Chapter 12
The restaurant was lessof a restaurant and more of a hole in the wall. You wouldn’t find it on a map or in the Zagat guide. It was the kind of place my mother wouldn’t be caught dead in.
I loved it.
It smelled like the ocean and the tables were covered in brown paper. The walls were decorated with dusty black and white vintage photos of fishing boats and rough, weathered dock men.
Bones placed his hand at the small of my back as the hostess led us to a tucked away corner table.
“Your server will be right with you,” she said before disappearing.
“What’s good here?” I asked as I reached for the menu.
“Everything,” he said. “But I think we should start with two pounds of crab, potatoes, and corn. It sounds like a lot, but trust me, we’ll get through it.”
I nodded. “Sounds good to me.” I set my menu aside and picked up a folded plastic square. “What’s this?”
“A bib.”
“A bib? Why do I need a bib?”
“Because the crabs splatter when you crack them open.”
“We’re cracking our own crabs?” I asked.
“Have you never cracked your own crab legs?”
I shook my head.
Bones leaned back in his chair. “This’ll be fun.”
The server came by our table and Bones put in our order.
“And to drink?” the server asked.
“Water’s great, please,” I said. “Thanks.”
“Pilsner on draft,” Bones said.
I gathered my hair into a high ponytail and then tied the bib around my neck. Bones looked at me with amusement. “What?” I asked. “I’m just getting ready.”
“You’ll probably have to get that sweater of yours dry-cleaned after we’re done.”
“Then I’ll get it dry-cleaned.” I rolled up the sleeves, ready for when the crabs came to the table.
“Been meaning to ask you something,” Bones said.
“Shoot,” I replied.
“You wore a Notre Dame sweatshirt.”
I raised my brows. “That’s not a question.”
“That your Alma Mater?”
I paused for a moment and then shook my head.
“You just wear a random university’s sweatshirt even though you didn’t attend? That’s kind of weird.”
“My dad went there,” I clipped.
“You haven’t talked about your dad before.”
“You haven’t talked about your family at all,” I fired back.
Bones didn’t seem offended by my tone, and his expression remained passive. The server returned with our drinks, brought us mallets and metal crab claw crackers before leaving us alone.
Bones smiled slightly and then said, “My parents live in Florida. They own an HVAC company. My dad likes to fish and my mom likes to needlepoint. I don’t have any siblings and I grew up with a dog that looked more like a wolf than a dog. Me and my friends used to build log cabins in the woods behind my house, dam up creeks and shoot each other with bb guns. Just a normal Saturday afternoon for young boys. Anything else you want to know?”
“No, that’s a pretty clear picture,” I said with a smile. “Wild boy even then, huh?”
“It was a good childhood,” he said softly. “Happy.”
“And you joined the club when?” I asked.
“Twenty years ago.”
“Wow. So you’re…”
“Old?”
I bit my lip to stifle a grin.
“I’m thirty-nine, Duchess. Hardly old.”
He picked up his beer and took a large gulp and I played with the straw in my water.
“Your mom remarried, then,” Bones said, setting his beer down. “After your parents split up?”
I frowned. “My parents didn’t split up.”
His brow furrowed and then straightened. “Oh.”
“Yeah.” I sighed. “I don’t like to talk about it.”
He reached for my hand across the table, but I recoiled, quickly placing my hands in my lap.
“So, you’re a dog person?” I asked.
“A big dog person, not a little dog person. You?”
“I love dogs.”
He leaned forward and smiled. “Yeah?”
I nodded.
“Then why don’t you have one? You have that big empty house. Seems like a dog would be a good idea. Something to come home to.”
“I’m not ready for that kind of commitment,” I said, boldly looking him in the eye.
Our server returned to our table, carting a huge steaming pot. He dumped it over onto the table. Crabs, corn on the cob, and potatoes hit the brown paper. The aroma made me salivate in anticipation.
My eyes widened at the sight.
“Another beer, sir?” the server asked Bones.
“Nah, I’m good, thanks.”
“Okay, well enjoy.” The server retreated, leaving me to stare at the food, unsure of where to start.
Bones handed me a claw cracker and a mallet. “Don’t stop eating until you get the sweats.”
“That was so good,” I announced as I took a wet nap and wiped my hands.
He chuckled. “Yeah, I knew you liked it when we ordered a second round.”
“The crabs were small and a lot of work. But definitely worth it.” I tossed the wet nap onto the soiled brown paper and pile of corn cobs.
“How are you feeling about dessert?” he asked. “They have a decent key lime pie. As a native Floridian, I know good key lime pie when I have it.”
“I’ll pass,” I said.
“Health nut,” he teased.
“Not a health nut. I feel better when I don’t eat sugar, so I don’t eat it.”
“No coffee, no sugar. What else don’t you eat?”
“Red meat.”
“You just stabbed me in the heart.”
“And I don’t drink.”
“Do you have any vices?”
I tilted my head to the side. “No.”
“Do you have any fun?”
“Okay, now you’re starting to sound like Charlie,” I mocked.
Bones raised his hand and gestured for the check. “What do you do to blow off steam?”
“I don’t want to tell you. You’ll make fun of me.”
“Oh, come on. Now I have to know.”
“I go horseback riding.”
“Why would I make fun of you for that?” Bones asked.
The server brought the check and set it down in front of Bones, who glanced at it and then reached for his wallet to throw down some bills.
“I don’t know. Because it’s another reminder that we come from very different worlds.”
“Me standing in a bad fitting tux didn’t remind you of that?” he asked lightly.
“What are we doing here, Bones?” I asked quietly. “Why are you spending time with me?”
“I could ask you the same question. You clearly don’t want to be with a man from your own world who likes the same things you do, who’ll ride horses with you on the weekends, who won’t balk at dropping fifteen k on a tuxedo. I like you, Duchess.” He leaned forward. “I like touching you, I like kissing you, I like talking to you. You’re…not what I’m used to.”
“What are you used to?”
“Easy.”
My gaze narrowed.
He shot me an unapologetic smile. “You’re not easy, Duchess. You don’t give an inch. But that’s okay. I like working for it. So, there it is. I’ll let you show me your world, and I’ll show you mine. And maybe we’ll meet somewhere in the middle.”
I drove us back to Pie in the Sky, the lunch conversation heavy between us. I parked out front of the bakery and idled the car.
“So, I’ll see you Wednesday,” Bones said.
I frowned. “What’s happening on Wednesday.”
“You’re going to show me how to eat with the proper forks. And then on Saturday, I’m taking you to this club thing that’s going on.”
I blinked. “Wait, what?”
He grinned. “Admit it. You want to see me again really soon.”
“What’s this club thing you want to take me to?”
“A wedding.”
“A wedding? A biker wedding?”
He nodded. “One of the brothers is getting married to his Old Lady. So, you teach me not to eat like a neanderthal this week and then this weekend I’ll take you to the best party you’ve ever been to.”
“That hardly seems fair,” I pointed out.
“You think this exchange is a bit uneven? Then how about we even the score?”
Before I could ask what the hell that meant, he clasped the back of my neck and was drawing me close.
“No!” I pulled away. “Don’t kiss me.”
“Why? You afraid you’ll maul me in the car?”
I glared at him. “I smell like butter and Old Bay.”
“Aphrodisiac.” He brushed his lips against mine and then pulled back. “I’ll see you, Duchess.”
He let me go and then he got out of my car. Bones walked into the bakery and disappeared.
I pressed a button on my steering wheel to call Charlie. She picked up on the first ring.
“Hello?”
“I’m so freakin’ screwed.”
She paused for a second. “I’ll be at your place in twenty.”