I Just Can't Stop Loving You (21 page)

“Oh, them. Well, I don’t really think they’d do anything to me or Ichiro either. But I am concerned about the boys.”

“No one will get near them,” Dae-Hyun promised. “They will have to kill me first.”

Ooh, Rambo with a Korean accent. Groovy
. She stared at the handsome man and her heart did that funny little thumping thing. “Thank you, but as far as Ichiro, well, he’s one of the sweetest people I know. True, he does get angry on occasion, but everyone does. I don’t think he’d even hurt a fly.”

“I will stop him too if I have to,” Dae-Hyun told her. “Despite what you think, your husband is capable of doing great harm. I’ve done a bit of research on him. Do you know that his family was once involved with the Yakazu?”

“Yaka-what?” Shaundra asked.

“The Japanese mafia. And his uncles were training Ichiro to become a full-fledged member since he was a small child.”

Shaundra laughed. “Are you serious? I’ve meet his siblings. They are so nice and harmless.”

“Yeah, well, they might be now, but the generation of Yoshida before them wasn’t. After their parents died, Ichiro’s older brother moved them from Kagawa to Osaka to get Ichiro away, but one of his uncles followed and continued to train him.”

Shaundra thought about what Dae-Hyun told her. Her baby? A deadly killer? Well, he did slay her in the bedroom.  But no, there must be some mistake.

“I’m not telling you this to frighten you, but I think you should be aware of his family history since you’re now a part of that family.”

“Is the mafia still active in Japan?”

Dae-Hyun nodded. “But not as much as they used to be.”

She’d never considered this before, but it would explain a lot of things. She supposed she could ask Daichi the next time she saw him. “Thanks for the information,” she replied as she watched him place a piece of meat into his mouth. Shaundra sighed. Why did all the men in her life have such great lips?

A shrill cry radiated through the baby monitor and broke her fantasy. Shaundra pushed her plate back and attempted to rise.

“Sit and finish your meal,” Dae-Hyun told her. “I’ll get Raiden.”

“How do you know that’s Raiden?”

“I know his cry,” Dae-Hyun explained as he walked out of the kitchen.

Even she didn’t know that. “Wow!”

****

Satoshi peered through the curtains, checking out the audience.

“What does it look like?” Yori asked from behind him.

“A vast sea of heads,” Satoshi replied. “The place is sold out, just like Mr. Niigata told us.”

“Good,” Yori said. “I have a mortgage to pay.”

Good old Yori, Satoshi thought. His mind was always on money and practical things now that he was married to Amaya. It must stem from the fact that his wife is a shop-a-holic.

Ichiro was still in wardrobe getting fussed at because he was still gaining muscle after their designer told him to stop. Yori was starting to put on the weight he’d lost with the Amaya incident, and his skin had colored and cleared again. They walked back to the dressing room. A makeup artist worked on Kenshin, and their resident stylist, Hisao, was giving Takumijo a new do.

“What does it look like out there?” Takumijo asked.

“Another full house,” Yori answered.

“Good, I like that. That means we’re still popular.”

Satoshi smirked. Takumijo liked being the center of attention. “Nice do,” Satoshi said.

“He wanted something different,” Hisao replied.

“It is most becoming.”

“Bite me,” Takumijo replied back to him. “I know I look good.”

“I wasn’t being sarcastic,” Satoshi explained. “I really like it. The color goes well with your complexion and makes your eyes appear more exotic.”

“Next time I’ll freshen you up too,” Hisao told Satoshi. “You’re been wearing your hair the same old way since you were a teen. You can’t keep hiding behind those bangs.”

What is wrong with my bangs
?

“You should let the world see that beautiful face.”

Satoshi shook his head. “No, if you’re going to change my hair, I need something to draw attention away from me.”

Yori nodded in agreement. “He needs a manly cut.”

“What about you?” Hisao asked Yori.

“I’m game if you are. I’m ready for a new look.”

“Do you think Ichiro would let me do something with his?”

“No,” all four singers answered.

Hisao looked surprised.

“The hair is Ichiro’s thing,” Satoshi explained. “It’s what makes Ichiro unique.”

The stylist shook his head. “Those blue eyes make Ichiro unique. He’s a father now and he needs to look like one.”

Ichiro entered the dressing room and everyone trained their eyes on him. “What?” he asked, sitting down in a seat.

“Hisao wants to know if you’ll let him give you a new hairstyle.”

“Sure,” Ichiro said. “Maybe it’s time to get rid of all this hair.”

Satoshi gawked. “No,” he whined. “Don’t do it. Shaundra loves your hair.”

Ichiro laughed. “You sound like she only likes me for my hair.”

“No,” Satoshi said non-convincingly. “But it’s one of the things she does like about you.”

“So you mean to tell me Shaundra would not like me as much without this hair?”

Satoshi didn’t answer.

“I’m going to prove it to you that you’re wrong,” Ichiro said. He turned to Hisao. “Pencil me in for a total body makeover.”

Satoshi shook his head. “I think you’re making a big mistake.”

“My mistake to make,” Ichiro replied.

Someone knocked on the door. “Ten minutes to curtain.”

“Come on, you guys,” Kenshin said. “Let’s get this party started.”

****

Cristal looked down at her cell phone as it vibrated in her hand.
Now who on earth could be calling me at a time like this
? She ignored the call and let it go to voicemail. The house lights lowered and the curtains slid back.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer said. “Aomori.”

Aomori appeared singing and dancing their way onto the stage in their new costumes.

Masaaki leaned toward her. “Don’t they look great?”

Cristal nodded. The costumes were so deliciously tight and the boys were rocking that song. The audience came alive, jumping to their feet singing and dancing with them. It had just been released a month ago and it already sat at the top of the charts. She didn’t care what anyone said, the losers knew how to rock a house. Her cell phone vibrated again and then the message beeped. Someone was definitely trying to get in touch with her, but all the noise made it difficult to communicate or hear. She looked down at the display.
Tae
. She wondered what he wanted. This was the first time she’d heard from him since she left Osaka.

Aomori performed for about an hour and a half and then the curtain lowered for intermission. When it dimmed again, Aomori returned dressed casually in jeans and t-shirts. The females in the crowd went wild once they got a look at Ichiro and his new muscles. They did a few skits with the audience participating and then sang a couple of their old numbers before breaking out the newer ones. Ichiro saddled up to the lead mike and the women shouted his name from the rafters. He waved and then he spoke.

Cristal pulled out her video camera and began filming.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for coming to our show. The next song we’re about to perform is something new we recorded a couple of weeks ago to celebrate the birth of my twin sons Raiden and Ryoto. It’s called ‘
A Father’s Pride
.’”

The music began slowly with Aomori singing the introduction of the song. Ichiro removed the mike from the stand and began walking the stage so he could sing to the entire audience. He stepped out on a partition and the spotlight followed him. He began singing the most beautiful song Cristal had ever heard. Satoshi walked over to the piano and another spotlight followed him. He sat down and began to play and then he sang the next verse.

Damn
, Cristal thought. He could belt out a moving number just as well as Ichiro. The orchestra followed turning the song into a soulful ballad. The song was so beautiful and joyful it sent shivers down her spine. Cristal sighed. Ichiro might be a jerk, but he did love those boys. “Did you know about this?” she asked Masaaki.

Masaaki shook his head. “Those dummies always do stuff to surprise me.”

Cristal continued to record as Ichiro sung his heart out about how happy he was to be a father. By the end of the song, she didn’t think there was a dry eye in the house. The crowd went wild as the handsome tenor took a bow and left the stage, obviously overcome by emotions. The concert ended and the lights were raised.

“Whew!” Masaaki said, dabbing at his brown eyes behind his glasses. “That was certainly different.”

“It was beautiful,” Cristal said. “Those guys are so talented. They must have just recorded the song before we left Osaka, and got with the orchestra without anyone knowing. I bet the media is going to go crazy with this song. It’s going to be one of those numbers every father is going to want to hear or perform at his child’s christening.” She wondered if Ichiro would perform it for Cristal at the twins’ christening next month.

Masaaki nodded. “Sometimes they even surprise me how much they’ve matured. We all tend to forget that they are Aomori.” He smiled. “Mr. Niigata must be beaming with pride upstairs in the executive viewing stand with the rest of the promoters. It has been his dream all the while that they reach this degree of excellence.”

“I’m pretty proud of them too,” Cristal said. “I wish Shaundra could have been here to hear Ichiro sing that song for the first time. Oh well, she’ll just have to relive it through video.”

“It has just been bad timing for her,” Masaaki said. “Well, at least we’ll be home for Christmas. Maybe he’ll sing it for her then.” He rose. “Let’s go backstage and congratulate them.”

Cristal rose. Her phone rang again. Even if she answered it, she still couldn’t hear who was on the other end. She ignored it and followed Masaaki backstage.

Mr. Niigata and the promoters had made it to Aomori and dragged along the paparazzi too. Aomori was too busy taking pictures and giving interviews to notice her at first. Cristal made her way over to Ichiro. “That song was truly beautiful, Ich. Did you write it?”

He nodded and wiped sweat from his brow. “I wrote it right after the boys were born and I saw them for the first time. I had plenty of time on my hands at the hospital after I passed out.”

Cristal smirked. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the audience once you finished. I predict an Asian music award or an American Grammy. You even made Masaaki cry.”

“I was not crying,” Masaaki said. “I just have something in my eyes.”

“Yes, tears,” Cristal teased.

“Masaaki has always been a softie,” Satoshi said, coming over to them. He put his arm around Cristal’s shoulders and hugged her to him.

Takumijo, Yori, and Kenshin continued to pose for pictures. Cristal heard one of the reporters comment on Takumijo’s new look.

Cristal finally got a good look. She wondered if he knew that it made him look very youthful and quite pretty. She liked it and it made her female parts dampen below the waist. She chastised herself, especially since Satoshi’s cologne had the same effect on her.
Stop it, Ms. Gentry. It’s just Takumijo
. Satoshi planted a kiss against her cheek.
My, he’s in a friendly mood
.

“Did you like the show?”

“Yes,” Cristal said, suddenly aware of how close he was to her. Was he trying to get her aroused? She’d fucked up royally the last time he was in such a loving mood. Her phone rang again and she slid it out her pocket. Tae’s name appeared big as day. Satoshi removed his arm from around her shoulder.
Oh, well, I guess I’ll be sleeping alone again tonight
.

“Why is he calling?”

Cristal shrugged. “I guess I better answer.”

Satoshi just looked at her.

Cristal walked away to find a spot where she could hear, leaving Satoshi with Aomori. “Hello?”

“Hello, Cristal. I’m just calling to see how you’re enjoying Amsterdam.”

“Amsterdam is fine. We haven’t seen much of it though. We’re doing a tour tomorrow.”

“I tried calling you earlier, but the phone kept going to voicemail.”

“That’s because Aomori was giving a concert and I had it set to vibrate. How is life back in Osaka?”

“Pleasant,” Tae answered. “But lonely without you here. But that’s not the only reason why I’m calling. You still haven’t given me an answer.”

Tae had invited her to share Thanksgiving with him in Amsterdam. He planned to fly there and spend a couple of days with her. “Sure,” she said, since she didn’t have a better offer and Satoshi was pissed off at her again. “I’ll call you tomorrow to get the details and to make any arrangements you need for your stay.”