Wrapped Up in You (Heartbreaker Bay, #8)(48)

“Wanted to see my sister,” Brandon said. “It’s been a while.”

Ivy was hands on hips. “What happened to New York?” she asked.

“Actually, it was Mexico . . .”

“You in trouble again?” Ivy asked.

“Who, me?” he asked and grinned.

Kel would bet all the clothes he wasn’t wearing that Brandon had been in Mexico either finding trouble or running from it. “So if I was to look you up right now, there wouldn’t be any outstanding warrants?”

Brandon laughed, but kept looking at Ivy. “Had no idea your tastes run to cops now. Kind of ironic, don’t you think?”

Ivy cut her eyes to Kel for a telling beat, but hell if he knew what it meant before Brandon continued. “We need to talk, sis. Alone.”

“Hell no,” Kel said.

“Kel,” Ivy said softly.

He shook his head at her. “He was breaking in here, you realize that, right? And you’ve already had two other breakins. What odds do you want to lay down that we just caught our guy?”

Brandon’s easygoing vibe was still in play when he met and held Ivy’s gaze. “Look, I just need to borrow your car. Like old times.”

“The last time you borrowed my car you totaled it.”

Brandon had the good grace to wince. “Yeah, that was my bad. But that was years ago. I’ve matured.”

She snorted, and again Brandon smiled, in on the joke. “Okay, so that’s unlikely to happen,” he admitted.

Ivy shook her head. “It doesn’t matter anyway because I don’t have a car.”

Brandon nodded and then sent her a long look, and at whatever had been silently communicated, Ivy turned to Kel.

“No,” he said. No way was he leaving her alone with this guy.

“Listen . . .” She pulled him aside, and stepping very close, peered up into his face. “I want to hear what he has to say.”

“Go ahead.”

She gave him a pat on his chest, like she was soothing him. “He’s my brother, Kel. He’s not going to hurt me. He might be an idiot—”

The “idiot” in question snorted. He’d moved farther into the apartment, pacing around.

Ivy glared at him. “An idiot and a breakin artist,” she added. “But he’s not violent. It’s okay, Kel. You can go.”

“I’m not leaving you alone with him.”

“Yes, you are.” She went up on tiptoe and kissed him softly. Sweetly. “I’ll be fine.” She squeezed his hand. “Really.”

Brandon came back toward them and made a point of looking at his wrist like he was eyeballing the time.

Ignoring this, Kel kept his eyes on Ivy. “You’ll call me if you need me.”

“Of course.”

He shook his head. Then he strode toward Brandon and yanked her brother’s backpack off his shoulder.

“Hey,” Brandon said.

Kel opened the flap on the backpack and pulled out Ivy’s laptop.

Ivy glared at Brandon.

“Oops.” He shrugged and gave a rueful grin. “Sorry. Old habits.”

Kel shook his head, scooped up the rest of his and Ivy’s discarded clothes and tugged her with him to her bathroom. “Don’t move,” he warned Brandon. “And if you touch anything else, I’ll remove your sticky fingers for you.”

Brandon lifted his hands in the universal “I surrender” position.

Kel shut the bathroom door and waited until Ivy looked up at him. “So,” he said conversationally, pulling on his socks. “He seems nice.”

Ivy closed her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Not your fault. But you could’ve told me the truth about him.”

She looked away.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and reminded himself that she’d clearly lived in a world where believing in people had gotten her nothing, and worse, possibly hurt. “How about your friends?” he asked. “You don’t trust them with yourself either?”

This got him a response. Her eyes flashed with emotion. He just wasn’t sure which one.

“You don’t understand,” she finally said.

“Then help me understand.”

She went stubbornly mute, grabbed her clothes from his hands, and turned her back to him.



When the front door shut behind Kel five minutes later, Ivy dropped her forehead to the wood and took a second to get her bearings.

Easier said than done.

Her bathroom had enough standing room for one person, so it’d been cramped quarters as she and Kel had dressed in silence in there. A silence complicated by bare skin brushing bare skin, emotions still high from what they’d shared in her bed, and the adrenaline rush of her brother’s untimely arrival.

Brandon.

Of course he’d shown up when he had. Because he’d made it his lifelong mission to make her life as difficult as possible.

Kel had instantly recognized she’d been telling tall tales about her brother. He’d been kind enough—or pissed off enough—not to press the issue right then. But he’d swing back to it later, she was quite certain.

Or maybe not. Maybe he’d decide to wash his hands of the crazy chick. She certainly wouldn’t blame him.