Read Online Tangled Up in Love by Heidi Betts - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Heidi Betts
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duplicated, if at all possible.
“All right,” she said, “the first thing I think we should do is pull this out and start over.”
She yanked the entire collection of loops he’d worked so hard on off its needle and started tugging at the yarn until the stitches began to unravel. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he might have whimpered.
“Watch carefully,” she told him, and proceeded to cast on several stitches. “See what I’m doing here?”
“Uh-huh.” He saw. He’d seen this part before. He’d even tried it a time or two himself. It looked simple, but he might as well have been a giant playing with the individual strands of a spider’s web.
She paused and held the needles out to him. “Now you try.”
It was embarrassing for a grown man to break out in a cold sweat at the prospect of dealing with a couple of tiny metal sticks and some blue yarn—
baby
blue, no less—but that’s exactly what he did.
Holding his breath, he took over and very slowly tried to mimic the movements she’d shown him. Theyarn got stuck around his big fingertips, and he kept fumbling the needles. He knew almost immediately that he was screwing it up again.
“Wait a minute,” Ronnie said, obviously noticing his awkwardness.
She sat for a minute, tapping the palm of her hand against the side of her leg. Then she bounced up and paced across the carpeted room.
“I think you’re having trouble because the needles are so small and the yarn is so thin.”
She came back with a bright turquoise faux leather tote in one hand and a woven basket in the other. The basket was filled with a multitude of yarns and needles, and she began sorting through them, searching for exactly what she wanted.
“Here you go,” she said, handing him a set of white plastic needles a couple of sizes larger than the ones he’d been using.
Then she dug into the bag and drew out a small, fat skein of soft black yarn. “Charlotte gave this to me tonight. She spun it herself from fiber sheared from the alpacas she raises. I really think you’ll like it. Feel how soft it is, even though the strands are nice and thick.”
He ran his fingers over the yarn, feeling the texture. He didn’t know jack shit about yarn, but it was definitely softer than what he’d bought at the craft store, even though the other stuff looked stronger.
“Okay, let’s try again.”
This time, when she plopped down beside him, their thighs touched from knee to hip, and the sensation shot straight to his groin.
Great. Just what he needed was to be sitting flush against the woman who’d made his life a misery thispast year, and whom he’d endeavored to make just as miserable, with a stiffy straining against his fly.
She arranged the larger needles in his hands, then showed him how to start the yarn. He followed her instructions to the letter, trying to do exactly what she was doing, exactly how she was doing it.
And he had to admit, the thicker needles and yarn did seem to make the task easier. He felt less clumsy, less like his fingers were fat sausages working to balance a couple of tiny toothpicks.
“Good,” Ronnie said after he’d managed to cast on a good number of stitches. “See, size really does matter. I knew the bigger needles and thicker yarn would work better for you. Now we can start to actually knit.”
“You mean we aren’t knitting yet?” he asked, jaw clenched in concentration.
She chuckled, rearranging herself on the sofa cushions. “Not yet. That was just the setup.”
Folding her legs beneath her, she leaned against him, hovering above him to observe his progress. Her arm rested on his back and shoulder, the side of her breast rubbing his bicep. The heat of her body burned through the material of his tan buttondown shirt, and they might as well have both been naked.
Now he was thinking about her naked. Crap.
He could picture her, too. All sleek, glowing ivory skin. Nice, firm breasts, full enough to fill a man’s hands and pert
“All right,” she said, “the first thing I think we should do is pull this out and start over.”
She yanked the entire collection of loops he’d worked so hard on off its needle and started tugging at the yarn until the stitches began to unravel. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he might have whimpered.
“Watch carefully,” she told him, and proceeded to cast on several stitches. “See what I’m doing here?”
“Uh-huh.” He saw. He’d seen this part before. He’d even tried it a time or two himself. It looked simple, but he might as well have been a giant playing with the individual strands of a spider’s web.
She paused and held the needles out to him. “Now you try.”
It was embarrassing for a grown man to break out in a cold sweat at the prospect of dealing with a couple of tiny metal sticks and some blue yarn—
baby
blue, no less—but that’s exactly what he did.
Holding his breath, he took over and very slowly tried to mimic the movements she’d shown him. Theyarn got stuck around his big fingertips, and he kept fumbling the needles. He knew almost immediately that he was screwing it up again.
“Wait a minute,” Ronnie said, obviously noticing his awkwardness.
She sat for a minute, tapping the palm of her hand against the side of her leg. Then she bounced up and paced across the carpeted room.
“I think you’re having trouble because the needles are so small and the yarn is so thin.”
She came back with a bright turquoise faux leather tote in one hand and a woven basket in the other. The basket was filled with a multitude of yarns and needles, and she began sorting through them, searching for exactly what she wanted.
“Here you go,” she said, handing him a set of white plastic needles a couple of sizes larger than the ones he’d been using.
Then she dug into the bag and drew out a small, fat skein of soft black yarn. “Charlotte gave this to me tonight. She spun it herself from fiber sheared from the alpacas she raises. I really think you’ll like it. Feel how soft it is, even though the strands are nice and thick.”
He ran his fingers over the yarn, feeling the texture. He didn’t know jack shit about yarn, but it was definitely softer than what he’d bought at the craft store, even though the other stuff looked stronger.
“Okay, let’s try again.”
This time, when she plopped down beside him, their thighs touched from knee to hip, and the sensation shot straight to his groin.
Great. Just what he needed was to be sitting flush against the woman who’d made his life a misery thispast year, and whom he’d endeavored to make just as miserable, with a stiffy straining against his fly.
She arranged the larger needles in his hands, then showed him how to start the yarn. He followed her instructions to the letter, trying to do exactly what she was doing, exactly how she was doing it.
And he had to admit, the thicker needles and yarn did seem to make the task easier. He felt less clumsy, less like his fingers were fat sausages working to balance a couple of tiny toothpicks.
“Good,” Ronnie said after he’d managed to cast on a good number of stitches. “See, size really does matter. I knew the bigger needles and thicker yarn would work better for you. Now we can start to actually knit.”
“You mean we aren’t knitting yet?” he asked, jaw clenched in concentration.
She chuckled, rearranging herself on the sofa cushions. “Not yet. That was just the setup.”
Folding her legs beneath her, she leaned against him, hovering above him to observe his progress. Her arm rested on his back and shoulder, the side of her breast rubbing his bicep. The heat of her body burned through the material of his tan buttondown shirt, and they might as well have both been naked.
Now he was thinking about her naked. Crap.
He could picture her, too. All sleek, glowing ivory skin. Nice, firm breasts, full enough to fill a man’s hands and pert
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