“What were you studying?” I ask.
“Business.”
“Cara has a degree in marketing and advertising on top of teaching,” Clover adds, smiling at me.
“Wow, that’s impressive. But teaching was your calling?” Con asks, picking up a grape from the platter and popping it into her mouth.
“Yeah, I love being a teacher. My mom was one, and I saw how much joy it brought her. It’s a hard job, but the rewards are high.”
“My mom was a stripper,” Con blurts out, and then clears her throat.
It’s painfully obvious that she had a completely different childhood than me. Yeah, I grew up with a bunch of bikers, but I was afforded every opportunity. Money was never an issue and education was always important. We were a very close family and there was so much love there. Rake was the best dad I could have asked for because he was always there for me and treated me like his own. I always knew I was lucky, but hearing what my life could’ve been had things happened differently puts it a bit more in perspective.
“There’s nothing wrong with being a stripper,” Decker comments, also clearing his throat. Felix starts to laugh under his breath. I don’t miss Decker shooting him a look that clearly says shut up.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” Decker replies, lips tightening.
“You just said there’s nothing wrong with it, why can’t I tell them?” Felix asks, shoulders now shaking as he tries to contain himself.
“Spill,” Clover demands of her husband.
Decker turns to me. “I used to do a little stripping while I was in the police academy.”
My eyes widen and I hear Clover mutter, “You never told me that, Felix.”
I suddenly imagine him standing up on a stage, horny women eying his naked body, and my stomach drops.
Yeah, I don’t like that thought at all. If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was a little jealous at the thought of so many other women seeing him like that.
“Cara?” Decker says, and I wonder how long I zoned out for, or if my expression gave my thoughts away.
“Yeah, sorry, still processing the stripper thing.”
“It was a short-lived career,” Decker chokes out. It’s a little cute, the first time I’m seeing him embarrassed. Felix notices and decides to put him out of his misery.
“So Cara is your only sibling?” Felix asks, placing his beer down on the table as he changes the subject. He has a calming quality, something one would need if they married Clover, and I’m grateful for it right now.
“That I know of,” Con replies, laughing uncomfortably. “It seems like my dad wasn’t the most upfront with information. If he had told me I had a sister, maybe we could have seen each other over the years. Do you have any other siblings?”
I nod. “I do, I have a baby sister, Natalie. She’s your age, actually.”
“That must have been really nice,” Con replies, tucking her hair back behind her ear. “I always wanted to have a sibling. I remember telling Dad that, and you would have thought that might have been an opening to tell me that I already did.”
She wouldn’t know about how Wade tried to extort money from my family by using me, and I don’t want to tell her about that. Wade is dead, and there’s no point speaking ill of the dead, even though I don’t have any love for the man.
“I guess to him I wasn’t really his kid,” I say with a shrug. “It is what it is.”
Wade did me a solid by leaving me alone. He allowed me to have a wonderful father in my life and to grow up being raised right. I don’t have any bitter feelings about him raising Con and not me.
After another hour of chatting, we head to the dinner table, where Clover and Felix bring out all of the food.
“You made this?” Decker asks Felix, sounding surprised. “When we were partners, you acted like you couldn’t make toast without burning it.”
Felix laughs, eying his roast chicken with pride. “When you have a woman who loves to eat, you learn how to cook.”
“I’m impressed,” Decker tells him. The two of them and their little bromance is a little bit cute.
“What about you, Decker? Can you cook?” I find myself asking.
“I can feed myself,” he admits, laughing. “But to be fair, I haven’t got a woman who loves to eat, so I haven’t been forced into that position yet. It’s been the bachelor life for me. My sister cooks for me, though.”
“He’s been the one putting women into positions,” Felix mutters, laughing at his own joke.
Con leans closer to me. “He’s hot, isn’t he?”
“Who?” I ask back, even though I can see her eyes are on Decker.
“Decker. When I went to meet him, I almost died. He’s an extremely sexy man.”
My hackles instantly rise.
Wow.
I don’t know why, but her words set me on edge. I don’t like hearing her say that about Decker, which makes no sense, because he is a single man and she’s just making an observation.
A correct one. Decker is sexy. Guess in addition to blood, we share the same taste in men as well.
“Yes, I suppose he is,” I reply, clearing my throat.
“Do you have a significant other, Con?” Clover asks, as if reading my mind somehow.
“Nope, I’m single. I...” She hesitates and shrugs. “I have bad luck when it comes to men. I always choose the wrong ones, so I’ve decided to stay single for some time now. It’s been working out for me so far. I mean, besides the whole getting laid thing.”
“Yeah, that’s unfortunate,” Clover mutters under her breath.
“The right person will come along when the time is right,” I add, flashing her a gentle smile.
“I think so too,” she agrees. “How about you?”
Suddenly all eyes are on me and I wish this question was never brought up.
“It’s complicated,” I reply. I glance up and lock eyes with Decker, who is already watching me.
“Isn’t it always,” Con replies, picking up on my vague answer. We finish up our meal and then I head into the kitchen to help Clover bring out the desserts.
“What do you think?” I ask. “I mean, Wade is dead and she has no other close family.”
“I don’t know,” Clover replies, wrinkling her nose and leaning her hip against the kitchen counter. “I feel like she’s not evil, but she might suck the life out of you. I think she’s one of those people who just will take advantage of whatever she can to get up in the world. She hasn’t asked you for anything yet, but wait and see. I think something will be coming. I’m just going on my gut feeling here.”