curse under his breath. I had conveniently forgotten to tell him that Christian would be joining us. He slid me an I should have known you were up to something look but kept his mouth zipped. I braced myself as he put on his war face.
Crush knew Christian and I were serious, but I had always accepted that no man would have an easy task in courting me. A Vampire just made it a hundred times worse.
Three glasses of water and a stack of menus were on the table.
“Mr. Graves.” Christian greeted my father with a dark twinkle in his black eyes. “I was just telling Raven how much I missed her da.”
“Cut the shit.” Crush slid into the opposite bench by the window.
Suddenly the two men were looking at me—waiting with bated breath to see which one I’d sit beside. I bit my lip. On one hand, sitting by my father would give him reassurance, but I needed him to acknowledge that there was another man in my life.
Just as I sat next to Christian, I glimpsed a pear-shaped waitress with bright orange hair approaching.
Christian lifted his glass in a victory toast and held it to his lips.
Betty sidled up to the table and gave me a soft squeeze on the shoulder. “Good to see you, honey.” She turned her gaze to my father. “And who is this handsome wildcat you brought with you?”
Christian choked on his water and quickly grabbed a napkin to clean the mess.
Crush hadn’t heard anything Betty said because he was too busy staring at Christian’s tattoo.
“This is Crush, my dad. Crush, this is Betty.” I kicked him under the table and dipped my chin to give him a scolding glance. Manners had never been his strong suit.
He dragged his gaze up to the seasoned woman in a waitress uniform. “Nice to meet you.”
“Do you need a minute to look over the menu?”
“That’s okay,” I said. “I’ll have my usual, and my father will have a number two.”
Christian chortled.
I collected the menus and handed them to her. “Do you have any orange soda?”
“Is Crush okay?”
I cracked a smile. “Perfect.”
Betty tucked her notepad in her apron. “You betcha. And for you, sir?”
Christian never ordered food when we came here, and Betty probably knew that. Still, she remained cordial even though she didn’t much care for Christian.
Christian glared at Crush, his fingers lightly drumming the table. With a look of defeat, he made an unexpected move. “I’ll just be having a bowl of soup.”
“Chili it is.” She spun on her heel before Christian could retort.
I tried to contain my laughter and looked in the opposite direction. Christian would never forgive me for making him eat a bowl of chili. Ruby’s made theirs with beans, beef, and a whole lot of hellfire.
Crush didn’t pussyfoot around. He leaned forward. “Is that ink real?”
“Aye.”
I watched with interest as Crush licked his thumb and reached across the table. When he rubbed at the ink, Christian reeled back his arm.
“For feck’s sake. Are you afflicted in some way?”
“Let me see it. All of it.”
Christian lifted up his tank top so Crush could see the details.
“That’s quality ink.” Crush groomed his grey goatee. “You do that for fun? I hear it wears off an immortal in a week.”
Christian rolled down his tank top. “It’s sealed with liquid fire.”
Crush rubbed his mouth with his large hands, skull rings on his fingers and motor oil staining his cuticles. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking exactly, but I knew that Christian’s permanent tattoo would convey the message more than words. A raven was one thing, but a raven with a blue eye was undeniably specific.
Crush shot me a look before sliding across the bench to sit in front of me instead. “You got any ink?”
“Nope.”
He eased back with a sly grin. “That’s my girl.”
“She doesn’t need any,” Christian replied coolly. “She has a million-dollar necklace around her neck.”
“I didn’t ask you, peckerhead.”
“You don’t think my face would look good on her arse?”
I slammed my hand on the table. “Will you two shut the hell up so we can have a nice dinner?”
Christian’s lips twitched.
And so did my father’s.
I gripped Crush’s hand. “Go easy, you old bulldog. I know Christian isn’t what you had in mind for me, but he’s saved my ass more than once. He loves me as much as you do.”
Crush shook his head adamantly. “I’ll never leave you. Can he say that? He obviously left Ireland. Or did they kick him out?”