissing him goodbye as she left this beautiful house, driving into Boston central. She’d have her own office at Murphy’s and she’d spend her time working with the PR department, promoting upcoming sales and meeting with collectors all over the world. She’d travel internationally, visiting clients in Hong Kong and New York, Paris and Dubai. If she had time, she’d visit the Louvre or the Met, the antiques shops and the art dealers.
