Ladd opened up the bag and let out an actual squeal. I’d never seen him smile so hard before and the sight made the nervous feeling in my chest swirl. I wondered if his happiness would always have this much of an effect on me. Then I wondered what his sadness would make me feel. I decided I never wanted to find out. Right now, I just wanted to enjoy his obvious love of all things jelly bean.
While he dug into the bag of gourmet beans I had gotten at the candy store in town, I told him why I had gotten them. “I saw the jar on your desk and figured you must like them. Are they okay? If you don’t like them, I can get something else.” But I didn’t need to worry.
“Oh, no, they’re fabulous. I’ve been meaning to go into that place, but I’ve been putting it off. You got me exactly what I would have picked for myself.” As I got the truck headed back toward town, Ladd angled the bag toward me, “Want to sample a few with me?”
I shook my head, “No thanks, they’re all yours. I actually don’t have much of a sweet tooth really, never have. I don’t eat candy for the most part.” The cab of the truck got very quiet. Glancing over at Ladd, I saw he was giving me a look of complete disbelief.
“You don’t eat candy? Like, at all?”
I shook my head “No, not really. I do like chocolate, mostly chocolate cake and occasionally chocolate chip cookies, but candy has never been something I liked.”
The incredulous look on Ladd’s face was cute as hell. “Wow, that might have been a deal breaker if you hadn’t told me about the chocolate. I can work with chocolate, I guess, but it’s my mission to find you at least one candy that you like. I’m going to be your candy pimp for the near future, so be prepared.”
I couldn’t contain my chuckle even though I tried to disguise it as a harrumph. “Yeah, well we’ll see about that. My brother Lachlan has been trying to find something that he could get me addicted to for years with no luck, but have at it if it makes you happy.” He nodded his head with determination like I had just given him a military assignment. God, he was cute.
We got into town, and I parked in front of the restaurant with a few minutes to spare before our reservations. Ladd was looking at the front of the building with a little trepidation, and I wondered what that was about. But when he looked over at me, he had pasted his business smile on. That wouldn’t do at all. “Have you been here before?” I asked. Maybe he had and hated it for some reason. He shook his head slowly like he was thinking how to explain his reaction. He pulled in a deep breath, let it out, then hesitated again.What the Hell?
“No, I haven’t been here.” Then he stopped. I thought for sure he would explain his reaction. When nothing but silence continued, I realized that was all he was going to share.Okaythen.
“Well, ready to try something new?” He nodded again, just as slowly as before, cautiously maybe.What the actual hell is wrong with him? He was fine a minute ago.“Are you sure you’re all right? We can go somewhere else…”
“No, it’s fine. You went to so much trouble. Like you said, let’s try something new.” This time he had a more genuine smile on his face. I got out, then went around to his door, opened it for him and gave him a hand down out of the cab. Yep, I would have to look into getting step rails in the near future. We walked in and were greeted by the stuffy host. He gave me a slow up and down, then with a slight frown found my name on the reservation list and escorted us to our table.
The place was very fancy. I wasn’t used to eating at places like this. We had been well off growing up, but we’d always lived simply. Mom cooked almost every night, and family dinners were very important to her and Dean. She loved having one time a day that she could see all of her kids and catch up with our lives. I loved it, even if I would never tell her that when I was younger. When I had kids, I wanted to have family dinners like that. I peered over my menu at Ladd and could see us sitting around a dinner table, one or two little redheads sitting between us. I gave myself a mental shake and focused back on the menu. I was getting way ahead of myself.
Our server came over, and she had a lovely voice, quiet and sweet. She was charming as she got our drink orders. I thought for sure Ladd would be a wine drinker, but he ordered sweet tea instead. It made me a little self-conscious that I had ordered a beer. “Are you sure you don’t want something to drink? I’m only having this one since I’m driving, but feel free to have anything you like.”
“Oh, that’s all right, you go ahead.” Ladd waved his hand at my beer glass. “Actually, I don’t drink alcohol, so you feel free to have whatever.” I was taken aback by his admission. Had I missed something? Was he in recovery or did he just not drink for other reasons. At that moment, I realized just how very little I really knew about the beautiful man sitting across from me. I determined then and there to find out every last detail, starting this minute. What else was a first date for anyway?
“So why don’t you drink? I don’t have to drink anything if it’s a problem for you.”
He shook his head emphatically. “No, honestly, it’s fine. It’s not like I’m in recovery or anything. I just prefer not to drink. I’ve had bad experiences in the past with alcohol, so I just choose not to.” As far as an explanation, it was bare bones at best, but it was something at least.
Our server came back to tell us the specials, and we decided to just order appetizers for now and decide on the entrees once they arrived. We were settling into a lighthearted conversation about the beautiful chandelier Ladd had found for the stairwell leading to the apartments when everything went to shit.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Ladd Eldridge,” I heard a loud and slightly slurred voice call next to our table. I glanced up and glared at the asshole who was interrupting our date. He was strikingly handsome in that blonde, tan, jock way cocky assholes usually had. He was dressed impeccably, with every hair kept ruthlessly in place with way too much product. I could tell immediately he was rich and entitled, but I was curious to know how he knew Ladd. I had to get on top of this because from Ladd’s reactive flinch and blush at this man’s approach, I had a feeling this could go sideways fast.
“Can I help you?” I asked in my most neutral tone of voice.
The jerk gave me a once over similar to the one I had gotten from the restaurant host, then without answering turned back to Ladd. “Having dinner with the help now, Ladd? Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. Knowing what I know now about you, it even makes sense. How long did you think you could keep your background a secret from everyone?” He sneered down at Ladd. I cut my eyes over at Ladd and noticed he had his eyes trained on his bread plate, jaw tight, and his hands had a grip on the edge of the table so tight that his knuckles had turned white.
“No response, Ladd? That’s okay. I just wanted you to know that I’m glad I found out about you and your gutter trash brothers before we got serious. You nearly had us all fooled with your perfect manners and college degrees, but we all know the truth now.” Ladd flinched as this asshole kept saying obviously hurtful things to him. I didn’t understand what he was insinuating, but it didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to let this carry on one second more.
I stood up to my full height, thrilled that I was much taller than this asshole. Seeing me looming over him, the guy took a stumbling step back away from our table. “I don’t know who the fuck you are, but you’re interrupting our date, and I think you need to move along now.” I tried to keep my irritation out of my voice but knew I sounded just about as pissed as I felt.
“Well, my name is Parker Radcliff.” He barked in a tone that implied I should recognize the name. When I didn’t react, he huffed. “I went out with Ladd a time or two, but thank God I found out about his past before going further. You look a little more his speed now. He doesn’t belong with the old money families in town, no matter what his last name is.”
I was losing what fucking little patience I had with this asshole and a quick glance at Ladd, still locked in silence and staring blankly at the table, told me I needed to end this. “What the hell is your problem?”
Parker’s face turned a weird shade of reddish purple. “My problem is someone pretending they’re something when they’re not. Ladd is no more an Eldridge than you are. His dad might have been from the family, but his mother was a drunk hooker. He grew up like a gypsy in rat trap motels all over the country, and he even sold himself for cash after his drunk mother abandoned them and got herself killed. It’s just luck that he and his brothers found their family here. They’ve been living the high life on the Eldridge money for over ten years now, pretending to be just as good as the rest of us when he isn’t and never will be!”
Ladd shot up out of his chair so fast it turned over onto the floor behind him with a bang. I could see his eyes had turned wide and wild and he jumped at the loud noise, making it even more obvious how quiet the entire restaurant had gotten. With a look around, I saw every set of eyes in the room were trained on our corner. Ladd’s eyes were wet with unshed tears when they finally landed on mine. He shook his head and mouthed a silent, “I’m so sorry, Connor,” as he looked around and saw we were the center of this horrible drama. He threw the napkin he had twisted up in both hands onto the table and ran out of the room.
Parker’s laughter followed him as he escaped, and I had to push down my urge to punch this asshole for hurting Ladd so cruelly. I pulled out my wallet, threw down some cash for what we’d ordered and moved to follow Ladd while Parker still stood there laughing, oblivious to the critical looks he was now getting from his audience. “Are you really dating that freak?” Parker asked when he could catch his breath. “He’s cute enough I guess for a redhead, but he’s weird as fuck. Wanted me to dominate his ass, then when I did, he turned into a total pillow princess. Just a word of advice though, whenever you get ready to fuck him for the first time, be sure you pull the stick out of his frigid ass first. Or maybe rough him up a little bit first. Maybe you’ll have more luck getting him to actually move.”
The asshole never saw the hit coming. I pulled my punch to his face just a little because I didn’t want to put him in the hospital, and I had a man to go chase after. The sound of his scream and the blood pouring from his nose made me smile though. I didn’t stop to see what the aftermath would be, but I did notice our server from earlier smiling as she took a photo of Parker writhing on the ground with her phone. She winked at me as I went past and whispered, “If he calls the cops I’ll tell them he threw the first punch. Y’all were so sweet, and that asshole never tips more than five percent.” I made a mental note to come back here another time and tip this sweet ladybig.
I ran out of the restaurant thinking that Ladd would be long gone, but I found him leaning his back up against my truck, arms hugging himself, eyes looking down at his loafers. He looked so young and alone in his slacks, blue shirt and red bowtie, like a little boy who had run away from the school dance because he had been picked on by the school bully. I guess that wasn’t that far off from what had just happened. He looked to be bracing for something, even though the assault had already taken place a few moments before. I slowed my forward momentum and approached him slowly. At last, when he didn’t bolt, or even move, I mirrored his stance against the truck and waited.
