All Wrapped Up (A Pine Mountain Novel) by Kimberly Kincaid Page B
Authors: Kimberly Kincaid
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hockey memorabilia and a stash of old T-shirts. Brennan had stood over the kitchen trash can for ten minutes, then twenty, before stuffing the photo in that drawer. He hadn’t clapped eyes on the damned thing since, having long ago buried it under a pile of take-out menus and packets of soy sauce from the Chinese restaurant in Riverside. Only now, the story that went with the image hada very different ending.
“Screw it.”
Before the rational part of his brain could override the hot impulse daring his fingers to move, Brennan creaked the drawer all the way open and plucked the picture from its resting place.
The black and white photo of Ava had faded over time, although his memory of the day it had been taken was brass-tack sharp. Glossy black hair spilled down the backof her white tank top like fresh ink on a page as she faced the camera from the side, her face tipped up and caught in deep laughter. Her coal-colored lashes fanned downward, framing her closed eyes and sending shadows over the apples of her cheeks. Her expression was so sweet, so totally wide open in her happiness, that she looked as honest and good as a lazy day in the sun.
Seven years ago,he’d have done anything for her, regardless of consequence or cost. He’d been young enough, reckless enough, to fall in love with her without even realizing she’d been hiding her past. A past worth hiding, sure. But if he hadn’t been so blindly impulsive, maybe he’d have been able to see it. To save himself the heartache. To help her cope.
As if flying by the seat of his pants hadn’t alreadydone enough damage.
The thought rattled Brennan firmly back to reality, and he snapped into place on the linoleum. All that talk with Ellie about true love must be making him soft. Okay, so he’d had a thing—maybe even the thing—for Ava Mancuso the summer after college. But she was about to ask him no less than a thousand questions about the one part of his life he was desperate to leave buriedin the past.
As hard and as fast as he’d once fallen for her, the best thing he could do for both of them now was to shut her out.
Chapter Eight
Ava’s breath escaped from her lungs in a slow leak, the exhale smarting even though two and a half days had passed since her embarrassing-as-hell tumble at the Double Shot. The whack to her sternum had stung nearly as much as the shot to her pride, but it was worth the literal heartache. She’d come clean about her past in a move long overdue, and as much as Ava had dreaded spillingher own story in exchange for Nick’s, she’d felt oddly strong giving him the truth he deserved. Add to it the fact that she’d also landed the exclusive that was going to resuscitate her dying career, and truly, she couldn’t have asked for a better situation.
Even if her sex drive was in overdrive at the thought of spending more time with Nick Brennan.
Oh no you don’t . Ava nestled further intothe comfort of her armchair, stamping out the memory of the dark, glittering, dead-sexy stare Nick had served up last night in his truck. The second she and Brennan had agreed on the terms of this story, they’d entered a business arrangement Being involved with a source, even on a short-term story, was a slippery slope. Ava couldn’t say she’d never heard of anyone bending that unspoken rule, butshe could sure as hell see the conflict of interest.
Plus, Gary already thought she couldn’t bring home the bacon with a source if he spotted her a block’s worth of butcher shops. She simply couldn’t lose her focus so close to breaking the biggest story of her life.
No matter how scorchingly hot Brennan’s five-alarm stares felt on her skin.
Ava sucked in a breath, low and deep. The soft,late-morning hum of the bakery around her smoothed her jagged nerves and knocked her resolve into place, and she clicked over the document on her laptop even though she’d long since memorized the thing.
Solidifying the facts of the current story had been
“Screw it.”
Before the rational part of his brain could override the hot impulse daring his fingers to move, Brennan creaked the drawer all the way open and plucked the picture from its resting place.
The black and white photo of Ava had faded over time, although his memory of the day it had been taken was brass-tack sharp. Glossy black hair spilled down the backof her white tank top like fresh ink on a page as she faced the camera from the side, her face tipped up and caught in deep laughter. Her coal-colored lashes fanned downward, framing her closed eyes and sending shadows over the apples of her cheeks. Her expression was so sweet, so totally wide open in her happiness, that she looked as honest and good as a lazy day in the sun.
Seven years ago,he’d have done anything for her, regardless of consequence or cost. He’d been young enough, reckless enough, to fall in love with her without even realizing she’d been hiding her past. A past worth hiding, sure. But if he hadn’t been so blindly impulsive, maybe he’d have been able to see it. To save himself the heartache. To help her cope.
As if flying by the seat of his pants hadn’t alreadydone enough damage.
The thought rattled Brennan firmly back to reality, and he snapped into place on the linoleum. All that talk with Ellie about true love must be making him soft. Okay, so he’d had a thing—maybe even the thing—for Ava Mancuso the summer after college. But she was about to ask him no less than a thousand questions about the one part of his life he was desperate to leave buriedin the past.
As hard and as fast as he’d once fallen for her, the best thing he could do for both of them now was to shut her out.
Chapter Eight
Ava’s breath escaped from her lungs in a slow leak, the exhale smarting even though two and a half days had passed since her embarrassing-as-hell tumble at the Double Shot. The whack to her sternum had stung nearly as much as the shot to her pride, but it was worth the literal heartache. She’d come clean about her past in a move long overdue, and as much as Ava had dreaded spillingher own story in exchange for Nick’s, she’d felt oddly strong giving him the truth he deserved. Add to it the fact that she’d also landed the exclusive that was going to resuscitate her dying career, and truly, she couldn’t have asked for a better situation.
Even if her sex drive was in overdrive at the thought of spending more time with Nick Brennan.
Oh no you don’t . Ava nestled further intothe comfort of her armchair, stamping out the memory of the dark, glittering, dead-sexy stare Nick had served up last night in his truck. The second she and Brennan had agreed on the terms of this story, they’d entered a business arrangement Being involved with a source, even on a short-term story, was a slippery slope. Ava couldn’t say she’d never heard of anyone bending that unspoken rule, butshe could sure as hell see the conflict of interest.
Plus, Gary already thought she couldn’t bring home the bacon with a source if he spotted her a block’s worth of butcher shops. She simply couldn’t lose her focus so close to breaking the biggest story of her life.
No matter how scorchingly hot Brennan’s five-alarm stares felt on her skin.
Ava sucked in a breath, low and deep. The soft,late-morning hum of the bakery around her smoothed her jagged nerves and knocked her resolve into place, and she clicked over the document on her laptop even though she’d long since memorized the thing.
Solidifying the facts of the current story had been
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