The Cut of Her Cloth Read online

  “Oh geez, Garth. I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize things were that bad between the two of you.” Kate approached her brother gingerly and gave his back a reassuring rub.

  “Yeah, well, I suppose I’ll have to find another venture if she’s really going to buy the place.”

  “We’ll see what happens.” It was the first time she’d really realized that their mother’s shop actually had come to mean something to him. And Kate knew in her heart that it also meant something to her too. But the wheels had been set in motion, and there was no going back now.

  By the time Suzanne had arrived later that afternoon, Brad had already tried getting a hold of Kate twice by phone and three times by text. The last one came just as Suzanne walked in the door. Kate ignored her phone yet again, and went out to greet her. She introduced her to Garth, who did his best to be as unfriendly as possible. After Kate was done showing her around and telling her about the day to day operations, Suzanne took one last look around the shop.

  “I’m happy with this, I’ll take it at the asking price. Let me know once you’ve drawn up the proper paperwork.” Suzanne then walked back out without saying goodbye to Kate or Garth. Kate came out into the lobby where Garth had been sitting.

  “Charming, isn’t she?” Garth rolled his eyes with disgust. “Has she ever worked in customer service before? Seems like the only sort of work she’s probably ever known is deciding where to get her nails done.”

  “Well, manicure or not, she’s agreed to buy the place.”

  “Ah, come on, Kate. You can’t be serious. Doesn’t mom’s place mean more to you than that?”

  “It doesn’t matter now.”

  “It does matter. You’ve just gotta get your head out of that New York City ass of yours and realize it already!” Garth hopped up from the stool. “I’m taking off for the rest of the day, seeing as how I’ve now got to go find myself a new job.”

  “Garth.” She called out.

  He ignored her as he headed for the door. “Garth, come on!”

  But he was gone without looking back.

  Chapter 13

  Kate remained in the store office several hours after closing, going over the documents she’d drawn up for Suzanne. She’d migrated from the hard wooden chair to the more comfortable oversized couch in the corner, lying down as she read the papers. She was very familiar with contracts such as these. She’d come across them countless times in her career. But these were personal, and everything needed to be perfectly in order.

  After a deep sigh, she sat the papers on her chest and closed her eyes to catch up on some much needed sleep.

  But not two minutes had passed before she heard somebody pounding on the front door of the store.

  “We’re closed!” She shouted out, knowing whomever it was couldn’t hear her, but it felt good to yell anyway. Just then her phone buzzed. Groaning, she reached down on the floor to retrieve it. It was a text from Brad saying he was outside. “Dammit.” Kate sat up and ventured through the darkness of the sewing room and into the lobby. Sure enough, Brad was waiting outside.

  “Can I come in, please?”

  She could tell there was something on his mind. He had that look about him. Kate didn’t need to second guess more than once what it might be. But she grabbed the keys anyway and unlocked the door. Before she could even get the door locked back up, he expressed his frustration at her not returning his calls or texts.

  “Katie, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all damn day.”

  “Well, obviously I’ve been busy. Look, you don’t have to apologize about last night. What happened happened. Let’s just forget about it.”

  “I’m not apologizing for it, nor do I want to forget about it.” He reached out for her after she turned around from locking the door, but she stepped back.

  “Brad, please don’t make me state the obvious here.”

  “Katie, I’m in love with you. I always have been. Is that obvious enough for you?” Kate wasn’t at all prepared for what had just come out of his mouth. In fact, she was left speechless, and Brad took full advantage. “There’s been this void in me for the longest time. It was filled the day I saw you at the coffee shop. It was like the gnawing feeling you get when you know that something was missing from your life and that completely disappeared and was replaced with a warmth in my heart that hasn’t been there since the day you moved away.”

  “Brad, listen, it doesn’t matter what either of us is feeling.”

  “It doesn’t matter, huh?” Brad stepped in closer, forcing Kate to back up against the door. He leaned in and grazed her lips ever so slightly with his. A dizzying rush of excitement coursed through her body.

  So many things suddenly went rushing through Kate’s head with just that mere, hot touch of his lips. Her heart began to race as his hands trailed up her arms slowly before they rested on her face and cupped her cheeks. She felt her stomach flutter as his thumb gave her lips a gentle caress before he leaned in and met them with the sweet warmth of his own.

  Her hands began to rise against his chest in a futile attempt to push him away, but he was too quick and grabbed her wrists, pinning them at her side. His lips parted from hers, leaving an insatiable heat where they’d been pressed. His eyes met hers, filled with desire, yet still a softness that was purely Brad.

  “I’ll stop if you want, Katie.” His voice was a low whisper, his breath warm against her already flushed skin.

  He let go of her wrists but didn’t step back, nor did she want him to. The rush of sheer desire and emotions swirled around inside of her. She knew what she wanted. It was what she’d always wanted but had been too stubborn to admit it all those years ago. She was in love with this man. Perhaps a part of her always was. That didn’t matter now. The gate had been opened since the moment they’d seen each other at the coffee shop, and the rush of feelings had now officially flooded them. Kate reached for his hand, taking it in hers. She gently caressed it with her free hand before looking back up at him, the love for him shining through in her eyes, and led him back to the office.

  Their lips met instantly upon entering the office, a soft initial kiss turning into a more passionate, deeper one. His hands roamed over her hips before moving to her back as he pulled her into him. Years of pent up desire was let lose as both of them kissed hungrily as though they’d been parted lovers united after an unimaginable, agonizing time apart. Their arms were entangled in one another as their lips continued to ravage with long, lustful kisses. Brad backed them up slowly to the couch, gently lying Kate down. He lay down atop her, nuzzling her neck with his lips, making her groan with pleasure. It was then that she knew, they would finally surrender to their love for each other.

  Chapter 14

  For the first time since being back, Kate finally felt at home. That feeling came from being in Brad’s arms. They were snuggled under the blanket that had been lying on the back of the couch, both unable to stop smiling as they reveled in the aftermath of their lovemaking.

  “I know this is going to sound random, but why is there a full sized couch in your mom’s office?”

  “Don’t ask. After years of fighting, it’s most likely my mother needed a place to get away from my dad.”

  “You know, I don’t remember them ever getting along, now that I come to think of it.”

  “Neither do I.” Kate’s face became somber at the thought. Brad held her tighter and rubbed her exposed arm. Then he squirmed slightly on the couch.

  “I think I’m laying on something.” He reached under his back and pulled out several pieces of crumpled paper, handing them to Kate. She let out a loud gasp.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?”

  “It’s the paperwork for the sale of the business to Suzanne.”

  “What paperwork?” Brad sat up with a scowl.

  “She’s buying the store. I figured you knew.”

  “No, I definitely didn’t know.” Brad rubbed his face in frustration.

  “I better go. Sou
nds like I have a few things to deal with at home. I’m sorry she said she’d buy your mom’s business. I never thought she would or I would have done something.” Brad hopped off the couch and grabbed his clothes, quickly getting dressed.

  “Brad, what’s wrong? I don’t understand.” Kate pleaded to him for some type of answer.

  “I’ve gotta run. I’ll call you as soon as I can.” He knelt down and kissed Kate on the cheek before heading out of the office.

  Kate wrapped the blanket around her and sat up, gathering up the loose papers that had ended up on the floor. Reality started settling in as she organized the contract paperwork between her and Suzanne. Things were now officially a mess. Wearily, she got up off the couch, tidied up the office, and decided to head back to her parent’s place. At least nothing dramatic would be happening there.

  Although it wasn’t that late in the evening, her mom was usually in bed by this time. However when she arrived back at the house, she noticed all of the lights were on in the living room and kitchen. Then when she walked in, she heard the all too familiar sound of her parent’s fighting. She rushed into the kitchen towards the sound of the noise.

  “Dad! What are you doing back here?” Her mom and dad paused from their argument.

  “Seems your father left your apartment flooded.” Her mom looked beyond tired and annoyed.

  “What? What do you mean flooded?”

  “Don’t get all riled up. It’s nothing bad. A pipe busted in the building. All of your downstairs is pretty much ruined. Things will have to dry out, but…”

  “Dry out? Dry out? Are you kidding me? And you just left?”

  “Don’t take that tone of voice with me Kate. It’s not like I had a choice. Where else was I supposed to go? I don’t know anyone in that godforsaken city besides you.”

  “Unbelievable.” Kate said as she stormed out of the kitchen. “Feel free to carry on with whatever else you were arguing about. Don’t mind me!” She yelled back to them as she marched to her room.

  Before Kate could gather her thoughts, her phone rang. It was Suzanne.

  “Really? Now?” She said out loud. She quickly answered it. “Hello.”

  “Kate, it’s Suzanne. I’m afraid I have some bad news. I won’t be buying the shop after all. Brad and I had a talk and we decided it’s best that I focus on the wedding right now.”

  “The wedding?” Kate didn’t believe what she’d just heard.

  “Yeah…ummm…OK, gotta go. Bye, Kate.” Kate was in disbelief as she heard the dial tone buzzing in her ear.

  “Unbelievable.” She instantly tried dialing Brad’s number, but it went right to voicemail. “Of course, you son of a bitch.”

  Kate tossed her phone onto the bed, grabbed her laptop, and sat down. It was time to return home.

  Chapter 15

  By the time Kate had returned to New York, there wasn’t much left to salvage on the first floor of her townhouse.

  She cursed her dad every time she had to throw away something else that had water damage. He could have easily saved most of her stuff had he had the sense to do so. But just like when he’d not bothered to think of her when he’d made them all move to Georgia, she should have guessed that he’d always be thinking of himself before her.

  What had she been thinking when she’d briefly entertained the thought of moving back to Georgia and taking over the business like her mom had originally wanted anyway?

  Sure she’d created some amazing sketches while tending to the tailoring, that much was true. But that was the only good thing that had come of it. She’d managed to fall in love and get her heart broken in record time too. That definitely outweighed anything good. As she threw away another water-damaged possession, she realized now she was the one thinking only of herself. She looked around her place for answers, not quite knowing what she should do next.

  Chapter 16

  A week had passed since Kate had sought out answers about her next path in life when she had rummaged through the damage in her townhouse.

  She sat in the empty conference room with nothing but the sketches for her firm’s upcoming fall line and was completely lost in thought and didn’t hear Laurie come into the room.

  “Everything all set?” Laurie as she walked over to the table.

  “Yup, good to go.” Kate gathered up the sketches and put them back into the manila folder sitting next to them on the table.

  “I can’t believe you’re leaving. I’m gonna miss you, truly. But I have a feeling you’re going to do awesome on your own.” Kate stood as Laurie gave her a big hug.

  “Thank you. And if ever I need a fabulous assistant back in Georgia, you’ll be the first person I call.” Kate added.

  “The South, huh. I’m not sure I’d be cut out for that.” Laurie said.

  Kate chuckled.

  “Yeah, some days I’m not sure I am either. But my mom needs me and I figured it was time for me to be there for her for a change.”

  “Who would have thought you’d be going back, not to mention running the family business with your brother.”

  “Crazy, right? Anyway, you take care, Laurie.” Kate had a grin on her face as she walked out of the conference room.

  Everything had officially been moved out of Kate’s townhouse. There were only a few things she had sent to Georgia to the new house that she would be renting there. The rest of the stuff she wanted she figured she would get when she arrived.

  It would be like starting anew, something she was really looking forward to. She took one last look around before heading out the front door. After locking up, she turned to go down the stairs and noticed someone sitting at the bottom of the steps. A few steps closer, she knew who it was.

  “Brad?” He turned around, and then stood up as she came down the steps.

  “Hey there. I was hoping I’d catch you before your flight.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I needed to explain things.”

  “You could have saved yourself the trip, you know. I’m heading back to Georgia.”

  “Yeah, I know, your mom told me.” Kate was a little taken aback that her mom even had the audacity to discuss her plans with him.

  “Well then, sorry you wasted a trip out here.” She tried to walk past him, but he managed to grab her by the elbow before she could get by.

  “I wanted things to be clear before you came back home.”

  “Clear? Oh, they’ve been perfectly clear since Suzanne called to say she wouldn’t be buying the shop because you wanted her to focus on the wedding. You remember, don’t you? It was only a few hours after you’d slept with me.

  “Look Katie, you don’t know the whole story.” His eyes were flaring with an intense seriousness.

  “And I don’t need to hear it.”

  “Will you just listen for once at what I’m trying to tell you?”

  “Why should I? Maybe if I knew what the hell you were actually trying to tell me.”

  “Katie, I love you.”

  “Oh, we’re going down that road again? No thanks.” Kate managed to free herself from his grip and headed for the sidewalk.

  “When Suzanne called you, I had broken it off with her. She said what she said because she just hadn’t accepted it I guess. I’m sorry if you were hurt. And I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get to you to tell you. I just had a few things to sort out first.”

  Kate took in a deep breath then exhaled a loud sigh.

  “Yeah, so did I it seems.”

  Brad walked up to her forcing her to be still for a moment.

  “I want a life with you.” He brushed the stray hairs in her face behind her ear. “It’s always been you. And I’m not letting you go again, dammit.” Kate couldn’t help but grin slightly with a flash of doubt across her face.

  “Well come on then” Brad encouraged.

  “We both have a plane to catch back to Georgia and I have a lot of talking to do. I mean it Katie, this is for real, you and me.”
r />   He took her hand as they walked to the waiting taxi. They were bound for home.

  A lot of things can happen to a girl over the course of a year. And Kate had not only succeeded at growing her mother’s business with Garth’s help, but her own label of clothing was due to launch in the fall.

  Granted, that warranted a trip back to New York, but this time she wouldn’t be going alone. She’d be going with her fiancé.

  Brad wrapped his arms around Kate’s waist from behind as they watched the sunset from their porch. Yes, things were a lot different now. And she wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. She laid her head on Brad’s shoulder and took in all of the love surrounding her. She was indeed at home in Georgia.

  Other Books by Antoinette Argisson

  The Long Drive Home for Christmas

  (A sweet romance story)

  Finders Keepers

  (A short romantic thriller)

  To Honor and Protect

  (A short romantic thriller)

  Credits:

  Thank you to http://www.fotocromo.com/ for the use of their image for the cover of this book.