Head Over Heels

by Crystal B. Bright

  He wanted nothing more than to spend time with her outside of business and sex, which he still couldn’t get out of his mind. She stimulated him like no woman had before.

  With the shop empty and closed, he turned to Kari and her group. “I hate to back out of the game, but I need to do something important that requires a lot of time.”

  “For the girl that was crying?” Michael asked.

  Thane nodded. “I’m like Superman. I have powers and I have to use them for good.” He glanced at Kari and smiled.

  “I understand.” Michael nodded. “Can I stay and help you? Maybe if I help, we can all go to the game together.”

  Kari stroked her son’s head. “You’re such a good boy.”

  Michael rolled his eyes. “Mom.”

  “Your mom is right. Good kids deserve great rewards. You three go to the game. If I get out of here early enough, I’ll join you. If not, I hope to see you all tomorrow.” He stared at Kari to see how she’d answer.

  “Thank you so much for the tickets. I hope you can make it.” She put her arm around Michael’s shoulders and grabbed Reagan’s hand.

  Thane nodded. “I’m a little rusty in the dress-making department, but I should be okay.” He walked them to the door.

  “Thanks for the awesome day. I actually had fun.” Reagan got on her tiptoes and kissed Thane on his cheek.

  “Sorry you’re going to miss the game.” Michael screwed up his lips.

  “It’s okay. I’m sure I’ll catch the next one.” Thane winked at him before Reagan pulled Michael out to the car.

  Kari stood in the doorway staring at Thane, not saying a word.

  “It’s okay to go. I appreciate you all coming here to help me. Enjoy the night on me.” He reached for his back pocket. “You need money?” Then he winced. “I need to stop saying that to you, don’t I?”

  Kari smiled. She glanced at her family, then back to Thane. “Will you wait here a second?”

  “Sure.” He assumed she had to go to the bathroom before they drove to Norfolk to enjoy the game.

  She spoke to Reagan, who looked at Thane over Kari’s shoulder. The last time she glanced at Thane, a strange smile hitched up the side of her mouth. Then Reagan nodded and hugged Kari.

  Kari ducked her head into the car to speak to Michael. Before Thane knew it, he saw Reagan getting in the driver side and pulling away without Kari.

  Kari ran back up to the door and stood in front of Thane. “Let me help you. We could go to the game together.”

  Thane stepped aside as he ushered her inside. “You don’t have to do this. I know spending time with your family is important.”

  “It is. Michael was okay with me staying. I think he likes you.” Kari stood behind him while he locked the door again.

  “Good. I’m glad. In a lot of ways, he reminds me of me.” Thane walked by her to go to the wall of fabric bolts.

  “How’s that?”

  “He’s smart. He’s handsome.”

  Kari laughed.

  “And he loves his mother.” Thane pulled out a roll of lavender tulle and set it next to him. “It’s been a hard trip coming back home. Hanging around you and your family has made it tolerable.” He shook his head. “No, that’s not the right word.” He stared at her. “You’ve made me happy.”

  He watched her breath hitch at his admission. Thane meant every word. In a world where everyone wanted something from him, she’d managed to break down his defenses and be that rock.

  “Really, you don’t have to stay.” Thane grabbed a purple satin fabric and some bejeweled trim.

  When he didn’t hear anything from Kari, he turned to see her approaching him. She framed his face in her hands and kissed him hard enough to make him forget his manners. He released the fabric and wrapped his arm around her waist.

  As soon as he slid his tongue into her mouth, Thane pulled back. “If we keep this up, I won’t make that dress. You are addicting and distracting.” He held her tighter.

  “I promise not to get in your way. I wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done for me and Michael.”

  “You really want to show your appreciation?” Thane pulled out a roll of red satin fabric. “Carry this for me and follow me to the work room.”

  She accepted the roll and trailed behind him to a room next to the showroom. He used his elbow to turn on the light and placed the fabrics on a table.

  Kari put her roll next to his. “So you were serious about making this dress?”

  Thane felt his eyebrows draw together. “Why would I lie about that?”

  “I know. I should have known better.” She went over to his sketchpad and picked it up. “Not bad. How long have you been making clothes?”

  Thane kept his concentration on his work, afraid if he looked at Kari again he would do more than kiss her. “Making clothes? Since I was about Michael’s age.”

  “Get out.”

  “True. When I was little, I used to draw clothes because I saw my mother doing the same thing. As I got older, she would show me more and more about how to make clothing. First is the pattern. Then you put it all together like a puzzle until you get your design. Once I learned the ins and outs of making clothing, I started making them for myself. That leather jacket I wore that you said you liked was actually one of my creations.”

  “Wow. You’re really talented.”

  Thane smiled. “Thanks, but I haven’t made a dress for a little girl, not even when I was her age. Mom always made the girls’ dresses. I helped.”

  “Now I’ll be your helper.” She stood next to him. “It’ll be the one and only time I’ll let you use me.”

  He measured out the pattern on muslin first. With each move, he caught Kari’s heavenly scent. When he looked at her, he saw her staring at him. He wondered if she regarded him in awe or lust…or both. He glanced up and saw the dress he’d made for her covered under a sheet. He hoped she wouldn’t go snooping. When he saw her starting to turn around to look behind herself, he distracted her.

  “So Michael likes baseball?” Thane started to cut the thin, gauzy fabric as he awaited Kari’s answer.

  “He loves all sports, even golf. I think he likes the athletes more than the sport itself. He sees them as superheroes almost. It’s cute.” She smiled and sidled up next to him.

  When her arm touched his, Thane’s body immediately reacted. Every hair stood on end and his pulse pounded hard enough that it sounded in his ears.

  “Here. You cut out more of these patterns for me.” He showed her what he wanted and then moved over to his mother’s sewing machine.

  “Not a problem.” She started to cut while he threaded the machine.

  It felt good to handle the same equipment his mother had used to teach him how to make clothes. The classic piece of equipment didn’t have all the digital bells and whistles like new machines. That didn’t matter. He knew what to do on this one.

  “Will you tell me something?” Kari began as she cut ever so slowly.

  “Depends.” Thane had always been honest, even as a kid. That didn’t mean he didn’t have a guarded side.

  “Why don’t you get along with your brothers?”

  He started to open his mouth and spout the same story he used to tell his mother whenever she brought up the topic. When he looked into Kari’s eyes, he couldn’t hold back.

  He concentrated on the work in front of him as he spoke, too apprehensive to look at her now. “Gunnar was a bad kid when Queen Elizabeth first adopted us. He used to steal and lie and do drugs.”

  “He’s certainly not like that now, right?” She put down the scissors to give him her full attention.

  “No, of course not. He straightened up when he was about fourteen or so. But one night he and Mom had this big blow out. He was trying to hang out with a bad bunch of kids, and she knew it. She’d told him not to go out. He’d said some pretty awful things to her that night. He’d said she wasn’t his real
mother.” Repeating that had him stopping the rhythmic stitching of the sewing machine. He balled his hands into fists. “I was only six or seven at the time. I remember always trying to hang out with him and Gideon. I’d wanted to be like them. I’d wanted to be with their friends. When Gunnar argued with Queen that day, it scared me. I’d never seen him that angry.” He shook his head as he kept his gaze down to the floor. “Sure he would tell me to get lost when he tried to be with boys his own age. But I thought all older brothers did that.”

  “I wouldn’t know. Only child.” Kari moved around the worktable and sauntered toward Thane.

  “That’s right. Anyway, during that argument, Gunnar dropped another major bomb.” Thane brought his head up and stared Kari in her eyes this time. “He’d said ‘I don’t care about you or Thane. He’s not my real brother anyway.’”

  Kari blinked and took a couple of steps back. “That’s not true, is it? I always assumed the three of you were biological brothers when your mother adopted you.”

  “I always thought that, and Elizabeth never made us feel any differently. My brother”— Thane stopped himself before he continued his story— “Gunnar said some horrible things that night. I never thought he would lash out at me, and that I wouldn’t be related to him and Gideon by blood. When Gunnar left, Mom went to the kitchen to call over a neighbor to watch me and Gideon so that she could go after Gunnar. When she saw me and realized that I had heard the whole fight, you know what she said?”

  Kari shook her head but remained silent.

  “She said that Gunnar was a lost soul and needed love and strength to find his way back.” Thane shoved the dress through the sewing machine to finish off the hem.

  “Those sound like wise words. Why would that make you angry at him?”

  He stood. “She never once said that what he said was a lie. I wanted her to tell me that Gunnar and Gideon were my blood brothers. To know that Gunnar, Gideon, and I weren’t really brothers made me feel like a loner. It was just me and Mom against them.”

  Kari shook her head. “That’s not true. Whether the same woman gave birth to you or not, Elizabeth Sommerville adopted the three of you. All of you made up a family. Gunnar and Gideon are your brothers in the same way Queen was your mother. With your mother gone, you shouldn’t push family away. Trust me. I know. I wish I could find someone else in my family to talk to and rely on.”

  Thane wanted to agree with every word she’d said. He’d allowed this pain to plant itself in him, and the roots had gone deep. Chopping the tree of deceit and anger down wouldn’t eliminate the buried portion.

  “Gunnar apologized to my mother, but he never said a word to me.” He tossed the skirt portion of the dress onto the worktable and kept his back to Kari. “Gideon has always been good to me. He doesn’t deserve me ignoring his calls or avoiding him. Whenever I look at him, I see Gunnar. I don’t see me in any of them.”

  Kari came around him to face him. “You have to be the bigger man here. You can’t keep going on ignoring them and thinking it’s okay. I’m sure they love you.” She put her hand to the side of his face. “Please.”

  He wanted to make this all right for himself. He couldn’t. Not right now with everything still so raw and open.

  He turned his head and kissed the palm of her hand. “I’ll finish this up.”

  “The dress or the rift with your brother?”

  Thane didn’t say anything. At this point, he didn’t know if he could repair what had been broken so long ago.

  * * * *

  When Kari asked Thane about his relationship with his brothers, she hadn’t known he would reveal something so painful. She couldn’t relate to him being adopted. She could only imagine the hurt a young Thane must have felt when he heard someone he considered to be his brother say they didn’t have a blood bond.

  The idea that Thane could be so dismissive of Gunnar and Gideon worried her. If she started a relationship with him, would he see Michael as more than her and Jarrod’s son? Would he become as aloof with him? She wanted to think he wouldn’t because he’d been so close to his mother. In this situation, she didn’t know. Her head told her to treat this fleeting fling as nothing more than that. Her heart though kept reminding her that she wanted more, ached for more, felt more from Thane.

  Kari didn’t realize all that went into making a dress. It seemed so easy on that designer reality TV show. Once Thane got to work, he remained serious. She knew to stay out of his way as soon as he constructed the dress on the form. Before she knew it, he had the finish product in front of him.

  Thane had made a pretty purple dress with a glittery belt and a bow in the back. “What do you think?”

  Kari took a step back to admire the work. “Very nice.” She bumped into another covered form behind her. She hadn’t noticed it at all until now. “What’s this?”

  “Another surprise for you.” Thane placed the dress down and sauntered to her.

  “Another one? I don’t know how many more surprises I can take from you.” She stood off to the side while Thane slipped the sheet down and uncovered a stunning yet simple red gown.

  “Oh my God. Did Queen make this before she passed away?” She stroked her hand over the sumptuous fabric and fell in love with it.

  “No. I made it.”

  Kari turned to him.

  “For you,” he added. “I had this plan to do a big dress reveal tomorrow, but it’s good that you saw it now. You can try it on and see if it fits.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Very. I’ll go to the office and shut everything down. You try on the dress.”

  Kari couldn’t take the garment off the form. She felt like she would be disturbing a museum piece or something. “This is too much.”

  “And you, my dear, are wasting time. Try it on.” He glanced at his watch. “We’ve probably missed the game. Give your family a call. I’ll wait for you.”

  “Reagan and Michael have been texting me since they got to the game. According to Reagan’s most recent text, they’re in the last inning, and Michael has eaten three hot dogs.”

  Thane laughed. “You’re going to be in so much trouble when he becomes a teenager.”

  Kari couldn’t help but laugh with him. “I think you’re right.”

  “Try on the dress. Let me see if I’ve lost my touch.” He backed out of the room and closed the door behind him, leaving Kari to contemplate the entire scene.

  She touched the silky fabric again, allowing it to slip over her fingertips. Thane had made this gown with her in mind. For that reason, she couldn’t wait to see how he saw her. She kicked off her shoes while she removed her shirt. As soon as she removed her jeans, she approached the expensive-looking garment again.

  Kari unzipped the back of the dress and pulled it over the form. After she had the dress pulled up to her breasts, she realized her black lace bra ruined the look. Before removing her undergarment, she attempted to zip up the back of it but could only get it up part of the way.

  She turned to the closed door and exhaled. Kari wanted to see the entire look of this dress. She removed her bra and tossed it on the table. Then she opened the door and went to Thane’s office, all the while holding up the top portion of the gown to cover her naked breasts.

  “I need a little help.” Kari stood in the doorway of the office.

  As soon as Thane spotted her, he stopped moving. “Whoa. I didn’t think—”

  She felt her pulse thumping the longer she stared at him. “Um, could you zip me up?” She turned her back to him.

  From behind her, she heard him walking toward her. Before zipping up the gown, he placed his hands on her shoulders. The warmth melted her. She started to tilt her head to brush her face against his hand but stopped herself. She didn’t want to start something again. Of course putting on the gown hadn’t helped her cause.

  He slid his hands down her arms, leaving a trail of goose bumps. She tightened her hold around her
body until he finally zipped up the back.

  “How does it feel on?” he whispered into her ear.

  She nodded. “Good.”

  “Turn around. Let me see you.”

  After taking a deep breath, she pivoted. She lost herself as she stared into his eyes.

  “You are absolutely beautiful.” He held his hand up to her.

  She accepted it and allowed him to lead her to the main store to one of the dressing rooms. He opened the door and stood behind her. Except for her socks and her casual hair, the dress made her look like a million dollars. The deep V neckline showed off enough cleavage to be both sexy yet appropriate. The slit on the side went up her leg but not too high.

  “What do you think?” Thane asked from behind her.

  “It’s wonderful.” She turned. “But I can’t accept this. It’s too much.”

  He shook his head. “I made it for you. No other woman can wear this dress.” He rested his hands on her hips. “Looks like I had your measurements down.”

  “The backside feels a little tight.” She tugged the front of the dress.

  “I did that on purpose.” He winked.

  Kari playfully slapped his arm. “You are so wrong.”

  The stare between them lingered for a while before Thane broke the stillness, leaned his head down, and pressed his lips against hers. To maintain her balance, she held on to his shoulders. To feel more of him, she moved one hand up and raked it through his hair. When she felt him moving her back, she had to stop him.

  “Wait.” Kari put her hands against his arms.

  “What’s wrong?” Thane seemed out of breath. He panted as he maintained his hold on her.

  “Not in this dress. I don’t want to mess it up.” She turned her back on him again. “Will you unzip it for me?”

  Kari felt his hot breath by her ear before she heard him speak. “Depends,” he began. “Do you still have condoms in your purse?”

  She smiled. “Maybe.”

  Before she could come back with another teasing remark, Thane lifted her in his arms, which made her squeal.