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He opened the wrapper on his burger and started eating, right there in bed. There was a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth and he almost looked like a kid who thought they were getting away with something. It was actually kind of adorable.
“Tell me about them,” he said. “I was an only child. Always wanted a sister or brother, though.”
“Well, Sierra is sixteen going on twenty-five,” I said as I unwrapped my burger. “Smart girl but thinks she's smarter than she is. Still, I think she'll get into a good college one day and make us all proud.”
“You didn't go to college?” he asked.
I took a bite from my burger, and stared down at it as I chewed, taking my time.
“I went, but I didn't finish,” I said. “My dad got injured at his construction job, and someone had to take care of things. I'd always planned to go back, but it never worked out.”
“I'm sorry to hear that,” he said.
His voice was soft and sounded sincere, the look on his face one of genuine compassion. I shrugged and changed the subject as fast as I could.
“I also have a younger brother, Nick,” I said. “He's fourteen, going to be fifteen in two months. He's into sports, big time.”
I piled some fries in my mouth, making sure I got one smothered in Thousand Island. Malcolm reached over and wiped some dressing from my mouth with a napkin, and it somehow felt completely natural. He didn't even seem to realize he'd done it, but my lip tingled from where he'd touched me.
“I always wanted to play football,” Malcolm said.
“Why didn't you?”
“Didn't have time. I started working for my dad when I was fifteen, and I was expected to work every day, after school,” he said. “No exceptions.”
“That sounds awful.”
He shrugged, chewing on a French fry. “I always knew it would be my company one day, and I took every opportunity to learn from him,” I said. “But yeah, at times I felt like I'd missed out. Greg got to go on dates, played sports, went to parties – and I worked. A lot. And that was it.”
Malcolm sighed, then looked down at the rest of his burger.
“What's wrong?”
“It's just – well, when I was younger, I feel like I gave up everything to work for my dad. I gave up my childhood for him. And then, he throws this curveball at me? Give him a grandchild or else the company goes to his other son – my half-brother, Adam – who only popped up in our lives a couple years ago.”
I reached out and squeezed his hand. “We're going to give you a baby, Malcolm.”
He turned toward me, and there was that warm, sweet smile again. He put his food down and wiped his fingers off on a napkin before cupping my face in his hands. He stared at me, long and hard, and at first, I thought he was going to kiss me – some small part of me hoped he would.
Instead, he said, “Thank you, Casey,” he said, his voice soft and gentle. “You're utterly amazing, and I'm so glad I met you.”
“Yeah, me too,” I said.
Those weren't exactly the words I wanted to hear from him, but it was the best I was going to get. Malcolm kissed my forehead before returning to his food.
Malcolm added, “You know, I'm so glad we've had this opportunity to talk,” he said. “I'd like to get to know you better.”
“Do you think that's a good idea?”
“Why not?”
“I mean, Terrance said – ”
I couldn't really tell him what Terrance said. I wasn't sure why I was protecting him, but I couldn't bring myself to say the words he'd spoken to me. Words that had hurt me.
“Just that, we need to keep things professional,” I finished. “For your sake.”
“Terrance needs to learn his place,” Malcolm said. “He's worked with my family for so long that sometimes, he thinks he's part of it. He thinks he knows what's best for everyone. I should have hired another lawyer, but he's on retainer and it was
