“Equality is real big here,” she added, then turned and walked away from him.
“Yeah, well where I was raised, being a gentleman is not a crime.”
She lifted her hand, flicked her fingers and Cubby had no idea what the hell that was supposed to mean, other than she was calling him to heel. Following her, they entered a brick-fronted building. It was long and narrow and had a handful of bright blue leather booths down one side and glass cabinets on the other. The walls were brick too, and the rear one covered in pots of leafy green plants. The cabinets displayed a selection of food that to his eyes looked damned good.
“What do you want?” She turned to look at him, her dark eyes cool.
“Give me a minute,” he said, looking up at the menu board behind the counter. She gave him a curt nod. “Grilled chicken and orange juice, please.”
“And I’ll take the chili and a vanilla latte.”
Cubby’s fingers itched to reach for his wallet, but as she was already digging into her handbag he kept them at his sides. He watched her pull out cash and was happy with that; he didn’t want her using a credit card or anything to identify where she might be.
They found an empty booth in the rear, and the silence settled between them. Cubby was okay with that, he’d interrogated enough people in his life to not let it bother him, but then he guessed she had too.
He didn’t know this new Katie. Didn’t know what made her tick, what her likes and dislikes were, what she did for fun. How many men had she dated?
“Cubby, I know you think I’m all over the place at the moment, and that making a sound decision is beyond me, but I’m telling you that I’m okay.”
“You didn’t look okay in that bar.”
Her hands were playing with the salt shaker, turning it round and round, her eyes watching her fingers, avoiding his. She was pale, and he guessed her head was giving her trouble after the amount of alcohol she’d consumed yesterday, but for all that she was still one of the most beautiful women he’d ever known. Maybe more so now that she’d matured. The little-girl edges had been shaved away and in their place was a woman. She’d always had a laugh handy six years ago, and the sound had anyone nearby responding the same way. But this Katie was nothing like that one. This one watched now instead of reacting, and he just bet she wasn’t given to spontaneous outbursts anymore either.
“I can handle this, whatever this turns into.” The salt shaker did a couple more rotations. “This is my deal, Cubby, my life, my work, and I don’t need you or anyone, not even Jake, sorting it for me. I have enough experience now that I can cope with anything.”
“Tell me about this experience?”
Her laugh wasn’t happy, just a short, dry, humorless sound.
“Too much to ever say, but the point is that I can handle this.” She lifted her braced arm. “I’m trained to cope with this kind of stuff now.”
“Nobody is trained to handle a major league crime family coming down on your ass, princess, no matter what you say otherwise.”
She blew out a breath but didn’t add anything further as their meals arrived.
“Okay, I concede this looks good,” Cubby said looking down at his plate. “And thank you for buying.”
“Bet that stuck in your craw.”
“You paying?” She nodded.
“Of course not,” Cubby lied. “I’m a new-age man, and understand a woman’s need to feel equal as much as the next person.”
“Bull.” She laughed, this one louder and closer to that of the girl he remembered. “You hated it because your mama raised you to know better. You and the others,” she added. “You’re a gentlemen to your toes no matter how much you deny it.”
He swallowed a mouthful of chicken and thought that Buster needed to get the recipe for this stuff, because it was a winner.
“You make that sound like it’s a bad thing.”
“Not bad, just not the way things work with every man outside of Howling.”
“That’s just plain sad if you ask me,” Cubby said. “Without manners, then what the hell are we?”
“You’re a bloody dinosaur is what you are, Hawker.”
“You telling me that you don’t let any of your men friends pay for you?”
“It’s different here,” Katie said. “People don’t live by the same rules as home.”
