“Good, I’m glad.” Darius took the two empty plates and set them under the bar. “It’s one of the handful of original recipes I started the restaurant with.”
“Family recipe?” Gray wondered.
“Aye, from my grandfather.” Darius popped open a beer and set it in front of Gray. “Try that one. I’ve noticed you’re picky about beer.”
“I prefer the lighter types,” Gray admitted with a nod. He took a whiff from the bottle, then a tentative sip. And it was good. Damn, it was really good. Very light, probably from a local brewery, and it had a faint aftertaste of citrus. “I like this. What is it?”
“Sample from a place nearby,” Darius answered. “We need a few kinds for the summer menu. I figured one with lemon and elderberry should appeal to, uh…” He trailed off, and it was so comical that Gray had to laugh.
“To women?” he prodded in amusement.
“Well. Yeah.” Darius leaned back against the counter and appeared to be smothering a smirk.
Gray shrugged. “I like rum. And gin. And tequila sometimes.”
“Me too—but hold the tequila. I can’t handle it anymore,” Darius chuckled, then shifted his smile to Jayden. “You too full for ice cream, champ?”
“No!” Jayden assured. “I love ice cream, ’specially strawberry.”
Gray grinned against the top of Justin’s hair and stroked the soft locks.
“I’ll make sure to tell the guys in the kitchen.” Darius winked. Then he must’ve caught something behind them, because he looked toward the entrance and lifted his brows. “I see the cat dragged in something foul. Why do you look so constipated? Are you drinking your revolting wheatgrass shots again?”
It was Ethan.
“Just pour me a drink,” he grumbled. He looked tired and irritated. He chose a seat around the short end of the bar, next to Gray. “Hey.” He managed a somewhat polite nod at Gray and Jayden.
“That’s Ethan, one of Darius’s brothers,” Gray explained to Jayden.
Jayden nodded slowly and scrunched his nose. “Okay.”
Darius found something funny about the kid’s reaction. “All right, so what’s got your panties in a twist, little brother?”
The two brothers looked a lot alike, at the same time as they were night and day. Ethan was much more polished, but almost in a forced way. Gray couldn’t describe it. The man was clean-shaven, wore dress pants and a form-fitting button-down, his slightly wavy hair looked neat, and his fingernails were weirdly flawless. Did he get manicures? For putting an obvious abundance of time and effort into his appearance, especially with his athletic build, he didn’t look comfortable.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Ethan said, accepting a screwdriver from Darius. “Is it fresh squeezed and organic?”
Darius pointed to the bar. “I’ll ban you from the bar if you ever utter that sentence again, you fucking diva.”
Gray choked on a laugh, and Jayden snickered behind his hand.
Ethan clenched his jaw and took a sip from the drink.
In the end, he did want to talk about his troubles, which apparently involved overhearing a client of his at the grocery store saying that men who shaved their chests were ridiculous. At that point, Gray exchanged a look with Darius, and it was almost too funny. But Ethan was oblivious. He started a rant about how he was a perfect ten, and what the fuck did his client know? Then he turned to Gray, with a straight face, and asked for his opinion, since he was “gay and all.”
“Jesus Christ,” Darius griped. “Can you read the room, or have you completely lost your marbles?”
“What?” Ethan frowned.
Gray didn’t mind. He merely smiled at Ethan. “As the obvious professional on dudes here right now,” he said cockily, “I’m gonna say that your client is right. Men in their fifties definitely shouldn’t shave their chests.”
The look on Ethan’s face…
It took everything for Gray not to break into hysterics. He knew very well that Ethan was a couple years younger than Darius’s forty-three. Well, forty-four soon.
“Men in their fifties…?” Ethan rasped.
That set Darius off. He howled with laughter.
Jayden laughed because Darius laughed.
“I’m sorry, I hope I didn’t offend,” Gray said quickly. “You look hella good for a man your age.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, I can’t,” Darius guffawed. “I’ll be back with your ice cream, buddy.” He walked toward the end of the bar, still laughing, and pushed the gate open. The kitchen must’ve been around a corner there somewhere.
Gray’s chest expanded with a rush of happiness. It’d been a terrific day, and he’d never heard Darius laugh so uninhibitedly before. It was a gorgeous sound.
Ethan chugged his screwdriver.
“I’m looking forward to meeting the rest of your family,” Gray said.
“Great. Then you can be there when Darius retells everyone about today for years to come,” Ethan muttered. “I can never catch a break.”
Gray’s brows went up. He could never catch a break…? Sweet Jesus. Not to quote Darius or anything, but seriously, read the damn room, man.