Brutally Beautiful(58)

“Must be hard pickings around here for you ladies to lock your ball and chains on someone, if all the eligible men are as creepy as Francis is,” Kade said, reaching for a napkin.

I drew in a deep breath, blew it out dramatically and laughed, “Why do all women constantly get dragged into the same stereotypical group when someone is talking about relationships, and women needing to be married, like it’s a universal constant? Not every woman wants to lock a ball and chain on somebody. It’s like saying that all men actually do think with their dicks.”

Our plates of food were placed in front of us, the smell of delicious greasy diner burger hit my nose like a freight train, and I moaned out loud.

Kade eyes snapped to mine, and a shiver ran down my spine. I just stared like an idiot back at him, holding my burger in both hands above my plate.

“But, men do. Take that moan, for instance. That had me thinking of you spread out over this table in nothing but a pair of black lace panties and your legs wrapped around my neck with those old white Converse still on your feet.” His eyes pierced me and he shrugged his shoulders and smirked.

I froze at the thought, with my mouth just about to take a bite of my burger. “Subtle. Kade. Very subtle. I should give you a taste of your own medicine and go all Harry-Met-Sally on you.”

A few minutes passed by as we both watched each other and ate, listening to the sounds of the kitchen and the wind whipping against the thick glass of the window next to us.

“Tell me about your brother,” Kade whispered, low and cautious.

“What would you like to know?”

“Everything, anything. I don’t know.”

Staring down at my hands, I began unconsciously folding a napkin and playing with its creases. “Michael was my best friend. He was brilliant, a doctor, funny, and was unbeatable at playing pranks on people. Part of me is still holding onto the small hope that everything that happened was a cruel prank, and he’ll just pop up from behind the bushes somewhere laughing his ass off.”

A faint smile tugged at his lips. “I think that’s everybody’s default setting on death. Everybody hopes it was just a big sick joke. But, think about it, why would you want a person you love to be that cruel to you?”

“I wouldn’t care. I’d just give anything for one more of our talks,” I whispered. “Are you and Dylan very close?”

Glancing up at him, I noticed his face was twisted in grief. His brows creased in the middle of his forehead and he rubbed the back of his neck, “I’m not close with anyone.”

“Not even Morgan?”

“Least of all Morgan.”

The waitress leaned across our table, then gathered our emptied plates and poured us more coffee.

“Bree mentioned you both lived in Manhattan. Must have been culture shock coming all the way up here from a big city.”

“Probably just as big as coming here from England. When did your family come to the states?”

He cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. “I was seventeen.” His expression darkened and I could visibly see his chest tightening. “So what was it like living in a big city growing up?” he said, struggling to think of anything else to talk about.

“My father always worked, and my mother was always busy, so my brother and I pretty much had the entire city as a playroom,” I tried to explain without giving too much information about any personal subjects.

Slipping the check over the table, the waitress winked at me and walked away. Kade grabbed for the check, and I reached into my purse for some cash. When I tried grabbing the check from him to see what to put in, he practically bared his teeth at me and snarled. I watched him leave a hundred dollar bill on the table and he placed his hand on the small of my back and led me to the door.