I choke back a second coughing fit.Bless him.He’s not going to let this go. But it feels a little uneasy to be pressed about it when we’ve barely reconnected, and I wonder if I could trust him. “As I said, it’s complicated.”
“Can’t be.” His gaze narrows, tone hardening.
I get a glimpse of the headstrong biker he is. The shadow of his father’s legacy.
“It is.” I steal a small appreciative look at his broad shoulders and then drop my focus to the mutilated menu card. “I’ve only ever told a handful of people, and only one of them didn’t judge me for it—at first. Maybe I’m too sensitive, but it’s easier to keep it to myself than feel that sting of rejection these days.”
His lips thin. The asshole suppresses a smile.
“What?” I fold my arms, immediately dropping them to my side when his gaze shifts to the damn cartoon bear again. “I get vulnerable with you, and you laugh at me. What the hell?”
Yes, I caught his sneaky ogle earlier when he asked about my clothes.
No, I didn’t mind.
“You’re telling meI’dbe too judgmental to tell?” Jinx grins.
I rake my gaze down his fit—over his loose T-shirt and worn leather vest emblazoned with all manner of badges that proudly proclaim his disdain for the world.Yeah.He may be a rule-breaker, but in my experience, they can also be the most rigid in their views.
“I think you’d have a pretty narrow viewpoint of what it is, yeah.” Inflexible.Male.
He sighs, gaze shifting to Theresa as she enters the conservatory with our drinks.
She sets them on the table without a word, but her covert glances at me as she moves speak loudly of her curiosity. She also won’t let up—I’d place money on it.Fuck small towns.
Seems my father’s silence about me over the years has only deepened the mystery and piqued everyone’s interest.
“Thanks.” Jinx reaches for the sugar pot and throws a generous heap into his dark drink.
Theresa quirks an eyebrow. “No change for food?”
“Not for me.” His stirrer clinks against the ceramic cup. “How about you, darlin’?”
I lean back a little and cant my head. “Pardon?”
“What?” He looks to Theresa for help.
She draws a deep breath through her nose before plastering the most fucking condescending smile I’ve seen since Councillor Phelps helped me when I jammed paper in the printer on my first day at the council offices. “Don’t you go all woke and take offense to what is generally a sign of respect,” she admonishes. “His calling you darlin’ is nothing other than the man showing he appreciates your company.”
I feel like I’m back in school, being told off for speaking too loudly. Having my own opinion.
“There’s no offense intended.” Theresa sets a hand to her hip, all indications being that she waits for me to goddamn apologize or some shit.
Well, ain’t she about to be surprised.
“Darling is a term of endearment for someone you’re intimately familiar with,” I counter. “It’s also used to degrade a woman to a position of being subservient and meek—eye candy if you will. I’m neither intimately familiar nor Jinx’s eye candy. So,” I say, directing my focus toward him. “As much as I appreciate it’s natural for you to say it, I’d rather you didn’t, as it makes me uncomfortable.”
Two sets of wide eyes meet mine. The pair of them gawp at me as though I’ve grown a second head.
The air in the room thickens. A sweat forms behind my knees.
And then Jinx fucking laughs. A loud, booming chuckle that pulls Theresa’s thin lips into an amused smile.
“Oh, baby-girl,” he sighs before throwing his palms up. “Oh, shit. Nope. Sorry, probably can’t call you that either.” His laughdies down to an amused grin. “It’s fine, Kyra. Whatever you like.”
My name on his lips sends an indecent thrill through to my core.Perhaps I should have just run with darling?
“I’m not here to make you feel uncomfortable,” he explains, much to Theresa’s disdain as she leaves the room with a huff. “I apologize.”
