by Erica Penrod
Underneath the message was an action shot of Kael in his soccer uniform. Muscles bulged from his legs and arms. Sweat glistened from his skin, and his brows were furrowed in concentration. His jersey stretched across his body, revealing a glimpse of toned flesh. Determination filled his eyes while his lips were parted, revealing his gritted teeth. Tori studied the picture and tried to imagine the man she saw today. On the screen, there was a spark in his eyes that said he loved what he was doing, but the only time she’d seen that flash was when he talked about Marcela. She chewed on her lip as she zoomed in closer. He was hot, then and now.
An ember spread through her veins. If she brought someone like Kael Santos home to her parents, her mother might be rendered speechless, and oh, the joy that would be.
* * *
Kael pressed his hands to the side of his face, applied pressure to his temples, and wondered if he’d survive his teenage daughter. Marcela was only thirteen, and already there were parts of her he no longer recognized, and he wasn’t talking about just the physical differences, though that freaked him out. She’d changed her outfit three times since he’d picked her up from school and mentioned that Tori would be coming by tonight, then stormed out of the room each time he told her she looked beautiful. Next time, he’d wait and tell her they’d have company two minutes before Tori arrived and avoid such conflict.
And maybe he should do the same with himself. He wiped his hands on his jeans and wrapped his arms around his middle. His stomach felt like he was about to start a playoff game, and no matter how he tried to convince himself he was excited for his daughter’s sake, the little voice in his head shouted otherwise. Kael wanted to know what was different about Tori Lee (he googled her and got her last name) that made him want to see her again.
The back door opened, and his mother walked in. “Olà.” She was dressed in a lime-green shirt, white pants, and sandals. Her hair was the color of a buffed copper penny, and her cheeks were dusted with pink.
“Hi, Mamãe.” Kael noticed the sparkle in her eyes. “You look nice.”
“Thank you.” She set her purse on the kitchen table. “Gloria squeezed me in this afternoon and worked her magic. Of course, I told her this was an emergency situation since I’m going to be on the MyHeartChannel any day now.”
Kael leaned back against the counter and grinned. He hadn’t seen his mother this excited since the day she helped him pack up his ex-wife’s belongings. “I didn’t realize Tori would start filming so soon.”
“She invited me to go with her and Marcela shopping, and I assume she’ll start then?” She raised her perfectly painted eyebrows.
He shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t ask me. I’m not sure what’s going on around here.” And I don’t know what’s going on with me either. Kael felt his mood shift at the frustration he felt at Marcela for acting all pubescent on him and his inexplicable reaction to Tori.
“Don’t worry.” His mother patted him on the shoulder. “Once Tori gets here tonight, I’m sure she’ll explain everything.”
“I hope so.” Kael exhaled and thought about how simple his life had been before this whole contest thing.
The doorbell rang, and Marcela squealed from her bedroom. At least Marcela had no choice but to wear what she had on, and that was one less thing to worry about. He wished he didn’t notice that his palms were moist or that he felt like he’d swallowed a goldfish. His stomach was flipping all around. Kael opened the door to find Tori standing there, looking just like she did earlier today—and just like earlier today, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“Hi.” She adjusted the bag on her shoulder. “I know I’m a few minutes early. I hope that’s okay?” Tori looked up beneath her arched brows as if she were waiting for him to explode.
“You’re fine.” Kael backed up and motioned for her to come in. This was the impression he’d given her this morning, that he was as temperamental as a two-year-old? He closed the door behind her.
“Tori.” His mother had Tori enveloped in her arms like she was family. That wasn’t unusual for his mom; she was very affectionate to everyone, except to his ex-wife. Alison never did get along with his mom, and that alone should have been a red flag.
“You look so pretty.” Tori held his mom at arm’s length and looked her up and down. “Did you get your hair done today?”
“Yes.” She beamed and gently brushed her bangs. “I did. Thank you for noticing.”
“Well, it looks great, and I love your outfit.”
“Hi, Tori.” Marcela came bounding in with a huge metal grin shining beneath pink lip gloss, wearing the first outfit she’d tried on over an hour and a half ago. Her eyes glowed beneath eye shadow, which Kael didn’t remember her wearing before. He scratched his chin. Had he given her permission to wear makeup, or was that a thing? She was thirteen, and he wasn’t sure if that was just an assumed thing. Maybe he should ask Alison about the makeup, but that wouldn’t be helpful. Marcela’s mother always considered their daughter older than she was. Even as a small child, Alison treated Marcela like she was a small adult.
“Hey, cute girl.” Tori gave Marcela a hug. “Are you so excited to get going on your room?”
“Yes!” Marcela jumped up and down and clapped her hands. Kael laughed to himself. So much for his mature teenager. She acted like a little girl on Christmas morning.
“Cool.” Tori stepped back. “I’m ready to get started. I just need your dad’s approval and we’re ready to roll.” She sucked in her bottom lip and looked at him. Her eyes reminded him a lot of his daughter’s, but where Marcela’s were a tropical blue green, Tori’s were green like a field of summer grass.
Marcela’s eyes darted to Kael. “Dad?”
Kael walked over and picked up the paperwork off the coffee table. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” Tori reached out and her hand brushed his. Kael glanced down to where their flesh had touched and then back at her face. Something flickered in her eyes. He blinked. Did he see what he wanted to see, or was the spark of attraction really there? Correction: he didn’t want to see anything, but his heart seemed laser-focused on this woman. Kael retracted his arm and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“Did you have any questions?” Tori flipped the sheets to his signature, where the notary had also signed.
“No. I sent a copy over to my business lawyer, and he said everything looked good.”
“Cool.” Tori stuffed the papers in the purse that Kael had never seen unattached from the woman’s body, and he wondered what was in there. You could learn a lot about a woman by what she carried in her purse. “Since that’s taken care of, let’s move on to the fun stuff.” She grinned at Marcela. “If you are available, I’d like to take you out shopping tomorrow to get an idea of what you like and what accessories I’ll want to incorporate into your room. That way I can get the plans drawn up on Sunday, and then I can show them to you on Monday.”
Marcela bit her bottom lip and nodded so hard that she reminded Kael of an 80s metal music headbanger. “Can I, Dad?” His daughter’s eyes pleaded with him.
“You’re supposed to spend the weekend with your mom.”
“I already talked to Mom, and she said I could stay here this weekend.”
That wasn’t a big surprise. “You’ve got practice Saturday morning, remember? Mom was supposed to pick you up when you were finished.”
Marcela’s eyes brimmed with tears, and his stomach felt like he’d taken a kick to the gut.
“But since she’s not coming, I’m sure you can go after practice, if that works for Tori.” Kael hated to disappoint his daughter, even though that was part of the job requirement. A big chunk of his soul was so bound up with guilt over his divorce that he had a hard time untangling his own pain and failure from his duties as a father. Marcela was an innocent bystander, and Kael worried that the price she paid was much steeper than either he or Alison could ever compensate her for. This had been their decision, but his little girl never ha
d a choice. So, when raising her demanded discipline and making her cry, Kael would rather take her in his arms and protect her from everything.
“That will be just fine. What time is your practice?”
“9:00.” Kael walked over and wrapped his arm around Marcela. “It’s a couple hours.”
Tori pulled her phone from her purse. “That sounds good. How about 12:30? Does that work for you, Eve?”
“Of course.” His mother was beaming, or maybe the glow was just her extra makeup.
“Maybe we could get some lunch before we start shopping. The creativity doesn’t flow if my stomach is empty.”
“There’s a great little Italian place at the edge of town if you like that kind of food.” His mom straightened the bottom of her shirt.
“Ooohh … I love Italian food.” Tori typed something on her phone and looked up. “Of course, I love almost any kind of food.”
Kael wondered if she were the kind of woman that said she liked to eat, but never consumed more than two lettuce leaves, or if she meant what she said and was the type of person he’d liked to share a meal with. When he and Alison went out to eat, he was the only one who actually ate anything, and that didn’t settle well with him. Food was meant to be savored and enjoyed and was better when shared with friends and family.
“Blake’s going to be there and will film us—not the entire time, a few shots. We’ll combine tomorrow with Monday’s episode.”
“I can’t wait!” Marcela squealed again and then covered her mouth with her hand. They all laughed; her excitement was contagious.
“Tori, have you had anything for dinner tonight?” his mother asked, and Kael wondered what she was up to. “I got all dressed up, and I don’t want to waste the effort. How about we all go out and get something to eat?” She looked at her son, and he understood that she wasn’t asking; she was telling him that if Tori wanted to, they were going.
“I’m starving, actually.” Tori crossed her arms across her middle. “I was just going to grab a bite on my way out of town after we finished up here.”
“Oh, don’t let us keep you. If you haven’t got time—”
“Ssshhhh.” His mom swatted the air like she wished it was his hind end. “Nonsense. We won’t keep her long.”
Tori laughed. “I’d like that. Plus, you can help me figure out where we should go on Saturday. I saw a few places I think would work, but I’m sure there’s got to be more out there.”
“Oh, yes. We can talk about all that.” She came up and wrapped her arm around the other side of her granddaughter. “There’s a pizza place at the north end of town, with delicious homemade crust.”
“Yum.” Tori licked her lips and grinned.
Kael caught himself staring at her mouth. He turned his head and closed his eyes and drew in a breath. He hadn’t reacted like this since he was a kid in high school, and even then, he wasn’t sure he’d ever felt an instant attraction to anyone in his life like he was experiencing now. This kind of thing took some serious, conscious thought control to steer his mind in another direction.
“Let’s go.” Marcela squeezed his side. “Come on, Dad.”
Kael looked down at his daughter and smiled. He didn’t trust himself to talk right now, not when he still thought about Tori’s mouth and what she would taste like if he put his lips on hers.
“We’ll take my car.” His mom was up and to the door before he could think straight, and once he got himself together, they were already halfway out to the driveway. Kael watched Tori from the corner of his eye, and that fueled the heat rising in his belly toward anger. She was like a hurricane in a country song, blowing in and ripping apart his life, and all he knew was her name. That was the hardest part of the crazy situation: he didn’t know her, but he wanted her, wanted to know her. Hating her would be easier than feeling so out of control, easier than trying to figure out why this woman that showed up only a day ago had moved him in ways he didn’t know he could still feel. He was the last one to get into the Toyota, sliding next to Tori in the back seat.
Hate her, hate her, he reminded himself. Don’t think about her body inches away or the way his fingers twitched, longing to reach out and touch her leg. His forehead beaded up with moisture, and he wiped his palms on his pants.
“Are you feeling okay?” his mother said, and he met her eyes in the rearview mirror.
“I’m fine.” He looked out the window, but he was anything but fine.
Chapter Six
Design Tip
The only person you must please is yourself.
If it’s in style and you don’t like it,
You don’t like it.
Combing through the local thrift store with Eve and Marcela was one of the best times Tori had had in a while. They’d spent the afternoon giggling as Blake captured a few of the moments on screen.
“This is our contest winner, thirteen-year-old Marcela from Milwaukie, Oregon. Marcela and her grandma, Eve, are here with me today, and we’re enjoying some lunch as we discuss what Marcela likes and ideas she has for her new space.”
“I think we got enough for now.” Blake set the camera on the table and slid into his chair. “And I’m starving, and I don’t want my shrimp alfredo to get cold.” He took a heaping forkful of pasta and put it in his mouth.
The girls laughed as Blake continued to eat like he hadn’t had a meal in days. Even though they’d been filming and Eve and Marcela had been a little nervous with the camera on, they’d had a relaxing meal together, something Tori wasn’t sure she’d ever done with her mother. She’d always felt like they were on display whenever her family went out. Sure, they had a good time, but Tori wasn’t sure if she’d ever just completely been herself and not calculated every response, trying to impress her mother.
After they finished at the restaurant, they spent the day browsing in and out of stores. Blake joined them for the first couple, but left after he said his stomach wasn’t happy with him. He had enough footage for what they needed, and Tori told him she’d check in on him later.
“I love this.” Marcela picked up a plush pink pillow and hugged the form close to her body. Tori noticed Marcela gravitated toward pink and anything with gold. Her taste was different from what Tori expected. She liked shine and glitter, things that weren’t in the bedroom Tori had taken measurements in. But that was all about to change. Tori got a gooey, mushy feeling inside when she thought about what she was about to do for this young girl. This was more than a bedroom makeover. Marcela was growing up, and her bedroom would be an outward expression of who she was and who she was becoming. Tori wasn’t sure how Marcela’s father would feel about a grown-up bedroom for his young daughter.
“Now, remember, I need you to box up everything and clear it out of your room for Monday. If I finish, I’ll email you the sketch that I come up with for your room—that is, if you want to see it, or maybe you just want to be surprised along the way or just at the end? I’ve done reveals both ways. It’s up to you.”
“You want to be surprised, don’t you?” Eve touched her granddaughter’s hand.
“I do, but I don’t know if I can wait.” Marcela’s eyes flickered from her grandma back to Tori. “Would I just not go in my room for three weeks?”
“Basically.” Tori picked up another pillow with black and pink designs and held the square next the one Marcela held. “Or you can see individual pieces and help me with some if you want, so you’ll have an idea about what’s going to go in there, but you won’t see everything put together until reveal day.”
Marcela gritted her teeth. “I don’t know. They all sound good to me. Grandma, what do you think?”
“It’s up to you, but I think you would love a surprise, and we both know that you are going to be thrilled with anything Tori does.”
The teenager agreed. “I think I’ll wait for a big surprise at the end.”
“So, you don’t want to see anything at all until the end?” Tori wanted to make sure Marcela was cle
ar on what she was agreeing to. “There’s no peeking.”
Marcela laughed, and her delight was like a breath of fresh air. “Okay, I won’t, and my dad won’t let me if I tell him that’s what I promised. A promise is a promise.”
“Sounds like a good dad to me.” Tori placed the pillow back on the shelf, took her phone from her bag, and took a few pictures. She wanted to remember everything Marcela liked so she could do some shopping online for a better price, but they’d found a few things in the local stores that Tori knew she’d come back for. Now that Marcela wanted a complete surprise, she didn’t want to get anything while she was with her.
“But please send me the sketch. I can’t wait to see what you’ve got in mind.” Eve took her phone from her purse and looked at the time.
“You don’t want to be surprised?”
“No way.” Eve gave a sly smile. “I am not patient enough to wait, and at my age, I get to decide what I’ll be patient for and what I won’t.” She gave Tori a wink.
“All right, then.” Tori put her arm around Marcela. “One surprise for you.” She put the other arm around Grandma Eve. “And no surprise for you.”
The next morning, Tori changed her outfit twice and took the time to straighten her hair before she got in the car and drove to her parents’ home.
“Hello?” Tori walked in through the back door. Her parents’ home sat on a hill, and the nearest neighbor couldn’t be seen. They had a spectacular view of the surrounding Portland area, their property landscaped with hundreds of trees that offered privacy to the tennis court and swimming pool. The home was over twenty years old but updated and remodeled as needed. The five-bedroom house was an L-shaped home with the garage attached. Flat, natural stone covered the exterior walls, and dark-stained cedar shingles covered the dormers. The roof was done in a deeper shade, while the front entrance consisted of two large, caramel-colored doors with glass.