Wicked Knight (18 page)

“Teta, this is Tristan Knight, Kirsten's brother.” Julie stood up, pulling dog hair off her pants.

Teta patted her shocking white beehive hairdo. “So this is the famous Knight. I heard all about you, mister. Now, why is he here, Julie? You know you can't entertain anyone, other than Kirsten and your hyper dog.” Teta looked at Tristan with her perpetually pursed lips.

“Teta, Tristan offered his help to solve my problem with Marla.”

“Oh? And what did he ask in return? Any man eager to marry a young, beautiful and rich woman on such short notice must have a hidden agenda.”

Julie bit her lower lip. Tristan was scowling at Teta like a little boy being scolded. “Teta, Tristan didn't ask anything. His family knows about this.”

“What happened to Armand? He's not as handsome as this Knight, but at least I know he loves you.”

“Want to talk directly to me, Teta?” Tristan asked, obviously annoyed at being the subject of discussion as if he was not around.

“You got to have a purpose for doing this, Knight, and don't tell me you love Julie. Do you?”

“Teta!”

“It's okay, Julie. Glad to hear you have a friend looking after your wellbeing. Teta, Julie is a special friend of my family. If it weren't for her, my sister wouldn't be with us right now. So when Kirsten asked me if I would be willing to help, I said yes. Now, to your question of if I love Julie. Yes. I do. We all do.”

The glowing happiness from Tristan's admission that he loved her faded when he added the last three words. Tristan loved her—
as a friend
. So her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. She felt loved while in the comfort of his warm embrace because it was what she wanted. Julie forced a smile. “See? No need to doubt Tristan, Teta.” She nodded at Tristan then quickly dropped her lashes to hide the hurt and disappointment. “Teta, Armand loves me, yes, but like Tristan said, if he agrees to marry me, he might not want to end it. Whereas Tristan, he gave his word that he will end the marriage after a month.”

“That's not part of the will's condition, is it?”

“No, Teta. The one month part is my condition.”

“And can you depend on his word?”

“You have my word. I will not bind Julie to a relationship she's against.”

“Good to know.” Teta patted her purse. “One thing you need to know about me, boy. I know how to shoot. And my favorite target is a man's balls.” Teta walked in the kitchen briskly, her round rump bouncing with each step she took. “Now, what did you do to my kitchen? I told you, Julie. You do not step in my kitchen without me here. Look! You burned the pan. What were you,” she glared at Julie and Tristan, “doing to let these poor eggs turn into dark lava?”

“Nothing,” Tristan answered, slowly backing away from Teta and out of her turf—the kitchen.

Julie was forced not to laugh. Her friend, round and plump had made Tristan, tall and lithe, look like a boy caught stealing cookies from a cookie jar. “We were just, uhm, discussing how to pull the wedding off before Marla gets the whiff of it.”

The look Teta gave her proved she believed nothing that came out of her mouth. “You were supposed to be gone for a week and call me to let me know when you'd be back. I came by to see if I could do some cleaning here, and this,” Teta looked Tristan up and down, “is not what I expected to see.”

Julie looked down to hide her warming cheeks. “Sorry.”

“Don't be. I don't care what you two have been doing here. If you were doing what I think you were doing before I came, it's good for you. It's about time you lived like a normal—well, you're not a teenager anymore—like a normal young woman.”

Julie felt her smile turned into a grimace. She pointed her gaze on Cinnamon. Her face must have been as red as Teta's lipstick.

“Bravo, Teta. Julie, you should listen to Teta all the time and you'll have a jolly good time.”

“Hush. Do not patronize me, boy. Hurt my girl, I will fry your ass. You'll look like those eggs you two burned.”

“I won't hurt Julie, Teta. That I promise you.” Tristan's voice turned serious, his smile wiped off his face.

“Good. Now, you didn't say what you expect you'll get in return for marrying Julie?”

“I'm not expecting anything. I'll do what we can to help Julie. It's too darn bad we didn't hear about her problem until this morning.”

“I assume you heard from Weatherholt again?”

Teta looked at Julie questioningly. The old spunky woman knew her inside and out, it would be best to tell her about Marla's forthcoming visit. “Teta, Marla is coming. Weatherholt warned me she is armed with new accusations. This time it's bad.”

“I'm going to blast that bitch to kingdom come. You just let me shoot her and her stupid cow for a son with my Magnum thirty-eight and I tell you, she will not come here again.”

“You carry a gun?”

“Yes,” answered Julie. “So don't mess with her. See how heavy her purse looks?”

“Why do you think the witchy bitch is coming?”

“I suspect she found out about my books, Teta.”

Teta she shook her head and wagged her finger at her face like a windshield wiper. “I knew those books would cause you trouble. Have you read Julie's books, Knight? This child was a grade-A brat growing up. Now she is one good spanking writer. So good that I sizzle and turn hot all over, especially right in my—”

Julie grabbed Teta's arm none too gently. Not a nice thing to do, considering Teta's age. She could be her grandmother. “Go clean the kitchen, Teta, please. And check the cupboards to see if we need anything.” She gave the woman a not very gentle shove.

Julie turned to look at Tristan, who was grinning from ear to ear. She punched his arm as she walked past him. Tristan followed her.

“You write
hot
stuff. Was it as hot as what we did last night?”

Julie rolled her eyes. “Shut up.”

“I heard that. I hope what you did involved a bed. God knows this girl needs some loving in her life,” Teta huffed, then clonked her way around the utterly disordered kitchen.

Too bad Julie wasn't insane. She could probably wring Teta's neck and get away with it. Tristan, she saw, was smiling cheekily. The blasted man was having fun on her account.

“Teta is a sweetheart—forward, but super nice,” she said, more to herself than to Tristan.

Tristan chuckled. “You think you'll write in your book what you did before Teta came, minx?” he whispered.

Julie shivered involuntarily. “
I
did?”

“Fine,
we
did.”

“Maybe. I need new material anyway.”

“Before this whole marriage thing is over, you'll have enough material for your books.”

Julie shook her head at him, all the while ignoring how her nipples hardened beneath her shirt.
Drat
. How could the scent of a man make a woman hornier than ever? Right now, if he kissed her again, it wouldn't be her fault if she started clinging to him like a hungry leach. She was new to this kind of thing. Like taking a bite of double, creamy chocolate Oreo cookies for the first time, she wanted more. She must be nuts. Clearly, Tristan was physically attracted to her, but nothing more.
Love sucks.

She spotted the doggie bag on top of the console table. She opened it and took out a carton of doggie biscuits. Like an illusion, Cinnamon, with her tongue lolling, appeared at her side.

“Is it you who is allergic to animal dander?” She broke the biscuit in half and fed half to Cinnamon.

Tristan pulled her against him and squeezed her waist. “No. I am not allergic to dogs or cats. My brother, Bors, is the one. He couldn't stand them.”

“Don't mind me being here,” Teta yelled from the kitchen. “I'll be gone as soon as I check everything. It's fine with me if you're standing too close to Julie, Knight. Like her Oreos stuck together.”

Both Julie and Tristan took a step back.

“Kirsten is allergic to nuts, Bors to dander. Allergies must run in your family. Are you allergic to anything?”

“Berries, especially strawberries.

“What?”

Tristan laughed. “Yup. I get hives when I eat them and I
swell
when I'm near one.” The underlying meaning of his words aroused her.

Julie covered her body's reaction to his double entendre with a laugh. With his admission to his weakness, her respect for him grew. It must have been hard, especially for a man like him, to admit to something like allergic reactions to berries. Her father would never admit anything that would show his weakness.

She looked at the man in front of her. Dear, she wanted to hug and kiss him.

“Well, don't worry about getting those berries in here, Knight. Julie's diet consists of milk, Oreos, doughnuts, and Chinese food,” Teta said from the kitchen.

God
. Old maybe, but Teta's hearing seemed to have sharpened over the years. Wasn't it supposed to be the opposite?

“By the way, girl, there's something wrong with your refrigerator—it's full of veggies and other nutritional stuff.”

She turned to look at Tristan. “Forgot to tell you, I stocked up your fridge with greens and orange juice. And pies. I love pecan pies, so you'll find two in there.”

“Trying to fatten up this girl like a turkey, are you? Good, maybe she'll look like me—tough and strong looking.” Teta stood in front of them. “Well, Julie, while the dishwasher is running, I'll go upstairs and see if you two managed to burn the sheets. I just hope I won't find used condoms in your room. That I wouldn't tolerate.”

Julie swallowed. They never used protection.
Not once
. “No, you won't find one.”

“Because he flushed it away, or you just didn't use one?”

“Teta, I'm not going to answer your question. That's too personal.”

“Fine. I just hope you don't end up like that girl in the movie
Knocked Up
. Come on, you dog, follow me. Let's leave the lovers alone.”

“We're not lovers,” Julie said after Teta.

Teta turned around and speared both Tristan and Julie with a sharp look. “Girl, don't think for a second because I'm old that I am a fool. Your doctor here, I bet, let his Mr. Johnson loose and you caught it.”

“Mr. Johnson?” Tristan and Julie asked in unison.

“Yeah, Mr. Johnson. You know, a man's little pecker or penis, peeper, love handle, dick, rod, wo—”

“Enough, Teta. We get your point. Thank you.”

Tristan raised his hand to stop Teta.

“See, that's why I use Mr. Johnson. Even Doctor here is embarrassed to hear those names.”

“Slang,” corrected Tristan.

“Whatever. Anyway, sparks are all around you both, and I'll be damned if I'm wrong that you two are in love. By the way, I want to be invited to your wedding. When is it going to be?”

“Soon,” answered Julie. Her mind was processing what Teta said. She hoped the old woman was right about Tristan being in love with her.

“We have the license already. We'll be wed in two days.”

“Good.” Teta nodded. “Cinnamon, come with me, girl. I doubt if those two will even remember you're around.”

Julie stood rooted to the floor.
Oh, God!
If Teta can tell I'm in love with Tristan, can he see it, too?
Embarrassed by her own thoughts, she watched Teta and Cinnamon climb the steps.

“I like her,” Tristan said. “Where did you find her?”

“QFC Store in Edmonds.”

“I want her to work for me.”

“Not a chance, she's mine.”

“How long have you had her as a housekeeper?”

“Long enough for her to butt in and talk as if she's my mother.”

“And you love her.”

“And I love her. Very much.”

“Without a doubt, she feels the same way. Did you notice her shoes? I didn't know they make those kind—as big as Ronald McDonald's.”

“You are terrible. Teta is a nice woman.”

“How did you meet her?”

“I saw her every time I went shopping. One day, I talked to her.”

“While shopping? You saw her shopping and you thought, hmmm... She's as big as an old Cadillac, can lift my dog, and with her legs bigger than the trunks of Cedar trees, she could manage to go up and down my stairs, so I should hire her to clean my house. Yeah, she's perfect.”

Julie swatted his arm. “No, while standing by the books and magazine aisle. She was reading a book. I was there, too, browsing, when she started crying. I asked if she needed help. She said no, but the character in the book does. We talked about the book she was reading and she gave me her honest opinion about the story.”

“I see, so Teta gave you her honest oral critique about your book and you thought of hiring her. She could clean your house and at the same time, critique
your
book.”

“I didn't say she was reading my book.”

“But she was.”

“Yeah. She was.”

“How long have you been writing?”

“Since I stopped modeling.”

“Is my sister involved in your writing?”

“Yes. She's my critique partner. A terrible one. To her everything I write down is good. Not really helpful when it comes to creating the plot or making the hero an unforgettable character. That's why I like Teta. She's honest.”

“If you need another pair of eyes, I could look at your manuscripts.”

“Chick flick stories. I doubt you'll make it through the second page, but you could help me with the bed scenes.” Julie blushed. It was too late to take her words back. She meant to say the words mentally, but they flew out of her mouth so fast...

“Sure, love. We could start right now.” He took her hand and kissed her wrists. With a grin that turned her heart into watery oatmeal, he pulled her against him until she was flat on his chest—again.

“You have a dirty mind for a doctor. Oh, dear...”

“Hmmm...Was that an,
oh dear, I like it
or
oh, dear, it feels good
?”

Julie hissed when he nibbled her ear. “Those mean the same thing, silly.” Her head tilted to the side, silently begging for more kisses.

“I love kissing your neck, ears, lips, and these,” he cupped her breasts and gently squeezed them. “I love them.” Tristan squeezed her butt cheek, pressing her against his hard
Mr. Johnson
. “Julie, wanna hide in your bedroom?”