Tangled Web: A Small Town Romance (The Cortell Brothers Book 6) by Giulia Lagomarsino (an ebook reader txt) 📕

“Starting another page?” I asked, a grin plastered on my face.

She turned to me with a hidden smile. “Starting? Oh, Andrew, it’s been up and running since Josh opened the shop.”

She turned with a wink and walked away. I shuddered, thinking about her taking pictures of my brothers.

“That is so perverted,” Lorelei laughed.

We continued walking down the street, catching a few stares from people as they passed. I nodded and ignored them, but Lorelei had no clue what was going on.

“Why are they staring at us?”

“Hell if I know.”

“Is this unusual for you?”

“To walk down the street?”

“With a girl.”

“Oh, well, yeah, that’s a little weird.”

“You would think people would just mind their own business.”

I huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, you’re going to have to get used to people knowing all your business in this town.”

I opened the door to the bakery and ran smack dab into Corduroy. He tipped his hat at Lorelei and grinned at me. “Andrew. The lovely Lorelei.”

I wanted to smack that look off his face. “Give it a rest, Corduroy.”

“What? She’s very pretty. Way too beautiful to be with someone like you.” He turned to Lorelei, lifting her hand to press a kiss to her knuckles. “Enchanté.”

I rolled my eyes at his antics, but Lorelei blushed. “Don’t let him fool you. That’s the only word in French he knows.”

Corduroy glanced up at me with a quirked brow. Then turned to Lorelei. “Vos yeux brillent comme le soleil.”

“Seriously, give it up, man. She’s not going to fall apart just because you’re speaking French.”

“Oubliez cet idiot et fuyez avec moi.”

I had no fucking clue what he was saying, but then Lorelei surprised me. “You have to do a lot more than speak French for me to run away with you.”

Shocked, Corduroy stood tall, then burst out laughing. “Holy hell, woman. Seriously, forget this guy.” He pulled his hat off and held it over his heart. “Say you’ll run away with me.”

She leaned in a whispered something to him that I couldn’t hear, and when she pulled back, Corduroy looked stricken. I tsked and slapped him on the shoulder.

“Another woman lost to a Cortell brother. You know, you can’t win ‘em all. Or…any of them actually.”

He flipped me off and walked out the door. I was laughing when I turned to Lorelei, but she didn’t look nearly as amused.

“That wasn’t very nice.”

“It’s all good-natured ribbing. Besides, he’s used to losing women to us.”

Mary Anne came rushing out from behind the counter, wiping her hands on her apron. “Andrew! It’s so good to see you!”

I frowned at her. “I just saw you the other day.”

“I know, but so much has changed since then.”

“Like what?”

“Well…all the snow…And Lorelei, I see you’ve met our last single Cortell brother. Very handsome, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” she grinned. “He’s very handsome.”

“And single.”

“You mentioned that.”

“You know,” she said, wrapping her arm through Lorelei’s, walking her toward the counter. “Our Andrew hasn’t had anyone snag his eye in a very long time.”

Lorelei glanced back at me for help, but hell if I knew what to do. I shrugged.

“Hey, man.” I turned to see Josh standing beside me, jerking his chin at Lorelei. “Who’s she?”

“Lorelei. She moved into the old Granville mansion.”

“Is that the job Eric’s working?”

“Yeah.”

“So, how did you meet her?”

I shifted from one foot to the other nervously. “Uh…you know, around town.”

His eyebrows shot up and he looked back at Lorelei. “You just met her around town.”

“Yeah, you know…the hardware store or something.”

“The hardware store.”

“Yeah, I was buying paint for Sofia.”

“Which you still haven’t helped her with, by the way.”

“I’ll get to it.”

“Not if you’re spending all your free time with the sexy new lady in town.”

“I just got a little sidetracked. How is she, anyway?”

“Joe has her wrapped in a bubble. She’s not allowed to work at the shop anymore. Late nights are not conducive to having a baby, you know,” he said, rolling his eyes. “So, she’s been helping Carly out with Alessa. Of course, one of us has to be there to escort her up and down the stairs anytime she comes and goes.”

“I’m surprised he lets her walk to your place.”

“Oh, haven’t you heard? I need to pick her up every morning and drive her to the townhouse.”

“Well, it is five blocks from the apartment to your townhouse. And it’s winter. She could slip and fall.” I shook my head. “I don’t like this. There are too many of them pregnant at once. It’s too dangerous. You need to wait until at least all of them have their babies before you and Carly start trying.”

“Oh, I do, huh?”

“Well, come on. Three pregnant women and only six of us here to watch them? If you add a fourth to the mix, that’s just asking for trouble.”

“And what about Lorelei? Are you planning on sticking it to her for more than a week?”

“I think it’s a little early to be talking about babies with her. I’m not stupid like the rest of you. I don’t go out and get a woman pregnant at the drop of a hat.”

“Hey, I was with Carly for years before she got pregnant.”

“Yeah, and still not married.” I sighed heavily. “Yeah, that’ll never happen to me, and you know why?”

“Please, inform me,” he said drolly.

“Because I’m the responsible brother now.”

He sighed heavily. “Really, please do tell me how you’re the responsible one.”

“A, I have a really good job and I make a ton of money. B, I haven’t gotten anyone pregnant. And…”

“C?”

“I’m thinking.”

He huffed out a laugh, slapping me on the shoulder. “Yeah, when you think of that third reason, you let me know.”

He headed for the counter to order while I stood there and tried to figure out what the third reason was.

Lorelei

After Andrew left the bakery to go check his business emails, I headed to the grocery store. My pantry was basically empty and my fridge didn’t look too much better. Not that I would be loading up on refrigerated