Michael ran over to Kari with a huge grin and a starfish sticker on his jacket. “You ready to see the sharks?”
“I work with them, so why not?” Kari took her child’s hand.
“What does that mean?” He scrunched his button nose.
“Never mind. Lead me to the finned ones.”
Michael pulled Kari through the colorful museum that reminded her of being inside of a fish tank herself. Blue walls and carpeting helped with that effect.
“Can we come back here tomorrow?” Michael asked once he got Kari to the large glass wall that held back the multitude of sharks.
“Honey, we’re still here. We can see everything you want today and do something else tomorrow.” Kari swept her hand over her son’s head.
“I know. But I don’t think Thane, I mean Mr. Wells, has been here before. Can we bring him here?”
Kari stared at her child. Damn it. He’d gotten emotionally involved.
“I’m sure he has other things to do. He’s here because his mother recently passed away.”
Michael’s face became solemn. He squeezed Kari’s hand and leaned his head against her arm as he looked into the tank. “He needs family now.”
“You’re right. Good thing he has two brothers who are also here.”
“He does? He didn’t talk about them. He said he liked hanging out with us.” Michael pointed to one of the sharks in the tank. “He said he likes you.”
“When? While you two tossed the ball back and forth?” Kari held her breath while she waited for Michael to share his news.
“No. When we were washing our hands.” Michael moved in closer to Kari. “Now I understand why he said I should tell you I love you all the time.” He looked up at her. “I love you.”
Kari’s throat felt scratchy. Although she wanted to tease her son by giving him his standard “yeah, yeah” line back, she said, “Love you.”
Reagan stood next to Kari. “Time’s ticking.” She punctuated her statement with the sound of a clock.
No one knew more about losing time than Kari. She had to be smart about what to do. For now, she had her son by her side.
* * * *
Thane had tasted a small morsel of familial bliss with Kari and Michael. He’d seen how she crafted her life around her family. It still surprised him how instantaneous his paternal instincts kicked in when it came to Michael. Although Thane hadn’t grown up with a positive father figure, he knew good parenting thanks to Queen Elizabeth.
Although he didn’t want to, Thane went over to Sharp. He had no plans to open the place, but he needed to have the dresses ready for the gaggle of girls coming over in a day. He ducked into the storage room and removed the sheet that covered them. His mother hadn’t lost her touch. Each dress looked appropriate for a young girl, yet hip enough for the girls to actually want to wear them.
As he admired the workmanship, colors, and styles, a spark ignited in him. He went into his mother’s office and pulled out a sketchpad. Everything for him started with a plan…with the exception of Kari. He never saw her coming.
Although she had been hounding him for a while for work, when he really looked at her and touched her, he wanted more. He desired more.
Thane put Kari’s full image in his mind. He thought about her style, both conservative and relaxed. Then he recalled her naked body. His fingers tingled as though touching her smooth, velvety skin again. He closed his eyes and her full, brown eyes appeared in his thoughts.
He picked up a pencil and rested his hand on the notepad as he awaited inspiration. It didn’t take him long. As soon as he remembered her perfectly rounded breasts, her nipped-in waist, and her full hips, he opened his eyes and started sketching.
Thane thought about something low-cut but not too revealing. Then he remembered her long legs and how she wrapped them around his body. He made sure the dress had a high slit on the side. When he imagined his hand gliding up her thigh and under the dress, he bolted from his seat and went to the showroom.
Fabric. He would need something appropriate for her. Thane put his hand on a bolt of black velvet. Although the snow had melted a couple of weeks ago, velvet seemed too heavy to wear going into spring weather.
He pulled out a roll of gold satin. The gold reminded him of Queen Elizabeth. He and his brothers had buried her in a gold dress. For that reason, he shoved the fabric back into place.
He rested his hand on a roll that first appealed to his touch. The silky fabric felt smooth. He could only imagine what it would be like against skin. When he saw its vibrant red color, he knew he’d found his material. He already had his muse.
It had been a while since he’d made a dress. Because he had continued making clothes for himself, his construction skills remained intact. No one knew his body better than him, although Kari probably came a close second. She’d touched him, physically and emotionally, more than any woman he’d ever dated.
The fact that she’d run off with Michael and Reagan after a simple game of catch concerned him. Had she really been that worried about Jarrod or had something else spooked her? Had he gotten too close too fast?
Feeling like a contestant on Project Runway, Thane cut and sewed his heart out, determined to make a dress made for Kari. At the end of the day, he stared at the garment on the form, feeling both proud and deflated. He had no idea if he would see Kari again. She seemed to have given up her pursuit to get him as a client. Her disappearing act earlier proved his theory might be correct.
Thane couldn’t be called a quitter, which reminded him about his career. He needed to do some damage control in case someone had seen a video of him throwing a ball around. For all of her paranoia, Kari might have been right about one thing. His manager and coaches could look down on him for not coming back sooner. Mentally, he couldn’t step on that mound yet.
Thane called one of the coaches. “Hey, I wanted to bring you up to speed.”
“Yeah, I’m all ears.” The tone in Jermaine’s voice sounded doubtful.
“I need another week and then I’ll be back. I have to fulfill an obligation for my mother first and then I’ll be ready.”
“Take your time. Witt is doing a great job. He can start if you’re not ready.” Jermaine’s voice sounded light, like he’d already made up his mind. “You can practice with the rest of the team when you come back.”
Thane heard a hard pounding on the front door before he could make his argument. Jermaine disconnected the call as Thane walked toward the door.
With the power behind the knock, he knew it couldn’t be Arlene Sortoberg. He saw the large shape of a person through the taped-up newspaper on the glass front door before the realization hit him who stood on the other side. He stopped right before opening it.
“You know I can see you, right?” Gunnar said.
Thane sighed before unlocking the door. “What are you doing out here?” He held the door and kept his body in the frame to block his brother’s entrance.
“I took Gideon to his therapy appointment. Figured since I was in the neighborhood I would come by and see you.” Like a steamroller, he walked through the doorway, forcing Thane to move aside.
To prevent anyone else popping into his space, Thane locked the door and followed Gunnar into the showroom.
“You haven’t opened.” Gunnar scanned the boutique before locking his stare onto Thane.
“I have and I haven’t.” Thane leaned against a table away from Gunnar. “I haven’t opened the doors to the public, but I at least have one customer.” He watched his brother furrow his eyebrows at his statement, so he clarified. “Mrs. Sortoberg from that school Mom helps—helped—each year came by a couple of days ago. She’s bringing the girls by tomorrow to pick up the dresses.”
Gunnar nodded. “Good. At least you’re fulfilling that promise. After that, you can open this place up, get it going again.” He put his hand on Thane’s shoulder and even offered a smile.
A knock s
ounded on the door before Thane could retort.
Gunnar beamed. “See. Now you have two customers.” He pointed to the door.
“Probably some surfer looking for a bathroom.” Thane stormed to the door and snatched it open.
A short African-American man with a tight Afro stood on the other side. He smiled when he looked at Thane. Then he craned his head to look around him and damn near jumped for joy when he spotted Gunnar.
“Oh, shit. What are the odds?” The stranger burst into Sharp.
“Excuse me.” With the way Thane felt, he didn’t mind grabbing this little dude by his collar and pushing him back out into the streets.
“Guns, I didn’t know you would be here.” The man went in for a hug, but Gunnar held his hand up.
“Ant, what are you doing here?” Gunnar shook his head.
“You know this man?” Thane strolled over to them.
“Old classmate.” Gunnar nodded toward him. “He came over to Press ’N Curl when I came back to town. He thought it was a gym.”
Ant chuckled. “Yeah. My bad.”
“And Gideon told me that you thought Pick ’N Clip was a flag-football team league.”
Ant put his hand to his chest. “Again, my mistake. You have athletes running businesses, you automatically think it’s going to be sports related.”
“So are you following Gunnar, or did you think Sharp was a knife store?” Thane cocked his head.
“Funny.” Ant pointed to Thane while he showed off his megawatt smile. “This is still a clothing store, right?”
“Yes, but—”
Gunnar interrupted him. “You need something?”
Thane glared at his brother. He didn’t need any extra business. After outfitting the girls, he planned on heading back down to Florida.
“Yeah, I need a really sexy dress made.” Ant waved his hands in the air to simulate an hourglass figure. “It has to be about a size six, black, and for someone shorter than me.”
Gunnar blinked. “Really? So you really do have a girlfriend? It wasn’t all just talk before?”
“Not exactly.”
Both Thane and Gunnar furrowed their eyebrows.
Ant continued. “I want a dress for a future girlfriend. My dream woman will be able to fit into that dress. It’ll be like Cinderella and the glass slipper.”
“Unbelievable.” Thane went to the front door. “Nice to meet you, Ant.” He opened it. “Unfortunately, I’m not in the business to make custom clothes for imaginary people.”
Gunnar chuckled.
Ant grimaced and pointed at them both. “Fuck you, guys. You never want to help me out.” He stomped out.
As soon as he left, Thane locked the door again. “Another great reason not to reopen. I can’t have crackpots like that as customers.”
“They wouldn’t all be that way. You will have serious people in there. That’s no reason to keep the boutique closed.”
Thane pulled away from him. “What is your obsession with me opening Sharp? I keep telling you that I have a life and a career that doesn’t involve me running a boutique. If Mom were here, she would understand. She was the only one who got me.”
Gunnar blinked. “You don’t think I understand what you’re going through? Mom’s death affected all of us. Coming home forced me to make some decisions about my career and my relationship.”
“There you go.” Thane chuckled and shook his head. “Not everything is about you.”
Gunnar grabbed Thane’s arm and turned him around. “That’s it. For once and for all, you’re going to tell me what the hell you have against me. What did I do to you? Did you have some little-kid crush on Eboni, and now you’re pissed that we’re together?”
“Give me a break. I like Eboni, but I would never go after your girl.” Thane turned his back on Gunnar and braced his hands on the front counter.
“Then what? And don’t you dare say nothing.” A pause lingered before Gunnar spoke again. “You remember when we were kids and how in the summer we would catch fireflies in our hands? You would keep yours in a jar but forget to poke holes in the lid.”
Thane barely recalled that memory. He didn’t remember a lot of good times with Gunnar before he went off to train for his fighting career. He started to look behind him at his brother.
“You sure that wasn’t Gideon?” Thane turned when he didn’t hear Gunnar responding.
Gunnar shook his head. “Nope. It was you. The next morning, Mom would find the jar with the dead insects inside. She would get so mad, first because she hated bugs of any kind.”
Thane cocked a smile at the corner of his mouth.
“Then she was upset that we had harmed something. She blamed me for it.”
Thane turned around to look at Gunnar. He hadn’t remembered that. “She did?”
Gunnar shrugged. “I told her I had done it. Had I been a good brother, I would have poked the holes for you or told you to set the fireflies free. I was screwing up then anyway. One more punishment didn’t hurt me.”
Thane stared at his oldest brother for a while. “Mom would have hated you lying to her like that. She was all about accountability. You could have told her the truth.”
“Wouldn’t bring those fireflies back to life. You were too young then. I didn’t mind protecting you. But I wished I had taught you this one thing back then. I should have told you to open that jar to let them fireflies go. You liked holding on to them. You need to learn to let things go.” He glanced off to the side. He smiled before bringing his attention back to Thane. “I see you haven’t forgotten everything from the past. Nice dress. Doesn’t look like it’ll fit Arlene Sortoberg.”
Thane walked to the room that held the gown he wanted to give to Kari. He closed the door before turning back to Gunnar. “You’re looking for me to thank you?”
Gunnar approached Thane. “No. I want you to remember that we’re family. We always will be family.”
“Even if I sell this place?”
Gunnar’s face went pale before he stepped away from Thane. “I’m not signing any paperwork for you to sell Sharp.” He headed to the front door. “Figure something else out so you can keep it going.” He unlocked it and glared at Thane before leaving. “Family always looks out for each other.” He slammed the door behind him.
Thane locked the door again but looked through a tear in the newspaper to see Gunnar driving away in his Hummer. Gunnar remembered a lot from their past. Thane wondered if Gunnar recalled the line he had said to their mother a few years before he left the family home. Thane would never forget.
Chapter 17
Even being separated from Thane for only a day, Kari felt like she missed a part of her body, like an appendage had been removed without her knowledge and she had phantom pains to remind her of its existence. She felt a pressure on her inner thighs that reminded her of when Thane had been nestled between her legs.
Not talking to Thane felt like a punishment. She couldn’t bring herself to call or see him. After only a day, Michael missed him. No matter what they did during their mini vacation, he asked about Thane, more than he asked about his father. As hard as Kari tried being both mother and father to Michael, he started to show signs that he needed a male figure in his life.
She couldn’t understand it. Kari hadn’t missed a female figure in her life when her grandfather had raised her on his own. Who was she kidding? She’d joined every team she could as a teenager to have a semblance of sisters. She’d watched female-centric talk shows to hear other women’s views on life and careers and men, especially men.
She didn’t want to deny Michael a complete family. That didn’t mean she needed to find a substitute. Thane wouldn’t be a replacement for Jarrod.
“You’re getting that faraway look in your eyes again.” Reagan draped her arm around Kari’s shoulders while they walked down the quiet boardwalk.
“Dreaming stuff I shouldn’t be considering.” Kari patted Reagan’
s arm. “I screwed up so badly. Not only am I confused, but I allowed Michael to get sucked into my mistakes.”
“You keep saying that, but you haven’t considered the idea that what you’ve done isn’t a mistake.” Reagan lowered her voice when they got close enough to Michael for him to catch their conversation. “Has he called?”
Kari shook her head.
“Don’t sweat it. Like you said, he’s in mourning.”
Kari nodded and felt something next to her hip vibrating. She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, hoping it wouldn’t be Frank. When she saw Thane’s name across the screen, she stopped.
“What?” Reagan released her hold and stared at Kari. Then her eyebrows rose to her hairline. “Thane?” she whispered.
Kari didn’t respond to her friend. She swiped her finger over the screen and answered the call. “Kari Meyers speaking.” She had to regain some professionalism in this relationship in the slim chance Thane actually wanted her as an agent.
“I need you.” His gruff voice powered through the phone and it felt like his words alone stroked her skin.
Kari’s breath hitched enough that she had to put her hand to her chest. “Excuse me?” She wanted him to repeat himself.
Before he spoke, she listened to the noise on the other end and the clamorous sounds grabbed her attention. Had he gone back to Florida to train? He could be standing in the center of a locker room.
“The girls.” Thane seemed out of breath.
Heat rose up Kari’s body until he spoke again.
“I can’t handle all of these little girls. Will you please come to the shop and help me with them?”
She exhaled. She’d forgotten Thane had promised dresses to some middle school children. “I’m with my son.”
“Bring him and Reagan. The girls are about Michael’s age.” Thane grunted. “Don’t climb up on that, sweetie.”
“They didn’t come with a teacher or parent?” Kari crossed her legs to keep her excitement contained. She didn’t care in what capacity Thane wanted to see her. He could have contacted anyone in his family, but he’d called her.
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