Chapter Thirteen
Kiara
My toe caught on another crack in the sidewalk, and I knew I wanted to turn around. What had I been thinking, inviting Teddy back to my place? Even the street looked shabby, with big potholes collecting water. The front steps of my building were chipped, and the potted plants dried out to dead husks. I cringed when Teddy reached out to grab the handle of the smudged front door.
It didn't matter that he'd been mugged and wandering the streets for a few hours in the drizzling rain. Teddy Brickman was dashing—and so sexy with his damp shirt unbuttoned. The clinging fabric showed contours of his chest that I wanted to test with my fingers.
I shook myself and almost dropped my keys. Is that why I invited Teddy back to my apartment? He wasn't someone who needed saving, and I could have left him at the pizzeria to make his own way home to his mansion. Teddy had smiled when he said he'd wander around Brooklyn all night, as if he was content. After my long, busy shift, his eyes were twinkling, and I half expected him to head out the door dancing.
And I didn't want to miss the glowing warmth I felt pulsating through me whenever Teddy was near.
I tripped on the shabby, carpeted stairs and swore at myself. A hundred fools fell in love with Teddy Brickman every day. Why did I think I had a chance? Especially after he saw my cramped apartment.
"Is your key stuck?" Teddy asked, seemingly fascinated with the act of unlocking a door.
I was frozen thinking of my small table cluttered with recipes and plans. My apartment was littered with earmarked books and scraps I had clipped from magazines. They all added up to a foolish girl with big dreams.
"It's just… Are you sure you wouldn't rather stay in a hotel?" I asked, flattened against my front door.
He cocked an eyebrow. "Would you rather I stayed in a hotel?"
"It's just my place is so small, and it’s really messy."
"Kiara. Open the door," he said.
He took my arm, opened the door, and pulled me inside. I bumped against him in the dark, and it took two, giddy heartbeats before I remembered to turn on the light. I had cheap, white twinkle lights plugged into the switch, and they glittered to life all around my apartment.
The apartment was the opposite of the old cottage's rugged interior. My entire childhood had been dominated by my father's and brother's masculine aesthetic: useful, sparse, neutral tones. Without my mother, there had not been much of a feminine touch, so when I chose my own place, I found one that spoke to that absence.
The little lights glowed off the pale-pink walls and bright crown molding. The floors were a light, golden pine, covered with mismatched gray and pearl Oriental rugs. The kitchen table was a distressed white with a vase of delicate pink blooms stranded in a flood of cookbooks and notes. We stood in the kitchen, and Teddy leaned on a glittering, marble counter as he considered the snug apartment.
From the kitchen to the back wall, the apartment was not more than eight hundred feet. The kitchen table bisected a small living space that included a white, wood-burning fireplace. A gray, wooden screen separated the minute living room from my four-post bed piled high with white lace pillows. A star quilt of pastel gardens and pink florals stuck out past the screen and was capped off with an old-fashioned cedar chest.
Teddy grinned and slipped his hand from my arm to around my waist. "It suits you. Tough attitude, soft heart. Thanks for taking me in, by the way."
I wanted to press against his side and slip my arms around his neck, but I felt a chill. "You're still damp from the rain. Are you cold? Do you want to light a fire?"
"I do," he sighed, "but I'm no good at it."
His hand was at the small of my back, and I could feel his fingers tracing a small circle that made me shiver with delight. I panicked. "Then, how about you pour us some wine?"
"That I can do very well," he said.
I slipped past him and sat before the small, stove-pipe fireplace. It was the one perk of having the attic alcove, and as the rain pattered harder against my skylights and dormer window, it added a cozy glow.
I glanced over my shoulder and gulped at the sight of Teddy stretching up to retrieve two dusty wineglasses. He'd shrugged off his suit coat, and his damp, white shirt clung to his tight body. The muscles in his arm flexed as he caught the glasses and brought them down.
"A screw cap on wine. That's so convenient. There have been plenty of times I've had a great bottle of wine, but no opener, though I have a few techniques," Teddy said.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't have any other wine," I squeaked.
He checked the nose of the wine and my stomach lurched. "Not bad," he said and poured two full glasses.
"I know this is not how you expected to be spending your night," I started to babble. "I bet you'd be at some great restaurant with white, linen tablecloths and a special waiter just to pour your wine."
"They've got some fancy name," he shrugged and handed me the wine.
"Sommelier," I said.
His eyes traveled around my small apartment again and flipped on the shabby chandelier that hung in the kitchen. "I like it here better. And, who needs hovering waiters when there's a cozy fire and all of these, what are these? Recipe books? Are you still considering becoming a cook?"
I stood up, but fought the urge to run and cover all my notes. "Yes, actually."
"Is that why you were helping out at the pizza place? That sauce was amazing," Teddy said. "Did he hire you like a consultant?"
I filed away that genius idea and shook my head. "Not really. Thanks for helping out tonight. Oh, by the way, Pappy sent this for you."
Teddy caught the pizzeria t-shirt I tossed him and laughed. He balanced his wine glass on the one free corner of my table and peeled off his damp dress shirt. I stifled an audible gasp, but couldn't catch my breath back.
Under the chandelier, his skin had a burnished glow. The muscles had not been imagined, and I couldn't tear myself away from the sight of his taut, strong arms. His undershirt strained over his wide shoulders, and I felt myself sway when he plucked it off, as well.
Matted curls covered the center of his chest and trailed down his hard stomach. Those tantalizing contours rippled as he tugged the pizzeria shirt over his head and then sighed. "I feel like I earned this."
I waved him to sit on my small, but overstuffed loveseat. "I know it's a little tight in here," I said.
Teddy pushed over to the corner and stretched his legs out in front of him. "There's plenty of room for everything that's important. That's why I like it: no extra, empty space."
"No room for dinner parties. All the walls are too small for more than photographs. The bedroom doesn't have a door," I said.
"Who needs a door?" he said, glancing at my bed. "And, I think seeing the fireplace from the bed is a bonus."
"The bed is the only other place for guests to sit," I pointed out.
He shrugged again and tugged me down onto the tight loveseat next to him. "But it's just right for two."
I sipped my wine and tried to concentrate on anything besides where my body pressed against his. Our thighs were tight together, and my shoulder kept sliding to fit in just under his arm. If I just shifted a little, I could slide right into place and lay my cheek against his shoulder. I resisted and hefted my wineglass as a barrier between us.
Teddy clinked his glass against mine. "Here's to a very fortunate night."
"You got mugged," I reminded him.
"Things have gotten a lot better since then." He sipped his wine and sat up, bringing his arm farther around behind me.
I leaned back, nervous, and bumped into a stack of bills I had laid out to pay. When they slipped and crashed to the floor, Teddy jumped up to help retrieve them. "No, don't worry. That's nothing."
He gathered them up and passed them to me without a second glance, but I felt a stone of shame in my stomach. The bills were all dangerously late, and there was no way he didn't see the red boxes and heavy-printed warnings. I was supposed to be making my own way in the world, and I didn't want Teddy Brickman, of all people, to think I was struggling.
"Don't worry," Teddy said, sitting back down. "My father is always very strategic about when he pays a bill or doesn't."
"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 looked 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.