“You mean a date?” she asked in a singsong. “Mom told me to make sure you didn’t embarrass any of us on this date when I talked to her yesterday on the phone.” Thea dropped her toast and came around the counter to study him carefully. When she twirled her finger to tell him to turn around, he considered lecturing her on the proper way to speak to her elders.
Then Wade realized he let his daughter call him by his first name sometimes. So he turned slowly around. Khaki shorts, lavender polo, canvas boat shoes. It was his only choice. If she didn’t give him a passing grade, what was he going to do anyway? “I’m not sure this is a good idea. I could cancel.” He would cancel except he’d have to text Brisa to take care of it because he still didn’t have Mira’s phone number.
Thea didn’t respond as she judged him.
Who was going to help him improve his dating wardrobe? If this date didn’t work out, he’d have to do it all over again.
Wade closed his eyes as he realized that, even if it did work out, he was going to have to answer this question again at some point. Either way, there would be more dates.
He needed a female fashion adviser.
“When your mom gets back home, we’re all going shopping,” he muttered. Vanessa was encouraging this. She’d love to put him through the misery of a fitting room, too.
When he faced Thea again, she nodded. “Solid plan, but you’re good to go. You can wear this on my first day of school, too. You won’t embarrass me when you drop me off.” Her work done, she scrambled back up onto the stool at the bar.
Wade took a bite of his toast as he evaluated that. In a young girl’s life, not being embarrassed at the morning drop-off was a high priority. That was a good endorsement of his choices today.
“What else did Mom say? Is the trip going well?” Wade asked.
Thea nodded. “They’re leaving Tokyo today to go and meet up with Steven’s parents. She seemed nervous.”
Meeting the parents had to be a big deal. He’d managed it with Vanessa’s before he and Vanessa had married, but he’d never had to introduce anyone to his family. His last foster mother had been gone for a long time when he and his ex said I do.
Then he realized Vanessa and Thea would be his important introductions. If they didn’t approve, almost any relationship would be doomed.
For some reason, that connection made him happy. Some of the nerves disappeared. Having input might prevent him from making a wrong decision.
“Mom also warned me to be on my best behavior for Brisa, just in case.” Thea sipped her orange juice and pursed her lips.
“In case of what?” Wade asked, even though he knew he didn’t want to know the answer.
“In case you want to be more than friends someday.” Thea raised her eyebrows and could have been her mother’s twin in that second. “I explained that Brisa and I are already friends because we’ve started training together, so you should be the one afraid to mess that up.”
Wade sighed. This was when he regretted having no adult backup at his side. His daughter was smart enough to render him speechless often.
They were quiet as they munched. Thea brushed her messy hair out of her face. Should he offer to put it up for her? He’d meant to study some hair tutorials online but had conserved his energy by napping often instead. His ponytails had gotten better. Stronger. Thea complained less about going bald, anyway.
“Just try to have fun and forget about your mother’s advice. Are you excited about the trip to the planetarium? I’ve been meaning to take you to this science museum for a while,” he said as Thea moved to the sink and waited while she rinsed the crumbs off her plate and put it in the dishwasher. His daughter had learned her mother’s ways. No dishes in the sink. Ever. It was cute on Thea. Wade and Vanessa had loud disagreements at the end over everything, including the necessity of unloading the dishwasher, how to load it properly and the reasons that neat freaks were impossible to live with.
The shouting had been about so much more but fighting over the dishes had been easier.
Thea shrugged. “Sure. I wish you were going, too, but I imagine I’ll have lots of time to teach Brisa about the universe.”
Wade chewed his last bite of toast to cover the smile. The wonders of the universe covered in three hours or less. Brisa was going to be exhausted when this was all over.
“When you get home, we’ll pack your backpack for the sleepover tonight. Okay, Thea?” Wade injected as much enthusiasm as he could into the words, even though he wasn’t feeling them.
“I was trying to forget about that.” Thea studied her hands which were flat on the granite countertop. Almost as if she was afraid to look at him. “I could stay here if you need me to.”
The urge to give her the easy way out was powerful. Wade picked up his juice glass and swallowed all the liquid. “Don’t you have fun with Isabel?”
The way she nervously met his stare and looked away squeezed his heart. “Not as much fun as I have with you and Brisa.”
Before he could warn Thea to take it easy on Brisa, the doorbell rang.
Brisa had held her own at the swimming pool. She’d be fine here, too.
He and Thea would pick up the conversation about the sleepover in due course. Wade could find her an easy way out between now and then.
As he opened the door, Wade realized how much anticipation was bubbling. He wanted to see Brisa. Cocktail dress, moving chic, jeans and a T-shirt and the Concord Court uniform—they all fit her perfectly, as if anything she wore was tailored for her.
He wasn’t ready for the sundress or the strappy sandals. Brisa might as well have stepped off the pages of a fashion magazine. She pushed her dark sunglasses up into her loose, dark hair. “Morning. Who wants to go find some constellations?” Her tone was bright, almost aggressively chipper, as if she was pumping herself up, too.
He did. He wanted to go wherever they were.
But he’d asked for this date. He’d demanded this blind date, to be clearer. He was going.
“Not me. I want to ride a bicycle.” Wade motioned her in. “Thea is preparing her lecture for you even as we speak.” Her shoulder brushed his arm as she moved past him. That simple accident, the slip of her warm skin against his, sent a wave of awareness through him.
So, he was headed out for a date with one woman but immediately felt more alive because of Brisa. That could be a problem.
“No lecture preparation needed. It’s all right here.” Thea tapped her temple.
Wade pulled out his wallet. “Money. It’s for admission. It’s for lunch.” He stared from Brisa to Thea and back. “For both of you. Anything left over? Get a souvenir.” He held the money tightly when Thea tried to take it. “Got it, Thea?” Brisa would be a better choice to handle cash, but this was one of those times. If he didn’t support Thea here, what would that tell her about trust?
Her grumbled sigh was cute, but he didn’t smile. Brisa did, and it brightened up the room. He wished he was going along to the science museum now to learn the origins of space and time, even though he’d heard it before. Brisa’s presence made it new.
Mind on the matter at hand, McNally.
“Do you want to carry the money?” he asked. “Brisa has a purse. She can keep it, then you could even leave your backpack here for later.”
Thea stared solidly up at him. “I have a backpack because I want to carry things. I’m not a baby.”
Wade let the money go. Thea was right. She wasn’t a baby.
The consequences of losing it or blowing it all on souvenirs were so low that it was an excellent time to give her the freedom. No matter what, Brisa would keep her safe.
Had they known each other long enough to know that as firmly as he did?
Wade wasn’t sure, but Vanessa had given in easily. If his ex-wife, who was the expert in their parenting co-op, believed this was okay, he’d go
along. His urge was to keep Thea under his eye, one arm around her shoulders at all times, but Thea would never accept that easily. She wanted to do too much, explore everything everywhere. Vanessa had learned to let go of her grip a little; he’d follow her lead.
Then he realized how quickly his own opinion had changed. He’d expected Brisa to be shallow and vain; instead, she was trustworthy enough to take care of the person he loved most in the world.
He didn’t want them to leave without him.
“Have you got a key?” Brisa asked Thea. “If we get back before your dad, you can use the time to explain dark matter to me.”
Thea frowned. “I don’t know much about dark matter.”
“Unless it’s literally the space between the stars, which looks dark to me, that’s still more than I know,” Brisa said cheerfully.
They watched Thea process that. “I have a key. If we have the time, I’ll start with the Big Bang. That’s as close to dark matter as either of us will get and I have a cool book with pictures.”
Brisa narrowed her eyes as if they were negotiating. “Cool. You ready?”
When Thea held out her hand, Wade could see a hairbrush. His daughter was going to take matters into her own hands. “Braids, please.” Then she presented Brisa with her back.
Without hesitation, Brisa flexed her fingers and started to work.
Wade tried to watch carefully. It seemed easy enough. Hair went over and under. Why did he end up with knots? In less than five minutes, Thea’s hair was in two nice, neat braids that would clearly last a couple of hours at the planetarium.
His daughter didn’t complain about having her hair pulled once, either.
Brisa didn’t understand what she’d done. When she was finished, she offered Wade the hairbrush. “We’re off. Have a great time on your date. Do not worry about a single thing. Thea is in charge of our excursion and Mira will take charge of yours.” She winked at him over Thea’s head, and after his daughter had stepped outside, Brisa motioned up and down to indicate his outfit and gave him a thumbs-up.
As if she was a friend, a supportive, encouraging, “uninterested in any romantic entanglement” friend.
Why was that depressing?
Then they were gone, and he had to leave to make it on time to the gallery in Wynwood. As he parked, he had no memory of making the drive over but most of his nerves had settled. He’d been busy imagining what Brisa would think of Thea’s lectures and the planetarium show to remember his turns and stoplights.
Brisa did that for him over and over. He got tangled up with questions in his brain, let some of them spill out around her, and she worked through the knots with simple solutions, easy words and a bright smile. She didn’t get frustrated, either. Some people might avoid him because, lately, he always needed a favor.
More than once, she’d taken the weight off his shoulders.
That was a nice talent to have.
Who did that for her? Wade shook his head. Now was not the time for pondering questions like that. He slid out of the car, locked it and moved around to the shaded sidewalk in front of a long strip of funky shop fronts, all painted in different colors, some pastel, some bright. Here and there, the walls were accented with spray-painted art. Bold. Graphic. Each image made up of fine details that were hard to take in with a single glance. From Wade’s spot on the sidewalk, he could see the tip of what looked like a three-story building with a vintage Welcome to Miami postcard painted on the side.
As Wade walked toward the gallery, he found a pretty, petite woman with long dark hair evaluating everyone who walked by. The way she toyed with the end of the ponytail draped over her shoulder suggested she might be dealing with some nerves, too. She had to be his date.
“Mira?” Wade asked the woman. “Are you Mira?”
“You must be Wade,” she said as she held out her hand. “Brisa told me to wait for the good-looking guy in the lavender shirt.”
Wade shook her hand as he realized two things. First, Brisa had called ahead to soothe Mira’s nerves, as well. She had planned everything to make this a success. Mira had known exactly who to expect. And second, Brisa thought he was good-looking.
Why did that matter? It didn’t.
But it really did.
“So, this is the place.” Mira pointed at the line of bikes in the bike rack in front of the neon yellow wall. “Should we go inside to get this tour started?”
Wade held open the door and followed her inside. There, a tall lanky blonde with a line of rings in both ears and a septum piercing raised one thin arm. “My tour has arrived. I was beginning to wonder if you’d chickened out. It’s always the heat that gets people.” She ran a hand through her spiky hair.
“Are we the only people on this tour?” Mira asked as she surveyed the small space. One wall was covered with a mural that reminded Wade of the Day of the Dead masks he’d seen, but these faces were all done in black and white roses vining in and out of each other. The background was a rich, deep blue.
“Yep, I don’t usually start until late afternoon, since the nightlife around here draws good crowds, but Brisa asked me to add a morning tour. Something about giving some friends a treat.” The woman pointed at them. “I owe Brisa a lot. She’s my unpaid model for every catalog and the tour promotional shots on my website, so it was easy to say yes. I’m Vi. This is my studio. You’re free to take a wander around after the tour. Let’s get you on a bike.” She jingled keys and then herded them toward the door.
It was easy enough to follow directions. Vi locked the door to the gallery behind them. Apparently, she was closed while they were out on their tour.
After a bit of trial and error, Wade and Mira were both fitted with comfortable bikes.
“Brisa called in a couple of other favors to make this super special for you guys, so we have some visits to make, but otherwise, if you see a piece you’re interested in, we’ll stop and I’ll tell you what I know. If we can track down the artist, we’ll do that, too.” Vi took the lead. “This time of day, the sidewalks are less crowded. This is going to be fun. Let’s start with the Wynwood Walls.”
Wade and Mira rode behind in single file until the sidewalk opened up.
“I don’t remember the last time I rode a bicycle,” Mira said when he joined her. “Good thing it’s as easy as riding a bike.”
Wade nodded to acknowledge her humor. Some of his nerves settled. She was meant for bright sunshine, her smile dazzling. Mira’s beauty was easy, natural, tan skin and gleaming eyes, and the joy on her face made it clear she loved being out and moving.
He was lucky Brisa had convinced her to say yes to this blind date.
The tour’s first attraction was a walled area formed by large warehouses where one art piece bled into the next. Vi gave a short explanation about the artists who worked there and then wandered discreetly away to wait by the bikes so that he and Mira could stroll at their own pace. That was probably intended to facilitate conversation. Mira was absorbed in the art and Wade was stuck for a clever opening.
This date was beginning to be familiar; most of his other dates had started this painfully awkward way, too.
When they got back on the bikes, they rode for a bit, past smaller studios, and stopped in front of a vibrant mural painted on a three-story brick building. Vi said, “This is one of the newest pieces. Carter has been working on this for months, but it’s nearly complete. Do you recognize the faces?”
Wade couldn’t count how many people stared back, but realistic portraits in tones of black and gray had been formed into letters on a background that started orange in the center and bled seamlessly into bright red waves. Together, the contrast spelled Unite.
“These are community leaders here in Miami,” Vi said. “Some of the artwork in Wynwood is bright and fun, but every artist has a mission. There are organizers working for safer neighborhoods, better
schools, legal protections for minorities. Carter supports the activists working to make Miami safe for all of us. This is his voice. That’s the purpose of art, to be the voice. And graffiti is art here.” She went on to discuss the media used, always spray paint, sometimes acrylics with rollers, and the other tools. The precision required to paint a portrait on the side of a building was impressive.
“It must take a lifetime to learn this,” Mira murmured.
Vi shrugged. “Or maybe he’s born with it. Carter is twenty. And he is this good.” She wrinkled her nose. “Also a nice guy, so it’s hard to hate him for having natural talent.” She motioned them forward.
Wade realized how easy it was to enjoy himself. Vi knew what she was talking about. Mira asked smart questions. He could listen. He could talk when he had something to say. Most of all he reminded himself to go with the flow.
Vi smoothed over the awkward first date atmosphere.
Brisa might be a dating genius.
At the end of the first hour, Vi stopped behind a gallery. “Brisa has two surprises here.” She rapped on the back door. A short young man answered, his shaved head glistening in the bright sunlight.
“Eh, Vi! Good to see you!”
“Here are your students, Carter.” Vi pointed at him and Mira. “I’ll be back in thirty, okay?”
He and Mira nodded.
Carter pointed to a box. “Brisa suggested a painting lesson. Are you down?”
Mira clapped her hands. “That woman. I love her! Of course, I want to try.” She turned to Wade, her happiness was contagious. It was no wonder Mira had so many friends. “Come on, let’s paint a heart. What colors should it be?” She squatted and opened the flaps.
“What are our choices?” Wade bent down beside her at the box. He’d hoped that would make the decision easier, but no. There was a can of almost every color.
Carter handed Mira a pair of gloves, a mask and a can of red spray paint. “How about a rainbow heart? That will give you space to experiment with lines and bleeding and technique. Now, whatever size you’re imagining, double it. Triple it. Graffiti needs to be big.”
Harlequin Heartwarming March 21 Box Set Page 36