Real Men Knit(76)

“I could not if you could have kept it in your pants. This is serious. Yes, the improvements are looking good and we’ve paid off a little with the insurance, but we still need thousands. The opening has to be huge. We need buzz. Our reputation is going to be everything. In the end, this is a yarn shop, not your personal fiber-arts Tinder.”

“It’s not going to be looked at that way,” Jesse said.

“Oh really? Have you seen some of the comments we’re getting on social media?”

“I have, and they’re positive. We’re starting to get some traction, and it’s great. People are even checking for your ass.”

“Yeah, that’s great. And lots of woman are talking about you. Namely some of your past conquests.”

Jesse sighed. “Everyone has a past. Some skeletons in their closet.”

“Okay, Bones, you go with that. Just don’t let it bury all of us.”

Lucas groaned now and Jesse turned his way. “What is it? I know you’re dying to get your dig in.”

“It’s not a dig,” Lucas said. “I just want to know what you intend to do with her.”

Jesse looked at Lucas. His normally pretty easygoing brother looked like he was ready to fight him. Shit, what was really going on here? “What are you so worried about her for? Talking intentions and all that. Why?” Jesse asked, instantly putting his guard up.

“Of course you know why,” Lucas said.

“No, I don’t. And what’s with the ‘of course’?”

Lucas seemed like he was fighting for control of his breath and searching for the right words. “Kerry is not like the other girls you’ve been with.”

“And how would you know that?” Jesse shot back. “Were you there last night? No. Maybe she’s exactly like the others I’ve been with.”

“Watch it, Jesse.” This warning came from Damian. What the hell had he gone and done? Jesse paused, remembering Kerry’s words from this morning. Damian was right. He’d better watch it. Kerry was worth more than his snide rebuttals. He let out a long sigh. “No, she’s actually better. Kerry knows me for who I truly am.”

Lucas sighed while Damian grumbled.

“That’s great,” Noah said.

Jesse looked at Noah, his smile, he knew, weak at best. “Yeah, it is. I’m lucky. She knows me and still wanted to fuck me, no strings attached. See, she’s under no illusions like any of the other women that I’ve been with that I’m truly worth a damn to love or invest something as precious as her heart in. So you all don’t have to close ranks and get all up in arms over our Kerry Girl. She’s a smart and strong woman. She’s going to be just fine. Now help me out and let’s get the last of this yarn unboxed.”



* * *





God, he hated his brothers. Hated them just as much as he loved them. Why did they have to go and be so right, right fucking now? Was it too much for him to have a moment of normal happiness in his life?

Of course he knew that Kerry wasn’t his forever, no matter how much he wished she were. How much he wanted to fight for her to be. But shit, couldn’t he at least get some time to play pretend? Mama Joy was gone and he was alone. Didn’t he deserve that?

They were all gone and Jesse had closed up the shop, their reno work finished for the day, nothing else to be done, and with Kerry gone to work at the center he honestly didn’t feel like staying in. Damian’s words stung, and Lucas’s judgment burned. As Jesse walked the avenue, though, he couldn’t let go of what Damian had said about Kerry’s hashtag. He knew he had to check. Turning and heading toward the park between the projects and behind the firehouse, he leaned against the back of a bench and pulled out his phone.

Most of the posts had lots more likes than he had anticipated, and there were lots of comments from people looking forward to the opening. Each of the posts with photos of them brought lots of likes. Kerry was smart and a great photographer as well as a marketer. His brothers were photogenic, so why not use them? But as usual, Damian was right. There were some comments, way too many to just brush off, talking about him being a noncommittal dog. Whew. Blunt much? He could take the “dog,” but the “noncommittal” might lead to what people would think about the business.

Jesse frowned. The post with the most traction was one with an old picture of Mama Joy with him and his brothers when they were young. He knew the picture. It was from their kitchen, and the comments were full of complimentary things about Mama Joy and how much she was missed and how many great things she’d done for the community.

Kerry had captioned it, “Come on out to the grand reopening and make Strong Knits stronger than ever!” He let out a long breath, then looked up the street. The hour was getting late and the sun was shifting, preparing to make its exit, though you wouldn’t know it from the bustling Harlem block. Stronger than ever, huh?

He knew then he needed to do more to repair his reputation if that would ever be true. First stop: Bird’s and Blue. He flipped to the contacts in his phone. Next was Remmy’s Florist and Devon, and he’d work his way further uptown from there.





23




The past week and a half had been stressful—hell, the past few weeks had been the most emotionally draining of his life, and his life had been nothing if not an emotional roller coaster—but this was it. The time was finally here. Today was the day. The official Strong Knits reopening day. Scary and exciting, but mostly scary, without the assurance of Mama Joy at their backs. Jesse told himself to put those fears on the back burner, as Mama Joy used to say, where they could simmer down or boil out. But either way, today was still the day.