“Great conversation with you all is payment enough for me.” Thane looked sincere. He cast his eyes down and left his hand on the table a sliver away from Kari’s.
She felt the heat coming from it. She longed to touch him again. In front of her son and Reagan, she had to refrain.
Kari stood. “Thank you, again. You’re very generous.” She looked at Michael. “Did you thank Mr. Wells for the meal?”
“No, ma’am.” He faced Thane. “Thank you. Those pancakes were awesome.”
“You’re welcome.” Thane smiled at him.
“Come on. Let’s get you washed up and we’ll get out of Mr. Wells’s hair.” Kari held up her arm to signal Michael to come to her.
“Mom.” He twisted his little mouth to the side as he went over to her. “Can I go to the men’s bathroom by myself?”
“Absolutely not. People are crazy. I’m not having some nut-job snatch you from the bathroom or worse.” Kari would never tell Michael what would be worse than getting kidnapped. He didn’t need to have the nightmares.
She knew that he would get to an age where going into the women’s bathroom with his mother or his nanny wouldn’t work. She had to protect him as long as she could.
“I can bring you all up to my room if you want to use that bathroom,” Thane offered.
Kari quickly did a mental inventory of his bedroom, whether or not she’d left anything behind that would give away what they had done. She couldn’t be sure that Thane had discarded all the condom wrappers.
“His room might be a mess, sweetie.” Kari shook her head.
“I don’t mind taking him.” Thane looked at Kari. “If it’s okay with you.”
“I couldn’t ask you to do that.” Kari wrapped a possessive arm around her son.
“You didn’t. I offered.” He looked down at Michael. “Are you okay with that?”
“Are you kidding? Washing my hands with Thane Wells? The kids at school will never believe me.” Michael turned to Kari. “Please, Mom?”
Looking at the two of them, she relented. “Okay, wash and dry your hands. Don’t play in there.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Michael looked like he wanted to skip to the bathroom.
“In and out. We’ll be right back.” Thane put his hand on Michael’s back. “Will you two be right here when we get out?”
“Here or by the car.” Kari couldn’t stop staring at her little man. “Be good.”
Michael rolled his eyes. “I’m just washing my hands.”
“I know. I love you.” She blew him a kiss.
“Yeah, yeah. I know.” Michael gave her a dismissive wave and started to go toward the bathroom when Thane stopped him.
“Always tell people you love them, especially family.” He looked at Kari. “Especially your mother. You never know when you might not see them again.” Thane stared at Kari for a long moment before dropping his gaze to her son. “Say it. It doesn’t make you less of a man to be open and honest.”
Michael blinked before turning to Kari. “Love you, Mom.”
Kari smiled and nodded. Before she knew it, Michael ran to her and wrapped his arms around her. Her steadily tightening throat completely closed as she held him.
Michael gazed up at her. “Don’t tell my friends I did this, okay?”
Kari released a chuckle. “Our little secret.” She kissed the top of his head before sending him off with Thane.
Reagan draped her arm around Kari’s shoulders as Kari watched the duo go into the men’s room.
“Hold it together, mama.” Reagan nudged her hip against Kari’s. “Don’t let him see you crying.”
Kari waited until the door closed before she broke down. “He’s growing up so fast.”
“I know. You knew this was coming. I knew it was coming when he complained about going to the bathroom with me.” Reagan patted Kari’s shoulder.
“And did you see him with Thane? And how Thane was with him? He’s such a good man. Polite and respectful and—”
“And you couldn’t wait to get away from him, right?”
Kari turned her back to the bathroom, afraid to show her son her vulnerable side.
“Come on. Let’s get some air.” Reagan led Kari to the door.
“No. I have to be here when he comes out of the bathroom.” She turned back around, but Reagan continued pulling her toward the door.
“He’ll be fine. It’s you I’m worried about.”
The doorman opened the door as Kari and Reagan walked forward. The morning sun warmed Kari’s face. She closed her jacket around her body.
“What do you mean?” Kari walked toward her car.
“I’ve never known you to work a client this hard.”
“Hey.” Kari jerked her shoulder back from Reagan.
“I don’t mean it that way. I’ve never known you to work so hard to get a client. You’ve been on this guy for years. So now it looks like work has turned to pleasure, which I think is great. But you’re still hung up on work. Give that up and go with your heart.”
Kari wiped under her eyes. “Give it up? So are you okay with not having a raise? You think Michael will be okay with vacations to locations I can drive to? His father can give him so much more. I have to compete with that.”
Reagan shook her head. “No. You think you have to for whatever reason. You don’t. Michael loves you. He said so.” She nodded toward the hotel.
When Kari remembered him telling her he loved her and hugging her, the flood of tears returned just as Thane and Michael walked out of the hotel.
“Hey, give your mom a minute.” Reagan put her arm around Kari. “She’s on a call.”
With her head down and her hands to her face, Kari did look like she had a phone to her ear. She had to admire Reagan’s quick thinking. No way could she face Michael and Thane like this. She didn’t want Michael to worry. She didn’t know if Thane would even care, or how he truly felt about her. Then again, could she admit to him or herself how she felt about him?
Reagan had hit the nail on the head when she said that Kari’s pursuit of Thane had changed from business to personal. Maybe she needed to drop the pretense.
“This is the most I’ve ever cried since my grandfather died, do you know that?” Kari dug through her purse for some tissue or napkin or something to wipe her face.
“I know this whole story about you being on the phone won’t work for very long, especially with both hands in your purse. And I know I deserve a raise for this.” Reagan laughed.
* * * *
“Mom is always busy with work.” Michael stared at Kari, who still had her back to them.
Thane hadn’t bought Reagan’s story. He wouldn’t worry Michael. That didn’t stop him from wondering what had made Kari so emotional. He hoped he hadn’t overstepped his bounds by offering to take Michael to the men’s room or correcting him when he dismissed his mother’s proclamation of love.
He’d been Michael’s age once. He remembered the moment Queen Elizabeth had given him the same speech about the L word. He hadn’t understood it back then either. Now he wished he hadn’t missed a moment to say it to his mother more.
“Sounds like your mom works hard to provide you with a good life. You have to respect that.” Thane headed to his car with Michael tripping next to him to keep up the pace.
“I do. I would like to see her more. But at least I see her more than I see my dad. He’s always on the road and so busy.” Michael gazed down at the parking lot.
Thane wouldn’t allow this great kid to wallow in any misery. “You play baseball?” He touched his trunk to unlock it.
Michael shook his head. “Mom doesn’t let me play sports. She wants me to be smart.”
Thane had to smile at the child’s unintended dig.
After a moment, Michael’s eyes widened. “I didn’t mean it that way. I don’t mean that you’re dumb or anything.”
“I know what you meant. No offense tak
en.” Thane removed two baseball gloves and a ball from the trunk area. “Your mom must want you to be a doctor or lawyer.”
Michael shook his head. “Astrophysicist. Is it bad that I don’t know what that is?”
Thane laughed. “No.” He handed Michael a glove.
The child looked over at his mother before accepting the well-worn glove.
“That was the glove I used when I was in high school.” Thane slipped his hand in the other glove. When he noticed Michael struggling to wear the oversized, padded leather mitt, he stopped to help him. “Put these fingers inside here and your index finger outside in this pocket.” He positioned Michael’s tiny fingers until he had it right. “Feel okay?”
Michael looked at his hand in the glove. “It’s heavy. But this is so cool.” He smiled.
“I thought the same thing when my mother bought that for me.” Thane slammed the trunk hood down and led Michael to a field between the parking lot and the hotel.
“Your mom let you play sports when you were a kid?” Michael stared at Thane like the concept made no sense to him.
Thane nodded. “She didn’t want to deny me or my brothers the opportunity to try things, and that included sports.”
“She won’t even let me play basketball, which is crazy because—” Michael stopped himself.
Apparently, his mother had trained him not to talk about his famous father to strangers. For that reason, Thane wouldn’t let him know that Kari had already enlightened him to the situation.
“Baseball is America’s favorite pastime.” Thane tossed the ball in the air and caught it with a thud into his mitt. “Do you know how to catch a ball?”
Michael furrowed his eyebrows and did his best to scowl. “Sure I do.” He held his glove open sideways next to his face.
Michael reminded Thane so much of himself at that age.
“If you catch a ball above your waist, hold your glove like this.” Thane held up his hand so that it faced outward and kept it by his chest. He waited until Michael mimicked the position. “Good. If you catch a ball below your waist, hold your glove like a scoop, like this.” He turned his hand over and squatted down. It reminded him of the training he’d missed in Florida. “And if a ball is rolling to you, you get down low and put your glove right on the ground.” He sunk his body lower and put his hand on the grass. “And for someone like you, whenever you catch a ball, always use your other hand to secure it.”
“I can do it with one hand.” Michael nodded confidently.
“I’m sure you can with enough practice. Want to try to catch a few?”
Michael squatted down, mirroring Thane’s position. Thane tossed the ball lightly. The young child shocked him by catching the ball the correct way, and he placed his hand over the ball with his free hand as Thane had suggested.
“Great job. Toss it back.” Thane held up his glove below his waist, expecting a low toss.
Instead, Michael surprised him with a pretty sweet throw that would make some minor league pitchers jealous. When the ball smacked against Thane’s glove, he felt the sting against his palm.
“Nice throw. Are you sure you haven’t practiced that?” Thane smiled as he tossed the ball in his hand.
Michael giggled. “No. I told you. Mom won’t let me play.”
“Then you, my friend, are what we call a natural. You have a great throwing arm, and you’re not bad at catching. It’s a shame your mom won’t let you play. If you were my—” Like Michael had earlier, Thane stopped himself from saying more.
Thane continued tossing the ball to him and giving him tips on what he could do to improve. As he did, he got lost in his thoughts about his fate with Kari. He saw something more with her, even with her child. Although he’d never thought of himself as a family-man type at such a young age, the more he hung around Michael, the more he imagined himself with a wife and more kids running around him.
“Stop what you’re doing.”
Thane heard Kari’s voice behind him as soon as he caught another one of Michael’s ball tosses. He turned and saw her storming up behind him. She no longer looked like an emotional wreck. Now she appeared angry.
“He’s not hurt or anything. I only threw underhanded with him.” Thane held up his hands in surrender. From talking to Michael, he knew Kari’s stance on sports for her child.
“That’s not the problem.” She marched by him to Michael. Once she got to him, she pulled off the glove and took his hand. When she made her way back to Thane, she said under her breath, “Look around you. People are taking your picture and getting video of you.”
Thane blinked. “That’s it? So what? Why would that bother me?”
“You’re not practicing with your team right now.” She moved in even closer. “And you’re throwing a ball to Jarrod Townsend’s son.” She slammed the glove into his hand. “Think about it.”
“I could care less what Jarrod thinks. I only cared about what he thinks.” Thane pointed to Michael. “And what you think. So tell me how you feel.”
She looked down at Michael. “Thank Mr. Wells for his time. I’m sure he’s busy with work. We won’t hold you up.”
Thane pounded his forehead with the back of his glove. So lost in thought, he hadn’t even noticed the bystanders watching him and Michael. Now that he scanned his surroundings, he saw people everywhere watching him, all holding up their rectangular phones to get his image.
He turned and watched Kari walk away from him. Had he been thinking, he wouldn’t have put Michael in that position. He hoped nothing came about from an innocent game of catch. He also hoped he hadn’t ruined his chances with Kari.
Chapter 16
Kari didn’t want to bring her anxiety with her throughout the day with Michael and Reagan, but her body showed her unease. She’d wrapped her arms around herself most of the day to contain emotions. She only realized she’d been gritting her teeth when a headache stabbed her brain.
“Mom, did you see the stingrays?” Michael pointed inside of a shallow tank that housed a few slate-gray kite-shaped fish.
Taking Michael to a living science museum had been a great idea. It kept him occupied while giving Kari time to mull over her decisions.
“Yes, they’re cool. I think the handlers will let you touch them if you want.” She nodded toward one of uniformed attendants standing by the waist-high water tank.
Michael scampered off, leaving Kari time to sulk, or so she thought.
“Okay, boss, what’s the deal?” Reagan got in Kari’s space. “One minute you’re boo hooing over Thane taking Michael to the bathroom, and the next minute you’re flipping out because they’re playing catch. What gives?”
“Did you notice all the people recording that? What if Jarrod sees it?” Kari moved away from the tank so that Michael couldn’t hear their conversation. “He sees Michael so very little now. I don’t need to give him a reason to cut him off completely.”
“Is Jarrod really worth all this energy?” Reagan shrugged. “Thane was showing Michael some attention that he’s needed for a long time.” She lowered her voice. “Sound familiar?”
Kari didn’t want to admit out loud that being with Thane had given her new life and hope for the future, and she didn’t mean her career.
“I didn’t even ask. Did you have a good time last night?” Reagan raised her eyebrows.
Kari felt her face get hot before she answered. “Whether I did or not, it doesn’t matter. I can’t do that again with him.”
“Why not? You amaze me sometimes. You have great vision and insight when it comes to picking people to represent. In them, you see a complete future. With your love life, you act so clueless.”
“I don’t want to see anyone get hurt, least of all Michael.”
“Stop worrying. You’re a thoughtful and considerate mother. And judging by the way Thane looked at you during breakfast, I would say you must be a very skilled and giving lover as well.” Reagan nudged Kari’
s side with her elbow.
“Will you stop it? Life isn’t all about”—Kari checked to make sure Michael stayed occupied—“sex.”
“I know. It’s also about work. So what are you going to do about Thane, as a client this time?”
With everything that had occurred between the two of them over the past few days, Kari hadn’t thought about work. At that moment, her cell phone rang in her purse. She retrieved it and saw Frank’s name and number flashed across the screen. She couldn’t keep avoiding him.
“Keep an eye on Michael. I’ll be right back.” Kari stepped over to the starfish exhibit. “Frank. How are you?”
“Cut the pleasantries, Meyers.” Frank’s voice sounded gruffer than what Kari remembered. “Is Wells signing on or what?”
“He’s still mulling it over. I’ve spoken with him several times, and I’ve given him my contract terms. Although he hasn’t said yes, he hasn’t said no either. So I’m still hopeful he wants me.” She thought about her choice of words and amended her comment. “And our agency.” In her heart, she’d meant what she said.
Fear had kept her from opening herself up to men. She’d gotten burned way too early in life and love. To go through that pain again would crush her, especially if Michael somehow got attached and felt his own disappointment.
She had to admit that seeing Michael throwing a ball back and forth with Thane had made her want to cry all over again. She longed to give Michael a complete home. She couldn’t assign that role to Thane.
“You have until the end of this week.”
“And then what?” Kari’s brazen attitude could only save her, not hurt her. “If I don’t land Thane Wells, will I lose my job?”
A long, uncomfortable pause lingered before Frank spoke. “See you back here next week.” He ended the conversation before she could come back with a response.
What could Kari say? She’d lived her life counting on Plan A. She never had a Plan B, hence the failed relationship with Jarrod, and her unexpected surprise with Michael, and the loss of the only support system she’d had in her grandfather. At this point, she would feel like she would be using Thane if she signed him instead of being the best person to represent him and his interests. More than anything, she wanted to be by his side as his woman.
Head Over Heels Page 20
