“Why?”
“Would you want me to answer that question if it were about you and not Parker?”
“No.” Sighing, my lip found its way between my teeth, sliding back and forth as I stared at my plate.
“Xander…”
A hum vibrated in my throat. A moment later, I startled. His thumb pulled my lip from the grip my teeth had on it.
“The hiding blows donkey dick. I won’t sugarcoat it, but you’ll find people to connect with.”
Unable to respond without losing my shit, I picked up my fork. “So, read any good books lately?”
Daniel groaned. “Don’t laugh.”
I did anyway. “This must be good.”
Conversation between us continued lightly, moving from the table to the kitchen, then to the couch when we finished eating. We had several favorites in common. We both liked documentaries, thrillers that didn’t strive to scare the fuck out of you, and political procedurals.
All that ended when the topic moved to sports. He was a die-hard Pats, Sox, and Bruins fan. Being from San Diego, I rooted for the Padres and the Chargers when I watched professional sports. I preferred being outdoors. I told him so when he asked which teams I followed.
“I’m from here, and when my buddies dragged me to games or had watch parties, we rooted for the home teams, but I prefer being in the action and not watching.”
“So did you play?”
“Team sports weren’t my thing. I enjoy being outdoors—swimming, running, biking, climbing, hiking. Camping and fishing were a great way to get away from the monotony of the house.”
“Monotony? Your home must’ve been night and day different from mine.”
I nodded, kicking myself for mentioning my childhood at all.
“I’m an only child,” I said, simply.
He cracked up. “Talk about a life I prayed for growing up. I’m in the middle of five boys ruled by a queen, also known as our older sister. The number of times I prayed…”
“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.” The melancholy of my words was unmistakable when I interrupted him. My gaze diverted from his, where he sat facing me on the opposite end of the insanely long, deep-seated couch.
“I’m sure it’s not. As much as my siblings annoyed the fucking hell outta me, I couldn’t imagine life without the fuckers.”
“So, you’re close to all of them?”
“Very. I’m the black sheep. They all live within a few blocks of each other.”
“What do they do?” I asked, utterly fascinated by his family. I’d never met anyone who had five siblings. I mean, who the fuck had six kids?
“My dad was a welder. He worked the docks. My older two brothers followed him into the union. The younger two went to school. One is a high school math teacher, and the other is a journalist.”
“A journalist and a CIA agent? In the same family?”
He nodded, taking a deep breath. “He doesn’t know what I do.”
“How’s that work?”
“None of my brothers know what I do. Neither does my pops. They think I’m a professor at one of the universities.”
“So you told your sister and your mom?”
“Just my sister. My mom died of cancer when I was in middle school. Fiona, my sister, was the only one of us of age.She helped Pops raise us. She was the one who encouraged me, Sean, and Patrick to go to school. The older two hated school and refused to go.”
