Secrets & Sin (Surrender to Them 3)

“Wow, you went all out.” She picked up her fork and stabbed at the breaded surface. “I’m not sure what this is, exactly.”

“It’s a fried green tomato.” I chuckled and sat down in my chair. “Trust me, it’s better than it sounds.”

“It really is.” Dante walked into the room and immediately took his seat. “I was resistant at first, but now I can eat a whole plate of them—hell, I don’t even need a fork.”

“Please use a fork tonight.” I glared at him as he put food on his plate.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be civilized.” Dante picked up his knife and started to cut.

“Okay, that’s freaking amazing.” Brianna’s eyes lit up when she took her first bite. “I mean, holy shit.”

“If you like that, then you’re going to love the rest of dinner. I fried everything—just like they do where I’m from.” I chuckled and sliced into my appetizer.

I could tell Brianna had never had real southern home cooking because she quickly devoured her appetizer and finished her meal before either of us. My grandmother would have been proud of how quickly she destroyed a plate of country fried steak, especially when she started sopping up the gravy with her biscuit. We kept the conversation light over dinner, and the nervousness was starting to linger. I exchanged a couple of glances with Dante as we reached the end of our meal. We both understood that what we said could ruin our relationship with Brianna, but the discussion had to happen.

“I hope you saved room for dessert.” I reached over and picked up Brianna’s plate.

“What did you find to fry in the dessert aisle?” She raised her eyebrows and reached for her glass of wine.

“I wish I could say I made it, but the bakery downtown has apple pies that would put mine to shame.” I stood and walked towards the kitchen.

“We add ice cream, though.” Dante chuckled.

“I’m going to gain ten pounds before I leave here tonight.” Brianna laughed as I walked back in with the ice cream and pie.

“I’m sure we’ll find a way to work it off.” Dante winked at Brianna and held out his dessert plate.

“I can think of a few ways.” Brianna smiled until the slice of pie hit her plate and I covered it in ice cream. “Although, from the looks of this, I might need to run on a treadmill after we’re done.”

“You’ll be fine.” I shook my head back and forth.

“So, why did you decide to do all of this tonight?” Brianna looked back and forth between us as she swallowed her first bite of melted ice cream and hot apple pie. “Is there some sort of special occasion I don’t know about?”

“Sorta.” I nodded and put down my fork.

This is the right time to bring it up, even if we haven’t finished dessert.

“We want to have a serious discussion with you.” Dante put down his fork as well. “It’s time we talk about what’s going to happen next month.”

“You’re really not going to let me live in ignorant bliss until I have to leave, are you?” Brianna’s lips twisted into a slight grimace. “I’ve been trying ignore it as long as possible.”

“I’d like that, but we care about you too much to let this just dangle out there without discussing it.” I sighed and took her hand. “You’re very special to us.”

“And we don’t want to keep you from going to school or anything like that. That’s definitely not what this is about. We’re not asking you to choose.” Dante reached over and took her other hand. “We just want to know if you’re open to finding a way to make this work, even if we’re separated by a lot of miles for a little while.”

“Two years.” Brianna nodded solemnly. “It’ll take me that long to finish school. Where will you two be by then? Probably moved on to another house?”

“Yes, I’m sure we will be.” I nodded quickly. “But the next house could be in California—maybe even within driving distance. It won’t take us two years to finish this place up, so we won’t be separated for the entire time you’re away.”

“You would do that for me?” Brianna reached up and brushed a tear that was trying to form in the corner of her eye.

“We would do about anything for you. That’s what we’re trying to say here.” I exhaled sharply and smiled.

“He’ll do about anything. I’ll do absolutely anything.” Dante grinned and squeezed Brianna’s hand.

“Then yes, we will find a way to make this work.” Brianna smiled and looked down at her pie. “Now that the serious stuff is out of the way, can I please have my hands back so I can eat this before the ice cream melts?”

“My grandmother is going to adore you.” I released my grip on her hand and laughed as she reached for her fork.