“You don’t have to afford Lee. He’s mi hermano and Indy’s your friend and his woman, this is a freebie.” Indy’s your friend and his woman, this is a freebie.”
“I can’t…”
“Would you stop saying ‘I can’t’?” he said.
“Wel , I can’t,” I pointed out.
“You can, Jet. These are your friends. Do you think they’re out here for thril s?”
I looked back over Eddie’s shoulder and took in Al y and Tex. Al y and the black guy were leaning on the Mustang and talking. Tex was obviously impatient and scowling back and forth between Indy and Lee and Eddie and me like he was watching an annoying tennis match.
My heart clenched and I got that strange pleasant feeling, like the one that kept coming at me during my Eddie Date.
“I think they’re partially out here for thril s,” I tried to cover up how moved I was by this show of support.
When I looked at Eddie again I saw the dimple was out.
“I expect you’d be right about that.”
I decided to change the subject. “Who’s the black guy?”
“Mi otro hermano. Darius. We al grew up together.”
“He doesn’t come into Fortnum’s. Is he a cop too?” Everyone in Eddie, Lee and Indy’s circle were cops, private investigators or crazy people. Darius didn’t look crazy so I took a wild guess.
“Drug dealer,” Eddie said like he would say “shoe salesman”.
I stared at him.
“Real y?” I breathed.
He nodded.
“Why don’t you bust him?” I asked.
The dimple was back, this time with a ful -fledged smile.
“I don’t bust him because he’s my brother.” Eddie’s arms tightened around me and his head dipped down, “It’s a long story. I’l tel you sometime when we’re not yel in’ at each other, sleepin’ or fending off our nutcase families.” My bel y curled.
“Okay,” was al I could think to say.
He watched me for a beat. “Can I trust you not to go after your Dad?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Does that nod mean I can trust you or you’d rather not lie out loud?”
I couldn’t help it, he figured me out, so I smiled at him.
His eyes warmed.
“I could fal in love with that smile,” he murmured as if he was talking to himself and I wasn’t even there.
My entire body froze.
He felt it, his lips turned up at the corners, then he touched them to mine.
Then he said, “One thing at a time.”