At Peace (The 'Burg #2)(143)
“Hi Elaine.”
“What’s shakin’?” Elaine asked as Cal moved Vi forward.
“World’s upside down,” Violet answered.
Elaine finally grinned. “I can see.”
Cal didn’t catch what Vi did, but whatever it was, Elaine’s grin grew to a smile and Vi walked with him through the restaurant as eyes followed.
He let her go when they hit a booth, the last one against the back wall, more privacy.
She slid in, he slid in beside her.
She looked at him and asked, “Can you sit opposite?”
“No,” he answered.
“Why?”
“I like you at my side.”
Her expression gentled but she said, “I like my space.”
“Say good-bye to that,” Cal advised.
“What?” she whispered.
“Baby, I’m moved in, you got a new dog and, tomorrow, you got Dane sleepin’ on your couch. You like space, you’re f**ked.”
Her face ungentled and grew pale. “You’re moved in?”
“I moved in this morning before you got home.”
“Where?”
“Your room.”
“How?” Her voice was rising.
“How?” Cal repeated.
“Yes, how?”
“Packed some shit, brought it over, unpacked it,” Cal explained unnecessarily.
“Where’d you put it?”
“In your room.”
“Yeah, but where?”
“Jeans and boots in the closet, dumped some tees in a drawer, razor in the bathroom. Done.”
“Holy crap,” she whispered then jumped when Elaine slapped two menus on the table.
“Should I have bothered with those?” she asked a pertinent question, tipping her head to menus no person who’d lived in that town longer than a month hadn’t memorized.
“Not for me,” Vi told her, “I want a reuben.”
“Burger,” Cal said.
“Cheese?” Elaine asked Cal.
“Yep.”
“Cheddar, swiss, or jack?” Elaine went on.
“Surprise me,” Cal told her and Elaine grinned again.
“Drinks?” Elaine continued.
“Diet Coke,” Vi ordered.
“Beer,” Cal said.
“Bud, Coors, Bud Light, Coors Light, Heineken –” Elaine listed.
Cal cut her off. “Bud.”
“Onion rings, fries or both?” Elaine went on.
“Fries,” Vi answered.
“Both,” Cal told her.
“Gotcha.” Elaine shoved her pencil behind her ear and slid the menus back off the table. She’d had her pad in her hand while they ordered but this was either for show or she held it by habit. She hadn’t written a word before she walked away. The order would come to the table as they’d asked for it and the check would come with a total at the bottom, that was it and it would be the right total. That was Elaine. That was Frank’s.
“Joe,” Violet called and he turned to see she was out and out fretting so he turned more fully to her and dipped his head close.
“Relax, buddy,” he said softly.
“This is going really fast.”
“I know.”
“We need to talk.”
“About what?”
“Nadia.”
Cal pulled back. “What about her?”
“Who is she?” Vi asked.
Fuck.
He did not want to get into this shit and what was more, she didn’t.
“Vi –” Cal said low.
“No, I don’t want to know. What I want to know is, honest, right here, did you sleep with her while you were sleepin’ with me?”
Cal locked down his temper. “I already told you the answer to that.”
“Okay, then, is she gone?”
Nadia was never gone. Nadia was always a phone call away. He didn’t share that.
“Yeah.”
“Definitely?”
“Vi, not a big fan of askin’ or answerin’ twice.”
“You lied to me.”
“There was a reason.”
“And that was?”
“To save you from me.”
Her torso moved back and her eyes got big.
Cal wrapped a hand around the back of her neck, pulled her close and leaned into her.
“Thought I was savin’ myself from you, but I was savin’ you from me.”
“I –” she started.
He cut her off. “You see these scars on my face?”
Her eyes went to his cheek then back to his. “Yes.”
“Bonnie gave them to me. So high, her head was in the clouds but it wasn’t a good trip. She got pissed at somethin’, I don’t even know what, she came at me. Got me with her nails.”
“Joe,” she whispered, her fingers curling tight around his thigh.
“She got like that a lot. When she was pissed, she’d scream the f**kin’ house down and it wasn’t unusual she came after me. She only marked my face and, you probably don’t know this, buddy, but you gotta come hard and dig deep to make marks like these with your nails.”