Twisted By Love, Reincarnation Tales, Book 1 (9 page)

The fact was that Livie had everything and
Toni had nothing.

Sitting there sipping Livie’s costly
chardonnay, Toni started to plan. She’d continue sending Reese
sweet, loving messages, begging for forgiveness—gag—and she’d keep
telling Livie how wonderful Reese was, how delicious he was in bed,
how badly she needed him back, how she couldn’t go on without him.
Then bam, she’d lay it on Livie, something dramatic like
You
stole my man.
Yeah, she wanted Livie hooked on him before she
realized she had to give him up.

God, what if Livie invited him here? Toni
didn’t want him to know before she was ready. She jumped up,
grabbing three photos off the shelf of Livie’s entertainment
center. One was of her and Livie when they were high school, one
more recent, and another of the whole family before Dad died.
Hopefully Livie wouldn’t notice they were missing. And if she did,
Toni could say she hated the way she looked in them. Toni always
had an excuse for everything. And Livie always believed her.

She whirled around at a noise drifting down
from Livie’s bedroom. A cry. Or something. She went to the edge of
the hallway, stood silent a moment, listening. Another cry, louder
this time. Livie was having one of her nightmares.

Good. Toni padded back to the sofa and
finished her wine, letting her sister dream the dreams of the
damned.

* * * * *

Livie simply needed to get out. Or go
completely insane.

She’d had a nightmare Friday night. Saturday
morning she’d woken with a massive headache after too much wine.
Then there’d been Toni’s incessant moaning and crying all day long
and into the evening. Toni could be so needy. Of course there was
nothing Livie could do. The final straw had been last night’s bad
dreams.

This morning, Toni was afraid of being alone
and wanted to go shopping with her. No way. Julia and Toni
absolutely hated each other. Livie left feeling halfway between
guilty and relieved. As much as she wanted to help her sister, she
just couldn’t take one more day of Toni and all those intimate
sexual details. God, please, no more.

“Here, have more tea. I’ll do your tea leaves
afterward.” Julia poured the Chinese tea into Livie’s cup, the
leaves swirling then settling to the bottom along with the rest.
This was her third, and Livie felt like she might float away, but
she sipped obediently.

Since they were between the lunch rush and
the dinner hour, the restaurant was only half full. Crockery
chinked as the tables were cleared, and the cooks could be heard
hollering at each other from the kitchen. The air was redolent with
Chinese spices and jasmine tea.

They’d shopped Hillsdale Mall until Livie’s
feet were aching. With only one brief stop in the food court for
coffee and a croissant, she was starving by the time they’d headed
down to Third Street in San Mateo to the best, according to Julia,
hole-in-the-wall Chinese place on the Peninsula. The food was
definitely good. Their trunks were packed with bags, at least
Julia’s was. Livie had found nothing more exciting than a couple of
blouses for work.

Julia twirled chow mien around her fork. “So
I’ve changed my mind about your guy.”

Your guy.
Livie hadn’t told Julia
about Friday night. They were best friends and Julia told her
everything, but Livie was more private. There was something about
Bern that made her want to keep him to herself for a little while.
Julia would have lots of questions and several opinions, and Livie
wasn’t ready to think it through on someone else’s terms. So she’d
said only that she was sticking to the plan of calling him on
Monday.

Julia wasn’t going to leave
that
alone.

“And what have you changed your mind
to
?” Livie asked, keeping her voice nonchalant. She’d
ordered Szechuan chicken, and her lips were on fire. She wondered
if that was a metaphor for something. She gulped her tea, almost
emptying the cup.

“You should call him now.”

Livie gasped. “With you here?”

“Exactly. Then I can coach you.”

“Thanks.” She paused. “But no thanks.”

“Killjoy.” Julia reached for Livie’s tea cup.
“If you won’t call him, then let’s read your tea leaves, and see
what they say about him.” She was already done eating while Livie
was still working on the chicken.

Tipping the cup to the side, Julie studied
the contents. Almost all the liquid was gone. “Swirl them around a
bit, then pour off the remaining tea and let them settle.”

Livie swirled and poured the small amount of
tea onto the saucer. Leaves clung to the sides and sat at the
bottom. Julia had purchased tea cups in Chinatown. The extent of
her knowledge was limited to the instruction booklet that came with
the set. But she had fun, and Livie didn’t mind indulging her.
Usually the predictions were about a tall, dark stranger who would
come her way.

Come to think of it, he actually had.

Julia examined Livie’s leaves. “Hmm.” She
frowned dramatically. “See this?” She tipped the cup toward Livie,
who didn’t see anything except a bunch of wet tea.

“What exactly am I supposed to be seeing?”
she asked.

Julia had explained how it worked the first
time she’d done a reading for Livie. The tea leaves settled into
shapes, and the shapes represented different things in your life.
There was also something about the placement, whether the symbols
were on the bottom, sides, or near the top, but Julia hadn’t
figured out how that part worked, so she ignored it.

“This little pattern right here”—Julia
pointed to a clump partway up the side of the cup—“see how it looks
like a mountain?”

No. It was just a clump. “Of course.”

“Well, the mountain symbolizes a journey of
hindrance. Something’s going to be standing in your way to getting
what you want.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Maybe there’s a reason
he hasn’t called you back.”

It was more likely that the
hindrance
was Livie herself. “I’m sure there’s a reason,” she agreed.

“But see this leaf over here?”

“Sure.” It was another clump, but Livie
didn’t argue.

“The leaf shape symbolizes a new life.”

“Ahh.” Livie tried to sound enthused.

“So it’s saying you’re going to take a
difficult road, but you should forge ahead because there’s a new
life waiting for you.”

“Perfect. I’ll call him tomorrow and get
started on my journey right away.”

“Oh, and look at this. Beware of the snake,
they indicate falsehood or enmity.”

The little squiggle of leaves
might
be
the shape of a snake. The sight sent a little chill through her.
“You know, I’ve been dreaming about snakes.” She hadn’t told Julia
about the recent spate of nightmares. It had seemed so...weak. But
now it was written in the tea leaves, as ridiculous as that
sounded.

“What are they about?”

Livie decided to omit anything about Toni.
“Just a snake biting me. Or slithering on me.” She swallowed hard.
“I’ve been waking up sweaty and sometimes I think I even scream.”
She had a vague recollection of doing so last night.

“How long has this been going on?” Julia
stared at her, her gaze searching Livie’s face as if she’d somehow
see the ravages of the nightmares in her features.

All her life. “A few weeks.”

Julia almost looked offended, a slight pout
to her lips. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’ve been trying not to think about it.”

“The snake is a very powerful image,” Julia
said. “There are so many meanings, I don’t even know where to
begin.”

Livie shrugged. “Let’s leave it at indicating
falsehood or enmity. Now go on.”

“Ooh, and there’s a cat.” Julia pointed, but
Livie still couldn’t see it. “A cat symbolizes a deceitful friend
or relative.” Julia made a face. “And since we know I’m not
deceitful, that must mean Toni.”

Oh yeah, there had
definitely
been a
good reason not to mention Toni’s part in the dreams. Julia and her
sister had taken an instant dislike to each other. “I should have
known you’d say that,” Livie said wryly.

Julia shot her a narrow-eyed look. “Your
sister is the queen of manipulators. Why can’t you see that?”

“I know Toni has issues. But she’s my sister,
and it’s my job to take care of her.”

Julia snorted. “It’s not your
job
.
She’s thirty-three years old, and she needs to start taking care of
herself.”

It was an old argument, and she was tired of
it. “Let’s move on. What else do you see in there?”

Turning the cup round and round, Julia
perused the sides, made a couple of dramatic faces, then set it
down again. “A dagger,” she said ominously.

“Oh God, don’t tell me someone’s going to
stab me.”

“It doesn’t mean a literal stabbing. It
indicates danger. And it’s right next to a box.”

“What does the box mean?”

Julia widened her eyes. Then finally she
laughed, as if she couldn’t keep it in. “I have absolutely no idea.
I’m pretty sure it wasn’t on the list of symbols.”

“Maybe it’s an elevator. That’s a small box.
And that’s where I met him. In the elevator. So it’s telling me
that it’s dangerous to get into elevators, especially with him. In
fact, I should probably stay away from this guy altogether because
he sounds like way too much work, a long, hard journey fraught with
danger, enmity, and falsehood.” She grabbed the cup and poured more
tea, sending the leaves swirling.

Julia smirked. “Since when have you been
afraid of hard work?”

“When it’s my career, fine, but not with a
man. If they’re hard work, they aren’t worth it.” Especially when
she had to deal with Toni’s jealousy as well. Toni didn’t like
sharing Livie’s time. Which was why she’d rarely dated in the last
five years, and when she did have a date, she certainly didn’t tell
her sister about it.

“You’re so cynical.” Julia opened the small
dessert menu that had been on the side of the table. “Let’s have
the fried bananas for dessert.”

Why not?

They could laugh about the tea leaves. It was
just harmless fun. Yet it made her think. Toni was huge mountain to
climb if Livie wanted a relationship with Burn. Was he worth
it?

Chapter Nine

Livie was half afraid Toni would still be
there when she returned from the shopping expedition, but the condo
was blessedly empty. It was Sunday, she had work tomorrow, and she
couldn’t take another night with Toni.

But, dutiful sister that she was—enabler,
Julia would say—she hit Toni’s speed dial. The phone rang and rang,
Livie’s chest tightening with every second that ticked by. She saw
Toni lying in the bathroom in a pool of blood. She couldn’t be that
upset about Reese. Could she?

Then Toni was snapping at her across the
airwaves. “What?”

“Nothing. I was just—”

“Checking up on me,” Toni cut her off.

Yes. “I wanted to see how you were
feeling.”

“I’m fine, and I decided not to stay at your
place because you were making me all maudlin by forcing me to talk
about
him
. I can’t take anymore, Liv, so stop.”

She hadn’t forced a thing out of Toni. She’d
simply listened. And yes, she knew Julia was right. Toni often
twisted things to make it look like Livie was at fault. It was
Livie’s guilt that made her keep on taking it. If that was
codependency, well, that’s what they were.

“Fine,” she said calmly. “I’m glad you don’t
need my help, but you’re always free to call if you want.”

“I won’t be
bothering
you again
tonight.”

Livie resisted the urge to tell Toni that she
wasn’t bothered, but that’s what her sister wanted, a little
groveling. She wouldn’t get it now. “Give me a call tomorrow
then.”

“Sure.” Then there was simply dead air.

She laid the phone next to her purse, staring
at the leather bag. She hadn’t had a moment to herself this weekend
to even think about calling Burn. If she wanted to see him, she
couldn’t tell Toni, especially not now that Toni had been
dumped.

Besides, he was a complication. She was a
career woman. She didn’t need a relationship interfering with her
goals. And he was a man that wouldn’t go half measure with
anything. He was intense. If she had to work late and couldn’t see
him, he’d probably get all pissy.

Yet even with all those thoughts running
through her mind, she opened her bag and pulled out his card. Toni
was out of her hair. She wouldn’t call for a day or two, punishment
for Livie’s failure to invite her along on the shopping trip. So
Livie was safe for tonight. She laid his card on the hall table.
The lettering was neat and precise, not flowery, a small company
logo, his name, work number, cell number. Bernard R. Daniels. It
wasn’t Burn, but Bern, short for Bernard. She had to laugh at
herself for the mistake. Though Bernard R. Daniels had certainly
set her on fire.

Calling him wasn’t a commitment for the rest
of her life. Even if she had sex with him, it wasn’t a
relationship. Every girl needed a little TLC once in a while. She
could make it clear that’s all she wanted.

Even as she punched in his cell number, she
heard a little voice laughing inside, whispering that all her
thoughts were just excuses, because, really, honestly, wasn’t she
compelled
to call him?

Livie didn’t listen because suddenly he was
there.

“It’s you, isn’t it,” he said softly.

“Yes.” She knew what he meant, an unfamiliar
number, no name associated with it, but it had to be her.

“I’m glad you called. Did you have a good
weekend?”

So, he was making small talk. Maybe he sensed
her nervousness. “Actually, I’ve just returned from a long, hard
day of shopping.”

He gave a soft chuckle. “Perhaps you can
model your new clothes for me.”