Page 1 of Tangled With You
Chapter One
“Girls! What have I told you about running around UncleOllie’s house? You could step on a nail or knock over a can of paint. Plus,it’s not polite to go crazy when you’re a guest.”
The girls stopped on a dime, then aimed angelic faces in hisdirection. “Sorry, Uncle Ollie,” Lara said, her big, brown eyes on him. Shepoked her little sister, Anne, a wide-eyed imp, who piped up with, “We’ll begood.”
Ollie grinned. “You two are always good. Clearly your mom isconfused.”
At nine, Lara immediately burst out laughing, but the more literalseven-year-old frowned, then shook her head. “No, Uncle Ollie. We were beinglittle pests.”
He shot a glance toward their mother, Nikki. She tucked alock of blond hair behind her ear, her sea-green eyes dancing as she strugglednot to laugh. “You, my friend, are a bad influence.”
“Hell, yeah,” he said with a shrug. “Isn’t that part of theUncle job description?”
“It’s definitely part of being an aunt,” Jamie said fromacross the room. The three of them—Ollie, Jamie, and Nikki—had formed a tighttriangle of friendship back in Texas, and those bonds had held strong over theyears and the miles. They’d been tested, sure, but there were no two people heloved and trusted more in the world than Jamie and Nikki.
“Oh, come on, James,” Nikki said. “Being an aunt has nothingto do with it. You’ve always been a bad influence.”
“She has a point,” Ollie said dryly, then pretended to cowerunder her glare. Whereas Nikki had a girl-next-door beauty that suggested innocence,Jamie was nothing short of wildly sexy with a definite hint of badassery, afact she knew well. And which she’d used to her advantage on more than oneoccasion before she’d met her match in Ryan Hunter.
Now, she shrugged, then looked at the kids. “What can I say?Your mom and uncle know me well.”
Lara giggled, but Anne asked, “Can we have some cookiesnow?”
“Yes, can we?” Lara chimed in.
The entourage had arrived with a dozen freshly bakedchocolate chip cookies from Upper Crust, an amazing beachfront bakery nearNikki and Damien’s Malibu house.
“I thought we were giving those to Uncle Ollie,” Nikki said,making Lara roll her eyes.
“Mommmy. Youknow he’d just share with us anyway.”
Anne nodded. “Uncle Ollie is very polite.”
“Only one each. Daddy’s taking us to dinner tonight. Morethan one means no dessert.”
They raced toward the kitchen, their responses of okayand thank you drifting back to the adults.
“Anything in there that will send a couple of rambunctiouskids to the ER?” Nikki asked.
“Actually, the kitchen’s mostly done,” Ollie said. “I stillneed to put the cabinet doors back on, but at least this way we’ll see them ifthey decide to hide.”
“Do you want us to hang out for a bit? I wouldn’t be anyhelp if you were laying tile, but I can attach a cabinet door.”
“She says,” Jamie retorted. “I won’t believe her until I seeit with my own eyes.”
“Then it’s going to stay a mystery,” Ollie said. “I’m notputting you two to work. I’m just glad you were able to swing by.” Nikki hadcalled earlier to see if he wanted to join them for lunch, and when he’d saidthat he was tied up painting, they decided to come see the progress.
“You’re doing an amazing job,” Nikki said. “The front of thehouse looks great, and the entry hall is amazing. I love the tile.”
“I wasn’t sure about it,” he admitted. “But Mom had Saltillotile in the Highland Park house. Nostalgia,” he added, then winced. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Nikki said. “I’m nostalgic for the time I spentat your house, too.”
He knew she meant it, but he still wished he hadn’t saidanything. He adored his parents, and he’d loved growing up in the posh Dallasneighborhood. Being next door to Nikki had only made it better.
For her, though, those years had been torture. The visits tohis house were rare moments when she was free of her abusive bitch of a mother.
“This part is looking great,” Jamie said coming back fromwhere she’d been peeking into one of the halls. “But you’ve still got your workcut out for you back there.”
