CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
Sam
It was ridiculous how much I wanted Kate to see my world. I was like a kid at a show and tell as I took her to my Aunt Bri's club and introduced her.
"It is so nice to meet you," Bri said, giving Kate a hug. I probably should've warned Kate. We were a family of huggers.
Aunt Bri looked at me, her gaze scanning me and then smiling. "I don't think I've ever seen you so happy. At least, not in a while."
I looked at Kate. "I haven't been this happy in a while."
She blinked and shifted. How much longer would it be before I could truly speak my heart and it wouldn't make her uncomfortable?
"I understand that you and I have a similar history, a patriarchal family who didn't support our business vision," Bri said to Kate.
Kate nodded, and the tension in her face and shoulders relaxed. "Yes. My brother was supportive, but I wanted to build the Sea Siren on my own."
"Good for you. My brother was supportive of me too, but his hands were tied. That meant I had to go it alone. I ended up asking his best friend to help me, and then I married the guy." Bri laughed. She looked at me. "Are you taking her to the Roarke?"
I nodded. "For dinner."
"Excellent. I’m glad you came here. What can I get you two to drink?"
"What do you think, Kate? Should we order a bottle of wine?"
She looked down, and again, I had an unsettling feeling.
"Actually, some seltzer water with lemon would be perfect."
Had she given up booze? "I guess I'll have the same."
"Two seltzers with lemon coming up." Bri went off to get our drinks.
I guided Kate to a table at the corner of the room. "Are you sure you're okay?" I held the chair out for her as she sat.
"Yes. But it's still early in the day, and I don't want to be drinking while I'm around your family. I need to keep all my wits about me."
I sat across from her, taking her hand. "I don't know why you're still nervous. They were gushing over you.”
She shrugged. "I just feel more comfortable if my brain isn’t fogged by alcohol. Is that a problem?" There was a slight edge to her tone that sounded like the Kate I knew.
“Not at all. I just wish you could relax about my parents.”
There was something about all this that I didn't quite believe. Like she was hiding something or didn't want to express her true feelings. But she was here with me in New York, meeting my family and letting me show her my home city. For now, that was enough.
After having a drink at Bri’s place, I walked Kate down to the first club Max and I had ever opened. Unlike Bri and Kate, our club wasn't open during the day, at least not this one, so it wasn't open yet. I’d planned to bring her here after dinner, but if she was going to abstain from booze, it didn’t make sense to have her come when it was open.
I opened the door and let her in, feeling nervous for the first time in a long time. It was crazy how important it was to me that she liked my club. I showed her all the cool technological features we had going on, and she oohed and ahhed, although she might have been humoring me.
"Is this how your club is going to be in Los Angeles?" she asked.
"Some of the technology features will be the same, but the theme is prohibition. Something noir-like." I led her through a hallway and up a set of stairs onto the roof, where we had an additional bar and seating. There were heaters as well, but this time of the year, the evenings were too cold, so everything was covered and not in use until spring when things warmed up again.
I removed the covers from two chairs and a table near a heater. I turned the heater on and then sat with Kate.
“Not California, is it?” I asked.
“Not Los Angeles,” she said, rubbing her hands together. I should have grabbed a pair of my sister’s or mother’s gloves for her.