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We were led into a private room in the back of the restaurant, which had one long table for twelve people. Appetizers were already set on the table, and when I sat down, two waiters entered, dressed in black button-down shirts and black slacks.
“Sir, would you like your regular drinks and meals today?” he asked, addressing Charles at the head of the table.
“Yes, but we also have a new guest.” Charles motioned to me, and I smiled shakily.
I wasn’t used to attention being called to me. I was used to being in the shadows. To living in the shadows, out of necessity. Just the thought of coming into the light was making me shiver. As soon as that thought pushed through, automatically, my eyes scanned the room, the vicinity, and I zoned in on the exit, like I always did when I entered an unfamiliar area.
“Becky, what would you like to drink?” Charles asked with an air of kindness.
“Just water, please,” I croaked out, apparently having lost my voice in the process of all the attention.
His brows knit together. “You sure?”
“Yes.” I nodded curtly, so he wouldn’t doubt me.
The waiter took out a pad from his back pocket. “And for the meals?”
“Please order our regulars too. Becky?” Charles asked. “Take your time, looking over the menu.”
I swallowed. “I guess you guys come here often.” I flipped open the menu and scanned it quickly. I’d never been in this position, having to choose from my pick of fancy meals. It was fun and also unnerving.
“It’s our favorite restaurant,” Sarah said, taking a cheese stick from the middle of the table.
I ducked my head into the menu in front of me, feeling everyone’s eyes on me. Silence ensued, which made my ears feel impossibly hot.
I lifted my head. “Suggestions, anyone?”
“I like the mac and cheese here,” Mary answered, bouncing on her booster seat.
“I always get the chicken parm, gluten-free pasta, with a side of vegetables. The chicken is baked, not fried,” Mason added.
Brad pointed to me. “Whatever you do, don’t pick that.”
“Try the steak, Becky. It’s good,” Charles added. “The steak here is tender with just the right amount of fat. A little amount of fat is good on steak because it adds to the juiciness. The little specs of fat found inside of the muscle is called marbling.”
The brothers’ eyes swung Charles’s way. Mason’s mouth slipped ajar, and Brad covered his mouth to contain a laugh.
“What?” Charles shot out.
I didn’t understand what was so funny.
Brad tried to dim his amusement. “I didn’t know you were such a steak expert.”
“I …” Charles’s eyes flickered my way, then to his brothers’, and then to the girls. “I learned it from watching all those cooking shows with the girls.”
“Dad picks up on the most interesting information,” Sarah added. “I don’t even remember that fact.”
I smiled.
“Okay.” I shut my menu. “I’ll have a steak, medium.”
As our food was being prepared, I took in the interaction of the family—how over-the-top goofy Brad was; how Mason was the opposite in his demeanor, taking jabs at Brad when he could; how Charles sat back, simply taking in everything in his silent strength, which was overpowering.
Normally, a person of his stature and height would intimidate me, but there was a tenderness in his gaze as he dealt with his children that eased me and melted my heart into a puddle of goo.
I knew his wife had died during childbirth, which must have been traumatic for him, but I wondered if he was still heartbroken and if that was why he hadn’t remarried.
The moment that thought filtered through, I straightened and shook my head. I knew nothing about his life. He could very well be on the way to marriage with a girlfriend he’d been dating.
