episode 13: Kai Gets Slammed
Nari breathed a sigh of relief.
At least Kai hadn’t brought her to one of those exclusive, I need to sell my firstborn child and possibly a kidney just to afford a dress boutiques.
Unfortunately…
Kai was Kai.
And Kai noticed everything.
“What was that?”
Nari looked over.
“What was what?”
“That sigh.”
“What sigh?”
“The one that sounded like someone slowly letting the air out of a building.”
Nari blinked.
“You’re exaggerating.”
“And you’re deflecting.”
Silence.
Kai didn’t move.
Didn’t say another word.
He just sat there.
Waiting.
Nari hated when he did that.
Because her brother knew exactly what she was thinking.
But he didn’t want to tell her.
He wanted her to say it.
“Nothing…”
“Liar.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You know, most brothers at least pretend to be supportive.”
“I am supportive. I’m supporting you while you stop lying to both of us.”
Nari rolled her eyes because she already knew.
Kai St. Claire was not letting this go.
“I just thought you were taking me to one of those boutiques where you have to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth for at least two generations before they unlock the front door.”
Kai stared at her.
Then looked at the boutique.
Then back at her.
“Interesting.”
Nari immediately became suspicious.
“I don’t like when you say interesting.”
“Good.”
“Good?”
“Yes. Because you usually only dislike things I say right before I make a valid point.”
“Never judge a book by its cover,” Kai said it cryptically, then opened his door and got out of the car.
Nari stared after him.
Of course.
Of course he would say something mysterious and then leave.
Because apparently being irritating was a genetic requirement for younger brothers.
He made it halfway to the boutique before realizing she hadn’t moved.
Slowly, he turned around.
And stared.
Not like an annoyed adult.
No.
Like she was a misbehaving child refusing to get ready for school.
Then he lifted his wrist and tapped his watch.
Nari narrowed her eyes.
He tapped it again.
She sighed.
Again.
And finally got out of the car.
Kai smiled triumphantly.
“I heard about this place through a friend of a friend of a friend.”
He continued walking as if she wasn’t currently having a major internal crisis in the parking lot.
“The owner is supposed to be amazing. Her designs are unique. Timeless.”
Nari followed cautiously.
“They described her style as understated elegance.”
She froze.
Understated.
Elegance.
Her eyes moved back to the boutique.
Then to Kai.
Then back again.
Never judge a book by its cover.
Understated elegance.
Oh God.
He did.
He actually did.
Kai St. Claire had somehow found a way to bring her to one of those boutiques…
Without making it look like one of those boutiques.
Kai turned when he realized Nari had stopped moving.
Again.
This time he didn’t ask what was wrong.
He didn’t give her time to think.
Or worse…
Talk herself out of it.
He simply walked back, grabbed her hand, and pulled her toward the door.
“Kai—”
“Come on, Nari. We don’t have a lot of time.”
She tried to pull her hand back.
“Kai, wait—”
“Nope.”
He opened the boutique door.
“We need to find a DRESS.”
Nari opened her mouth.
The protest was ready.
A perfectly reasonable, completely logical explanation about why this was unnecessary, why they could find something somewhere else, why this was probably too much.
And then she saw it.
The words vanished.
A dress displayed near the entrance caught the light from the window.
And for just a moment…
She forgot she was supposed to be arguing.
Satin.
Dark wine colored.
Elegant.
The fabric flowed in soft, graceful lines, shifting slightly as the light moved across it.
No excessive sparkle.
No desperate attempt to demand attention.
It simply existed.
Beautifully.
Nari stepped closer without realizing it.
Her eyes traced the craftsmanship, the details, the care placed into every line.
Kai watched her.
And smiled.
“Gotcha.”
The whisper was so quiet she almost missed it.
Almost.
Nari looked over suspiciously.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“That is not a nothing smile.”
Kai shrugged, completely unapologetic.
“I just know you.”
She rolled her eyes.
But he did.
He knew she was practical.
Responsible.
The woman who would talk herself out of something she loved because she could list ten more sensible uses for the money.
But he also knew something she always tried to hide.
Nari loved beauty.
Not because it was expensive.
Not because it impressed anyone.
She loved the artistry.
The effort.
The story behind something created with care.
And judging by the way she was looking at that dress…
Kai knew he had already won.
At the commotion near the entrance, Na’Alarae looked up from behind the counter.
She hadn’t expected any customers today.
Maybe this is someone rushing in for a last-minute event.
Maybe someone who needed a dress but had no idea what they wanted.
She had seen that look many times before.
But that wasn’t what she saw.
Instead, she saw a woman standing completely still in front of one of her favorite pieces.
Pour the Wine.
Yes.
She named her dresses.
Every single one.
Some people thought it was strange.
Na’Alarae never cared.
Artists named paintings.
Authors named books.
Musicians named songs.
Why should fabric, thread, and countless hours spent bringing a vision to life be any different?
Her pieces had stories.
They had personalities.
They had souls.
But it wasn’t the dress that held her attention.
It was the woman looking at it.
She wasn’t checking the label.
Wasn’t searching for the price.
Wasn’t trying to decide if it would impress someone else.
She looked at the dress exactly how Na’Alarae had always hoped someone would.
Like she saw the dream that existed before the first stitch was ever made.
“Pour the Wine.”
Nari startled, turning toward the voice.
Na’Alarae immediately saw the deer-in-the-headlights expression cross the woman’s face and quickly continued.
“Pour the Wine,” she repeated gently. “That’s what the dress is called.”
Nari looked back at the gown.
The name rolled through her mind as her eyes traveled over the rich color and flowing fabric.
“Because it looks like a beautiful glass of…”
“Bordeaux.”
“Bordeaux.”
They said it at the exact same time.
For a moment, both women just stared at each other.
Then Na’Alarae’s face lit up.
She hurried from behind the counter, unable to hide her excitement.
“You see it.”
The words were barely a whisper.
Nari looked back at the dress.
At the way the color seemed to shift with the light.
Deep reds.
Soft purples.
Warm shadows.
She smiled.
“It’s beautiful.”
And the way she said it told Na’Alarae everything.
Nari wasn’t talking about the dress.
Not completely.
She was talking about the vision.
Feeling a little left out of the excitement now that he had actually gotten her inside, Kai decided it was time to remind everyone he existed.
He stepped forward with his usual confidence.
“Hi!”
Both women turned.
“I’m Kai St. Claire, and this is my sister, Nari.”
He smiled.
The charming one.
The one that usually worked on everyone.
“We need to find her a dress. Like yesterday.”
Na’Alarae turned toward the voice, only then realizing the woman wasn’t alone.
Her eyes landed on Kai.
And Kai St. Claire…
stopped.
Completely.
For a man whose entire career was built on understanding people, reading moments, and knowing exactly what to say…
He suddenly had absolutely nothing.
No thought.
The world, for one impossible second, seemed to tilt.
She was beautiful.
Cocoa-smooth skin.
A luminous smile.
And her eyes…
Kai forgot whatever charming introduction he had planned.
Green.
They were green.
Oh.
And of course…
Nari noticed.
And smiled.
She noticed because this was Kai.
Her brother.
The same man who could talk his way into or out of almost anything.
The same man who always had a comeback.
Always had an observation.
Always had something to say.
But right now…
Nothing.
Nari tilted her head.
A slow smile spread across her face.
Kai.exe has stopped responding.
