Gone - Anna Brooks Page 0,31
telling you now, drag my ass outta there if things get bad because us coming to blows has been a long time in the making… and if it happens over you, I don’t know that I’d be able to stop.”
That was the longest he’s ever talked at once before. “Okay, Damien.”
He turns his hand palm up, and I lace my fingers between his. “It’ll be okay. They’re rich, so they’re used to being fake around other people to impress them.”
“They’re rich?”
“Yeah, Izzy. My dad’s a surgeon.”
“What kind?”
“He’s a plastic surgeon. You’ve probably seen his picture on a billboard somewhere around here.”
Um, wow. Okay, then.
And then a thought hits me. If his family has money, does that mean that he does, too. And if he does, is that how he took care of the Danny thing. “Do you—?”
“Yes, I have money, too but not nearly as much as my brother.”
“How did you know I was wondering that?”
He shrugs. “I know you. Look, it’s complicated, the money thing. Just let it go for now, and one day, I’ll explain everything. I can barely handle the fact that my brother is going to be in your presence let alone that he gets to gawk at you from across the table.”
I had no clue about any of this. Damien has said null about it, and I’m a little irritated he didn’t give me more of a heads-up because now I’m nervous. I was anxious before because I was meeting his parents, but this is different. I’m on edge that I’m going to have to break up a knock-down, drag-out fight between him and his brother. That apparently, he’s loaded. He’s throwing me to the wolves with almost zero warning.
“I know I should have told you earlier. I’m sorry, okay? I just… I hate them, Izzy. I don’t want to waste my time on them because they don’t matter. You do. And when I’m with you, I forget about everything else. It wasn’t intentional. I hope you understand that.”
I really don’t have room to talk. If I did, I’d definitely be more upset. But when I tell him about Gio, I want him to remember that I took the news about his family without making a big deal about them, or his lack of telling me about his relationship with them, until I was five minutes out from meeting them. “Yes. I do understand. Do you want to have a safe word or something?”
He chuckles. “A what?”
“A safe word, like something you can say so I know you’re at your limit and I need to get you out of there before you explode.”
“I don’t know if I want to know how you know that, so I’m just going to ignore it. To answer your question, no. I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to tell.”
“Okay, not a safe word, more like a code word.”
“If it’ll make you feel better.”
I turn to face him. “It has to be something casual, so not like marshmallow or anything, but subtle enough that nobody would suspect anything.”
“Hmm… maybe instead of a word, we should come up with a phrase.” He’s totally placating me, but I continue to play along, especially because I see some of the tension ease from his body.
“Oh, yeah! That’s a much better idea.”
He catches my eyes and quickly winks. “I know, I’m full of them.”
“You’re full of it.” I playfully tickle his side. “So how about if you need to get out of there, you say, ‘Your hair looks really pretty like this.’ And then I’ll say, ‘Oh crap, I think I forgot to shut the curling iron off.’ You can take it from there, and I’ll follow your lead.”
“Okay, Izzy baby. That works.”
* * *
“What’s she doing here?” Damien leers at his brother the second he steps into the entry of his parents’ house. He hasn’t introduced me, but it’s impossible not to see the resemblance between the two men. Of course, mine is way hotter, but there are definite similarities.
“Hi to you, too, brother. Aren’t you going to introduce me?”
Damien tugs me behind him as an answer. “What the fuck is she doing here?”
“Her flight got canceled, so she came with me like she does every month. Now introduce me to your beautiful date.”
“Damien, is that you?” The sound of a sweet old lady makes Damien put some distance between him and his brother. When his grandmother walks into the entryway, she lights up when she sees him. “It is you.”
“Hi, Grandma.” He pulls