Zero either hadn’t noticed my trepidation, or he was a really great actor. Neither really garnered any confidence in how the evening would turn out.
To his credit, he opened Frankie’s door for her, standing in front of mine, ensuring I wouldn’t open it myself, and I appreciated the gentlemanly gesture. Richard never opened a door for me. Clay never let me go anywhere I needed a door opening.
Then I wondered ifhe who shall not be namedwould open a door for me.
Zero closed the door after I climbed in, and I silently reminded myself to stop comparing him to every other man I had ever met. He seemed like a nice guy, and I owed him a fair shot.
I’d said yes, after all.
Out of duress from shock.
Still, I said yes and didn’t make any effort to cancel, so Zero deserved a shot. Who knew, maybe he would turn out to be Mr. Perfect. As soon as the thought entered my mind, it flew right back out.
After backing out of the driveway, Zero talked to Frankie as much as he talked to me. He asked her about school and if she’d made any friends yet. She talked about Cami, ignoring the fact that she wasn’t in school. Then, he asked how I was settling in and if I’d thought about whether I wanted a job or not.
I wanted to be angry about the questions he asked. I wanted to see him as an asshole who judged me for not working, but Zero knew where we came from. The entire club knew.
And if I were being honest, a job was something I should start thinking about. I couldn’t stay home working in my garden forever. Slyce had set us up here, and King refused to charge us rent. So aside from utilities, which the Nyght Nymphs were stillcovering, and food, which Slyce had also set up an account for, there hadn’t been a reason for me to think about getting a job.
Until Zero brought it up.
Now I felt like a freeloader. What was I teaching my daughter? I had failed as a mother so many times, and I was still doing it now. I was so lost in my pity party I hadn’t realized we’d driven right past the diner until Zero pulled into the lot of a steakhouse.
Grilled to Perfection.
I smiled at the name as I opened my door. Zero frowned when he stepped out, and I realized what I’d done.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He smiled, but I could tell it wasn’t okay. Who would have thought opening your own door would be a reason to frown?
He fell into step beside me, Frankie in front, and when the door opened, my stomach growled loudly. Frankie laughed, and it brought a smile to Zero's face.
“Mom’s a complete carnivore.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Zero said with a smile. “This place makes the best ribeye I’ve had.”
My stomach growled a protest, jealous that my nose was getting all the attention. The restaurant smelled of butter and garlic, and suddenly, all my nerves about this being a first date disappeared in anticipation of the food I was about to consume.
The hostess showed us to our table, where Zero held out our chairs until we sat down. This place seemed fancy, at least for the Midwest; though when I opened the menu, the prices appeared reasonable.
Frankie asked a few questions about menu items, and Zero ordered a few appetizers for us to share. We chatted about superficial things while we waited for the food to arrive, and I wondered what Zero was thinking.
Did he think it was going well?
Did he think I was being rude?
He asked me questions, and I answered the best I could, but my answers tended to come out short, and then Frankie would expand on them.
Something was definitely wrong with me; I couldn’t stop thinking about Derek. There, I said his freaking name and it had me wondering if I said it two more times, would it conjure him up out of thin air likeBeetlejuice?
Derek, Derek.
I glanced around the restaurant, looking in every corner, but he wasn’t there. Hmm, maybe it only worked if you said it fast and together without any pauses between the words.
“Mom,” Frankie said, placing her hand on mine.
“What?” I asked, glancing up and finding her and Zero staring at me. I looked over my shoulder quickly and then back. “Do I have food on my face or something?” I asked, wiping at my lips.
