But Gib shrugged, seeming to shake off the comment. “Hey, it’s better than getting knotted up in some relationship then realizing too late that your girl’s not into what you’re into. You’ve been down that road. Don’t do that to yourself again.”
“This isn’t a relationship.” Yet. “Tessa isn’t in the market for something serious,” he added, the reminder of his past mistakes like a mallet to the chest. He refused to liken this situation to that one. He and Angie hadn’t worked because he’d changed the rules of the game two years into their marriage. He’d never enter into another commitment without the woman knowing his very deepest kinks.
“She doesn’t want anything serious. And what about you?”
“Does it matter?”
“Fucking brilliant,” he said with a shake of the head. “You’re already getting tangled up, aren’t you? This girl is under your skin again.”
Kade slid off the barstool and stood, knowing his brother’s concerns were coming from the right place. Gib knew all too well the consequences Kade had had to deal with after his failed marriage. And he knew what was at stake now. But he was growing tired of the interrogation. He couldn’t explain what it was about Tessa to his brother. He couldn’t even explain it to himself. He just knew that when he was around her, his mine gene activated. More than a decade may have passed, but that automatic reaction hadn’t changed. It was probably something he simply needed to work out of his system because he’d been thwarted the first time around. But regardless, it wasn’t something he could ignore. “I’m just having a good time with her.”
“Bullshit. Let’s not pretend I don’t know the kind of setup you really want with a woman—that’s anything but just having a good time. And you never go into anything without a plan, so don’t feed me that line, either. What are you going to do?”
Kade pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the time, unwilling to risk being late for his plans with Tessa, then looked back to his brother, meeting his gaze with grave determination. “You really want to know?”
“Yes.”
“Fine. Tonight, I’m going to introduce her to kink, fuck her until she can’t remember another guy ever existed, and make her wish she’d chosen me all those years ago. Is that what you want to hear? Then I’m going to use what I didn’t have then to sweep her off her goddamned feet so that she agrees to another night and another.”
Gibson scoffed. “Un-freaking-believable. So that’s what this is about, huh? Your ego and proving you can get the unattainable chick from your past?”
Kade’s molars ground against each other. That wasn’t it at all. Gib didn’t get it.
His brother stepped forward and clapped him on the shoulder. “A few minutes ago I felt sorry for you. But now I just feel sorry for her, bro. Because I’ve seen you in this mode at work. You think you know what you want, but as soon as you conquer her and have her wanting you back, you’ll be done with her. Acquisition accomplished, move on to the next restaurant chain. The only reason this girl is still interesting to you is because she’s the challenge you never won. And Kade Vandergriff always wins.”
Despite Kade’s attempt to ignore his brother’s pop psych analysis, the accusation was burrowing right beneath his skin, seeking purchase. Though, he didn’t always win. Maybe in business, but not where it really mattered. If that were the case, he wouldn’t have an unused bedroom decorated in pink and purple daisies at his house. “Fuck you, Gib.”
Gib huffed with laughter for a moment then as if the air was taken from his lungs, he went stone cold silent. A strange expression crossed his face as he lifted his eyes. “Hey, wait a second. What if . . .”
Uh-oh. Kade didn’t like the sound of that. “What if, what?”
Gibson’s eyes were bright now, a sure sign that bad shit was about to commence. “This could actually be the perfect solution.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Didn’t your lawyer tell you that anything that made you appear settled and stable would help your case?”
Kade crossed his arms, wary. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Tessa is attractive.” He raised one finger as if counting off something. “And she is in charge of a charity for kids. Why did she get divorced?”
“Doug cheated.”
Gib pointed at him as if he’d gotten an answer right on a game show. “Ha! Perfect. A victim on top of all of that. And you who rarely publicly dates anyone anymore already has them chomping at the bit. You couldn’t paint it better. The media would . . . Eat. That. Shit. Up. The Time Share Bachelor reconnects with his old love. Golden.”
“Gib . . .” Kade warned, the threads of what Gib was spewing starting to weave together in a recognizable pattern. The PR person in Gibson was at full throttle and zooming down a dangerous road.
“What? I’m serious. You want more than clandestine sex with Tessa. Don’t fucking pretend you don’t. I know you. So why not use that while you can? What better way to convince the court and your ex than to have proof in the damn newspaper? Then after the case, whatever happens, happens.”
He gave his brother a look that he hoped conveyed the level of his contempt for the idea. “Are you serious right now? You want me to use Tessa to fake a fucking relationship to win in court?”
“No,” he said, excitement still buoying his voice. “Don’t fake it. Have it. You want to anyway. Just don’t do it in your normal behind closed doors style. Of course, keep the kinky stuff out of the press if y’all go there, but bring her out to places, parade her around a bit. They won’t be able to tie her to anything sordid. You can say you left all that alternative lifestyle stuff in your past.”
“You’re insane.” But the crazy idea was sneaking into the crevices of Kade’s mind and infiltrating his thoughts. Yes, he wanted Tessa. Long-term? He had no idea. He didn’t know if she would even be open to his lifestyle. Plus, his track record with long-term since his marriage sucked. Gib hadn’t been off base on what he’d said about Kade’s history. He could think a woman was the best thing in the world, believe that he wanted something more with her. But the minute she said she loved him or wanted something serious, it was like all his interest deflated. He’d feel smothered and trapped and would already be fast-forwarding through the familiar life cycle in his mind: marriage, kids, disillusionment, hate, divorce. Just the thought of going through that again would send him into panic mode. He’d shut the relationship down before the girl knew what had happened.
But regardless of his pattern, he knew he needed Tessa for longer than a few nights. And there was nothing in life he wanted more than to be able to see his daughter again for more than a few supervised hours a month. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t do to make that happen. And Gibson was right about the press. Tessa was built to be a media darling. Beautiful, charitable, a survivor of an awful childhood and recovering from a bad marriage. Plus, it wouldn’t look rushed because they’d known each other as teens.
Gibson nodded while he watched Kade. “See, see, I’m starting to make sense, right?”