“A little something to start before the main course.” He set it down with a smile. “The garlic bread is coming. Enjoy, guys.”
“Alittlesomething?” There was scarcely room for another plate on the table. “You mean there’s more after this?”
Jeremy snorted. “You ain’t seen nothing yet. Nora loves any excuse to feed us, and bringing you here is all she needed to let loose. I’m not complaining, though. Here, take this and tell me it’s not the best Italian food you’ve ever had.” He heaped Blake’s plate with a bit of everything and watched as he took a bite.
The flavors burst over his tongue, and he almost groaned with pleasure. “It’s great.”
The waiter set the bread basket on the table, and the aroma of garlic hit him. Blake’s mouth watered.
“Better than sex—am I right?” Jeremy filled his plate.
The three of them laughed.
“I hear you met our mother today,” Noah said with a twinkle in his eyes. “And yet here you are, smiling and sitting upright. I guess it went well. She didn’t start planning a wedding or offer to help you shop for matching towels?”
Jeremy snorted and threw a breadstick at Noah while Blake choked back a laugh.
“She was very nice.”
“Let me put it this way,” Jeremy said. “She tried her best interrogation methods and failed. Blake held strong. He handled her perfectly.”
“Maybe we need to take some tips from Blake on how to deal with her then.”
Noah didn’t sound like he was joking. Blake gathered their mother was a bit of a sore spot and he didn’t want to spend the entire night talking about her, so he changed the subject.
“How did you guys find this place?” Blake reached for a piece of bread and saw Jeremy’s smile vanish and the laughter die in Noah’s eyes. “Uh, did I say something wrong? I’m sorry, I—”
“No, no. You didn’t.” Noah’s mouth set in a tight line. “It’s something I have to get over, myself.”
“Noah—” Jeremy began.
“No. It’s fine. You don’t need to protect me. I see Blake is important to you, which makes him special to me. So I can share my story with him.”
He had no idea what happened, but it was the first time he met Noah, and Blake only wanted to make a good impression. “I didn’t mean to start trouble. Please don’t feel like you have to explain anything to me.”
“You absolutely didn’t, and I’m good. You see, when I was seventeen I was on top of the modeling world. Then one night I was attacked and scarred. All the so-called friends I thought I had disappeared once I couldn’t do anything for them. But I was glad.”
Jeremy made a pained sound. Blake glanced over at him and saw the shine of tears in his eyes. He squeezed Jeremy’s hand.
Noah continued. “I know this hurts Jeremy because he thinks he failed by not protecting me. But I’m in control of my life and you”—Noah pointed at his brother—“couldn’t foresee what happened.”
“I still can’t forgive myself.”
Blake sat watching the brothers, knowing they were rehashing a well-worn dialogue between them.
“See,” Noah said directly to him, “I never wanted that life. Our mother wanted to be a model but got married and pregnant. She transferred her dream of a career onto me without ever asking me if it was what I wanted. And I went along with it, hating it. So when the attack happened, I used it as an excuse to take myself back and do what I wanted. Go to school.”
“That must have been a huge life challenge.”
Noah gave him a wry smile. “You have no clue. I did most of my classes online at first because of my injuries and fear of crowds. I live across the street from here, and Nora’s became my refuge. They took pity on me and let me spend most of my nights at a table, drinking cappuccino and studying, when my apartment started to close in on me.”
No one knows what pain lies behind some people’s eyes. “I’m so sorry. That must’ve been awful for you.”
“It was.” Jeremy let go of his hand. “Don’t hide it. It still is.”
“Can we drop this discussion for a later date?” Noah said with a smile, attempting to lighten the mood. “I want to get to know Blake better, not have my own therapy session. I already know your point of view.” With that, he took a bite out of his piece of garlic bread.
Unable to make out what Jeremy mumbled under his breath, Blake rushed in, eager to be the peacemaker, a status he knew all too well.
