Rubbing his red forehead, Vaughan did not appear impressed. Or any more knowledgeable. Yet.
“When women read romance books, one of two things generally happen.” Mal ran a hand through his lovely locks. “They either want to discuss the book in great depth. And probably, life and your relationship. Now sometimes that’s okay. You reach a higher level of understanding with each other and shit. But sometimes it sucks, pure and simple. You wind up getting bitched at for days because of something the dude in the book did that makes you look bad. But if it’s an awesome book, however, a hot one? Well then … kinky fuckery like you wouldn’t believe, man. The ideas Pumpkin has gotten out of some of those books. Gold. I could never have talked her into trying half of that stuff.”
“Huh.”
“Trust me, never mock a romance book,” said Mal with all the zest of a manic street preacher. “You have no idea the amount of good they can do for you between the sheets and on the streets. If you love your girl? Buy her books.”
A moment of stunned silence.
“Thank god we don’t have penises,” said Nell, patting me on the shoulder.
“Pretty much,” I agreed.
Deep in thought, Vaughan scratched at his head. “Romance books, huh? I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Give me strength,” said Nell. “Everything okay?”
Her brother gazed back at her, face lined. I think we all knew she wasn’t asking about the business. So far as I was aware, there’d been next to no communication between them since she’d broken the news of her pregnancy the night before. Given his expression when he stormed out of the back office, he hadn’t taken it well.
“Yeah. Everything’s fine.” He reached out, taking hold of her hand. “How about with you?”
Her smile was grim. “Getting there.”
“Know you weren’t keen on me selling the house. But with the extra money, I can afford to fly back sometimes. Visit more often,” he said, voice soft.
“I’d like that.” The joy in Nell’s voice spoke for itself.
The siblings held hands. I looked away, it was a private moment. His promises to visit had nothing to do with me. I’d just have to suck it up. And it was a good thing he’d be around more for his sister; Nell would need all the support she could get.
Mal, however, kept watching the siblings, eyes thoughtful. Any trace of his particular brand of crazy appeared to have disappeared for the time being.
“The Closed sign’s up, door’s locked,” said Joe, joining us.
Andre followed close behind. “Hello, everyone.”
“Hi.” I smiled. Behind us, the restaurant had emptied, all of the lights were dimmed. Cool acoustic songs by a variety of bands played over the sound system. I liked how they kept the music going even after closing. “Time for me to get back to work.”
“Stay put,” ordered Nell. “Masa and Boyd and the new kitchen kid have got it covered. We’re having a small surprise going-away party for my brother. Since he’s about as good at goodbyes as he is with letting us know he’s in town in the first place.”
“I was going to call you that day,” said Vaughan.
“Yeah, yeah.”
The big blond bear went back behind the bar, taking a dusty bottle off the very top shelf. “Eric said never to touch this one. So we’ll start with it.”
“Excellent. Have to admit, your brother has fine taste in scotch…” Andre inclined his head toward Nell, the smallest of smiles in place. “And women.”
“Don’t.” She threw a balled-up paper napkin at him.
“Ah, speaking of,” said Andre, gaze switching to Vaughan. “Pat said he’d catch you later. He’s taken his motorcycle and headed up into the wilds of Canada for a week or two to get his head together.”
Vaughan nodded. But said nothing.
Andre frowned, looking Nell’s way.
A muscle jumped in Nell’s jaw. “If you’ve got something to say, Andre, do me a favor and just say it.”
Tonight, Andre wore a particularly cool plaid button-down shirt, hair slicked back. He stopped, focus entirely on Nell. His eyes softened, face not unkind. “Baby girl, you fucked up not fixing your marriage. Pat fucked up giving up on you too easy. Hell, Eric fucked up ever going near you, knowing what the situation was between you two. You know all of this. But if you think for a minute that I don’t love you and haven’t got your back, then you’re crazy. I’ll babysit and change shitty diapers if I have to and I fully expect to be godfather, understood?”
Nell hurriedly looked away, sucking in her cheeks. Trying to hold back tears, I’d guess. After waiting a second or two, Andre strode over, throwing his arms around her. The way she clung to him couldn’t have failed to move anyone. That kind of unwavering love and support was what I wanted. It was why I was staying here. That’s what Vaughan was giving up by yet again leaving. And the longing, the naked emotion on his face showed he knew it, how couldn’t he?