Broken Course (Wrecked and Ruined #3)(7)

Only Sarah doesn’t seem to be bothered by my overt gesture at all. She tilts her head to the side and does her own head-to-toe assessment of me. I wait for her eyes to travel back up to mine, and when they finally do, she gives me an unimpressed shrug.

I bust out laughing and she quickly follows.

"Come on. I got us a table already," I say, placing a hand on the small of her back and guiding her toward Emma and Caleb.



WHEN THE four of us are seated, the waitress stops by to get our drink orders.

She starts with Emma, who asks for some over-the-top specialty martini, and Caleb, who orders a simple scotch neat. Leo motions for me to go next, and I very uncomfortably ask for a water with lemon. Leo doesn’t seem to give my beverage of choice too much thought and orders a beer right behind me.

"So, what do you do?" Caleb asks Leo while dropping his hand under the table and into Emma’s lap.

Those two are the horniest people I have ever met in my life. I wouldn’t put it past Caleb to throw her down on the table in front of us all. Just knowing that his hand is within a twelve-inch radius of Emma’s pants makes me question his motives. I roll my eyes, and Emma starts laughing when she catches my reaction. Both guys pause to look at her, but she ignores them and takes a sip of her drink while still smiling at me.

"I own a security company," Leo answers, draping his arm around the back of my chair. He doesn’t exactly touch me, but it’s still a flirty gesture that makes my eyes go wide, once again sending my loud-mouth sister into a fit of laughter.

"Really?" Caleb asks, surprised.

"Yep. Guardian Protection. I opened about seven months ago."

"No. Shit," Caleb says impressed. "It was your men who took down Lucas Wilkes."

Leo swallows hard and his relaxed posture from just seconds ago goes stiff. "I didn’t know that was public knowledge," Leo says with a harsh edge to his voice.

"Well, it’s not a secret." Caleb winks, and I’m afraid Leo’s sudden attitude has flipped Caleb’s * switch.

"Caleb is a detective with the CPD," I rush out, trying to keep the peace.

"Gotcha," Leo responds and his shoulders relax. "In that case, yes. We took down Wilkes. It’s also a topic that hits close to home, so if we could drop it and not discuss work tonight, I’d really appreciate it." Leo grins, but there’s something dark behind it.

"Fair enough." Caleb smirks and takes a sip from his scotch.

We sit in uncomfortable silence for a minute before Emma breaks the tension.

"Isn’t that Tom Cole over there?" she asks, looking across the restaurant.

"Who?" Caleb follows her gaze.

"It is! We should go say hi," she announces before jumping to her feet.

"Who the hell are you talking about, Emmy?"

"Would you shut up and come on?" she snaps, dragging him toward the bar.

I immediately let out a relieved sigh that makes Leo chuckle beside me.

"I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought them." I look up to find his chocolate-brown eyes staring down at me.

Leo is a ridiculously good-looking guy. He’s not the clean-cut type I usually go for; he’s more edgy. His light-brown skin and dark hair make for an exotic look. He has a thin layer of scruff covering his strong jaw, but it’s not because he forgot to shave—it’s trimmed to perfection. His no doubt designer jeans are purposefully tattered, and the stylish, white button-down stretches across his hard chest. He must catch my eyes drifting, because his already wide smile grows before falling flat.

"Yeah, bringing the family with you on a first date is a little unusual. At least it wasn’t the parents though." He moves his arm off the back of my chair and takes a pull off his beer. I can immediately feel the distance he just put between us.

"My parents are dead. This is pretty much the same thing," I blurt out, because clearly, somewhere over the last few years, I’ve lost all social awareness.

"Wow. This just got even more awkward." He drains the rest of his beer in one long sip.

"Shit. I’m sorry. I warned you this was a bad idea."

Ignoring my apology, he points down at my water. "You don’t drink at all or just not tonight?"

"Not at all."

"Good. Let’s get out of here." He pulls cash from his wallet and drops it on the table.

"Um, we just got here," I answer, surprised, and glance up to where Emma and Caleb are standing nose to nose at the bar, ignoring everyone around them.

"Right. But this isn’t a date with them here. It’s an interview. They seem like good people, but the only person I want to get to know tonight is you. There’s a little dive Mexican restaurant a few blocks from here. Since you don’t drink, there’s no point staying at a martini bar."

"They have food here too," I state, trying to figure out his real motives behind leaving.

"And it’s really good, but we’re starting over. New restaurant, new date. Just me and you. We’re doing it right this time. "

"Oh. Um…"

"Say goodnight. I’ll meet you outside." He turns and heads out the door without another word spoken.

Well, I guess I’m going on a legit date with Leo after all.