Tangle

by Locke, Adriana

  I glare, making him chuckle again.

  He sets the menu down. “Give us a large pepperoni pizza and two ice waters. And toss some loaded fries on there, too, if you can.”

  “Sure.” Alexis gives him her best smile. “Anything else?”

  “No. Thank you.” And as if Alexis isn’t still standing there, he turns back to me. “So want my help?”

  “With . . .”

  He tries to hide a grin. “Your choice. But may I recommend making you uncomfortable? I know a lot of positions I can get you in that—”

  “Stop,” I say, my cheeks heating.

  “Fine. With your résumé. Do you want my help?”

  “I don’t know. It’s like head-butting a brick wall.”

  “Why?”

  I shrug. “Because I don’t know how to make it shine.”

  “Easy,” he says. “Sell your best assets.”

  “I don’t know what those are.”

  He leans back, crossing his arms over his chest. He’s trying hard not to smile. “Want my input?”

  “No,” I say, refusing to look at him.

  He sits up and clears his features of the amusement from before. “The key is to tell a potential employer why they should hire you. That’s what you have to focus on—the ‘why.’”

  His phone beeps. He silences it and slides it next to the napkin holder without even looking at it. I want to ask him about it, but he just looks at me in a way that tells me not to. So I don’t. Instead, I change the subject.

  “How are you liking Dogwood Lane?” I ask. I don’t mean it as some deep, thought-provoking question, but he seems to take it as one.

  He considers my question. I expected an easy answer—that he can’t wait to leave or that it’s just what he thought it was going to be. Instead of spitting out something like that, he rests his elbows on the table and looks at me.

  His gaze is warm on my face. It lights a flame inside my chest, the warmth radiating through my veins. He looks at me like he’s interested in what I have to say, like my questions are worthy of consideration. It feels . . . nice. Very nice.

  “I don’t mind it, actually,” he says. “It’s amazing how much work I can get done when it’s quiet, and it’s so quiet at the house and the inn. Especially when Penn isn’t around.”

  “He’s loud,” I say.

  “Loud,” he mouths, his eyes growing wide. He leans forward again. “Can I tell you a secret?”

  “Sure.”

  “It’s also kind of fun to be out there. Usually I’m cooped up in an office with reports and statements—which I love—but it’s nice to get some fresh air and dig around in the dirt.”

  “See?” I say, pointing at him. “That’s what I want. I want to do something I can’t wait to do every day. Something that brings me real joy and makes others happy.”

  “You want a unicorn job.”

  “Yes. And I think there’s one out there for me.”

  “Me too.”

  We sit back as Alexis puts drinks in front of us. She glares at me when Trevor doesn’t give her the time of day. I smile back.

  “I just need to figure out this stupid résumé,” I say, pulling the book back to me. “It can’t be as hard as I’m making it out to be.”

  I flip through the pages, skimming over examples of what you should include in your cover letter and pointers on interviews. The information makes my head spin.

  “For the love of God,” Trevor mutters.

  He’s staring at his phone. His jaw is locked as he swipes over the screen with his thumb.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  “Liz.”

  “Okay. Who’s Liz?”

  “An ex . . . not girlfriend, really. An ex-acquaintance is more like it.”

  I bite my tongue to keep from responding. Of course he has an ex-acquaintance. Probably a lot of them. Maybe even some current ones that he’s not bringing up. And none of them are my business. So why I feel a little prickly about this right now is beyond me.

  “She’s called me six times since I’ve been sitting here,” he says. “I feel like an asshole not answering her, but every time I do, she takes it as a sign I’m interested. I’m not.”

  I fold my hands on the book and take a deep breath. “Maybe she’ll get the picture.”

  “She’s texted me forty-one times in the last twenty-four hours.” He lifts a brow. “Does it seem like she’s getting the picture to you?”

  “That’s a lot,” I admit.

  “No shit.”

  “Did you date her long?”

  “I saw her over three, maybe four, months. It wasn’t serious. Not to me, anyway.” He tosses his phone on the table. “Got any insight?”

  I laugh. “On what? Liz?”

  “Yeah. I don’t want to hurt her feelings. I just don’t want to be with her. How do I handle that without telling her to just fuck off?”

  “Telling her to fuck off wouldn’t be very nice,” I point out. I think for a minute. “Okay, question: When was the last time you actually talked to her?”

  “I don’t know.” He grabs his phone and scrolls. “Three days ago. Via text.”

  “That’s your problem,” I tell him.

  “I shouldn’t have texted her back. I knew it.”

  “No, you should’ve. You should text her right now, actually.”

  He looks at me like I’m nuts. “You’re not understanding what I’m saying, Haley.”

  “No, you’re not understanding what I’m saying, Trevor. You’re just making it worse when you ignore her. In your mind, you’re putting up a boundary. In her mind, you’re playing hard to get.” I release a breath. “People want what they can’t have. The longer you go and then text her back here and there is a little crumb tossed her way, keeping her strung along. Trust me. Guys used to do it to me all the time, and I was as ready to eat it up as Liz.”

  He cocks his head to the side. His brows are heavy, pulled together by a crease in his forehead.

  I twist in my seat, wondering why in the heck I just shared all that with him. It clearly came from a sensitive spot in my heart, and he’s not stupid—he’ll know. He’ll know I’m sensitive, too, in my own way, and he’ll probably run for the hills.

  The big hill. The one with the massive house on it.

  “If you knew it, why did you do it?” he asks.

  “Because when you like the guy, it feels like hope. Like maybe they’re reconsidering.” I shrug. “Pathetic, I know. But I don’t make the rules.”

  He shakes his head and takes the fries from Alexis. She tries to make small talk with him. He expertly wiggles his way out of it and focuses back on me. But when he looks at me this time, there’s something in his eyes that makes me shift in my seat.

  “What?” I ask.

  “I have a proposition for you.” He pops a fry in his mouth.

  “Why does that worry me?”

  He grins. “If there’s one thing I loathe, it’s eating out alone. It’s a long story, and it goes back to some unresolved mommy issues that I don’t want to get into. But I hate it.”

  I don’t know how to respond to that. So I don’t. I take a drink instead.

  “Anyway, how about this: I’ll help you with your résumé. Get your interview skills sharpened. Help you however you need it in this forging-a-new-path thing you’re on.”

  I swallow. “Okay. You’ve piqued my curiosity. Go on.”

  His grin grows wider. “And in return, you have dinner with me while I’m in town. Which helps us both because I don’t have to eat alone and we’ll work on your stuff. We’ll kill two birds with one stone.”

  “A résumé shouldn’t take more than an hour if you know what you’re doing,” I point out. “I read that in a book.”

  “True. But I’ll help you know what to say in an interview, and if you want me to look at some job listings, I can. And let’s not forget it’s a free meal and you’re unemployed right now.”

  “That’s low,” I say with a
laugh.

  “I know,” he says, wincing. “I apologize for the last one. That was low even for me.”

  “Is this just a way to get me to spend time with you?” I tease, ignoring the way my blood is roaring through my veins. “I mean, after the stalking and the jacket thing and then this, I’m noticing a trend, bud.”

  “I can’t say it pains me to think I’ll have to see you every night I’m here.”

  I sink into my seat as his words wash over me. My chest bounces as I withhold a gasp, and I press my thighs together so hard I think I might pull a muscle.

  I’m torn between wanting to say yes and wanting to remember everything he said at the Dogwood Café—all the reasons why I should stay away from guys like him.

  This is hard.

  I grab a fry and pop it in my mouth. “I think this is a bad idea.”

  “And why is that?”

  “What if I can’t resist your charms and fall madly in love with you, like Alexis. Or Liz. Or the old lady with silver hair sitting in the corner with a mug of beer?”

  Trevor looks over his shoulder. The lady flushes as Trevor waves at her before turning back to me.

  “I guess that is something to consider,” he says.

  “I was joking!”

  I know better than to think anything else could happen between us. But am I being foolish, subjecting myself to more time with him? He’s handsome, yes, but he also has a dry wit that really appeals to me. And every time I see that dimple . . .

  “So . . . ,” he prods.

  My resolve weakens as he uses that damn dimple as a weapon. Finding the part of my brain responsible for logic under all the sexual frustration is nearly impossible.

  He takes a fry. I remind myself I’ve gone two months without a date. I’m strong. And I do need help with my résumé.

  I can do this. I’m a big girl. Besides, he’ll probably only be around for another few days, so surely I can handle that.

  He watches me warily before grabbing a napkin out of the dispenser. He gets up and heads to the counter and comes back with a pen.

  “What are you doing?” I ask.

  “Patience, little Haley,” he says, biting his bottom lip as he scrawls on the napkin.

  I sip my water as I watch him. I nearly choke when he turns it around to face me. The bright-blue ink is in stark contrast to the white napkin. In bold letters it reads:

  I, TREVOR KELLY, PROMISE NOT TO BREAK HALEY RAYNOR’S HEART.

  “Fair enough.” I take the pen and add my own line. When I spin it to face him, he laughs.

  I, HALEY RAYNOR, PROMISE NOT TO FALL IN LOVE AND CLING TO TREVOR KELLY.

  “Fair enough.” He sticks out a hand. “Deal?”

  I lay my palm in his and ignore the way my body sings at the contact. “Deal.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  TREVOR

  That looks really good,” I say, walking around the deck to get another angle at Matt’s handiwork. “I can’t believe you built this on your own. That’s some skill you have.”

  The deck is almost the same size as the first floor of the house. Despite its massive proportions, each board is laid perfectly. Each nail pounded to the top of the wood. It’s an amazing study in craftsmanship, one I know Dad will love.

  The early-morning sky is bright, the air crisp. The combination makes me feel alive as I stand beside Matt and breathe in the smell of pine.

  He leans against the rail and surveys his work. “Thanks. Projects like these are my favorite.”

  “Pains in the ass?”

  He laughs. “Well, sometimes. But I love the big-scale stuff with all kinds of pieces that make you really buckle down and dive in.” He glances to the side of the house, smirking as he takes in Penn having a discussion with a six-panel door. “Any fool can hang a door.”

  “You know,” I say, “when I first met Penn, I wasn’t sure how things were going to play out.”

  “Same.”

  I laugh, turning back to Matt. “I really like him. He keeps things fun around here.”

  “Pretty sure that’s the only reason Dane keeps him around some days.” He shakes his head. “I’m kidding. Penn’s a good guy. We’ve been best friends a long damn time.”

  “You guys remind me of me and my brother. Jake and I are close in age and have wanted to work together our entire lives.”

  “That’s awesome. We did not.”

  I chuckle. “Well, we did. Jake is older, so he got to run the construction side of things. I’m the smarter one, so I took over the financials and engineering elements. Can’t imagine working with anyone else.”

  Matt follows me down the steps and onto the lawn. “Dane and I took over for our father. It just sort of happened. One day Penn showed up and didn’t leave, and now it’s just what we do. Some days I want to kill them both, but that’s probably normal, I reckon.”

  We stop on the top of the hill and take in the view. The evergreens mix with the last flush of fall colors in the peaks and valleys below, and I wonder what it would be like to wake up to this. When Dad first said they were building a house here, I thought he was crazy. I told him he’d lose his mind in the middle of the country. I think I might’ve been wrong.

  “I bet you can see a hundred miles every direction,” I say, my voice carried away by the breeze.

  “Probably.” Matt takes a pack of gum out of his back pocket. “You sticking around this weekend? A bunch of us are getting together at my house to watch football and shoot the shit. You’re welcome to come, if you want.”

  “Thanks,” I say, taking the proffered piece of gum. “I have to head to Nashville for my dad’s retirement party, actually.”

  Haley’s face pops into my mind, and I fight off a little bubble of irritation about leaving. I’ve grappled with the annoyance since last night, when I remembered Dad’s retirement party as I was looking up places to take Haley to dinner tonight.

  As if my brother senses my weakness, my phone rings in my pocket. I pull it out to see Jake’s name.

  “I need to take this,” I say to Matt. “The deck looks great.”

  He points at me as if to say, “Okay,” and heads toward Penn.

  I swipe the screen. “Hey,” I say. “What’s happening?”

  “Not much. Natalie gave me this week’s checks to sign. I’ll just say I have a lot more hesitation signing them when I know you haven’t seen them.”

  “They’re fine. Natalie sent me a spreadsheet this morning, and I went through it.” I pause. “She’s good, you know. You can trust her.”

  “I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t have my blood.” He sighs. “Anyway, what’s happening at the Love Nest?”

  I look over the valley again. “Dad’s got a helluva piece of property up here, Jake. You really should see it.”

  “I’m losing you, aren’t I?”

  I laugh. “No. I’m just standing on what feels like the top of the world and thought I’d relay that. You know, to make you jealous.”

  “I’m green with envy.”

  “Better than blue from blue balls.”

  “True enough,” he says. “Speaking of misery, Liz RSVP’d to Dad’s party today.”

  I hold my forehead with one hand and pretend he didn’t just say that. “Did the caterer add those little potato things we talked about to the menu? I reminded Natalie about it this morning.”

  Jake’s laughter spills through the line. “Are we not talking about Liz?”

  “How did she get an invite?” I moan. “For fuck’s sake. I don’t even want to come back for the fucking thing to start with, and to have to come back to her?”

  “Okay, let’s slow down. Why don’t you want to come back for the party?”

  I hang my head, knowing I’ve just stepped in a proverbial pile of shit. Jake isn’t going to let this go. Moreover, if I mention Haley, he won’t let that go either, and at some point in time when I do see him, I’m not going to want this held over my head. Because it will be. It’s what brothers do.<
br />
  “How mad do you think Dad would be if I don’t come?” I ask.

  It’s not a real question. Dad would blow a gasket and probably fire me from Kelly Construction, even though he has no say there. I don’t want to let Dad down, but fuck if I’m ready to reenter the madness that is Nashville.

  And Psycho Liz. Staying here would be much preferred at the moment.

  “You can’t skip it, Trev. This is the pinnacle of Dad’s career.”

  “I know. I know.” I look at the sky and feel the wind whisper across my face. “Is there a way we can revoke Liz’s invitation?”

  “That would be a no.”

  My temple throbs as I try to come to some solution to this fucked-up situation.

  “Whose bright idea was it to invite her, anyway?” I ask.

  “She got one because she was your supposed plus-one.”

  “Look what you get for assuming.”

  “I didn’t assume jack shit. Natalie did. Your golden girl.” He chuckles through the line. “There’s nothing we can do about it without looking like assholes.”

  “You are an asshole. Do it.”

  He laughs. “I’m not revoking an invitation.”

  “She’s called me four times today, Jake. How about I give her your number? I doubt she’d mind.”

  His chair squeaks. “Let’s not get crazy.”

  “My point exactly.”

  I blow out a breath. There’s a heaviness on my back I can’t shake off. I have to go to this party. It was always the plan. I just . . . don’t want to. And I pointedly ignore the real reason why.

  “Your ass better be here,” he warns.

  “I will be. The party is at six?”

  “Yeah. Dad’s partner is taking him and Meredith out for drinks, and then he’ll bring them home. Dad has no idea.”

  “I can’t wait,” I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Scratching my head, I pull the phone back to see another text from Liz.

  “Hey, Jake. I gotta go. But I’ll see you this weekend, all right?”

  “You better. Be good, little brother.”

  “Will do. Later.”

  “Bye.”

  I end the call and then flip to my text messages.

  Liz: Can’t wait to see you this weekend. Since you didn’t respond, I let Jake know I would be attending your father’s party. Talk soon!