Her brows lift, but her fingers tighten over me. “Shit.”
“Yeah. We don’t talk to him.” I clear my throat before the rest of the story comes out. That my dad and Lane have minimal contact, and he wants to stay in touch with me. I want to tell her how I can’t bring myself to talk to him. I blame him for so much. My mom had a metric ton of issues, but the best and worst thing that man did for us was leave. “Mom never married him and that’s why we have the same last name as Myles, but we’re only half brothers. Otherwise, I’d be Cruz Lawson.”
The corner of her mouth tips up and my stomach acid calms down. “From the way you talk about him, you’re not half anything with Myles.” She draws her hand away, and I wish we were on the same side of the table.
Warmth fills my chest like it always does when I think of the family I never thought I’d have. “I might’ve been nineteen when I went to work for Mae, but she became the mom I never had. And all the rest of the Baileys kicked me and Lane into shape, especially the guys. It was a weird mix of father figures and bossy older brothers.”
She laughs. “I asked my dad once if he ever wanted a son, and he said that Clem and I came out so perfect, how could he ever ask for more?”
“I knew your dad was a cool guy.”
“If small talk was an Olympic sport, he’d be a five-time gold medalist.”
“Just so happens, I’m a competitor as well. But I liked him.”
“He liked you.”
“It means a lot to hear that.” There was a time I would not have been the man dads wanted around their daughters. I wasn’t a cheat, but I could ghost a girl like a haunted mansion. Now’s not the time to cop to that. I want her to like me, not distrust me. “I guess you don’t grow up with a mom like mine and not have some issues.”
“You haven’t carried any of those issues into adulthood.” She’s not earnest, just matter of fact. “You didn’t throw away everything the Baileys taught you.”
“Once Mae made us dinner, I was hooked. Ain’t no way I was giving up three solid meals a day.”
I’m chuckling, but compassion fills her eyes. “You weren’t getting fed?”
My stomach churns hard around the fajita I just ate. I opened the door, and suddenly I don’t want to go through it. If I delve into my childhood, will the last fourteen years vanish like they never happened? Will I finish scaring Elodie off? If she knew what I was like in the pre-Bailey years, she’d tell me to have a good day and order me not to hit on her again. But in order to keep this thing between us open and growing, I have to share something from the part of my life I don’t like to remember.
She shakes her head. “Oh my gosh. It’s not my business. I’m so sorry.”
“No. It’s fine. Food could be... sporadic.” Low-quality shit that the bugs sometimes wouldn’t touch. “Don’t worry about prying. I try to be an open book.” Mostly.
“I can’t say the same.”
Damn. She’s honest. “I’m a patient man.”
“What if I’m not worth it?” She’s not asking playfully.
“You are.” Who would make her think otherwise? I’m not at all sorry for her to know that I’m not giving up. “I’ve learned to be patient when it’s important, and when you want to tell me something, you will.”
“You speak as if we’re going to be doing more of this again.” There’s a hint of a smile on her face.
“I’d like to,” I say honestly. “What if I cook for you?”
Her eyes widen. “Cook for me?”
“Yeah. You said you don’t like to have to cook for anyone, so let me give it a shot. I have a smoker and I’m not afraid to use it.”
“I’m a vegetarian,” she says.
Didn’t she order carne asada? I’m rolling with it. Whatever she wants. “Smoked eggplants.” I’m only half joking. I’ll try it. Scouring my brain for nonmeat ideas for the smoker and grill, I snag one. “Grilled pineapple and banana?”
She laughs and her eyes twinkle. “I’m kidding. While that sounds good, I haven’t become a vegetarian since we had lunch together.”
Her smile is Cupid’s arrow straight to my chest. I’m hooked. I made her laugh, and it’s going to become my hobby for the rest of my life. I just have to convince her of it. “It wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Yes, it would. I’m a Montana girl born and raised, and I can’t drive past all these ranches and not think about a good fillet and all the things I can do with it. Plus, I can’t grow a single vegetable.”
This is the most open she’s ever been with me. Before, anything I learned about her seemed to be despite her best efforts. “Mae taught me how to garden, collect eggs, and prune the rosebushes. Need any of that, I’m your man.”
