We eat in the kitchen, with the small table piled high with food. We eat our burgers while still partially wrapped in paper and the fries dumped straight onto plates.
Natalie takes her first bite of her burger and lets out a soft sound of approval.
“Oh wow. This is really good.”
“Told you,” Rick says proudly. “Rialto Ribs is the best place in town to get a burger.”
She chews, glancing between us. “So, do you two always eat like this?”
I shrug. “Pretty much.”
“We’re men of habit,” Rick adds, “who enjoy simple pleasures.”
She smiles at that, clearly liking his honesty. “I like everything about Las Salinas so far, especially the two of you.”
She likes me too. I must admit that her words are easy on the ears and the ego. I keep my eyes on my food, reminding myself of the boundaries Rick laid down earlier. His sister is off limits, and no exceptions will be made. Especially not for hefty ass fuckers like me who could accidentally crush her without meaning to.
When we finish with the burgers, Rick clears his throat. “Alright. Now is the moment we’ve really been waiting for. The best damn cake this side of the Grand Canyon.”
He opens the bakery box and pulls the cake out. It has pink frosting, white piping, and strawberries glistening on top.
When Natalie freezes, Rick murmurs, “You’re supposed to make a wish,” grabbing three forks. “Even if it’s just a small one.”
“It’s not my birthday,” she says.
“I’ve missed all your birthdays, so I gotta make up for it,” he says as he lights the single candle he must have grabbed on impulse and sticks it into the frosting.
She hesitates. “I don’t really know what to wish for.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I say quietly. “Just think it. You don’t have to say it out loud.”
That seems to help. She nods, closes her eyes for a brief second, then opens them again. “Whenever you’re ready.”
She blows it out in one soft breath.
We eat cake straight out of the box, all leaning forward around it. We get frosting on our mouths and crumbs on the table, but Natalie just laughs when Rick gets a smear of pink on his nose and doesn’t notice until she points it out.
It’s shockingly easy to like this woman. Right in the middle of having the best time of our lives, Natalie’s phone pings.
It’s a small sound, barely noticeable, but I see the change in her expression the second she reads the message. Her smile falters and her shoulders tense up a bit.
Rick notices too. “Is everything okay?”
She looks down at the screen one more time, her brows knitting. “Yeah. I mean, probably.”
“You sure?” he presses, gentler now.
She swipes the screen dark and sets the phone face down on the counter. “It’s nothing. Just my foster father wondering where I am.”
“You didn’t tell them you were leaving?” Rick asks.
I don’t miss the way her fingers curl around the phone, or how she hesitates to let go of it for an extra second. Or how she suddenly won’t meet either of our eyes.
Rick exchanges a glance with me. He doesn’t push, but I can tell it’s eating at him.
“We’ve gotta head out soon anyway,” he says after a beat. “Bear and I have work to do at the clubhouse.”
Her head snaps up. “Oh. Right. I forgot you were supposed to be working today.”
