Page 33 of Healer’s Betrayal

A genuine smile crosses my face. “Henry. How are you?”

His eyes go wide. “I’m not eating here; you don’t see me.”

I laugh. “It’s okay; I’m eating here too. I promise I won’t tell Mama May if you don’t.” His face relaxes, and I smile at the wrinkles lining his dear face. “Where’s your beautiful wife?”

“Right here,” Agnus says, right on key. “Hi, Kayla. I hope you find some pizza to eat. Henry ate more than his fair share,” she says with a shake of her head, but I don’t miss the way her lips tug up slightly in the corners.

“I left plenty,” Henry says in a gruff voice.

“Hi, Noah,” Agnus says with a kind smile.

“Hi,” Noah says back.

Her eyes land on the men behind me, and I feel Jackson move closer. How I know it’s him without looking is beyond me, but I know it’s him at my back. Agnus looks at me and then at the men, and I realize I’m not going to get out of here without introducing her. “Agnus, this is Jackson and Ransom, friends of mine.”

“Friends, huh?” Henry asks, his voice still gruff.

“Friends?” Agnus repeats, shaking her head. “That’s a shame and a waste of masculinity.”

I choke when I try to swallow. “I’m right here,” Henry says with a scowl.

“Yes, you are, Dear,” Agnus says, patting his arm. Henry steps outside, and Agnus follows but stops in front of me. “You should consider dating at least one of them,” she whispers loudly, way too loudly. “I bet they’re good in bed.” Mortification sweeps through every part of my body and only increases when I hear what I think is Ransom choking on a laugh behind us. Agnus pats my arm. “Good luck,” she says with a light in her eyes.

She finally leaves, and I don’t dare turn around. I’m sure my face is beat red. “I like her,” Ransom says out loud.

Chapter 14

Kayla

I don’t turn back. “Yeah, we don’t ever bring that conversation up again.” Ransom laughs again. A waitress comes over to us, and I watch the moment her eyes land on Jackson and Ransom.

Her smile brightens. “Hi, welcome to Luizzo’s. Four of you?”

I glance at Jackson, but he’s scanning the restaurant. And Ransom’s looking at something on his phone, so it falls to me to answer. “Yes, thanks.”

“All right. Follow me.”

I take the lead with Noah beside me, and Jackson and Ransom follow. We pass the buffet as we walk to the table, and my stomach growls loudly. “You shouldn’t have given me your food this morning,” Jackson says, suddenly closer to me.

I roll my eyes and stop at the table the waitress stops at. “Here we go.” I stand outside the booth for a moment, unsure where everyone wants to sit. Jackson steps closer and nods towards the booth, so I slide in. Noah slides in the booth across from me, and Ransom slides in after him. I am wholly unprepared for sitting next to Jackson. He’s such a big guy that we’re almost thigh to thigh. “What can I get everybody to drink?” our waitress asks.

“I’ll take a Coke,” Ransom says.

“Water,” Jackson says.

“I’ll take a water as well,” I tell her when she looks at me. Noah looks across the table at me, a question in his eyes. Water, I mouth to him; and he nods.

Jackson turns to me. “He can get a drink if he wants.” His voice is low, so only I can hear him.

I look up at the waitress. “He’ll take a Sprite please.”

The waitress closes her book. “I’ll grab those and be back. Everybody doing the buffet?” We all nod. “All right. Go ahead; plates are up at the buffet. Enjoy.” She leaves us, and I wait for it to get awkward.

“You ready to get some pizza, Noah?” Jackson asks, and Noah nods. “Let’s go then.” He slides out and then turns to me, putting his hand out. I really don’t need his hand to get out, but I take it anyway. He pulls me to my feet, and I make the mistake of looking up at him. But his eyes aren’t as intense as they usually are. “You like pizza?” he asks casually, turning towards the buffet.

“Pretty sure everybody in the world likes pizza,” I say in return.

“What if I don’t like pizza?”