The Neighborhood (Twin Estates #2) Read online

  “It's not the same,” she whispered. He squeezed her wrists and pulled her closer, forcing her into his personal space.

  “How is it not the same?” he asked.

  “Because,” a tear finally escaped and slid down her face. “Even if she did all those things … it's not the same. You guys .. you broke my heart.”

  “Oh, angel cake,” he breathed, closing the small gap between them and wrapping his arms around her.

  It was wrong. To want to be comforted by the person who hurt her. To find such relief in the arms that had brought her so much pain. But facts were facts, and as she cried into the front of Liam's shirt, some of the weight she'd been carrying around for two weeks came off her shoulders.

  “It's not the same,” she breathed. “She could never hurt me the way you two hurt me. It's not the same, Liam.”

  “I know, I know. But still. I was an awful person. The things we did to you … I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I'll never stop until I earn it,” he told her.

  “What if that never happens?” Katya was honest. She wasn't sure she had it in her to forgive him.

  “I don't believe that,” he replied. “I may be an asshole, and Wulf is quite possibly the devil incarnate, but you, Katya. You're a good person. You would never let something as amazing as what we had slip away, just out of spite. You would fight for it, at least until you were sure it wasn't worth fighting for anymore.”

  His words. They struck way too close to home. They reminded her of words she had spoken – only she'd been saying them to a different man. It sent a chill down her spine. Had Wulf told Liam about that night? Her gut instinct was no, Wulf wouldn't do that. But of course, her gut didn't know diddly squat when it came to these men. She stepped out of Liam's embrace.

  “Maybe I'm already sure,” she sniffled, wiping at her face.

  “You're not, and I'm prepared to spend a lot of time convincing you of that,” he told her.

  “I can't ...” she let her voice trail off. She didn't know what to do. Was she really prepared to spend the rest of her life hating Liam? And how did Wulf play into it all?

  “I'm not asking for a lot. Just … maybe answer the door when I knock, once in a while. Maybe have a cup of coffee with me,” he suggested. She took a deep breath.

  “I don't know, Liam. We'll see. You'll just have to knock, and we'll see,” she replied.

  “That's all I wanted.”

  “And what about Wulf?”

  “What about him?”

  “Are you here as his ambassador? Do you speak for the two of you? Because I don't want him at my door,” she said in a stern voice.

  “I haven't spoken to Wulf in two weeks, I hope he doesn't show up at your door,” Liam assured her.

  “And I am not going to sleep with you again, ever,” she assured him.

  “Hadn't even crossed my mind.”

  “Liar.”

  “You know, I think you missed me a little bit,” he teased her. She glared at him.

  “And don't be cute. I haven't made any promises, and Tori still owns those steel-toed boots.”

  The last time Liam had pleaded outside her door, Tori had opened it and kicked him in the balls – “just to shut him up”, she'd insisted.

  “Tell her if she does that again, I'm firing her.”

  “Fire her and I'll kick you in the balls.”

  “Okay, maybe you didn't miss me, but I missed you. I missed you so much, angel cake,” he sighed, smiling down at her. She frowned and looked away.

  “Good. Remember that feeling every time you think about what you did to me, or every time you think about telling a lie,” she suggested. His smile fell away.

  “I knew this was gonna be hard. I can handle it,” he assured her.

  “Don't be so sure. I have to go,” she said, stepping around him.

  “Can I walk you home?”

  “No.”

  “Alright, baby steps. Baby steps.”

  She walked in silence for a moment, but then realized she could hear him walking behind her. She stopped and whirled around on him.

  “Can't walk me home, and can't follow me home!” she snapped.

  “But I live in the same place,” he pointed out.

  “I don't give a shit! Go to work, or go get tacos, or grab a taxi! Stand here for all I care, but stop following me,” she said.

  “This is ridiculous, I have to -”

  “So help me god, if you don't turn around right now, I will move out tomorrow and I will see you in court over that broken lease,” she threatened.

  Liam took a deep breath. He was a jovial person by nature, but she knew he didn't handle being told “no” very well. He was usually able to talk his way around anything. But not this situation.

  He finally nodded, and without saying another word, he turned on his heel and marched off in the opposite direction. Katya glared after him for a while, then turned as well and stomped towards a BART stop.

  5

  Though she was on “sabbatical” from her job, Katya was still going to make some of the wedding cakes that had been commissioned. Specifically, she wanted to make her friend Lauren's cake. It was a massive undertaking, actually three cakes, all of them elaborate, and it had to be perfect for the big day. Katya didn't trust the task to anyone else.

  Lauren had witnessed the epic cake fight between Katya and Wulf. They'd met up several times since then, to go over more of the design elements for the fancy dessert, and Lauren had asked about Wulf. Asked if Katya would be bringing a date to the wedding.

  Katya said yes, she would. Tori would be her plus-one. Lauren laughed and had said she'd hoped for another repeat food fight.

  The wedding was on Saturday, and Katya only had two days to finish making all the flowers and sugar pearls and edible lace. The interns at the bakery were making the cake layers and covering them in fondant, but everything else was up to Katya.

  Which was why she was rushing out the door Thursday morning. She'd accidentally slept in – she always tried to get to the bakery around six in the morning, so she could get the bulk of her work done before the shop opened at ten. It was already eight, though, which meant she only had a couple hours before customers started coming and going, which inevitably meant she'd receive a barrage of questions from the clerks and interns.

  She stood at the elevator for what felt like forever, but it remained seemingly stuck on the seventh floor, the top of the building. Someone must have been holding the door open. She cursed and hurried into the stairwell. She lived on the fifth floor, and by the time she got to the bottom, she was huffing and puffing, wondering if she would make her bus stop on time.

  She was looking at her watch when she burst into the lobby area of her building, so she wasn't paying attention. She rammed into what felt like a hollow wall and stumbled backwards. She was so stunned, it took her a second to take in what had happened.

  That is the biggest sofa I've ever seen.

  She'd slammed right into the back of it. Moving men stood at either end, holding the large piece of furniture up off the ground and barely sparing her a glance. They were clearly straining with the effort it took to hold up the couch, and Katya realized they were waiting for the elevator.

  How do they think they're going to get it in there!?

  “Sorry,” she said, tapping one of the big men on the shoulder. “But I think someone blocked the door. I was waiting for it for a while on the fifth floor, but it never came down.”

  “Oh yeah, that's Barry,” the guy replied.

  “Barry?”

  “He's unloading the buffet table. It's a bitch to move, with that entire marble top. We told him to wait. He's probably having trouble getting it unwedged,” the guy explained, as if Katya not only knew Barry, but knew all about the marble topped buffet table.

  “Unwedged?” she asked.

  “Yeah. It didn't really fit, we had to swing it in at an angle, tilt it up on its end. I tell ya, I didn't think the elevator was gonna mo
ve, that sonnuva bitch was so heavy.”

  Katya glanced up as the elevator made a dinging sound. Barry must have gotten the table out, because the doors in front of her slid open. The couch started moving, but when it became even more obvious that the behemoth wouldn't fit, the guys started going about uncoupling the sectional pieces.

  She was confused. A lovely elderly Korean couple lived in the penthouse on the top floor. They owned a jewelry store down by the waterfront where Mr. Han was a gemologist. They'd somewhat adopted Katya and Tori as their grandchildren, since their real ones lived in New York. Katya had spent a fair amount of time at their place, helping Mrs. Han bake, eating dinner with them, or taking down their trash when she went to take her own.

  So she knew that their apartment was decorated in mostly dark woods, with high end vintage sofas and arm chairs. Lots of mid-century pieces. Not large sectionals like the one in front of her.

  Were they completely redecorating? The huge sofa that was now being dismantled was definitely super modern. Over-stuffed and done in a linen colored upholstery that was so soft, she wondered if it was a kind of chenille. She reached out and ran her hand across the top cushions. They felt comfortable and luxurious. Expensive.

  She shivered and glanced at the front of the building. There was a regular push door on the right, and then a super large revolving door in the center, with only one divider. Through them, she could see the end of a large moving van and more furniture. A huge chair that matched the couch. A large credenza and a sideboard, both in matching gray wood. Thick wood, at that – heavy pieces. She assumed Barry's marble topped buffet was made out of a similar material. Expensive. She looked back down at the couch.

  “The Hans ordered all this?” she asked, watching as an end piece of the couch was finally disconnected and dragged into the waiting elevator.

  “Who?”

  “The Hans, the people whose apartment you're moving all this into,” she told the moving guy.

  “Look, lady, I don't know no Hans, I just know the guy who booked this gig offered us two hundred extra bucks each if we get it all unloaded in an hour, so unless you're gonna help, I'd appreciate it if you'd move your fine ass outta the way,” he grunted, then the doors slid shut.

  Katya didn't care about his sexist undertones. Her mouth fell open and she was sure her jaw was brushing the ground. Out the corner of her eye, she saw the other moving man start to head for the exit. Presumably to get more furniture. Two hundred bucks was two hundred bucks, after all.

  “... the guy who booked this gig ...”

  What kind of guy bought high end furniture and then offered a ridiculous bonus to his moving men?

  “Hey,” she called out, moving to step around the couch. “What guy is your friend talking -”

  Again, she wasn't paying attention. Bad habit she had. She walked into someone, shoulder checking him hard enough to send her off balance. She bumped up against the corner piece before catching her balance.

  “I'm assuming he was referring to me.”

  Katya couldn't lift her eyes. If she did, it would be real. And it couldn't be real. Dealing with Liam was hard enough, but at least he was soft. Like a blanket, he wrapped around her and enveloped her. It was easy to forget he could hurt her.

  With Wulfric Stone, though, it was impossible to forget. He was carved out of ice and had razor sharp edges. He'd cut her to pieces once already. If she slipped again, he'd slice her right in half.

  “What are you doing here?” she whispered, still staring out the front door. Moving man number two was struggling with the large chair outside. She watched him for a second, then felt a finger under her chin. Forcing her to turn and face forward. A pair of blue eyes froze her in place.

  “You don't seem happy to see me,” Wulf informed her.

  “Probably because I'm not. Why are you delivering all this stuff to the Hans?” she asked.

  “I'm not delivering it to them.”

  “Then why are you sending it up to their apartment?”

  “It's not their apartment anymore.”

  “What? Yes it is, they've lived there forever, I was just ...”

  Katya's voice fell away as a light bulb went off over her head.

  “They haven't lived there since last night, since about seven o'clock,” Wulf told her.

  Seven o'clock. Right about when she'd been getting off a train to go to the Eros speed dating party.

  “So what, you evicted them!?” she was aghast. He rolled his eyes.

  “Please. You always favor the dramatic. They're currently settling into a new home in a four story Victorian, three blocks from their store.”

  “How did you manage that?”

  “Easy, I own the building and I offered it at half the rent they were paying here. They all but begged me to let them move in,” he explained. Katya held up her hands.

  “So let me get this straight. You own a four story Victorian down near the water, that you offered to the Hans at half the price of their old place, just so you could move in, presumably to make my life hell?” she double checked.

  “Something like that.”

  “Doesn't anyone know what the definition of stalking is!?” she shouted, her voice echoing in the small lobby.

  Wulf went to respond, then paused when his cell phone started ringing. He held up a finger and checked the screen. Katya was about to grab it and throw it into the revolving door, but then he shocked her by locking the device and sliding it into his pocket.

  “You did this to yourself,” he told her. “I've left you messages. Many times. I even sent you flowers.”

  “Your secretary sent me flowers.”

  “Ayumi is more than a secretary, and I assure you, she checked with me to sign off on the final decision.”

  “You're amazing.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It wasn't meant as a compliment.”

  “I'm choosing to take it as one, anyway.”

  “What about your amazing ivory tower penthouse apartment? You're just gonna leave it empty so you can slum it down here with us plebeians?”

  “No. As it so happens, I've already found the perfect tenant to sublet it,” he said. She barked out a laugh.

  “Please. You wouldn't even let me into your precious sanctuary, you expect me to believe you just let some stranger live there?” she asked.

  “While it had been some time since I'd last spoken to her, my sister is hardly a stranger,” he replied.

  “Vieve? You got Vieve to move in!?” she was shocked. It was hard to picture his soft spoken younger sister taking part in one of his dastardly schemes.

  “She's been there for the last week. When I finally got the Hans out of their place, I gave her the keys to mine.”

  “You can't,” Katya stood away from the back of the sofa. “You can't do this. First Liam showing up last night, now – oh my god. Did you two plan this!? He distracts me at speed dating so you can move the Hans out without me knowing!?”

  “Oh sweet jesus, don't tell me you did something as desperate as speed dating.”

  The night before, Katya'd had some long conversations with herself. About growing up and being mature and analyzing her emotions and actions. Not being so rash or hotheaded. But it all flew out the window and she started swinging her heavy tote bag, bashing it against Wulf's side.

  “No! Speed dating was just for fun! Going to the swingers' orgy afterwards was the act of desperation!” she yelled at him. Unlike Liam, he didn't make a move to stop her. He took the blows as if nothing strange was happening at all.

  “I always knew you were holding back,” he sighed. “But to answer your question, no. I knew you weren't in the building. I had no clue where Eden was, he and I haven't spoken in a while.”

  “He doesn't know you're just … moving people around and moving in?” Katya asked.

  “Why should he? He's not involved in the rental process at all,” Wulf said.

  “He's gonna be pissed if he finds out you mo
ved in!”

  “I don't care.”

  “But he's the owner – he has some say in who does or doesn't live here. I'll get him to make you leave,” Katya threatened. Wulf laughed.

  “Go ahead and try. I have an iron clad contract with him that entitles me to any and all business decisions for these buildings, short of remodeling or selling, as well as a lease for that apartment. I'm not going anywhere, Tocci.”

  “Then I'll move out.”

  “And I'll sue you for breach of contract,” he warned her.

  “You wouldn't dare.”

  “Test me. I have an entire legal department that would love to have something to do.”

  Katya felt like she was drowning. She just wanted to get on with her life. After two weeks of feeling sorry for herself, she had felt like she'd begun to make some headway. Had started to heal. Then boom, she'd gotten knocked down by Liam, then bowled over by Wulf.

  “Why can't you just leave me alone?” she whispered, desperately trying not to cry. He sighed and stepped up close to her. It wasn't like with Liam, though. She wasn't comforted by Wulf's presence. She wasn't sure she ever had been. Being close to Wulf was like being full of static electricity and standing too close to something metal. She could feel the charge, was bracing herself for the shock.

  “Because. We made promises to each other. I intend to keep them,” he whispered back. She glared up at him.

  “You never made any promises,” she hissed.

  “Not out loud,” he agreed. “But they were made. You felt them.”

  She lurched away from him. The last time they had spoken – really spoken, not just her screaming at him in the rain – it had been intense. Almost life changing. She had felt herself really falling in love with him. Then a day later, she'd found out it had all been a lie. So yes, there had been promises made. Made with lips and tongues and hearts and souls. Which made the fact that he'd broken them all that much worse.

  “I am not okay with this, Wulf. I can't be won back by intimidation and stalking. I can't be won back, period,” she warned him. He smirked and stepped up close again.