Then the man walked away without looking back, but did it so slowly that I worried he’d even make it to the kitchen.
I shouldn’t have worried.
He never had any intentions of going to the kitchen.
The second he reached the end of the bar, he took a seat, and then bellowed out the orders to a passing waitress, who nodded her head and went to a computer without another word.
I blinked.
Then smiled.
“That’s healthy?” he teased.
“You put me on the spot. I wasn’t sure what to order,” I shrugged. “I’m never going to be a small girl,” I finally admitted. “In fact, losing all this weight is a fluke.”
His eyes darkened. “I happen to love the curves you have just fine,” he told me bluntly. “I gotta say, you look real nice, but Jesus. That dress you were in at the wedding…that was my dream girl right there.”
My mouth twitched.
“I still have all those curves, but I just try to keep them all contained.”
His mouth thinned.
“If you ever want to let them out to play again, you know where I am,” he finally said. “Not to mention I’m fairly positive that those capri pants you’re wearing come in at a close second to the dress.”
I huffed out a laugh.
“They’re definitely something that I struggle to get on every day,” I told him matter of factly. “But they make my ass look good, so I keep slicking them on even though they cut off circulation to my calves.”
He snorted just as our appetizer was set down on the table in front of us, and I did nothing but stare.
“Holy shit,” I murmured. “That’s…big.”
He chuckled and picked up his fork, setting the napkin that it had been rolled in on his lap, causing me to squeal inside.
My GG would love him.
I was fairly sure if she’d been there with us, and had seen him place his napkin on his lap, she would’ve stared at me with ‘marry him now’ eyes.
As it was, I knew that my GG was going to give me the third degree the moment I got home.
I’d seen her as we were driving out of town, and I knew she was paying attention to the man on the seatless bike who I was trailing behind.
She’d put two and two together, and likely get way more than it was ever supposed to be.
But that was my GG. A pain in my ass and my first best friend.
GG had been the woman who had practically raised me, and the moment that she suspected I was about to find a man, she’d be there, ready to inspect him.
“You gonna eat any of this?”
I looked down to see nearly half of the plate of cheese fries gone, and Truth looking at me with upraised brows.
Picking up my fork and placing the napkin on my lap, I took a hesitant bite, and moaned.
“Oh, my God,” I gasped. “This is white cheese sauce…and it’s perfect.”
It was, too.
It was the best thing I’d ever tasted in my life.
Fries. Bacon. Cheese sauce. Bacon. Ranch.
What more could a person ask for in life?
Apparently, the answer to that was more cheese, because the moment Truth’s grandfather came back over thirty seconds later, he was appalled to see how little cheese sauce we had, even though the plate was already overflowing with it.
“More, more, more!” he ordered at the first waitress he saw. “And bacon.”
The waitress nodded and disappeared, leaving us with a glaring grandfather standing beside the table.
“Why didn’t you say anything, boyo?”
Truth’s smile was fierce.
“I thought maybe you were trying to slim me down,” he challenged, leaning back and letting his work-roughened hand trail down his taut belly.
“Introduce me, boyo.”
Truth grinned.
“This is my grandfather,” Truth said, then pointed to me. “Pop, this is Verity. My woman.”
“Nice to meet you, Truth’s woman.”
Then ‘Pop’ rolled his eyes and walked away.
“Your grandfather is…festive,” I laughed.
Truth snorted.
“I…”
Then everything went to hell.
The doors to the pub burst open, and two men, both carrying baseball bats, came inside bellowing about dues.
Before I even knew what was going on, Truth was on his feet and rounding the curve of the bar and heading straight for the two men, who looked extremely upset.
Truth arrived in front of the two men just as a large man arrived. A man dressed completely in black.
The man in black looked like he was a freakin’ mob boss with his black hair, black clothes, black shoes, and dark eyes.
Truth, though he had the same tall, dark and dangerous vibe going on, didn’t look like he was going to kill the two men.
At least not until they took two threatening steps in the direction of his grandfather, then he looked murderous.
“No.”
Just one word from Truth’s mouth had both men halting in their steps.
“We…”
“This is a place of business,” Truth snapped. “You need to leave, or I’ll have you thrown out.”
“You’re not the owner. Only the owner can do that.”
Truth laughed in their faces.
“My grandfather owns this bar, and I’m his beneficiary,” he told them bluntly. “There’s literally nothing that I can’t do here, besides fire people. But that’s only because Pop hates hiring new help.”
The two men said nothing.
The mob boss at Truth’s side, however, had something to say.
“Get. Out,” he ordered. “Or I’ll make you get out.”
Between Truth and the mob boss lookalike, the two men came to their senses and backed out.
But not before he pointed at Truth’s grandfather, promising retaliation despite not saying a word.
“Out!” Truth’s grandfather bellowed.
Definitely Irish.
The more upset or animated he got, the more the accent appeared.
Noted.
Truth walked to the door and watched the two men, while I sat in my spot and contemplated asking him if he was related to the Irish mob.
By the time he retook his seat, I realized that he was too upset and pissed off to broach the subject.
Maybe tomorrow when he didn’t look like he could crush the beer bottle he was holding with one hand.
This scary, pissed off Truth was actually quite appealing. However, I didn’t continue to chatter because I knew he didn’t want to hear my overactive mouth talking. Not at that moment, anyway.
So I sat there, in silence, while he tried to compose himself.
Which took all the way until our food was brought over.
“Wow,” I murmured. “You weren’t kidding. It’s huge.”
His mouth twitched as he picked up his knife and fork.
“I think you said that our first night together, too.”
I snorted a laugh, and then enjoyed the most scrumptious steak I’d ever had in my life.
Chapter 5
I’m all about meaningful things in life: sex, ass grabs, surprise candy bars, and kisses.
-Verity’s secret thoughts
Verity
You know those people who go to the gym and you just know that they’re not really there to work out?