Disenchanted Read online

  “Okay. What do we tell our parents? We managed to escape family dinner that weekend, but you know they will be persistent.”

  “I’m busy with work and you’re busy with school. That will have to do for now. I suppose we’ll have to do a lot of ducking and dodging of phone calls.”

  I managed a weak laugh. “That will only work for so long. Your mom will come to us without warning.”

  He let out a breath that sounded like a laugh. “Yeah. We’ll work something out. I have to go. We’re…We’re on the same page, Lydia, right?”

  “Right. No seeing each other, no telling Lily right now, and duck and dodge our parents.”

  “Now that you’ve said it so simply, it sounds lonely,” he said, sounding depressed. “You’ve been my best friend since before I moved here.”

  “And you’ve been mine, but we have to do what we have to do.”

  He didn’t sound happy about it. “Yeah. Well, anyway, I have to go.”

  “Okay,” I whispered. “Bye.”

  He lingered for a moment, not hanging up, but not saying anything more, listening to my breathing like I was listening to his. I was the one to hang up first.

  I hadn’t spoken to him since, and I’ve stayed away from our park, and far away from his office building. We both enjoyed outdoorsy activities like bike riding, hiking, and camping, but I stayed away from all of those things, too, just in case.

  It felt strange not talking to Gavin. We’d spent so much time together over the past few months, and we’d always been close before that, but I knew our time apart was for the best. Since we didn’t know why the hell we’d went all crazy, we shouldn’t risk it happening again.

  As I pulled into his parking lot and parked my car, I suddenly thought maybe we did know, and neither of us wanted to look too closely at the answer.

  I swallowed back the emotions that thought had elicited and climbed the stairs to the apartment. My key was in the lock, and I was already turning the handle before I realized that the music I heard was coming from inside. The “Ten” album by Pearl Jam on vinyl was playing, because Gavin was all about the vinyl over CDs. It was too late for me to back away and run, because the door had already opened a few inches. Maybe he didn’t see it. Maybe I could still get my keys and roll on out of there.

  The door flung open and Gavin stood on the other side, his work shirt rolled up at the sleeves and untucked from his dress pants. His tie was wrapped around his head, Hendrix style.

  “Well, this was unexpected,” I murmured.

  His eyes flickered over me, head to toe before meeting my gaze. “Didn’t expect me to be home?”

  “No, I mean the tie. I really had no idea you could reach such levels of dorkdum.”

  His lips twitched, like he was fighting back a grin. “Why are you trying to sneak in? Plan to rob me?”

  My nose wrinkled. “Like you have anything worth stealing. I’m pretty sure I left my jacket here. I just wanted to get it and mosey on my way.”

  He stared at me for another few seconds before stepping back to give me room to enter. “It’s here. I was planning to drop it off sometime over the weekend.”

  “Oh. Well, now you don’t have to.”

  I eased past him into the living room and immediately spotted my jacket where I had left it, hanging on the back of a stool. I picked it up, folded it over one arm and noticed the onions and peppers on a cutting board on the kitchen counter. It appeared I’d interrupted him as he was slicing up the peppers. He returned to the kitchen, free of his tie, and plucked up the knife from where he’d left it.

  “What are you making?” I asked, just to alleviate some of the awkwardness I felt.

  “Sausage and peppers—and onions, obviously.”

  I nodded, and then hugged my jacket closer to my chest. “Well, I better go.”

  My stomach rumbled loudly right then. I hadn’t eaten anything since a bowl of cereal and banana at breakfast. I ignored it and started to back away, but somehow Gavin had heard my whiny-ass stomach over the music.

  “Why don’t you just stay?”

  I stared at him. “But we agreed we shouldn’t spend any time together for a while.”

  He shrugged one shoulder as he continued to work on his meal. “It’s been a few weeks, and honestly, I don’t know if that’s enough time, but…” He put his knife down and stared across the kitchen bar that separated us. “To be perfectly blunt, I am feeling depressed as hell and I can use the company. We can just…go back to the way things were before.”

  I continued to stare. He held my gaze, giving me the time to think it through. “Can we ever be like we were before?” I asked quietly.

  “I don’t know, but we can try.”

  “I’ll stay for a little while, but I think we need to tell her. Soon. Really soon.”

  He chewed the inside of his cheek as he pondered that, but after a minute or so, he nodded. “Okay. Friends again?”

  “For now.”

  I put my jacket back on the stool and joined him in the kitchen. Sausage and peppers didn’t really require two people to cook it, but we always cooked together when we got together for dinner. When we were younger and my mom was working, Gavin and I always cooked while Lily watched. It was our thing.

  It remained awkward as we talked about his job and my classes. When silence fell between us, I considered leaving. There was no way we could go back to where we were, not yet.

  “I wish you would say something,” Gavin finally said quietly as he turned the stove off.

  One of my brows rose. “What exactly do you want me to say?”

  “I don’t know. Do what you usually do and tease me or make some smartass remark. I don’t like when you’re quiet. It’s not who you are.”

  I leaned away from him, both of my brows up now. “Are you saying I have a big mouth?”

  The corners of his mouth lifted a little. “Yeah, basically. Don’t look so surprised. You know you have a big mouth.”

  “So, what do you want me to do? Just start hurling insults at you? I’m not sure exactly why it’s falling on just me to keep up the conversation.”

  With a sigh, he turned to face me. There were inches between us, just inches. “I just want you to be yourself. I want me to be myself.”

  I dropped my gaze to the collar of his shirt. “Being ourselves got us in some hot water.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “But…why did that happen? What does that say about us?”

  I began to back away. “That we’re stupid and selfish. This wasn’t a good idea. I’m leaving.”

  “Wait, Lydia. Wait.” His hand was on my arm. I could have yanked it out of his grasp, but instead, I stopped but didn’t look at him. “I’ve been thinking, Lyd. I’ve been thinking a lot about what happened.”

  “It was just mindless sex between two mindless idiots,” I said harshly.

  He hesitated, and then asked, “You don’t think it was more than that?”

  Tears formed in my eyes, but still I didn’t look at him. “It was a mistake.”

  Another hesitation before Gavin asked, “Was it, though?”

  “Yes!” I said the word harshly and turned around to face him, to shout at him, to rage, but…But then he put his arms around my waist and my hands locked behind his head and the kiss came so easily, so naturally. I knew it wasn’t right though. I knew that he was just going through something, maybe I was, too, and that it wasn’t right.

  I was first to pull back. I turned my head away from him, to catch my breath, to catch my sanity. I put my hands on his chest to push him away, but that’s when I saw her, standing on the other side of the screen door, staring in at us. That’s when I saw my sister, and seconds later, all hell broke loose, and our lives, intertwined and connected, all changed forever.

  There was screaming, crying, more screaming, so many words being thrown around between the three of us my head spun. It was such a blur, all of it, up until the moment she grabbed the knife. I thought Lily would kill me,
or kill Gavin, but it was when she locked herself in the bathroom that my fear became a living thing. By the time Gavin was able to kick the door in, there was already too much blood.

  So much blood…

  Chapter One

  As the plane touched down on the runway in Philadelphia, I tried to tamp down my anxiety over seeing my sister, Lily, again. It had only been about five months since we’d reconnected after eight years of estrangement. We talk on the phone a few times a month with a lot of text messages in between, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say our relationship is wholly repaired. One can’t simply slap a bandage on the wounds that run so deep between us.

  Still, less than forty-eight hours ago, when I got the phone call that delivered the news that my six-month-pregnant sister was in the hospital, I didn’t hesitate to pack up my family and travel from Columbus, Ohio, to Philly where she lived with her boyfriend, Kyle. I didn’t have a lot of information yet, but from the brief explanation I’d received, a man obsessed with Lily had kidnapped her. It was either the trauma from the incident or just her bad luck with pregnancies that had nearly caused her to miscarry. It wouldn’t have been the first time she’d lost a baby, and if she would have lost this one, I wasn’t sure she would have lived through it this time.

  Fortunately, with the help of the woman who had called me, Emmy Kessler, Kyle was able to locate Lily quickly, and the police rescued her from a very bad situation. The whole thing was so bizarre, like something I’d see on the news about someone else, not my sister.

  Even though it would be a couple days before Lily returned home, Kyle asked my mother and me to come, which left a quiet question in the back of my mind of whether I would be welcomed by my sister. It was one thing for us to be chatty over the phone, but a whole other thing for me to be in her home, in the same space as her baby’s father. After what happened years ago, I would not have blamed her if she asked me to leave.

  When the plane rolled to a stop and we could remove our seatbelts, I stood slowly and tried not to wince. I hadn’t been seated that long, only about an hour and a half, but my leg had stiffened. I should’ve been used to it, but somehow, the pain and discomfort often managed to surprise me. A little more than a year ago, I’d injured my left leg in a car accident, the same accident that ultimately took my husband’s life. Sometimes it felt like it just happened days ago, and other times it felt like years.

  I didn’t allow myself to go down that dark road of thoughts. I had too much on my plate already, and I’d just have to ignore the pain and the thunder cloud that perpetually remained over my head.

  Kyle had chartered the jet for us, which meant we hadn’t had to deal with security lines and long walks through the airport. Maybe if I hadn’t been so anxious, the luxury of the jet and service we’d received could’ve been enjoyable, but as it was, I hadn’t really been able to appreciate it. I was just thankful we didn’t have trek through a huge terminal with the kids.

  The door opened as we gathered our things. Three men dressed in polos with the airline’s name printed on them entered and informed us they would carry our luggage to our vehicles.

  Two more men stepped onto the plane, but they were vastly different from the guys who carried our bags. One was as big as an ox—an ox on steroids. I was pretty sure if he breathed too deeply his dark suit would tear in half. Dude seriously reminded me of Cobra Bubbles from the Lilo and Stitch movie. Although he had some scary muscles and an intimidating scowl when he first stepped on the plane, at the sight of a cabin full of women and children, his features softened—not so much that anyone would make the mistake of believing he was a pansy, but enough that he didn’t terrify the children.

  My eyes slid to the other newcomer. His smile was all pretty white teeth on a pretty face. Okay, he was more than pretty. The guy was beautiful. He had black hair, amused sapphire eyes surrounded by long dark lashes, and a five o’clock shadow on his masculine jawline. He wasn’t big like the ox next to him, but he clearly took good care of his body. His white button-down shirt wasn’t bursting at the seams from muscle mass, but I had no doubt he ate all his spinach like a good boy. So beautiful.

  He greeted us, with those perfect teeth on display. “Hello. This is Tagher.” He gestured to the ox beside him. “I am Marco Mangini, a friend of Lily and Kyle.”

  Lily had spoken of Marco many times during our conversations, but she had grossly understated his hotness factor. “He’s a good-looking guy,” she’d said. Good looking? A steak was good looking. Healed wounds were good looking. Marco Mangini was beyond “good looking.” He was so incredibly sexy that he shouldn’t have been allowed on the tarmac for fear he’d melt it. Hell, he shouldn’t have been allowed into the airport because that face and that body could be deemed lethal weapons. And that smile? As dangerous as a nuclear bomb.

  Mom hefted Mandy up on her hip and reached out to shake their hands while I stood back gaping. “I’m Roselee Whitman. This is Gavin Jr.—we call him Gavi. And these lovely ladies are Cora, and Mandy.”

  “Wonderful to meet you.” The pretty boy Marco kissed both of Mom’s cheeks. She got all flustered, turning pink in the face and giggling like a girl. Amanda was much less impressed by the man when he smiled at her and murmured something in Italian. She turned her head away with a whiny whimper and clung tighter to my mom. He was unperturbed, however, and put his hand out for my son. “Good to meet you, Gavi, man of the house.”

  Gavi grinned with pride, his little chest puffed out.

  “How old are you, little man?”

  “Eight.”

  Next, Marco took six-year-old Cora’s tiny hand into his as he kneeled before her. “Ciao, principessa. I am at your service.”

  I couldn’t see Cora’s face, but she drew closer to Mom’s leg with a tiny giggle.

  I closed my gaping mouth and stiffened my spine. I had to pull myself together. The guy probably had women drooling after him all day every day. I wasn’t going to be one of them; although, it seemed my sister had been. She and Marco had apparently shared a brief kiss not that long ago. He had been asked to keep an eye on his best bud’s pregnant girlfriend while Kyle was away for business, but he’d kept more than an eye on my sister. I still didn’t know all the details, and maybe I wasn’t one to judge, but I was totally judging the Italian male in our midst. There was no doubt in my mind he used that body and charm to make Lily malleable.

  Blue eyes stared directly into mine. As much as I wanted to pretend I wasn’t affected by this man, for the first time in more than a year, I was acutely aware of my appearance. I hadn’t dressed any differently than my usual day-to-day attire for the flight, clad in a pair of black leggings, an Ohio State tee, sneakers, and an OSU cap over my shoulder-length red hair. I wore no makeup, and I couldn’t even remember if I had put on deodorant after my shower.

  The kindness and amusement he’d had for the kids and my mom was more subdued for me, but somehow…I don’t know…R-Rated, which threw me off. Men didn’t acknowledge me like that—at least, they hadn’t in some time. I knew what I looked like right then: like shit on a stale cracker. With that self-awareness, I realized Marco Mangini was playing with me. I was the butt of an unspoken joke, because there was no way a man like that would be giving me those porn-star eyes. In that instant, I hated him.

  Marco tried to take my hand as he had with Cora, but I resisted. He paused, and one eyebrow rose slightly before he reached for me again. I drew my hand back and scowled. A smirk appeared on his face as his eyebrow rose even higher. There was a silent power struggle between us, before he finally grabbed my hand and forced me to acquiesce, grinning the whole time.

  “Mia Signora, Lydia.” He bowed low and put his lips on my hand. His kiss lingered too long on my skin. “I am also very much at your service.”

  I yanked my hand away and wiped the back of it on my jeans.

  “Great. Can we go now?”

  He chuckled softly. “I see you have your sister’s fire.”

  “Yep. And y
ou know fire. It burns.”

  He laughed again and held my gaze for a few seconds longer before he finally turned away. I almost slumped with relief.

  Tagher led the way off the plane as the captain and crew waved their goodbyes with beaming professionalism. As I followed a few steps behind Marco, my anxiety grew. The last person I wanted to struggle in front of was him, and I would struggle with the steps, but when I reached the door, I was surprised to see not a set of stairs, but a ramp.

  As everyone else made their way down the ramp and toward the waiting shiny black SUVs, Marco hung back, standing too close to me.

  “I anticipated your needs. I knew the stairs would be difficult with—”

  I bristled and snapped at him before he could finish. “I could’ve handled the stairs just fine. Are you implying that I’m incapable of handling a few steps? I’m not completely crippled.”

  His head tilted slightly to one side as he studied me. “I was going to say the stairs would be difficult with three small children and luggage. Do you have some injury I should be aware of?”

  My hand clenched with the need to smack that smirk off his face.

  “Don’t pretend as if you haven’t noticed how I limp along like a car with a flat tire.”

  Anyone else would’ve immediately looked down at my legs, but not Marco. Nope. He steadily held my gaze.

  “If you, as you say, limp along like a car with a flat tire, I have not noticed. I haven’t been able to take my eyes off your face. My apologies for not being attentive to anything else.”

  He withdrew suddenly and headed down the ramp without looking back.

  Chapter Two

  “Knock, knock,” Gavi said from the back seat.

  It was Marco who answered. The two had been playing knock-knock since we’d left the airport. “Who is there?”

  Tagher, the Ox, was driving the other Escalade that carried Mom and Amanda. Lucky me, I’d gotten stuck with the Italian-Not-Stallion.