Fate's Return (Twisted Fate, Book 2)

Chapter Eighteen

"I'm sorry about Jeff," Brenan said once Jeff left us seated at a table in the far-left corner. "My cousin is a little blunt."

I blinked. "Cousin?"

"Dino's son." He nodded when I looked at him funny. "Dino's not his real father. He was living with my Aunt when she died, and then he adopted Jeff."

"Your parents didn't want him?"

"Sure, but my Aunt wanted Jeff with Dino, so what could they do?"

I smiled, finally feeling myself beginning to warm up again. "That's when your parents became friends with Dino."

"Yeah."

"That's great. I mean, it's sad about your Aunt, but kind of great how it worked out with Dino, you know?"

He opened his mouth to respond at the same time Jeff returned with the soda's we'd ordered. His gaze never wavered from mine. I realized that as long as I met it, Jeff's presence was nothing more than an irritation, an itch that never matured into a burn after a day in the sun.

"Can I order for you?"

I shrugged. "Sure. I've only been here once, so I'm guessing you know what's good better than I do."

"Everything is good."

He smiled and ordered the Sweetheart's Dinner from Jeff without looking away from me. It should've made me feel self-conscious but didn't. I was calm, but excited, like neither of us had a past as we forged a future. Rebecca? Who is that?

"So," Brenan said.

"So?"

"So, how's life?"

I cocked an eyebrow at him and we both laughed. "Loser."

"Whatever. I'm great and you're too scared to admit it."

He was certainly something. Great? I wasn't sure, so I ignored that and changed the subject. "How often do you eat here?"

"About once a week. More if the family decides it's time to bond." He raised his fingers to make quotations in the air. "But that's only about every six months or so. And holidays, of course."

I sat back and studied him. "You don't like family time?"

"It's something I wouldn't miss if it stopped."

Even if you had to stop because you had no family left? If what happened to your Aunt happened to your parents? I thought the questions I was too scared to voice and broke eye contact to watch as Jeff set our appetizers onto the table: boneless dry ribs in a lemon garlic sauce and grilled tiger prawns.

"And yet you keep coming here," I said, picking up a prawn by its tail so I could twirl it in the air before plopping it into my mouth. "You don't consider Dino and Jeff your family?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Then you would miss it if it was gone."

He didn't answer me, and I ate three more shrimp before realizing conversation had dropped. When I looked up, I found him watching me, amusement dancing within his eyes. I smiled and swallowed my food.

"What? Why aren't you eating?" Stop staring at me.

"You sure like shrimp." He pinched his mouth together to keep from laughing.

"No, I like food." I grabbed a rib and chewed as I said, "If you're trying to fit me in some category of the types of girls you know, stop. You won't be able to."

He leaned forward. "Why not?"

"Ha! That is for me to know. I'm afraid you're just gonna have to wait and see." I plopped another rib into my mouth and smiled.