by Karen Renee
I gave him a dirty look over my shoulder, but there was no venom in it. Then I put some extra sway my ass as I went to pack a bag.
BROCK HAD SAID WE HAD time for me to pack a bag, but when we walked into the restaurant we were the last to arrive. When they saw us, Gabe’s eyes widened and he swallowed, Warren’s lips curled into what could only be called a father’s satisfied smile, Vamp’s eyes closed and his face went to the side while Rainey’s eyes zeroed in on my shoes. Marnie looked pleased to see us both, and Dr. Scibearis smiled tentatively.
There were four seats open at the table, two to the right of Dr. Scibearis and two on the other side of the table. The seating arrangements surprised me because I would’ve thought she should sit at the head of the table with one of her three sons on either side and the third on one side. Instead, Warren was at the head of the table, flanked by Marnie on his right and Vamp on his left. Dr. Scibearis, though I should probably start thinking of her as Pauline, was next to Marnie and across from Rainey. Oddly, there were two empty seats next to Rainey, and Gabe was at the foot of the table.
Brock’s hand at my waist started pulling me to the side with Rainey and Vamp, but I looked up at him. “You should probably sit next to your mother. It’s just a dinner and it won’t kill you,” I whispered.
His lips shifted to the side for a moment before he righted them and jerked his chin up at me, and I sat between Brock and Gabe.
Brock murmured his hellos to everyone, and I opened my mouth to do the same, but Rainey spoke before me.
“I can’t hold this in! You two look stunning together.” She stood up and motioned to Gabe, “Up, I want to sit next to Cecilia,” she looked to me, “I have to know where you got those shoes.”
Gabe threw a look to Vamp, who muttered, “Woman, you do not need more shoes in your closet.”
When Rainey rounded the table, I noticed her shoes were certainly nothing to sneeze at either. Her little black dress clung to her like a second skin, looked like it was silky-soft and was rather plain, but her shoes were statement shoes. So much so, I blurted, “Your shoes are impressive too, and look to be designer. Though, I have to say don’t let the Red Bull people see you in them.”
She chuckled. “Why Red Bull?”
I shook my head. “I’ve never seen shoes with angel wings, and as the Red Bull people say... Red Bull gives you wings.”
Gabe relinquished his seat, and Rainey sat down giving my shoulder a nudge. “Stop it! I’m serious, those shoes are shit hot! What is your shoe size? I want to borrow them.”
I shared my size and her face fell. “Dammit. I’m a six, so your eight-and-a-half-sized shoes won’t do. Bummer.”
With my lips pressed together, I gave her a sympathetic look.
A waiter dropped by to take Brock and my drink orders. “I’ll have a Shirley Temple, please.”
The waiter nodded. Brock gave me a long look, then said, “I’ll have the James Bond martini, please.”
The waiter hustled off, and Brock leaned in close to me. “Hope that’s all right, honey. After all, you said I look like a movie star.”
I leaned toward him. “You drink what you want. After all, the first time you kissed me you tasted like beer and Brock, which is a damn good combination in my book.”
His eyes went ultra-warm and he whispered, “Not cool to turn me on when I’m sitting at a fancy table with my family.”
I grinned and leaned back noticing Rainey had moved back to her seat.
Gabe’s eyes were on us and he groaned. “You two nearly turn my stomach. Not sure if I should retake my seat or stay here.”
“Stop it,” I admonished.
Gabe chuckled while giving me a smirk that closely resembled his brother’s. He looked to Brock. “Probably shouldn’t ask this, but gonna do it anyway. You stayin’ at her place tonight?”
“No,” Brock declared, loudly and firmly.
Gabe’s eyes closed, he dipped his chin, and shook his head. “I was afraid of that.”
Laughter bubbled out of me because for once I felt like I had a younger sibling.
Brock
SITTING NEXT TO MY mother at the Oceanaire ranked as one of the strangest experiences of my life. Rainey insisting on chatting with Cecilia forced me to make small talk with my mom. While I hadn’t called her my ‘egg-donor’ like Gabe and Cary had, I hadn’t decided what I would call her. ‘Mom’ didn’t seem right, but calling her Pauline didn’t feel good either. Of course, by the time I got this far in my mind I shut it down because I felt like a pussy deliberating these things.
Glancing at where Gabe sat down, I realized there were too many seats at our table.
Returning my mother’s greeting, I immediately asked, “Thanks for setting this up, but why such a large table?”
She gave a slight shrug. “I thought, maybe hoped, Gabe would have a change of heart and bring someone with him, so I reserved a table for nine —they seated us at a table for ten.”
I nodded slowly, not having any idea where to take things conversationally from there. Being a psychologist, she didn’t lack for questions to ask me.
“Warren tells me you’ll wrap up your internship with the UCF Police Department in a few more weeks. Will you graduate this semester also?”
I gave her a slow, reluctant nod, adding, “Yes. I’ll be graduating at the end of the term.”
She smiled bright, but shyly. “That’s a big accomplishment, Brock. I’m very proud of you, even if you don’t think I have the right to be.”
I inhaled deep and held it for a while. It wouldn’t be cool to point out I did all this without any help from her.
“Brock, this is the second time you’ve recently been around your mother, but you should know I’ve kept her well abreast of your and Gabe’s college careers.”
I shifted to glance at my father, but the waiter chose that moment to drop by with our drinks. He was a nice-looking bastard and he didn’t shy away from mildly flirting with my girl.
“The James Bond for the mister, and a Shirley T for madam.” He gave Cecilia a knowing look. “I call it a Shirley T because of the song playing on our in-house system. Jake Shimabukuro isn’t widely-known, but this song is all about imbibing one too many Shirley Temples, and to put it mildly, it rocks. I’ll be back shortly for your dinner orders. Enjoy,” he said winking at Cecilia.
I bit back a growl. His flirting with her bothered me, but she hadn’t returned it.
My girl’s head tilted deeply to the side as she tried to take in the song. The song was catchy as all hell because of how delicately but purposefully playful it sounded. Before I knew it, I realized this instrumental song embodied how Cecilia made me feel. Her behavior, her humor, her distinctive way of looking at and relating to the world was just like this guy riffing on a ukulele. I had no idea anybody could riff on a tiny guitar, but the audio proof cut through the air of this stuffy restaurant.
“I love it,” she breathed, and again I wished so fucking hard I wasn’t here with my family.
I wanted to plunder her mouth right now because of course she loved this song. And I wanted to prove to her that I understood how much she loved this song.
With a hard look at her, I let my eyes do the talking before I said, “Yeah. I love it too, honey.”
Her eyes lit like the world revolved around me, and I closed my eyes while my head shook in disbelief.
Marnie’s voice cut into my reverie
“Much as I love watching you two lovebirds enjoy this atmosphere, I daresay our waiter will expect our entrée orders when he returns. So, how about you two focus on that instead of whatever it is that has you making googly eyes at each other? Not that it isn’t cute, it just won’t get any food in my belly, or Warren’s, in the meantime.”
I heard Cecilia gasp, but then she erupted in throaty, loud laughter and the humor of the situation forced itself on me and I threw my head back with laughter too.
Cecilia leaned further forward so Marnie could see her. “Well, I’
m just planning on having the Seafood Chop Salad, so no worries from me.”
“Cecilia, that is not nearly enough food for you,” I argued on a sigh.
From the corner of my eye I saw a head nodding before Pauline said, “He’s right, Cecilia. You should definitely eat more than a salad.”
While I didn’t look back to my mother to approve her backing my stance, I saw from Cecilia’s look that she was annoyed. Then my father cut into the conversation.
“Just so you know, Marnie and I arrived before any of you besides Gabe and we asked for double orders of Parmesan Truffle Fries and the bacon tacos which are part of the Happy Hour menu, so Cecilia’s more than welcome to have some of those.”
Before I could look at my father, Cecilia’s bright eyes shot to me. “Bacon tacos? I mean, I love tacos. And I love bacon, but how can anyone... chef or otherwise, put bacon in a taco as the sole meat?”
Between her eyes and the excited tone of her voice, I grinned. “I don’t know, Sunflower. But I suspect we’re soon going to find out.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Got It Just as Bad
Cecilia
My mind had definitively been blown.
Not to be dramatic or anything, but seriously. Fish tacos? Okay. Chicken tacos? Sure thing. Beef tacos...ground or carne asade? Bet your ass. But, bacon tacos... as in together, as in one and the same. Um, no, not voluntarily.
I contemplated the scraps on my plate and blurted, “I think bacon is a super food.”
I felt eyes on me, but the harshest feeling came from Gabe. “What?” I asked, turning to him.
Gabe gave me a sideways glare. “You been drinkin’? Because bacon is the opposite of super foods like kale and shit like that.”
I smiled. “No, I don’t mean super food as in ‘super foods’ like the health-conscious talk about. I mean, bacon is the super-hero of foods. It can do anything. Breakfast, check. Lunch, have a BLT. Now, dinner, not only could you opt for Spaghetti Carbonara, you can now have a bacon taco! Who knew?”
From my left, I heard Brock exhale through his nose and wheeze with his restrained laughter. “Honey,” he choked.
My eyes shot to Vamp who leaned toward us. “You sure you’re sober? Because no joke, woman. That shit is fucked up.”
My eyes bulged, but rather than let my mouth drop open, I said, “Vamp, mind your mouth around your mother! And your step-mother for that matter!”
Rainey shook her head at us both. “Never mind his language toward Marnie, Cecilia. She’s used to it by now. But, I’m thinking we should hit the ladies room before the food comes.”
I smiled as demurely as I could. “Thanks, Rainey, but I’m gonna pass. I see I’ve said too much now, so I’ll keep my trap shut. Besides, I don’t want my salad to get warm or anything.”
She rolled her eyes while she chuckled. “Suit yourself, Stubborn-girl.”
I watched Vamp watching Rainey walk away. It made me wonder if Brock looked at me like that when I didn’t know it. I heard my hair moving next to my ear before I felt Brock’s lips there.
“He’s got it bad for her, but then again, he always did. And you can wipe that look off your face. I’ve got it just as bad for you, but the difference is I learn quicker from my mistakes than my big brother does.”
I fought an eyebrow quirk because Vamp did not strike me as the type to fuck up with women. Far from it. Suddenly the water I had been drinking caught up with me.
I smiled at Brock. “That’s good to know, honey. You know, I think I do need to use the restroom. I’ll be back in a moment.”
He stood before I could and helped me move my chair back over the thick carpet. With a grateful grin, I shook my head at his overt gentlemanliness, but still whispered my thanks.
I walked into the fancy restroom and saw Rainey standing in front of a large bowl-sink washing her hands. The grin she shot my way was sly.
“I knew you needed to come to the bathroom. It’s good you waited, there are only two stalls, so you’d have been waiting on me anyway. I’ll see you back at the table.”
I took care of business and washed my hands. Exiting the restroom, I noticed the fire exit to my right and moved down the hallway. As I came even with the men’s room a clean-shaved, very large, bulky man appeared at the mouth of the hall while the men’s room door opened. The man at the mouth of the hall grinned at me, but something about it set off my anxiety. When I looked to the men’s room door, I saw a bearded man with the remnants of a shiner and I knew he was the man who’d got into fisticuffs with Brock and Gabe.
I ran back toward the women’s room and managed one shrill scream before the guy with the shiner had a hand over my mouth. I knew it was him because I could feel his beard against my cheek. He tried to wrap a hand around my waist, and I lunged for the fire escape but he pulled me back.
“Ah-ah, Cecilia.”
He backed us both up and to my utter relief I noticed a standard fire alarm set in the wall. Miraculously, he took us right to it so I reached out and pulled on the handle. High pitched wailing filled the air, and the hand at my mouth went to my hair and slammed my head into the wall.
“You stupid bitch!” he yelled in my ear.
The woman who had been in the other bathroom stall came out of the restroom, but the clean-shaved man pulled a gun and she screamed as she retreated back into the bathroom. Over the din of patrons and staff leaving the building, I heard Brock shouting.
“Cecilia!”
Some other man shouted, “Sir, you must leave the building.”
My stomach sank when I heard Brock shout my name again, but he sounded closer.
A devious glint hit the other man’s eyes, and when he turned around, Brock was at the front of the hall.
To my dismay, another man walked up to Brock trying to get his attention. He looked like the manager or someone who worked at the restaurant, and when Brock wouldn’t turn to him he finally looked down the hallway. In the same moment, the man with the gun raised his arm and I screamed.
The gun went off, but with the way Brock threw his body sideways and to the ground at the same time, I knew he hadn’t been hit. My focus shifted to the restaurant employee. I saw him leaning into a table with an arm as blood stained his white dress shirt at the top of his other shoulder.
The shock of silence hit my ears almost as hard as the wailing alarm had. The quiet did not last long before a police officer rounded the corner to the hallway and his deep voice commanded, “Police. Freeze. Drop your weapon. Slowly.”
I heard something click. I thought it was a gun, but a different alarm sounded and the bastard dragged me out the back door as the cop fired his weapon.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Can't Have It Both Ways
Brock
Between the blaring of a new fire alarm and the gunshots, I would be lucky if I didn’t lose some of my hearing permanently tonight. My adrenaline had me pushing up from the floor fast.
The police officer immediately threw a hand out toward me, shouting, “Freeze.”
My teeth ground together hard enough I felt my jaw muscle bulge. I couldn’t just stand here.
“My woman was just dragged out the door,” I shouted over the alarm.
“Units are on the way.”
On the way? I didn’t have time for units that weren’t already there.
He moved to the man in front of us who had dropped his weapon to the ground. The officer’s shouts must have been discernible over the horrendous noise because the asshole put his hands behind his head and got on his knees. I couldn’t watch the officer cuff this guy. My body itched to run out the door. I moved to do that, but the officer stopped me with his eyes as he fastened the last cuff on the thug.
The alarm stopped, and the officer said, “You are not going out that door, sir.”
The restaurant manger made a groaning sound. I turned to him, but heard the officer talking into his shoulder mic calling for an ambulance. My brother Gabe was already at the man�
�s side applying pressure to the wound with cloth napkins.
As I strode to our table, my jaw dropped open to see Clint shoving the asshole who had grabbed Cecilia into the restaurant. My lips moved to ask where my woman was, but she clicked-and-clacked her way in, right behind them.
In the craziness, I hadn’t realized there was a hard, pressing feeling in my chest. It only hit me how strong the sensation was when I felt it unravel upon seeing Cecilia. Such a strong relief felt foreign to me, but it drove home how much I loved her.
I wrapped her tight in my arms shoving my face in her neck. “Jesus Christ, I’ve never been so scared in my life, Sunflower.”
She gave a nervous chuckle. “Scared? About what? Your buddy was right at the corner of the building. He clocked that asshole on the side of the head. I’m stunned his hand isn’t broken.”
I pulled away from her neck, cupping her face with my hands. “Sounds like I owe him huge,” I said just before I kissed her long and hard.
NONE OF US WERE IN the mood to eat our entrées at the fancy restaurant by the time the police finished questioning each of us. My mother offered to do something at her house, but I told her I would need some time on that. I never heard how Gabe or Vamp responded to her.
The notion of spending time with her now wasn’t sitting well with me. It would take time for me to get over being abandoned for the bulk of my childhood. It wasn’t that I wanted to make her grovel, and it wasn’t that I thought her intentions were disingenuous. I just didn’t understand why she wanted something to do with me and my brothers now, when before she didn’t push harder against Pop’s refusal.
While I dealt with our fast food take-out trash, Cecilia took a shower. Before I could head to my bedroom, someone knocked on the door. Gabe wasn’t home yet, so I hoped it wasn’t some woman looking for him.
Looking out the peephole, I saw Vamp and opened the door.
“What brings you by, man?”