Maintenance Required: A small town romance (The Cortell Brothers Book 1)

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  “Dude, what the fuck happened to you?” Will asked as he reached the top.

  “You don’t want to know.”

  “I kinda do. Did you get kicked in the nuts or something?”

  I shook my head. “Kat,” I said, as if that was all the explanation needed. He quirked an eyebrow at me. “It was that time of the month. You know, the challenge.”

  “Oh. Well, what did she challenge you to do?”

  I grimaced and looked up at him. “You ever hear of a Prince Albert?”

  His face dropped right before he burst out in laughter. “Oh my god. Please tell me that you didn’t go through with it.”

  “Would I be bent over in pain like this if I hadn’t?”

  “Why the fuck would you do that?”

  “Apparently I agreed to it during sex.”

  “So back out.”

  “I couldn’t. I had already agreed.”

  He shook his head at me. “Yeah, because she would have held you at gunpoint and forced you to do it if you told her you really didn’t want to do it.”

  “I don’t go back on my word.”

  “This is a fucking cock piercing, not a proposal of marriage!”

  “A promise is a promise.”

  He grinned at me, pointing his finger at me accusingly. “You like it.”

  “What?”

  “You like that she makes you do these things that are outside your comfort zone.”

  “Yeah, I like having a tube shoved through the head of my cock and then a needle pierced through the skin, all to have a barbell shoved through.”

  “I knew it!”

  “I was being sarcastic.”

  He shook his head and laughed. “No, you weren’t. You want to hate it, but deep down, you love that she takes all your uptight shit and throws it out the window. She makes you live.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Yes, I do. She’s the woman you’ve been waiting for your whole damn life. Remember that first date with her?”

  “How could I forget?”

  “You let your guard down with her. You took a chance and you loved it. That’s why you pushed her away the next morning. You were scared. And that would have worked out for you if she hadn’t shown up pregnant. That was the best thing that could have happened to you because it forced you to find a way to get along with her. Just think about it, if she hadn’t shown up at your door a month later, you would have continued to go out on boring dates with boring women in your slick suit and your three date sex rule.”

  “I kept that rule with her.”

  “Just own it, man. She’s everything you never knew you wanted.”

  “She’s the devil that’s turning me into someone I don’t recognize.”

  He tilted his head and stared at me for a moment. “You love her.”

  “What?” I picked up my tools and pretended to get to work.

  “You love her, so why are you so pissed right now?”

  I started ripping up the shingles and tossed them over the side of the house into the dumpster I rented. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You’re pissed right now. The last challenge, as freaked out as you were, you still were happy the next day.”

  “Yeah, well, I have a barbell through my dick right now, so that could be what’s making me so fucking crabby.”

  “No, that’s not it. You need to tell her.”

  “And why would I do that?”

  “Because you need to get it off your chest. The longer you let it simmer, the more it’s going to drive you insane.”

  “No.”

  “No?”

  “That’s right. I said no.”

  “But you need to do this. You need to have it out with her.”

  “Will, just mind your own fucking business.”

  “What? Are you worried she won’t say it back? Because I’ve seen the way she is around you. She’s in love with you too. If you just-“

  “I already fucking said it!”

  He stopped his rambling and stared at me, his jaw hanging open. “What?”

  “I told her yesterday, after my appointment. We were in the hammock under the tree and I told her that I loved her. Guess what? She didn’t say it back.”

  “Maybe…maybe you said it wrong.”

  “Said it wrong? Are you fucking serious right now? How the hell could I have said it wrong?”

  “I don’t know, but guys screw this shit up all the time. What did you say?”

  I shook my head and tossed the roofing shovel down. “I said that any guy would be insane not to fall in love with her.”

  “You prick, that’s not the same thing.”

  “That’s exactly the same thing.”

  “No, it’s not! If you want to tell her you love her and get a response back, you need to be crystal clear. You take her hand in yours and cup her face with the other,” he said, mimicking the movements on me. I rolled my eyes, but he continued. “You say, I fell in love with you. Somewhere between the tattoo and the Prince Albert, I fell hard for you, and I want you for the rest of my life.”

  “Uh…are we interrupting something?” Robert asked, looking at me from his place on top of the ladder.

  “What did I miss?” I could hear Joe ask from further down.

  “It looks like Will is professing his undying love to Eric,” Robert said, looking down the ladder.

  I shoved Will’s hand from my face and picked up my shovel, getting back to work.

  “He told Kat he loved her, but didn’t actually tell her.”

  “How do you not tell someone you love them?” Robert asked, picking up his own tools.

  “He said it in a roundabout way.”

  Robert snorted. “Yeah, because women don’t read between the lines enough. I can only imagine the shit running through her head right now because you weren’t crystal clear.”

  “She probably thinks he was talking about another guy. She might even think you were trying to tell her to go for it with someone else.”

  “That’s not what she thought,” I finally said. “She knew exactly what I was saying. I could see it in her eyes. She just…I don’t know. Either she doesn’t feel the same way or…”

  “Or what?” Will asked.

  “Or she’s not ready to say it.”

  He nodded and pulled out his phone.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m fixing this.”

  “What? I didn’t ask you to fix this.”

  He shushed me as he held the phone to his ear.

  “What are you doing?” I reached for the phone, but he smacked me away from him.

  “Ma, it’s Will.”

  I lunged for him, but he stepped away, picking up the roofing hammer and pointing it at me.

  “Yeah, I was thinking that you and Dad should come out for a visit soon…Yeah, you know, meet Kat. She’s really great.”

  I shook my head violently. The last thing I needed was Ma coming out here and putting all that pressure on us. I took another step toward him, but he swung the hammer toward my dick and I immediately cowered away from him.

  “That’s great, Ma. So, we’ll see you next week? Alright. Love you too.”

  He hung up the phone and grinned at me.

  “What the fuck were you thinking? You know how Ma is.”

  “Forget about Ma. I just did you a favor.”

  “No, you just made everything more difficult. Kat and I are just moving into a place that’s really good. The last thing she needs is to have Ma hovering.”

  “No, he’s right,” Robert grinned. “He did you a favor.”

  “I’m not seeing the favor in all of this.”

  “Ma thinks that you live with Kat,” Robert pointed out.

  “Yes, and thank you for pointing out that Kat doesn’t actually live here.”

  Joe grinned and nodded. “Right, and now she’s going to have to move in. To keep up appearances.”

&nb
sp; “And with Ma visiting for a whole week, she’s going to have to be the good little housemate,” Will chuckled. “What I did was buy you enough time to convince her that living with you is what she wants.”

  I stopped and thought about that a moment. She would have to move in here. Ma already thought that she lived here, so if we told her that Kat had her own place, it would be awkward for both of us. And since Kat had already taken over telling Ma that we were having a baby, I knew deep down that she wouldn’t want to do anything to make Ma look at her differently.

  A small grin split my lips as I thought of all the possibilities. We would have to get her moved in quickly, and then I could start on my plan for making her admit to me how much she really loved me. Because deep down, I knew that she loved me, she was just scared to say it.

  After putting on a new roof with my brothers, I was exhausted. We busted our asses to get it all done because the weather was expected to turn. Not only that, but we all had to get back to work the next day. My cock ached the whole day, and the sweat that built up throughout the day didn’t help my situation either. I just needed a shower.

  I groaned as I stepped under the warm water and it washed away the aches and pains. I leaned my head against the shower wall. I really wasn’t sure I had it in me right now to do more than let the water do the work. The door opened and Kat stepped in, stripping out of her scrubs before she opened the shower curtain.

  “You’re home late today,” I said, not opening my eyes again.

  I felt her hands on me, running over my back lovingly. “The little girl, Casey, had some more breathing issues. I wanted to stay until I knew she was stable.”

  “What does her doctor say?”

  I felt her huff out a deep breath against my back. “They don’t think she’s going to make it. Unless they find a trial she can get in, she’s not going to survive. Nothing else is working for her.”

  I could feel her sadness leech into my skin. I turned and pulled her into my arms, rubbing my hand up and down her back. I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to have a child that young going through something like that. I wondered how Kat worked in that department now that she was pregnant. It must weigh heavily on her mind.

  I pulled back and slid my hand down to her belly, feeling her growing bump beneath my hand. I would do anything to protect my child, but there were some things in this world that you couldn’t control. And that was the hardest part to deal with.

  Kat picked up the bar of soap and started to lather it in her hands. She slowly started washing my body, and I wasn’t going to lie, it felt great. She delicately washed my dick, making sure not to be too rough with the piercing, and then she continued down my body. Not even the sight of her on her knees could get me hard right now.

  She looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. “Not in the mood tonight?”

  I huffed out a laugh. “Between my sore cock and working all day to get the roof replaced, I couldn’t get it up if I wanted to.”

  “Well, I’ll be sure to take extra special care of you tonight.”

  “Yeah? Are you going to make dinner?”

  “I think that’s only fair.”

  “And you’re going to give me a foot massage?” I asked as I wrapped my arms around her.

  “If you’re nice to me.”

  I hummed low in my throat and pulled her tighter to me, sighing as I held her in my arms. I wanted to ask her why she couldn’t admit that she loved me, but I knew that would only bring on awkward conversation and ruin the night. So, I held it in. My parents would be here next week and everything would change. I knew it.

  I pulled back from her and grinned.

  “What?”

  “My parents are coming for a visit next week. They want to meet you.”

  Her face dropped in horror. “What? But…they think…oh my god, this is terrible.”

  “It’s not that bad, Kat. They’re nice people.”

  “But we practically told them we were living together.”

  I nodded, like I understood her problem. “Yeah, well, I guess we could always tell them the truth.”

  “What?” she shrieked. “You didn’t want to tell them before, but now you think it’s a good idea to tell them we had a one night stand?”

  I shrugged lightly. “I was freaking out, but I’ve come to realize that no matter what, everything will be okay. My parents will understand, and they’ll be fine with the fact that you live in your own place.”

  I was totally gambling here, hoping that she wouldn’t be okay with this, and insist on moving in here. If the idea came from me, she would probably fight me every step of the way. This had to be her decision.

  “How can you say that? Your mother will think I’m a whore!”

  “Yeah, but you didn’t care before. I mean, you were perfectly fine with telling them what happened before, so what’s changed?”

  “What’s changed?” she shouted. “What’s changed is that we already told them a lie.”

  “It’s not a lie anymore. We’re together now.”

  “But your parents won’t see it that way. What will they think of me?”

  “Kat, don’t worry about it. Honestly, I’m not sure why you even care.”

  “Because I don’t want them to think the worst of me.”

  I shook my head slightly. “Kat, it doesn’t matter.”

  “Yes, it does. I will not have your parents thinking that I’m some whore that got pregnant and roped you into a relationship. I’ll just move my things in here for a few days.”

  “They’re staying the week, and in order to make it believable, you’d have to move in a lot of shit. I mean, you’d have to add stuff to every room of the house. No woman would live here with a bunch of men and not add her own personal touch.”

  “You’re right. I mean, it’ll be a lot of moving, but if your brothers help, we should be able to get it all done quickly.” I nodded sagely. “But this is just for while they’re here,” she added quickly.

  “I know.”

  She bit her lip. I could see the wheels turning in her head as she thought of all the stuff she needed to do.

  “Honestly, Kat, if it’s going to make you insane, we won’t do it. I’ll just tell my parents that you stay here sometimes, but you like your own space. They’ll be fine with it.”

  “Well, I’m not!”

  “Why? Why does it matter now?”

  “Because I love you, you stupid jerk!”

  I flinched back in shock. I had been hoping to push her into moving in with me, but I never expected that this would also convince her to open up to me in this way. My devious plan turned out to be brilliant. Well, Will’s plan.

  I smirked at her, shaking my head slightly.

  “What are you smiling about?”

  “It’s about time you said it.”

  I bent down and kissed her, smiling against her lips as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

  “I didn’t want to jinx anything,” she murmured.

  “What would you jinx?”

  “Us? We haven’t exactly had the best track record so far.”

  “Well, if you would stop using my body as an art lab, we might be getting along better.”

  She slapped my shoulder, laughing lightly. “So, they’re really coming?”

  “Yeah, they’re really coming.”

  She let out a long sigh. “Well, I suppose I have to meet them at some point.”

  “Kat, you have nothing to worry about. My parents will probably love you more than me.”

  “And what about you?” she asked nervously.

  “What about me?”

  “Do you…I mean, you haven’t changed your mind about what you said yesterday?”

  “Kat, do you really think I would have told you I loved you after you almost had me castrated if I didn’t mean it?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t have you almost castrated. And you watch, you’re going to love the way everything feels.”

>   “And how do you know that?”

  “I’ve done plenty of research.”

  I leaned in, kissing her lightly. “You’re like a mad scientist or something.” My lips skimmed hers and my fingers slid down her body between her legs.

  “I thought you said that I couldn’t have sex until you could.” Her breath was heavy now as my fingers slid between her legs. She gasped slightly as I slid a finger inside her and slowly started pumping.

  “I never said this was for you. I’m going to make you come all over my tongue, and that’s all for my pleasure.”

  Katherine

  “Be careful with that one,” I snapped at Andrew. “I won’t buy you pizza if you break my grandmother’s vase.”

  “Jesus, it’s just a piece of glass.”

  “It’s an heirloom!”

  He flipped the vase over and studied it. “It says it’s made in China. And look, the price tag is still on it. She paid nine dollars for it.”

  “I don’t care,” I said, snatching the vase out of his hands, carefully placing it on the mantle over the fireplace. “It’s special to me.”

  He sighed and left to get more stuff.

  “Uh, where am I putting this thing?” Eric asked.

  I looked at Fred, the elephant that my grandmother got on vacation. It was a porcelain elephant with a flat head, so it could be used as a side table. “Just put it next to that chair.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You want to put an elephant next to the chair.”

  “It’s not just an elephant. His name is Fred. He and Gertie belong in the living room.”

  “You named porcelain elephants,” he said slowly.

  “I didn’t. My grandmother did. They’re very special to me.”

  He just stared at me, obviously not sure what to say. Obviously he didn’t get it, so I grabbed Fred from him. Men had no taste. I set Fred next to his favorite chair and stepped back to look at it. It was perfect. Gertie could go next to the couch.

  Andrew rolled in my tea table and sighed. “I suppose you have a place for this?”

  “What the hell is that?” Eric asked.