“We’re eating here?” I questioned, trying my best not to openly express my disappointment.
Rev cocked his brows at me. “Are you insinuating this place is a dump?”
My cheeks instantly warmed. “Of course not.”
“It’s okay, Annabel. I was just teasing you,” Rev replied. “This place does look kind of like a dump, but it just so happens to come highly recommended.”
“It does?”
He laughed. “Don’t sound so surprised. Good food doesn’t always have to come on linen tablecloths and on fine china.”
“I am well aware of that,” I countered.
When he ducked his head to rummage around in the trunk, I added, “For the record, I haven’t always eaten on fine china with silver. I do know how to be normal.”
Rev closed the trunk lid. I saw then he held his leather cut in his hand—the one I hadn’t seen him wear since my first night in the hospital. He slid it on, and almost instantly, his appearance changed in front of me. The kind, approachable Rev seemed to fade away and in his place was a tougher, rough around the edges guy. It was more than just a little unnerving.
He had become so in tune to my feelings that he immediately looked at me with scrutiny. “Does it still bother you?”
Unable to speak, I bobbed my head. After a few moments, I finally replied, “I’m sorry.”
“I’m the one who is sorry. I sure as hell don’t want to do anything to bring you pain.”
“I know.”
“But wearing my cut is necessary right now.”
“How?”
Rev stared at me for a moment before exhaling a loud breath. “Look, Annabel, there’s a lot about my world that you don’t understand and you don’tneedto understand.”
“So you can’t explain to me why putting on a piece of leather matters?” I motioned to his cut.
Rev growled as he shoved his keys in his pocket. “You just can’t leave it alone, can you?”
“Being stubborn is part of me being normal too,” I countered.
I was grateful when he finally smiled at me. “I know you can be normal, Annabel. In fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen someone able to be so ‘normal’ in spite of what all she’s been through.”
“Thank you,” I murmured.
“So come on. You need a nutritional meal, and this place is supposed to have really good vegetables.”
When I realized that was all I was going to get from him, I reluctantly agreed. “Okay.”
As we walked across the parking lot, Rev kept his hand at the small of my back. When we walked inside the diner, the bell over the door tinkled, alerting the patrons to our presence. It seemed to me that the conversation momentarily halted, but it also could have been just my imagination.
A waitress came up to us. After sweeping her gaze over Rev’s cut, she forced a smile to her face. “Two?”
“Yes,” Rev answered cooly.
She grabbed some menus. “Follow me.”
As we passed by a row of booths and tables, the hardened looking truckers took notice of Rev. Then I witnessed an expression of respect pass over their faces. I knew then the reason why he had put on his cut. There was unspoken power in the worn leather, and at the moment, I was grateful for it.
We slid into a booth next to a large glass window. The waitress handed us the menus. “What can I get you to drink?”
“I’ll have a Coke,” I replied.
