The Last Hard Boy (The Hard Boys 3)

“It is?”

He nodded. “My brothers were mostly the ones who embraced the town gossip. No one cared about what the nerd was up to.”

She shook her head. “I find that hard to believe.”

Rome shrugged. “They had reputations. Have you ever heard of much that I’m up to?”

She leaned back, lips pursed. “You’re right. Now that I think of it, no one ever asked about you. I did.”

“You did?”

“Yes. I knew you were an amazing man, even back then. I was curious about what you were up to. I knew you went to college. Of course, I know you’re an accountant.”

“Did it bother you?” he asked.

“Yes and no.” She sighed. “I’m not always part of the town gossip, and I certainly don’t spread any rumors, but I did notice that of the Hard boys, you were rarely mentioned.”

“I’ve always been different. Like the bad seed.”

She shook her head. “Not at all. You’re not a bad seed, Rome. You never could be.”

“Did you know people thought I wasn’t my dad’s?” he asked.

Andy gasped. “No.”

“Yep. I guess having a gangly son with glasses always bothered them. The Hard boys are known for their good looks.”

“I like you in your glasses, Rome. They’re sexy.”

He’d opted for contacts today. “Yeah, I would be wearing them, but I seem to have left them at someone’s house.”

She giggled. “They’re back at my place. I found them Sunday night, but I realized I don’t have your number.”

He pulled out his cell phone, handing it to her. “Put your number in there.”

Andy wrinkled her nose. “I don’t remember my number. I’m so sorry.”

“I’m a nerd, and I remember the most useless pieces of information.” He pocketed his cell phone just as the waitress brought them their food.

“Call me,” she said, leaving a piece of paper with her number on it.

Picking it up, he didn’t bother to read the number. He screwed it into a ball, dropped it into the trash bin, then returned to the table. “I find that rude, don’t you?”

“You’re full of surprises, Rome Hard.”

He watched her take a bite out of her burger, closing her eyes in appreciation before he swiped up a few fries completely covered in cheese sauce. He loved the spice in the sauce.

“This is really good,” Andy said between mouthfuls of food. “So did you always want to be an accountant?”

“Not so much. There was a time I wanted to be a superhero and to blast the world with knowledge.”

“Knowledge?”

“Did I mention I was a weird kid? While my brothers were enjoying crime movies, horrors, I was studying. I loved to watch quiz shows and trivia. Learning was always my thing. I figured it was cool. When I got to school, I learned the hard way that it’s not.”

She chuckled. “I can just imagine you as a kid.”

“I’m sure you can’t, but if you ever visit my mom for ten minutes, the visual will be there. She always breaks out the photograph albums. I even called myself the Mr. K.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Mr. Knowledge.”

“Yep. I designed a costume and everything. I was a nerd.”

He loved hearing her laugh. “What about you? Do you love your job?”

“Yes and no. Like you, I love to learn. I love to know what makes us all tick, and finding out facts and puzzles, and putting them all together. I love it. Growing up, I had good and bad teachers like everyone. I wanted to be a good teacher. I wanted to watch young people thrive because I was an awesome, kickass teacher, but sometimes that happens, other times, it doesn’t. You know?”

“Yeah, I know,” he said. “You were my favorite teacher.”

“That doesn’t count.”

“Why not?”

“I know you wanted to sleep with me. It doesn’t count.”

“I wanted to, but it doesn’t mean I did.”

She rolled her eyes. “I would never sleep with a student.”

“Then I’m glad I’m not yours any longer.”

Andy chuckled, and he loved to see her smile.

“Do you have any family? Any siblings?” he asked.

“None. My mother passed away some time ago. It’s just me.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. I was sad for a while, but I didn’t have the closest relationship with her. Not that it’s any excuse or anything, I just, I don’t know, we were never close. She had her feelings, I had mine. We didn’t mesh.”

“Still, her life must have sucked.”

She gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “New topic,” she said. “We don’t want anything to be too depressing.”

“Did you ever mourn her?” Rome asked.

She nibbled on her lip and nodded. “I did mourn her. We didn’t get along and never saw eye to eye, but I do miss her. She was my mother. She’d have disapproved of you.”

“What the hell?”

“Yep. You’re too young for me and you were a student. She’d have told me I was going straight to hell for certain.”