Chapter 34
“Plot Twist: Taylor Swift has entered the chat.” ~ Kai
Kai
“I don’t want to go out tonight,” I whine.
Jaxon grunts. “If I have to go, you do too.”
Blossom elbows him. “Come on, nerd boy. It’ll be fun.”
He frowns. “Your definition of fun is incorrect.”
“I don’t care if you don’t want to go out,” Dakota declares. “We have a babysitter and we’re going out. This discussion is over.”
Rhett drops an arm over her shoulders and kisses her hair. “There you go, causing havoc again, Havoc.”
She rolls her eyes at him.
“How about I babysit little Stephanie? It’ll give Eli and Paisley the chance to go out.”
Miles shackles my wrist before I can escape. “Nice try. But Eli isn’t ready to leave his baby girl alone with anyone.”
“I’m not anyone. I’m Uncle Kai. Everyone’s favorite uncle.”
“You also gave Stephanie a fake ID. ”
I shrug. “You can never start too early.”
“She isn’t ready for sippy cups yet. Let alone a fake ID.”
“Whatever. Can you release me now?” I tug my arm but he doesn’t let me go.
“No. We’re going out. It’s a Raider family event. You have to go.”
I scan the group on my doorstep and relief fills me when I realize I have an ace in the hole. “Zane’s not here.”
Eli is excused because Paisley just had their baby, but Zane has to attend for tonight to be considered a family event.
“He’s meeting us at the bar.”
Shit. There’s only one way to get out of this.
“I can’t go anywhere. I have explosive diarrhea.”
“No worries. I have extra diapers from Mira in my bag.” Dakota digs through her bag and pulls out a diaper.
Rhett chuckles. “It might be a bit small.”
“Does it matter when he’s obviously lying?” Jaxon asks.
I growl. “I’m not lying.”
“Sure, you are. You always use the explosive diarrhea excuse. You claimed you had diarrhea so often when you were skipping classes in high school, the principal called the house. She was ready to send an ambulance.”
“It’s true.” Rhett nods. “You’re lucky I answered the phone instead of Mom.”
I glare at them. “I hate all of you.”
“Not me,” Blossom declares. “I’m a bundle of delight.”
“Whatever. Let’s go. ”
I make my way toward my SUV but Miles grabs my wrist again and drags me toward Rhett’s vehicle. “You’re not driving.”
“I can drive. I’m not planning to drink.” Because there’s no way I can drink away my sorrows with my family and not admit Harper dumped me without a second thought.
My chest squeezes and I nearly stumble. I can’t believe she wouldn’t let me explain. Granted, I fucked up. I should have been there for her.
But can’t I make one mistake? I’ve proven to her over and over again how I’ve grown up. How serious I am about her. How much I love her.
I rub my chest as pain blossoms. I freaking love her and she kicked me to the curb over one measly mistake.
Okay. Fine. It was more than one measly mistake. But I could hardly tell her I was building the ramp in advance. It would have ruined the surprise.
Except I was the one who ended up surprised.
“Where are we going?” I ask once Rhett is driving.
“You’ll see,” Blossom sings.
“I still say we should blindfold him,” Miles says.
“There’s no reason to blindfold me. I’m here, aren’t I?” Under protest, but I’m here.
I study everyone’s faces but no one will meet my gaze. Crap on a retired smuggler. They’re up to something. And when the Raiders are up to something, the world holds its breath .
Rhett parks in downtown Smuggler’s Rest and we pile out of the vehicle. I aim for Smuggler’s Cove but Miles catches me and shoves me in the other direction.
“I don’t want to go to Bootlegger, ” I whine.
Mermaid Karaoke season might be over but the bar remains a pick-up joint. I have no interest in picking up anyone. Unless her name is Harper and she’s the grumpiest, stubbornest bar owner on the island.
“Good thing we’re not going to Bootlegger then,” Miles says and steers me into an alleyway.
I plant my feet. “No way. No how.”
“Come on,” he cajoles. “ Rumrunner has the best dart boards.”
“We should alert the emergency room if Dakota is playing darts,” Blossom says.
Dakota glares at her. “I am not playing darts.”
“Phew. There aren’t enough bandages in the bar if you decide to play.”
“Let’s get burgers at the Salty Siren instead. Since Dakota doesn’t want to go to the Rumrunner either.”
Dakota grins up at me before threading her arm through mine. “I want to go to Rumrunner. ”
I narrow my eyes at her. “You just lost one free babysitter.”
“Please, as if you can resist Mira and Pearl.”
“I’m serious, Dakota. This is cruel. I never thought you were a cruel woman.”
Rhett growls. “Dakota isn’t cruel. Watch your language.”
Dakota pats my arm. “ It’ll be okay.”
“No, it won’t. I did everything right with Harper – treated her well, spoiled her with little gifts, paid attention to her, was there for her, acted nothing like my dad – and she left me anyway.”
Rhett whirls around to face me. “Hold on. Nothing like Dad? Are you worried you’re going to turn into him?”
“Mom says I’m the spitting image of him.”
“Having the same appearance as him, doesn’t make you him.”
I drop my chin and study the ground before I admit, “But I’m a goofball. I don’t take work seriously. Dad was the same.”
“You’re also twenty-four. Give yourself a break.”
I growl. I’ve had enough of being reminded of my age. It’s just a number.
“This is my fault,” Jaxon says and I whip my head up to meet his gaze.
“Your fault?”
“I shouldn’t have been so hard on you.”
“No, you were right. I was goofing off at work and you were handling my responsibilities.”
“Not anymore, I’m not.”
My brow wrinkles. “What?”
He clears his throat. “Ever since we had our conversation, you’ve changed. You show up at work on time. You get your tasks done. You’ve proven to me you can be the operations manager of the distillery. I should have told you as much.”
“See? You are nothing like Dad,” Miles says. “You would never abandon one of us when we need you. Even when we drag you to Mermaid Karaoke when all you want to do is spend time with Harper.”
I scan the faces of my brothers and Dakota and Blossom. All of them are nodding in agreement.
Are they right? Can I believe them? I blow out a breath.
“Okay. I’m not Dad.” I hope. “But Harper did leave me.”
Blossom threads her arm through mine. “Let’s go get her back.”
Hope ignites in my belly. “Do you think I have a chance?”
“Let’s go find out.”
I allow her to lead me to the speakeasy door. The bouncer, Trent, opens it before anyone has a chance to knock. I’m doing this. I’m going to fight for the woman I love.
Dakota shoves me inside and the music starts up. I groan when I realize the song is We Are Never Getting Back Together. Awesome. Taylor Swift is on Harper’s side.
Hold on. This isn’t Taylor Swift singing. My eyes nearly bug out of my head when I realize it’s Harper on the stage, belting out the lyrics.
So much for having a chance. Harper’s message is loud and clear. We are never getting back together.
I whirl around – intent on escaping – but Jaxon stops me. “Trust me. You don’t want to leave.”
“Trust me. I do.”
I struggle to escape his hold, but he’s not letting me go. In fact, he’s pushing me closer and closer to the stage. And now Harper is singing directly to me .
Except she’s no longer singing about how we’ll never get back together. She’s singing about Christmas lights and our house and making our own rules.
My heart gets stuck in my throat as I listen to her sing Lover . She smiles down at me. It’s one of her dazzling smiles with her dimples fully on display.
The song finishes and the place erupts in cheers.
“What does everyone think?” she asks the crowd. “Should we never get back together?”
My heart forgets how to beat as I wait for the crowd’s reaction. Everyone boos. Especially my family.
“Or should I reinstate Kai as my lover?”
The crowd breaks into a chant. “Lover. Lover. Lover.”
I don’t need any more encouragement. This is my chance and I’m grabbing it with both hands. Harper is not getting rid of me.
I jump on the stage. I snatch the microphone from her and drop it on the floor.
“Were you pranking me?”
“It depends. Did you fall for it?”
“My heart broke into a million pieces as I listened to you sing.”
She pats my chest and I dare to wrap my arms around her. When she doesn’t protest, I draw her closer.
“I’m sorry about your heart, but I think I won the prank war for you.”
“I don’t give a shit about the prank war. Although I am very proud of you for letting loose and letting your goofy show. ”
She bites her bottom lip and looks up at me from beneath her lashes. “You’re my goofy.”
My heart makes a gallant effort to beat its way out of my chest. “I am?”
“If you want to be.”
“Slugger, I want to be your everything.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about the ramp?”
“I wanted to surprise you. I wanted to give you something you and your dad need. It wasn’t about showing off.”
She palms my face and I close my eyes as peace washes over me. I never thought I’d feel her skin against mine again. “Thank you,” she whispers before her lips meet mine.
I moan before slipping my tongue into her mouth. Her taste of beer and vanilla hits me. Home. This is home. This is where I belong. In Harper’s arms.
“Get a room!” Miles shouts, and I wrench my lips from Harper's.
The entire bar is full of people watching us. Dakota and Blossom clap and whoop while Rhett and Jaxon nod in approval. Meanwhile, Miles is on his way to the bar already.
“I love you, Harper Poole. I am never letting you go.”
She needs to know what she signed up for when she took this stage and accepted me.
“I love you, Kai Raider. I am never letting you go, either. Although, I did buy you a power bank for your phone.”
I bark out a laugh. “Of course, you did.”
“Dad says hi. He also says I have a temper and you need to tame it. ”
My blood heats. “Tame it? No one can tame my slugger.” But I’m going to do my best.
She wiggles and my cock – hard and heavy – presses against her. “Let’s go handle your little problem.”
“Why, Harper Poole? Are you suggesting a secret rendezvous in the storage room?”
She snorts. “No way. I have an office. It has a couch. And it locks with a key.”
“Let’s go.” I lead her to the edge of the stage and jump off. Once I’m on the ground, I grasp her hips and help her down. She wraps her legs around my waist. “Good girl,” I mutter as I begin to carry her to the back.
A baby cries in the background and Harper pauses. “Rhett and Dakota brought Mira?”
My brow wrinkles. “No. They didn’t.”
I glance over her shoulder. My jaw drops open when I locate the source of the sound. Zane is standing near the bar holding a baby in his arms. What the hell is going on?