I watched Christian stir his chili. “You should try something new.”
Crush ate some of his fries and wiped his greasy fingers across his T-shirt. “You talkin’ to me or the Vamp?”
Christian sharpened his gaze. “I’ll thank you kindly to refrain from the derogatory remarks,human. Why don’t you stuff your gob with more artery-clogging meat?”
“Now you’re starting to sound like Raven. Why can’t a man just enjoy a good meal without someone harping on him?”
Christian lifted his spoon and studied it. “I ask myself the same question every day. Why can’t a Vampire just have an empty plate? But Raven enjoys her petty little torments.”
Crush gave a hint of a smile before eating a few fries. “I thought she was a handful when she was fifteen, but that was nothing compared to now.”
Suddenly, Crush and Christian had found common ground.
Me.
“I liked you two better when you were enemies,” I grumbled.
Crush pinched another cluster of fries. “One time when Raven was seventeen, she tried to give me a makeover for Father’s Day. She went to the thrift store and bought a white button-up, slacks, and a pair of shiny-ass shoes that were two sizes too small—just like the shirt.”
“Jaysus.”
“Couldn’t just stay home. No. She wanted to go out to a fancy restaurant.”
Christian tasted the chili and didn’t look repulsed. “Is that so?”
“She knew I’d never spend that kind of money on food, so she told me she’d saved up and wanted to take me out. What could I say to that?” Crush lifted his glass and pinned me with an icy stare. “Found out later that she sold some of my tools to pay for dinner.”
“Oh, come on,” I argued. “Why does anyone need five power drills? Besides, it was worth it to see you all dressed up.”
“Don’t you mean undressed? I lost three buttons by the time dessert came.” He wiped his mouth again. “Women look at us like a pet project. Always trying to fix us and not taking care of themselves.”
“No matter what you do, it’s never enough,” Christian added. “You spend years trying to be the man they want until you’ve forgotten who the feck you are. Then they treat you like rubbish and cast you aside.”
Suddenly I realized that Christian wasn’t talking about me.
Crush folded his arms on the edge of the table and locked eyes with Christian. “How did a romantic like you wind up putting a tattoo like that on your arm?”
There was sarcasm in his tone. Christian wasn’t one to wax poetic, and his negative remarks on relationships and women clearly alarmed my father.
“I’m not trying to change anyone,” I pointed out. “That’s why what we have works. Christian doesn’t make any demands, and neither do I. All I want is honesty.”
Crush shook his head.
I met eyes with Christian. “Look, I’m sorry I made you wear that tonight. I’m not trying to change you. I just wanted my father to see that beautiful tattoo without a strip show.” I turned my attention back to my father. “And I’m not trying to control your life either. If I take away the salt, it’s because I want more years with you. If I’m asking about retirement, it’s because you’ve worked your ass off your whole life and if anyone deserves a vacation, it’s you. Maybe it’s not what you want, but it’s just my way of looking out for you. I’ve got a suitcase full of my own issues, so I’m hardly in a position to tell anyone what they should do with their life.”
When I leaned back, Christian reached under the table and held my hand.
“I’ll be regretting the chili later,” he said. “But you were right. It’s not half bad.”
Crush pushed the salt away. “I don’t need that stuff anyhow. They already salt it before it gets to the table.”
When Christian squeezed my hand again, I cautiously looked into his insightful eyes. He studied me for a beat, and by his perplexed gaze, he couldn’t read me. Perhaps my furrowed brow and slowing heart rate signaled something was amiss, or maybe it was when I averted my eyes.
Had I pressured him into this too quickly? Even my own father hadn’t been ready for the love of his life despite his tattoo and even my mom’s pregnancy. They’d had an amicable relationship, but it wasn’t what it should have been. Crush had demons he wasn’t able to shake.
What worried me most was that Christian and I had a few of our own.
Chapter 2
