I can still taste the sugary icing from the honey bun I practically devoured. I have a sweet tooth that this diner could certainly satisfy, and I keep eyeing the bit of icing left on the plate sitting on the edge of the table.
Alec nods his head, looking down at the cup of black coffee he hasn’t touched since the waitress set it down. “It may have been a mistake to come here,” Alec murmurs as he looks past me for a moment.
“Oh?” I chew the inside of my lip, letting my nerves get the best of me. I feel like I’m walking on the edge with this man, teeter-tottering between falling for him and keeping myself guarded. I’m not sure which way I’ll fall, but either way, I know I’m going to land hard on my ass.
Alec leans forward, resting his forearms against the pale blue tablecloth and says in a hushed voice, “They’re watching us to see who you are to me.” His piercing gaze holds me steady as his words register. The small chatter and clinking of utensils turns to white noise.
“Who I am?” I ask him as my heart seems to slow, each beat hurting just slightly. Just enough to notice it.
I look down at my cup and lift the tea bag up with my spoon and then lower it back down, letting the dark tea mix with the hot water. “Who would that be?” I ask him although another question rests right on the tip of my tongue.
“A good girl who deserves more than a man like me,” he says without missing a beat.
I search his eyes, wondering why he said that. “Are you a bad man?” The words slip out without my consent. The moment they leave my lips, I want to snatch them back to keep Alec from hearing, but they’re already gone.
He doesn’t flinch like I thought he would. He doesn’t seem shocked at all by my question. And maybe that’s more alarming than anything else.
“My father was,” Alec says, not breaking my gaze. “And recently there was an incident with my brother.”
His expression reflects pain at the mention of his brother. His light eyes smolder, and his lips turn down.
“Did you hurt him?” I ask. I hardly know Alec, but I can sense a darkness in him. More out of pain than anything else. But it’s there, just beneath the surface. It’s in the way he carries himself. Even the way he speaks.
Alec shakes his head and says, “Never.” He taps his fingers against the mug, and I look up past him at a woman in the very back. She’s staring at us shamelessly, and I hate it.
“My brother’s a good man. He’s nothing like my father.” His voice holds conviction, and I find myself confused.
“What then?”
“Do you remember how I told you about the tincture? How I drank it to prove to my brother that it was pointless?” he asks me, and the reminder makes my heart flicker with pain. As if it splinters.
I simply nod and pick up the tea cup, holding it closer, but not drinking.
“He found someone that day, and their relationship is questionable,” he says.
Immediately my defenses rise as I blurt out, “It’s no one else’s business.” Anger brims just beneath the surface. “No one has a right to judge a relationship-”
Alec cuts me off by saying, “Even I question it, Lila.” I’m silenced and stunned by his admission. “I’m not sure she wants to…” He trails off and runs his hand through his hair, the air turning uncomfortable. “I’m not sure she’s interested in being with him as much as he is her,” Alec explains, and that definitely changes things.
My eyes catch a glimpse of a man turning to look over his shoulder at us. He’s quick to look away, but it’s then that everything makes sense. Small towns and gossip go hand in hand.
“Did your brother hurt her?” I ask softly, chancing a glance at him.
His expression hardens, but he hesitates to answer. “She said no and he did as well, but…” He pauses and clears his throat, readjusting in his seat. “It doesn’t look good from the outside,” he finally says.
“What does it look like from the outside?” I ask.
His expression hardens and he mutters, “Like she’s going to leave him.” He blows on his coffee and takes a drink before adding, “It’ll destroy him if she…” Alec doesn’t finish, shrugging his shoulders and setting the coffee mug down.
My fingers trail down the hot ceramic and then I lift it to my lips as Alec tells me, “I haven’t talked to anyone about it.”
“About your brother?” I ask.
He nods. “It’s been difficult to handle because I don’t know how to help,” he admits, and my instinct is to reach my hand out to him. He huffs a sad laugh, putting his large hand over mine and squeezing it lightly.