“Brooks,” I say sternly, stopping him, “don’t apologize. You don’t have to exude positivity and fluffy, unicorn fart auras all the time.Sometimes sunny days still have a few dark clouds that pass through, which doesn't make them less sunny overall. You know you can be a little selfish and sit in the other chair, right? You deserve to have someone to listen toyoufor a change.”
A small grin now tugs at the corners of his mouth, before it morphs into a huge smile, flaunting those dimples in his cheeks and a flash of his straight, white teeth. “That’s—wow—that’s the longest string of words I’ve heard you utter in the week that I’ve known you. That analogy is seriously romance book novel worthy, too,” he teases, nudging me on my shoulder with his knuckles. “Unicorn fart auras,” he echoes with a chuckle, slipping the helmet back on his head.
I shake my head, grinning. I nudge my chin towards the seat. “Get on and hold on. There’s no smoke over the treetops. I’m sure there is other staff there who youcantrust, so we’re going for a ride…”
Chapter Nine
“You guys have been gone for hours; did you have a nice date?” Kai snarkily asks me as soon as he spies me slinking back inside my house.
I have to gulp before I can form words for an answer. Not because I’m nervous about owing him an explanation about where I’ve been—out chatting and watching the sunset at the town boat launch with Evan—but because Kai’s just stepped out of Morgan’s downstairs bathroom and is wearing nothing but a towel. Still damp from apparently just having gotten out of the shower. Kai notices my speechlessness and is quick to flex his pecs for show. All bronzed skin and covered in his black and gray tribal tattoos.
The sight, up until recently, made me go weak in the knees. Now, having gotten the distinct pleasure of seeing Evan working around here without his shirt on, I can appreciate a more naturally honed body. His chest is covered in just a smattering of salt and pepper hair. His slight farmer’s tan comes from days spent working out in the sun.Evan isn’t chiseled from spending hours at the gym with a tailor-made workout regime prescribed by a personal trainer, as is how Kai has come to acquire his physique.
It comes from what appears to be years of an assortment of odd jobs and hard labor. All to avoid becoming a carbon copy of his ancestors, from what he confessed to me tonight.
My heart feels heavy for Evan, honestly. He feels stuck in a rut. He feels like he’s failing Colton, and that he already failed his late wife. He feels uneasy about trying to navigate the dating scene again. All told, Evan is a hurting man who feels lost at sea.
“If you have to think that hard about it, I’d say the date was a flop.” Kai chuckles. “Did you at least bring me back anything, since you usedmycard to pay for ice cream?”
“It wasn’t a date, and no, I didn’t bring you back one. I wouldn’t have been able to hold it on the back of his motorcycle anyway,” I explain, handing him back his card.
“Then where’d you put an entire car battery?” Kai quizzes me.
“Behind the backrest. Should I have strapped you down a sundae there, and see how it fared?”
He rolls his eyes, then asks, “How’s Daddy’s lumbar spine?”
I give Kai a confused look.
“I imagine you stabbed him in the back with your woody the entire time,” Kai teases. “I mean, I would have, after all. Bad boy biker babe, woo-ee!”
I roll my eyes. “Kai, seriously. Stop. He’s straight. He’s straight,andhe’s an employee. Objectifying him like that is wrong on so many levels. He’s a nice guy, and I don’t want to make him uncomfortable and leave. I need him. Also, can you go put some clothes on?”
“Brooks Uriah Gallagher! Icannotbelieve you just asked me that.”
“Believe it.”
“But… but….” He pouts. “I see what this is. Now I’m getting told to put on my clothes—to cover this beautiful canvas—because you’ve got it bad for Evan. Mr. ‘aww, waa, don’t hit on him because he’s an employee’ just wants Daddy to himself!”
I puff out a beleaguered sigh, gesturing towards the front door. “Nope, it’s because I’ve got a bunch of children all under the age of fourteen here, who don’t need to see you one ill-timed gust of wind away from flashing your goods. I’mtryingto be a professional.”
“Oh please, you’ve hired a team of high schoolers to do that work for you. Kick back, relax, and enjoy the show.”
“No.” I point up the stairs. “Go. Put on. Your clothes.” Placing my palms on his chest, I attempt to spin him in that direction and urge him to get a move on.
That action causes three things to then happen, all in rapid succession: my harried efforts cause him to stutter-step backwards slightly, he reaches out to grab my upper arms to steady himself, and the towel falls from his waist. Well, so actuallyfourthings happen, because the next thing I know, I’m hearing a deep voice say, “Shit, sorry…” from behind me. “I should have knocked. Fuck.”
I whip my head around quickly to find that the voice belongs to Evan, who has one hand on the doorknob of my front door, his body facing inward, but his face embarrassedly turned outward. A visible red flush is creeping up his neck, and he makes a move to back out of the doorway. I twist my neck back around and really take in the sight I’m an active participant in.
Kai is completely naked. I’m planted mere inches from his body with my palms pressing to his pecs. Kai’s hands are gripping my biceps and pulling me towards him. It looks—well, it looks compromising. It looks like Kai and I were about to take care of some unresolved sexual urges, and that is definitelynotwhat I want Evan thinking.
Back at the ice cream stand, I saw the way he regarded me as I told him about my and Kai’s history. I know Evan thinks I’m a fool for sticking up for Kai’s decision to leave. Now, he must really be thinking I’m a mega-fool for continuing to have a sexual relationship with Kai. I’m just a big, dumb, heartbroken moron, who keeps trying to domesticate someone who is the human equivalent of a wild mustang.
It doesn’t matter that the thought would have been correct up until recently; Evan doesn’t need to know that, however.
Thing is, I don’t even think I want to be a horse wrangler—or whatever they call themselves—anymore. Not since Kai came around, trying to be all big and bad with his ‘I’m an active partner in this business’ spiel. Working with him the three days Evan was gone has been absolutely insufferable. He scrutinizes every decision I make, and everything is about themoney, not the kids who need help healing.
Kai doesn’t understand the mission at all, though. All he understands is finances. Kai’s primarily spoken languages are English, Hawaiian, lewdity, and dollar signs.
