Entanglement Read online

  “Course I have. She won’t tell me for their protection.” Both girls let out a chuckle, that sounded like Maria.

  “Beware the wrath of Jennifer.”

  “Damn right,” Jennifer said with a playful roar and claw-like motion of her hand. “Anyway, I think Natalie cheated on Nate, just not with Gabriel. The Hawkins were raised old school, to do something like that against your own blood would be like dishonoring the entire family. I just don’t see it happening.”

  “Why do people think it was his brother then?”

  “Because he left town right after the shit hit the fan and because he is a prick, like a sadistic prick. Gabriel thrives on fucking with people, it’s been that way long as I can remember. But no matter how messed up he is, he’s always shown love for his family.”

  “Is Nate a sadistic prick?” Emmy asked, worried this man she found so alluring was someone she could never even befriend. “I don’t do the bad boy thing.”

  “No, Nate is far from it. He’s the sweetest man I think I’ve met except for Landon. You saw him, does he look the bad boy part?” Emmy shook her head, her smile growing larger. “You should go meet him, officially.”

  “What, like show up at his house and be like, hey, remember me from the bookstore?” Emmy laughed at the sheer absurdity of the idea, finally placing the money he'd handed her into the register.

  “Well, you could do that, but I was thinking of showing up at his work.”

  “You mean like the crazy ex? No thanks,” Emmy replied, closing the drawer as she turned to lean against the center of the counter.

  “No, not like the ex. You're not crazy enough to make that work. Just go, get a drink and a looky look.”

  “That wouldn’t make me look insane at all, clearly.” Emmy wasn't entirely sure how that was any different than being a crazy stalker ex-girlfriend.

  “Frankly, I’m shocked you haven’t run into him before. I mean, we go to Riggs all the damn time.”

  “That’s where he works?” Emmy quickly inserted.

  “Yeah, he's a bartender there.” Just then the bell over the entrance chimed, drawing their attention that way.

  “Hello, ma’am,” Emmy spoke to the elderly woman who slowly moved towards them. As Jennifer spoke, she glanced back that way.

  “His sister even works there, she’s a waitress on the weekends.”

  “Excuse me,” the elderly woman spoke in a soft, sweet, voice, bringing both women’s attention back to her. “Do you have this book in paperback?” Jennifer quickly moved to her side to take the heavy hardback from the woman's tiny hand.

  “Yeah, give me a second, I'll go snag it for you.”

  Jennifer quickly headed towards the aisles on the left side of the store, searching for the proper shelf. Emmy sent a reassuring smile the woman's way seconds before reaching into her pocket to dredge out her cell phone.

  Unlocking it, she quickly swiped through her contacts until she reached Maria’s number. Hitting the message icon, she quickly checked on the customer who was looking through the clearance bin. She knew she couldn’t tell Maria why she wanted to go to Riggs, she would never hear the end of it.

  Pausing with her fingers over the keyboard, she worked to think of a reason to go, not that it would be hard since it was Friday. Riggs was the local bar the three women frequently visited, which only caused Emmy greater confusion on how she had missed Nate. That is until she realized she hardly ever ventured to the bar. Why would she when it was her two friends who bought nearly all the drinks?

  I want to go out tonight, perhaps we could go to Riggs.

  Hitting send, Emmy placed the device on the counter as Jennifer walked from the back. Heading straight to the customer, she held the requested book out with a sweet smile.

  “Here ya go, ma’am. Are there any other books you’re looking for?”

  “Oh, thank you so much dear.” She spoke, taking the book in her hands and pulling it up to her chest with a full smile on her face. “No, no dear. This is what I want.”

  “You sure? We have a sale going on right now with book lights.” The elderly woman shook her head.

  “Thank you dear, but no, thank you.”

  “Let me get you checked out, then.” Taking the book back, she carried it behind the counter, moving to the register as the lady moved across.

  “Ten dollars, twenty-seven cents.” The lady pulled her small wallet from her purse and began to count out the change. Both Emmy and Jennifer glanced to one another as they waited. This always took the longest, but they loved their elderly customers. Three minutes passed before the chime from the bell brought an end to the silence that filled the store.

  “So, are we going?” Jennifer asked, turning toward Emmy just as her phone vibrated.

  Emmy lifted the device and smiled, seeing the message that appeared across the screen from Maria. “Yeah,” she replied, “we are going.” Jennifer loved going out, hell if she could get away with it she wouldn’t go home at all except to shower and get a few hour's sleep. She was perfect for Maria, they balanced one another out.

  Jennifer left the front of the store, quickly grabbing a few books sitting on a side table, humming as she walked toward the travel section. Emmy felt a sudden flurry of nerves rising, but couldn’t figure out why. He was just a man, a man who might not even be there or talk to her. He wasn't a celebrity or anything, even if he was the golden boy in town. There was nothing to be nervous about.

  She repeatedly told herself that but convincing herself, she was not. She had been in a few relationships throughout her life, but none had stolen her glance as he had. None had caused her to stutter around them or even think about tracking them down to meet, no matter how good looking they were.

  Five minutes, that’s all they shared together, and Emmy couldn’t stop thinking of seeing him again. Getting to know him, allowing him to get to know her or just admiring that beautiful grin of his from across the room. Emmy closed her eyes briefly, shaking her head with a slight laugh.

  “Can we say stalker,” she spoke softly to herself. “Hell’s sake Emmy, get a grip.” Turning, she grabbed a few books from behind the counter and started toward the display window. This was a ritual she and Jennifer did every night before closing.

  They restocked the shelves and display tables, rearranged the windows. Jennifer liked to say that what drew people in was the ever-changing offerings on display, not that this was the only bookstore for miles. She didn’t know what was going to happen once they left, but one thing was for sure, she’d be making her own trips to the bar. Just in case.

  As closing time neared, Emmy and Jennifer set the alarm, turned the lights off and locked up. Both ladies should have been tired after a long shift, but instead were ready for a night of fun and a weekend off.

  Wrapping their arms around one another, they began their walk toward the condo. Maria was likely already home and waiting for them. It would be a night to remember, a night Emmy would allow herself to be brave, to be the bold one. She wouldn’t be the shy and sheltered woman she normally was.

  Chapter Two

  “So, I heard you met the amazingly handsome Nathaniel Hawkins this afternoon,” Maria’s voice drifted in from the opened doorway of Emmy’s room. Turning from her mirror, Emmy gave her best friend a smile.

  “I did,” she replied, “finally, since you seem to have kept him hidden from me at Riggs. I had to trip into him myself, literally.”

  “Ah,” Maria spoke, clicking her tongue on the roof her mouth, her shoulders shrugging as she walked into the room. “Jennifer revealed that little bit of information, did she?”

  As she moved to sit on Emmy’s bed, Maria gave her a once-over. “That’s why you’re so gussied up? Planning on getting the drinks yourself tonight?”

  Emmy shrugged, turning back to her mirror with a smile lighting up her features. She wasn’t dressed up, at least not in her mind. Wearing her favorite tan cowgirl boots, her blue Levi jeans, with tears, tucked inside. A white tank
top under her pink and white flannel shirt, sleeves rolled up over the elbow and buttons left undone.

  Her hair straightened flat to lie along her back perfectly, under her tan straw cowgirl hat. “I’m not gussied up,” she said, as she straightened her shirt with her palms. “This is a perfectly normal outfit to wear to Riggs.”

  “No,” Maria added, with a roll of her eyes, “not at all.” Emmy turned fully to look at her best friend, knowing she was right but wasn’t about to openly admit that.

  “Why are you working so hard to keep me from meeting him? Does he live a secret life with bodies of old girlfriends in his basement?” Emmy moved to her vanity as she spoke, searching the surface for a moment. Grabbing her perfume, she sprayed a tiny bit on her wrist before sniffing to test that it was enough as she looked at her friend in the mirror. Her expression reflected that Emmy had guessed correctly.

  “Shit, I was kidding.”

  “He’s not some killer,” Maria confessed, “unless that would keep you from him,” she added with a crooked smile.

  “Okay, what is the deal with him? Why wouldn’t you want me to meet him? I mean, really Maria, it’s silly for you to think me getting the drinks tonight or any other time will end in marriage and kids.” Laughing at her own comment, Emmy made her way across the room to grab her money from the dresser. “Anyway, Jennifer said he was like Mister Wonderful in the eyes of the town. The town's golden boy, were her exact words. Is she wrong?”

  “It’s nothing to do with Nate really, he’s a great guy and you both would be good together. It’s just Emmy, you have recently gone through this traumatizing, life-changing event that frankly, I know you’ve not fully processed. You need to live a little before even thinking of getting to know Nathaniel Hawkins. You’re just not ready for it.”

  Emmy’s brow furrowed in annoyance and confusion. She didn't know where this was even coming from or how long Maria had felt this way. She thought she was dealing with things as well as could be expected for someone who had lost her last remaining family. Furthermore, she didn't understand what that had to do with meeting someone or dating.

  “I don’t know what that means and frankly, you sound insane.” Clearing her throat, Emmy returned her attention to her friend. “First, don’t worry about how I’m processing my parents dying because I’m processing it just fine.” Her tone changed slightly with the last of her words as Emmy was doing the best she could to accept she no longer had a bloodline but wasn’t about to tell Maria that.

  “I’m sorry, I just meant…”

  “Second,” Emmy inserted, stopping Maria’s words instantly, “how could liking a guy, getting to know someone, be wrong? I mean, I see nothing wrong with, at the very least, making a new friend. You prevented me from meeting him for whatever reason and personally, I think that’s shitty. I would never do that to you, Maria. My parents controlled who I saw all my life and you know that. So here I am, trying to live a little, to open up, and you’re not supporting me.”

  “It’s not that I’m not supporting you, Emmy. I just know you better than you know yourself.”

  “What does that mean? Why are you speaking in riddles tonight?”

  “You are telling me you haven’t pictured being with him as more than friends?”

  “What? NO! Course not, that would make me….” Emmy looked at Maria, tilting her head slightly.

  “Really?”

  “FINE! Yeah, I mean, he’s gorgeous and from everything Jennifer told me, he’s like a Prince Charming. But fantasizing is far different from reality. I'm grown enough to realize that. I work in a bookstore surrounded by romance novels, for crying out loud. I'm perfectly able to indulge in some Cinderella fantasies without feeling the need to rush out and buy glass shoes just in case.”

  “This is what I’m talking about. Nate is wonderful, don’t get me wrong. He’s a lot better seed than his older brother but he’s not perfect, Emmy. He’s not some magical man from a fairy tale that’s been sent to whisk you away on a white horse. I’m sorry, but he’s not. I don’t want you getting yourself attached and then hurt. Frankly, I don’t think you could handle it.”

  Emmy knew her friend was speaking the truth and from the heart, but she'd lived her life under the constant pressure of her parents’ thumbs for so long, she was ready to risk some pain to live a little. “It’s a casual meeting, Maria. Nothing will probably ever happen. I'm okay with that.”

  Sighing, Maria moved from the bed, bending just enough to toss down the pillow she had grabbed. Licking her lips, she turned to face her best friend, moving up to stand behind her. Emmy had never done anything spontaneous in her life, and she knew it. Her idea of living on the edge had always been staying out ten minutes past curfew.

  Emmy stood in front of her best friend who had lived a lifetime compared to her. She knew Maria worried about her emotional state, but Emmy made a promise to herself when she lost her parents that she would live her life fully. She would try new things, she would be brave, and she would have no regrets. Well... no further ones.

  Nate was perhaps just an excuse for her to do this, for her to take the next step in keeping her promise. Showing up to his work wouldn’t be strange, she was there often enough anyway. Still... to talk to him, to flirt with him, perhaps exchange numbers or even get a kiss, those were the steps to living she was in search of. Giving Maria a smile, Emmy listened to the soft words from her normally loud best friend.

  “I just want you to be careful. I don’t want you getting in over your head.” Emmy turned to her then, placing her hands to the sides of her arms.

  “Don’t you worry about me. It’s a simple hey, nice seeing you, enjoy your night kinda thing.” Leaning in, Emmy kissed her best friend on the cheek as their eyes reconnected. “You’re kinda cute suddenly being all motherly with me.” Stepping back, Emmy turned to face her dresser and grabbed her cell phone. “You better go get ready if we want to get a good table tonight.”

  Maria nodded her head, remaining still for seconds staring at her friend before taking a few strides from the room. Emmy glanced up at her, the smile on her features remaining even though inside her heart raced and her stomach danced with butterflies.

  She had never drank enough to get drunk, she never told a lie and she never broke a rule without a reason behind it. Emmy was what many would call the perfect child, always saying ma’am and sir when speaking to her elders. She was raised with a good head on her shoulders.

  Yet, she had wanted to break the rules, to take that drink pushing her over the edge or allow her temptations and desires get the best of her from time to time. To whistle at the hot guy that walked past, to flirt without a care in the world. Have that one-night stand, break a heart or two, lie to cover something exciting, break a law, anything…but she never did.

  Her parents raised her to look and act properly in the public eye. First impressions are important, her mother always said. To sin even in private, why, that would taint the family name and you would be forever haunted by mistakes made, so just don’t make any and all is good. She lived her life by their rules, denying anything wild or carefree in her to see the light of day.

  Running her hands through the ends of her hair, down her shirt, she exhaled slowly. Closing her eyes, she counted to ten silently in her mind. Her parents were not bad people, in fact, they were amazing. Open-minded even, just not when it came to their only child.

  She knew this was why Maria was so worried. Emmy was swimming in waters she had never even dipped her toes in before. Slowly opening her eyes, she grabbed her favorite necklace that her mother had given her on her sixteenth birthday. Clicking the clasp closed, Emmy stood straight in front of the mirror. She carefully checked her outfit once more and inspected her makeup before running her hands along her hair. She was ready. For what, she didn’t know, but she knew she wasn’t going to come home that night without doing something she’d never done before. Ready to change her life forever, good or bad.

  ‘Wow!’ That was
the thought that went through Emmy’s head as she walked into Riggs with her friends. There was hardly a spot to walk, let alone a table to sit at or a place at the bar to lean against. Looking at the east end of the building, Emmy saw the dance floor was packed. Shooting her glance to the west side, she laughed at the sight of the game room. Shifting her body, she glanced at Maria, who was standing beside her with her arm around Jennifer.

  “Okay, so I forgot it was ladies night,” Emmy spoke with a wide grin. Maria shook her head, grinning wide, looking around the large room.

  “There!” Maria shouted, as she pointed towards the bar. Pushing through, Emmy made her way there just as another young woman was about to take the two openings. Leaning over, placing her palm on the seat, Emmy shook her head, letting her know without words these seats were taken.

  “Yo…” the woman began to speak, stopping just as Maria and Jennifer walked up. Looking over at the couple, she sighed, then turned and moved through the crowd. Maria wasn’t what you would call a badass, but she had been known to win a fight or two in her young years and twice last month, so it paid to have her around during times such as these.