King Cave (Forever Evermore, #2)(79)
Hardly anything. I pointed at my chewing mouth. Stalling. Organizing my thoughts, I wiped my mouth and took a few swigs of my coffee, then stated, “You know Antonio and my mom, Angela Springs, raised me. After Antonio left, my mom passed away, and my uncle,” Ezra growled a bit, “took over my guardianship until King Kincaid took over that duty. I was mated to Dominic Kincaid before he was murdered. His power went to me at his death, and I became the Prodigy Shifter. The rest you pretty much know from there.”
My head tilted. “I also love to read for pleasure, my original degree being in Creative Writing before I was put on the fast track to graduate in Political Science. I enjoy the outdoors as long as it’s not snowing. Hate materialistic items unless they serve a valid purpose, although, I have a secret passion for tattoos,” I whispered, “They’re hot.” I cleared my throat, moving on, “I’m an extremely skilled driver. Need a getaway driver and I’m your gal. I’ll pick a romantic movie over an action flick any day, but give me a great comedy and it’ll be a toss-up…unless it’s cartoons, in which case, reverse everything I just said. I don’t agree with rules that hold no meaning except for ‘they just are’. I loved my mom, and amazingly, I still love Antonio. Also, my favorite food is ice-cream.”
Cahal stared.
Vivian blinked.
And Ezra continued eating.
Hopefully that was enough abstract information to distract them from the fact I hadn’t mentioned a damn thing about my younger years when I was hiding in the Com community. I picked up my spoon and quickly scooped up some banana pudding, since Ezra’s spoonfuls were twice as big as mine and were making it quickly disappear. Our spoons scraped against each other’s just as he took the last bit.
“I only got one bite,” I grumbled, scowling as his spoon rose to his lips. “I was talking, Ezra.”
He stared at his spoonful, and then sighed, handing it over.
I dropped my utensil, grabbing his, and hummed in pleasure as banana exploded across my tastebuds. “Thank you.”
He shrugged and grabbed my coffee cup off my tray, since his was long gone. There was half left in mine, but I didn’t mind since I had a Coke to wash down the rest of my food. I put his spoon back on his tray and picked up my fork — as Ezra sipped at my heavily creamed and sugared coffee — slicing off some off my pancake. “I’ve never been to California,” I said cordially to his parents, not forgetting they were there this time. “Ezra’s told me his favorite parts about it, but what made you choose to live there in the beginning?” I placed my slice of pancake in my mouth, looking up to them politely.
Vivian’s mouth was slightly parted, her eyes darting back and forth between us. My chewing slowed as my eyebrows puckered in confusion, my eyes darting to Cahal. He was watching Ezra, who in turn was staring at my plate, eyeing the remaining food there. Absently, I pushed my tray to the side, farther from his reach, while pushing the full fruit bowl in the center closer to him, as my eyes moved back and forth between his parents.
Cahal cleared his throat, apparently just realizing they had been silent for too long after my question. “That’s where I chose my home base. I enjoy the weather.”
A perfectly non-descriptive answer.
Which I ignored, asking, “Mrs Zeller, is something wrong?”
Ezra’s head snapped up from the food, obviously hearing the caution in my tone.
Her finger started to lift, pointing, but Cahal’s hand quickly covered hers, lowering it back to the table, and he murmured, “She’s fine. She’s just in shock.”
She was staring at our food, which we had managed to put pretty much all away.
“You should see us when we’re really hungry.”
Ezra’s head cocked. “Is that all, Mom?”
She blinked. “Yes.” She cleared her throat. “Only shock.”
Lie, then truth.
My gaze narrowed, following hers. She was staring at my coffee cup in Ezra’s hand. Casually, I lifted it from his grasp, ignoring his grumbling to not drink it all, and took a sip. Watching her. Her eyes widened marginally, her heart rate accelerating.
Ezra’s hand halted in trying to get it back, and his gaze slammed to her, apparently hearing the same thing. “Mom?” His head cocked, staring at me when she didn’t answer. He blinked. Blinked again, his eyes going to the cup I held, tapping my fingers against it. I had no clue what was going on. But Ezra stilled, eyes widening before hooding, his heart rate shooting off.
Glancing at all of them, I murmured into the quiet, “Do I want to know what we’ve done wrong now?”
Ezra’s chuckle was breathy and, placing an elbow on the table and leaning heavily on it, he used his hand to cover his mouth. “Probably not.”
“And still, I do.”
That odd chuckle again as he flicked a finger at the coffee cup. “I forgot.”
Truth.
“Forgot what?”
His eyes went to his parents, hand still over his mouth. “It means nothing.”
Not so much the truth.
“It took you long enough to remember.” Cahal rested back in his chair, arms resting over his middle. “You did it in front of my group the day Jacobs and Merrick arrived.”
Again, Ezra chuckled. “That’s right. It makes sense now.” I was pretty sure I had never heard him make that sound before. It was more of a nervous gesture than an actual laugh.