“Here lies Betty McGuire. She rescued burgers from the kitchen fire.”
We all chuckled.
“I like her,” Crush remarked.
Christian lifted a cracker from his plate and studied it. “Shall I retrieve her number for you?”
Crush pounded the bottom of the ketchup bottle until his fries were drowning in sauce. “I think she’s more your speed. You seem to like younger women.”
“So… how’s the shop going?” I jumped in, trying to salvage this dinner.
Crush had just taken a sloppy bite of his burger, and ketchup dribbled down his goatee. “Fine,” he said with a mouthful of food.
“Thinking about retirement yet?”
With my help, he had recouped his losses after draining his account on bounty hunters and loan sharks.
Crush grabbed a paper napkin and wiped his mouth. “A man needs a purpose in life. I like fixing bikes and cars. You want me to sit around watching court TV all day?”
“No, but what about traveling?”
“Been there. Done that.”
“Oh?” I chomped into an onion ring. “When is the last time you’ve been to a country where you didn’t have a gun strapped to your side and were shooting people?”
He wiped his goatee. “That’s a regular Saturday night in my book.”
I watched Christian stir his chili. “You should try something new.”
Crush ate some of his fries and wiped his greasy fingers across his T-shirt. “You talkin’ to me or the Vamp?”
Christian sharpened his gaze. “I’ll thank you kindly to refrain from the derogatory remarks, human. Why don’t you stuff your gob with more artery-clogging meat?”
“Now you’re starting to sound like Raven. Why can’t a man just enjoy a good meal without someone harping on him?”
Christian lifted his spoon and studied it. “I ask myself the same question every day. Why can’t a Vampire just have an empty plate? But Raven enjoys her petty little torments.”
Crush gave a hint of a smile before eating a few fries. “I thought she was a handful when she was fifteen, but that was nothing compared to now.”
Suddenly, Crush and Christian had found common ground.
Me.
“I liked you two better when you were enemies,” I grumbled.
Crush pinched another cluster of fries. “One time when Raven was seventeen, she tried to give me a makeover for Father’s Day. She went to the thrift store and bought a white button-up, slacks, and a pair of shiny-ass shoes that were two sizes too small—just like the shirt.”
“Jaysus.”
“Couldn’t just stay home. No. She wanted to go out to a fancy restaurant.”
Christian tasted the chili and didn’t look repulsed. “Is that so?”
“She knew I’d never spend that kind of money on food, so she told me she’d saved up and wanted to take me out. What could I say to that?” Crush lifted his glass and pinned me with an icy stare. “Found out later that she sold some of my tools to pay for dinner.”
“Oh, come on,” I argued. “Why does anyone need five power drills? Besides, it was worth it to see you all dressed up.”
“Don’t you mean undressed? I lost three buttons by the time dessert came.” He wiped his mouth again. “Women look at us like a pet project. Always trying to fix us and not taking care of themselves.”
“No matter what you do, it’s never enough,” Christian added. “You spend years trying to be the man they want until you’ve forgotten who the feck you are. Then they treat you like rubbish and cast you aside.”
Suddenly I realized that Christian wasn’t talking about me.
Crush folded his arms on the edge of the table and locked eyes with Christian. “How did a romantic like you wind up putting a tattoo like that on your arm?”
There was sarcasm in his tone. Christian wasn’t one to wax poetic, and his negative remarks on relationships and women clearly alarmed my father.
“I’m not trying to change anyone,” I pointed out. “That’s why what we have works. Christian doesn’t make any demands, and neither do I. All I want is honesty.”
Crush shook his head.
I met eyes with Christian. “Look, I’m sorry I made you wear that tonight. I’m not trying to change you. I just wanted my father to see that beautiful tattoo without a strip show.” I turned my attention back to my father. “And I’m not trying to control your life either. If I take away the salt, it’s because I want more years with you. If I’m asking about retirement, it’s because you’ve worked your ass off your whole life and if anyone deserves a vacation, it’s you. Maybe it’s not what you want, but it’s