AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Whatever I can do to help.”
She’s the sister-in-law of my best friend, a relatively tenuous connection when looked at in those simple terms. But I have this tug in my chest demanding I do whatever she asks. That I go to any lengths to make her happy.
“How much do you know about Dash and my family?”
The grimace claims my mouth before I can stop it, and Luna gives a quick nod.
“You know some at least.” She doesn’t fidget or avoid my gaze. Luna is not here to mess around.
“I know Dash served time for stealing cars.”
Her jaw hardens, and I wish I’d kept my words to myself. But then she sighs and offers a tight smile.
“That’s part of our uncle’s business. Dash is out of it now though. In case you were worried.”
“No. I know. Paige told me.” My friend isn’t one to hold past sins over a person as long as they show remorse.
Luna sets her folded arms on the table, opening her mouth to keep going, but a server shows up before she can speak. After we both order the gumbo and Luna asks for an iced tea, the staff leaves us alone. I lace my fingers together in my lap to keep from reaching across the table to her.
“My brother Leo never left the business.”
I knew in a vague sense that Dash had another sibling, as well as parents who live in the city. But when none of them came to the wedding, I figured it had to do with his problematic past.
Sucks being right sometimes.
“I’m sorry.”
Luna nods, then stays quiet as the server returns with her drink. After swallowing an aggressive gulp, she pushes on.
“Then there’s my grandma.” Luna spends the rest of the time before our food arrives detailing how she discovered her other living relation in Delaware, and how just as she was getting to know the woman, her grandmother passed away from cancer.
“I didn’t know she was sick.” For the first time, I witness a crack in Luna’s confident, cool demeanor. Just a small quiver of her voice in that statement.
But hell does it hit hard.
Suddenly, this outdoor seating seems too exposed. I want to shelter her so she can grieve in privacy without the sun glaring down on her pain and strangers potentially overhearing her raw words.
But just like that, Luna’s shoulders go back, and the vulnerability disappears.
“My grandmother added Dash and me to her will. Turns out the grocery stores she and my grandfather opened were pretty successful. She left us both an inheritance.”
I nod. “She was trying to take care of you even after she passed. I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with that pain.”
Luna blinks at me from across the table, and I replay my words to see if I said something wrong.
“It does hurt,” she admits. “Mainly because of the time lost.” The crack returns, and as if realizing this, Luna glares at her lap. I can imagine she’s giving herself a silent berating for showing weakness.
I wish she was comfortable being vulnerable with me. But I get the sense that few men—few people—have given Luna a reason to trust them.
“Anyway,” she pushes on, “the money. It came with stipulations. One of them was that I won’t inherit unless I get married.”
Good thing the outside chairs are made of sturdy material because I rock back hard at that revelation.
Is Luna getting married?
Under the table, I crack my knuckles.
“There were other things, but I didn’t bother listening to them because that first one was ludicrous. Especially because I need to be hitched by the time I’m thirty. Which is in less than five months. Even if I have the urge to shackle myself to someone, I’m not about to do it that fast.”
