Sisters in Bloom

by Melissa Foster

  He shrugged.

  “Is there anything I can do?”

  He shook his head. “I’ve never really had a brother before.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Danica wondered where he was headed with the brother talk.

  “So, when Brad was hitting on Michelle, well.” He shrugged again.

  She didn’t want to ask too many questions for fear that he’d recoil and stop talking, but she wanted to know what Rusty was feeling, how he viewed his relationship with Michelle. “Are you and Michelle dating?”

  He shook his head. “Naw. She’s into Chase.”

  “Right.”

  “And he’s kinda my brother, so—”

  You’ve come a long way. Danica stifled the smile that threatened to break the mood of their talk. She hoped she’d read his intentions correctly. “So, you were keeping Brad from going after his girl.”

  Rusty nodded. “I can’t tell my mom. Please don’t tell her.”

  “She’s worried about you.” Danica looked at the building, stuck between her friendship with Sally and gaining Rusty’s trust.

  “I know, but it’s all just weird, you know? She doesn’t even really know how often Chase and I talk.”

  “I’m sure she’d be pleased that you two are friends.”

  Rusty looked at her and flipped his blond hair from his eyes with a quick snap of his chin. “Please don’t tell her. She’d get all weird about it, and she’d offer to take us places and want him to come along, and…”

  “I get it. She’d want it too much, and it would make it awkward. I won’t say anything, but you know she’s really worried that hitting Brad was all about your dad.”

  “I didn’t know what else to tell her.”

  So, someone saying something about your dad is less of a threat than saying something about Chase?

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chaz felt his blood boil as he stared at the documents that Max had just handed to him. Two pieces of paper. That’s all it took to bring his perfect morning to a screeching halt. He felt Max’s eyes on him as she lowered herself into the chair across from him.

  “I’m sorry,” she said tentatively. “What are you gonna do?”

  Kill Lea. Rip her to shreds. Chaz gritted his teeth as he lifted the pages off the desk and reread them.

  “You’re sure about this? One hundred percent?” He didn’t look at Max. He couldn’t. He was ready to blow up, and she would fall into his line of fire, even if she wasn’t his target. Goddamned Lea had found another way to creep into his life.

  “Unfortunately. I triple-checked.”

  “She’s a partner at Benton Records. You realize what this means.” How could he tell Kaylie that the offer of representation was little more than a ploy to tear them apart? He looked at Max and, for the first time ever, wished she’d never walked into his office. Chaz knew she was simply the bearer of bad news, but that didn’t stop his overwhelming desire to start the day over and somehow skip this part altogether.

  “Chaz, maybe she only owns the label, but she’s not involved in the representation side. She owns so many businesses, she probably doesn’t even realize she owns this one.”

  She was trying to placate him, and it just made him angrier. This was not a forgotten business any more than the trip to Hawaii had been necessary. She could have told him about Jansen over the phone—hell, she could have written an email. But that’s not how Lea worked, and knowing what he did now, he realized that the whole thing had been a ruse, a way of thrusting herself in between him and Kaylie.

  “I can’t tell Kaylie. She’ll be devastated. She wants this label more than anything she’s ever wanted.” He dropped his head back against his chair and scrubbed his face with his hand. “Jesus. She’s never going to go away, is she?”

  “We could hire a hit man,” Max joked.

  “Careful. I’m just about at that point.” He had to figure this out. If he called Lea and told her to back off, it would only further engage her fantasies. Cooper was taking care of the festival, but there was no Cooper to take care of Kaylie. Damn it!

  Max stood to leave and leaned over the desk, touching Chaz’s hand thoughtfully. “I think you should tell her. She loves you, Chaz. She knows Lea is crazy, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise.”

  “She’s meeting with the company reps today. I’ll see how that goes. Maybe she’ll come to her own decision and decide not to take the offer anyway.” Chaz sighed, putting the pieces together in his mind. “This explains why they said she’d need to go to LA right after the baby’s born and travel heavily right after. Lea’s just trying to drive a wedge between us. Goddamn it. Will she ever stop? There must be a way to stop this shit.”

  “Sorry, Chaz. Is there anything you want me to do?” Max stood in the doorway, the worry in her eyes only further fueled Chaz’s anger.

  He shook his head. “I gotta think.” He reached for the phone and called Cooper.

  Twenty minutes later, with all hopes of Cooper putting some sort of stop to his newest nightmare squashed, Chaz wondered how in the hell he was going to break Kaylie’s heart.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Danica poured two mugs of coffee and then set a cup on the table in front of Blake, who was nose deep in the newspaper. His hair was still damp from the shower, and he smelled like Tommy Hilfiger cologne. She sat down at the table and ran her bare foot up the leg of his jeans, thinking about how she used to make fun of that exact same act when she’d seen women do it in the movies. She remembered wondering if women ever really did things like that. It had seemed so far removed from who she had been as a conservative therapist. You’ve come a long way, baby.

  Blake scooted his chair closer, allowing her toes to touch his thigh. He lowered the paper and lifted his eyebrows.

  She’d never known what she was missing back then. Oh yeah, this is definitely fun. She threw him a flirty smile.

  “Careful there. You’ll make us both late.”

  She heard the hesitation in his voice, the should we, or shouldn’t we? He held her gaze as she used her foot to make his decision even more difficult. His eyes opened wide and then narrowed. She recognized the hitch in his breathing as the newspaper fell to the table.

  “I was just thinking, we haven’t really celebrated how well the first event went for No Limitz.” God, that’s the lamest excuse for sex ever!

  “We haven’t, have we?” he said playfully. “Don’t you have…to talk to Sally today?” He ran one finger slowly up her leg, a whisper of hope unsaid.

  Danica nodded, feeling her nerves clench. She ran her tongue across her lower lip, debating what a quickie might do to her schedule.

  Blake grabbed her foot roughly and pulled hard enough to inch her chair closer. He ran his hand along the inside of her leg, then up her thigh, squeezing, ever so lightly, when he reached the sensitive skin along her panty line.

  She held her breath and closed her eyes, willing him to keep going. He moved even closer, until the front edge of their chairs touched, his legs straddling the sides. He leaned forward and picked Danica up by the flesh of her thighs, wrapping her legs around his waist, and lifting her brown cotton skirt up, then letting it billow around them. She watched his hungry eyes as they roved from her mouth to her breasts, where they lingered. Her breathing quickened as her core pulled eagerly toward the firm bulge beneath her center. She reached down and fumbled with his zipper. He lifted up just slightly and set himself free, then wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her mouth to his while she mounted him quickly, gasping against his lips as he buried himself deeply inside of her.

  They moved in unison. She clenched his shoulders, digging her nails into his hard muscles as his tongue probed her mouth, hard and passionately, in beat to the thrusts of his hips. Her desire heightened as he moved in quicker strokes, riding the crescendo, until she threw her head back just as he called out her name. Her body shuddered and clenched around him until every breath took too much energy, and she collap
sed forward, panting against his cheek.

  “You are definitely not the girl I met so many months ago,” Blake said through heated breaths.

  Danica settled her lips over his and kissed him until the aftershocks of their love rattled through her, sending goose bumps up her arms.

  “No, I’m not,” she whispered. “Shower?” She climbed off his lap and took his hand, leading him to the shower, wondering just how late for work they could get away with.

  Danica was still riding the wave of their love when she walked into No Limitz. Sally was on the phone, a serious look on her face.

  Her voice came through the intercom. “Michelle’s on line three.”

  Danica picked up the phone in her office. “Michelle? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” Michelle said quietly.

  “Why are you whispering?”

  “Is there any chance you can meet me for a little bit?”

  “Of course. Should I pick you up?” Danica listened as Michelle told her she was at home and her mom was at work, and suddenly Danica’s pulse sped up. “Michelle, is it your mom?” She closed her eyes, praying Nancy wasn’t drinking again.

  “Yeah, but not because she’s drinking. I just need to talk.”

  “It’s okay. I’m on my way.” Danica grabbed her purse and hurried out to the front.

  “Got a minute?” Sally asked. The serious look still lingered in her eyes.

  She needed to talk to Sally, but Michelle might give her additional insight into what Rusty was going through. “I’ve gotta meet Michelle right now. Can we talk when I get back?” She hoped for a quick agreement.

  Sally dropped her eyes to the desk. “Um, sure.”

  She could tell by the hunch of her shoulders and the missing gleam in her eyes that Sally was disappointed.

  Gage came through the front door carrying two basketballs. “Hey! New balls today.” He smiled, his eyes lingering on Sally for a beat too long.

  Danica didn’t miss Sally’s silence. “Great,” she said, filling the uncomfortable gap. “I’ll be back soon. Meeting Michelle for a bit.” Whatever was going on with Gage and Sally could wait.

  Michelle hadn’t said one word since they’d purchased sodas and began their stroll along Main Street. She kept her eyes trained on the ground. Questions were piling up like books in Danica’s head, but she knew better than to jump right in with them. Michelle headed toward a bench in the courtyard, and Danica followed silently beside her, her patience wearing thinner by the minute. The flowers were in full bloom, and a gentle breeze swished through the trees. She lifted her chin to the sun and let her desire to rush things along fade away. If nothing else, Michelle might have just needed to know she was there. She let her mind drift to the house that Blake was buying. For her. For them. The more she thought about it all—the house, his proposal, the way they fit into each other’s lives seamlessly, the decadent sex—the further she moved toward accepting his marriage proposal, regardless of what Kaylie might or might not be going through.

  “Are you even listening?” Michelle asked, nudging Danica’s shoulder.

  “I’m sorry. I was—” She fluttered her hand toward the sky.

  “I said your hair looks great. It’s really grown this summer.”

  Danica reached up and touched her coarse curls, which now fell past her shoulders. The extra few inches of growth added just enough weight to her curls, giving her less of an Afro look and more of a sexy, playful look, which at this point in her life suited her just fine.

  “Thank you. Did you want me to come out so we could talk about my hair?” she teased, flipping her hair with an overexaggerated head toss.

  “No,” Michelle said with a hint of a laugh. She poked her straw in and out of the cup, sending a little sliding sound between them. Michelle’s cheeks had thinned, giving her a more mature look. She’d be a sophomore in the fall, and shortly thereafter, she’d leave for college.

  Danica realized how quickly life was moving along, and everyone seemed to be evolving with it. Maybe she should accept his proposal. Maybe this was her turn to evolve even further.

  “Okay, so here it is,” Michelle said, and then closed her mouth tight.

  Danica waited.

  “I’m kinda sorta seeing Chase.”

  Relief swept through her. Not Brad.

  “But I kinda sorta like Rusty.”

  Uh-oh.

  “And Brad.”

  Shit. She patted Michelle’s leg. “Could you have picked a more difficult love triangle?” she teased.

  “Oh, God. I know.” Michelle covered her face and shook her head. “I’m not a slut. I promise I’m not. I’m not doing…that or anything.”

  “Michelle, I’m not judging you. Your body is your body, and you can do with it whatever you feel is right.” She turned on her serious voice. “Just be sure you are doing what you really want, and not what some boy tells you to do because he wants it.”

  “I know that,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “I met Chase through friends, and you know I met Rusty through No Limitz, but I had no idea they were brothers, well, half brothers, but whatever.”

  “Okay, I get it.”

  “And Brad, well, you know. I knew him in school, but I didn’t think he liked me. But he keeps coming around, and I kinda think he does, and every time he comes around, I get butterflies in my stomach.”

  The innocence in Michelle’s eyes pulled Danica right into therapist mode—just long enough to figure out the right strategy to walk through Michelle’s dilemma. She took Michelle’s hand, and when she spoke, she was back to being just Danica, Big Sister, friend, confidant.

  “You’re not the first girl to be in this situation. My sister has weaved her way through men triangles so many times I could help you navigate this in my sleep.”

  “Really?” Michelle looked hopeful.

  “Really. Let’s run through this. Tell me what you like about each boy and what you don’t like. We can do the pros and cons.”

  Michelle rattled off her lists, which she’d obviously thought about for quite some time. It included everything from the way Chase really listened to her and didn’t expect anything physical from her, to the way Brad made her knees weak with little more than his voice and how he included her in the places he went and things he did—even if she turned him down. And then, finally, Rusty’s badboy image, which she found hard to turn away from, and how he reminded her of a hurt puppy sometimes, and she just wanted to take care of him and make him laugh.

  Danica was impressed with her less-than-typical teenage responses. She’d expected to hear about how hot the boys were. “Those were really pros. How about cons?”

  “That’s the problem. They don’t really have any. I mean, Rusty is protective of me, but that’s not really a con.”

  “It could be. He could become possessive.”

  “Yeah, I guess. Every girl wants to date Brad.” She rolled her eyes.

  “That could also be a con. A lot of competition can be bad for your ego. You might always feel like you have to measure up to someone else.”

  Michelle nodded. “And Chase, well, he’s Rusty’s brother. So…there’s that.”

  Danica chewed on her answers, knowing she couldn’t make the decision for her. If it were her decision to make, she might just go with Brad because he was the least complicated of the three.

  Michelle cocked her head and then stood with a bounce. “Can we walk some more? Blake’s store is right around the corner. We can stop in.”

  Danica felt a flush run up her cheeks. “We don’t have to do that.”

  “I want to. I really like Alyssa. Besides, then you can see him.”

  Why did her mind immediately go to the seclusion of his office in the back? Get a grip. “We didn’t really resolve your dilemma.”

  Michelle headed for the corner. “I know, but it feels better to at least say it all out loud. I didn’t expect you to figure it out for me. I just wanted to talk. And you’re such a good listener.”


  Danica accepted the compliment with a sense of pride as they walked in silence, watching the cars pass and sipping their sodas.

  AcroSki had just opened for the day and wasn’t yet busy. Michelle headed for Alyssa while Danica found Blake at the back of the store, organizing a display of running shoes.

  “Hey, babe,” he said as he took her into his arms and kissed her cheek. “I thought about you all morning.” He ran his hand along her hip.

  “I was out with Michelle and she wanted to stop by.”

  “Everything okay?”

  There he goes again, caring about my life. “Yeah, more than okay.” She looked for Michelle and Alyssa and found them deep in conversation by the summer sportswear.

  Blake went back to work on his display and asked her if she’d spoken to Sally yet.

  “No, but I will. There’s something weird between her and Gage, too. I can’t tell if they’re playing cat and mouse because they really like each other, or if they don’t.”

  “He does like her,” Blake said.

  “What?” Danica knelt beside him. “How do you know that?”

  Blake shrugged. “Guys talk.” He touched her cheek. “I am the one who introduced the two of you, remember?”

  “Yes, so tell me. Wow, having a spy around could make my life so much easier. So he likes her?”

  “I can’t break my man’s confidence.” A sly smile spread across his lips.

  Danica pressed her body against his with a coy smile.

  “That’s really unfair,” he said.

  Danica put her hands on his hips, feeling like a lusty teenager. She could drag him right into the office, or the dressing room. The dressing room was closer. She was pondering the two when he touched her chin and moved it in his direction.

  “Put away that dirty little mind of yours. You’re with Michelle, remember?”

  She stepped away from him and put her hands behind her back. Jesus, what is wrong with me? “Sorry.”