She visibly swallows as her breathing quickens. “Oh.”
I smile at Iris, wishing I could reach across the table, grab her face, and taste her lips. Why I didn’t ask for a booth or to sit next to her is beyond me. As my sister would say… I’m a dummy.
I grab the utensils and scoop up an egg with a tomato, holding it over Iris’s plate. She hasn’t takenher eyes off me, though. “Do you want?” I ask, staring back at her with as much heat building inside me as the fire next to us.
“Yes,” she says, her voice all breathy.
And I know in this moment, neither of us is really talking about the damn eggs.
8
IRIS
My phone buzzesin my purse for what feels like the hundredth time since I sat down at the table.
“You want to check that?” Brax asks as he pushes his empty plate to the side of the table.
“No,” I tell him, but the sheer frequency has me worried that something is wrong.
“My phone hasn’t stopped vibrating in my pocket.”
“Really? It seems we’re both in demand tonight.” I smile at him, wondering if the night is almost over.
“My family is nosy.”
“That’s how my friends are,” I explain as I set my fork down on my plate, unable to finish another bite.
“I like them.”
“My friends?” I ask him.
He nods. “The two you were at the bar with were great. They really love you.”
My insides warm at the information I already knew. They’d jump in front of a bullet for me. I had to beg them not to go after Lucas and castrate him, because I like having them around and didn’t want them to go to prison for me. He wasn’t worth it. “They’re pretty great, but they’re nosy and bossy.”
Brax chuckles. “It could be worse, yeah? No one could care about either of us. I guess we’re lucky.”
I laugh softly as I wipe my mouth. “I don’t know if it’s luck. Sometimes they go a little too far.”
David approaches the table, throwing a dish towel over his shoulder. “Was everything good?”
“Good?” I say, giving him a big smile. “It was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten.”
David tips his head to me. “You’re very kind and beautiful.”
Suddenly, I hear a low rumble coming from Brax’s side of the table. I drag my gaze to him, and he’s staring daggers at David.
“No worries,” David says to him. “Don’t get your hackles up, buddy. I know she’s yours.”
My eyebrows pinch on their own as I stare across the table at Brax. She’s yours. What in the world?
“This is our first date,” I blurt out for some reason, not thinking before speaking.
David’s eyebrows rise. “Really?”
“Don’t even think about it, David,” Brax warns him, showing me a side of him I haven’t seen before.
David laughs as he touches Brax’s shoulder. “I’m married now, Brax. Relax. Down, boy.”
