That Thorn might actually like this woman.
Thorn didn’t look at her once as he sat beside her on their side of the table. He didn’t make small talk with her either. His deliberate indifference only made their connection stronger. I could feel it in the air around us.
Ms. Alexander didn’t look at him either, choosing to stare out the window or look at Tatum. Her legs were crossed and so were her arms. She possessed the same poise Tatum did, and she also dressed in the same elegant way.
I suspected the two of them would be close friends very soon.
“Are you going to see your parents while you’re in Chicago?” Tatum broke the silence with a simple question.
“I have to,” Thorn said. “My mom will scratch my eyes out if I don’t stop by.”
Ms. Alexander smiled, her eyes shining slightly.
Thorn still didn’t look at her. “If she found out I went to Chicago and didn’t tell her…I’d get death threats.”
Tatum rolled her eyes. “She would not give you death threats. She’s sweet as pie.”
“Oh, she’s sweet, alright,” Thorn said. “But not when you cross her. And when her eldest son doesn’t stop by, there’s hell to pay. One time I was in Chicago for a single night before I flew back to Manhattan, and somehow, she figured it out.” He shook his head. “The phone call I got the next day…terrifying. She doesn’t cry and make me feel guilty. She screams at me like a sergeant in the military.”
Tatum chuckled. “I still can’t picture it…”
“Because she likes you,” Thorn said. “She doesn’t always like me.”
My hand moved Tatum’s dress up slightly, enjoying the soft skin of her thigh. “Ms. Alexander, are your parents like that?”
“No,” she said with a chuckle. “But they live close by.”
“Connecticut is a bit of a commute,” Thorn said. “About an hour.”
I cocked an eyebrow, interested that Thorn knew anything about her parents.
Tatum wore the same expression.
Ms. Alexander seemed slightly unnerved by his statement. “Yeah, but they’re just a train away. I talk to my mom regularly. They’ve never really been clingy or overly affectionate. But if they lived in Chicago, they’d probably feel the same way.”
“Are you an only child?” I asked.
“Yep,” Ms. Alexander said. “So our family’s legacy and reproduction have fallen to me…unfortunately.”
“But you want to have kids,” Thorn said. “It’s not like it’s a burden.”
This time, Ms. Alexander flashed him a glare, silencing him with her ferocity.
Thorn looked away.
Now it was awkward again. Ms. Alexander obviously wanted to keep things professional, but Thorn didn’t want to keep up a charade now that he’d told Tatum everything about his personal life. The production they were putting on really had no meaning.
Thorn turned back to her. “They know we’re sleeping together. So let’s just be real.”
Ms. Alexander took a deep breath, but her eyes turned into daggers. “That’s our personal life. I don’t see why we need to talk about it…especially right in front of them.”
“They’re my family, baby,” Thorn whispered. “I respect your desire to remain professional, but these are the people I see all the time. They know everything about my life. It just seems pointless…”
Ms. Alexander looked away, dismissing the conversation.
“He’s right,” Tatum said. “We’re all friends here. I don’t think there’s any need to put up a fake image when we’re all involved. We all have the maturity not to let it interfere with work.” She gave Ms. Alexander a smile. “So, relax.”
“See?” Thorn moved his hand to her thigh under the table.
She didn’t push it away.
I couldn’t gauge their relationship by watching them. In public, their feelings weren’t so obvious. But judging by the way Thorn wanted to be open about what they had, their relationship did seem different from all the others.
I never put my hand on a woman’s thigh in a restaurant.
Except the one woman I wanted to marry.
“Diesel.” Thorn turned to me. “When’s the bachelor party?”
I was way too fucking old for a bachelor party. “Never.”
“Never?” Thorn asked incredulously. “You only get married once.”
“Yes, I’m looking forward to it.” I didn’t want to slip a bill into a stripper’s thong. I didn’t want to smoke cigars with men in the middle of a strip joint to relive my days as a single man. I didn’t want to get stupid drunk with a woman under each arm. Those days were long over. “I’m thirty-five. I don’t need a bachelor party.”
“Who cares how old you are?” Thorn countered. “We should celebrate.”
“I’m good,” I said dismissively.
“Please tell me you aren’t going to be lame.” Thorn turned to Tatum next.
She smiled. “Very lame.”
Thorn rolled his eyes. “When did the richest couple in the world become the lamest couple? Diesel, you’re supposed to watch women get naked one more time. And Tatum, you’re supposed to dance on a stage with a guy wearing nothing by a thong.”
Tatum grimaced. “Honestly, that doesn’t sound fun at all.”
“And why would I want to watch women get naked? I’ve got the hottest woman in the world right here.” I leaned into Tatum and kissed her on the cheek.
Thorn rolled his eyes again. “Fine. Say goodbye to your youth in the most pathetic way possible.”
“I’ve seen it all,” I said. “I’ve done it all. I said goodbye to that life the second I met Tatum. It’s not like I’m getting married young and missing out on anything. I’ve lived a life of single misery for too long.”
Ms. Alexander’s eyes softened.
Thorn’s did too, but he did a better job of hiding it.
“And if Tatum really wants to go out and watch a guy dance in a thong, she can watch me.” I turned to her. “Isn’t that right, baby?”
She
