Page 104 of The Fallen Ones

I looked at Brandon in confusion. He’d rushed me and made me think we were going to be late. He’d even made me feel bad for wasting time talking to Caleb, and it turned out we were actually early, and not by a little, but by fifteen whole minutes? I was confused by the entire situation since he’d been so adamant about getting here on time.

“Look, Miss–” He glanced at her name badge. “Tara, my girl and I would like to be seated. How about you do that for us.” He leaned in close across the greeter’s station.

“Sir, we don’t have any tables available for another fifteen minutes. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to wait.” She clutched her clipboard against her chest in a protective manner, her voice slightly trembling.

“I don’t think you understand. My uncle owns this place. He wouldn’t be too impressed if I told him I’d been made to wait. Do you understand where I’m going with this, Tara?” Brandon’s voice grew threatening.

It scared me, so I could only imagine how the greeter felt.

“Brandon, it’s fine. We can wait,” I pleaded, not wanting to cause any drama.

“Stay out of this. I won’t be made to wait in my own uncle’s restaurant. Especially not when I'm with you.”

An older gentleman joined us at the greeter’s station. “Mr. Rogers. Sorry about the misunderstanding. Tara is new here. Come follow me. We’ve made your usual table available for you.” He gestured for Brandon and I to follow.

As I trailed behind Brandon I wondered how many girls he brought here since the older man had said this was his usual table. Of course, he did say it was his uncle’s place, so maybe he just came here often since it was family owned.

Jace, Caleb, and even Liv warned me about Brandon, but I’d dismissed all three of them.

I shook the thought from my mind and took a seat.

“I’ll have a Steak au Poivre, side salad, and bring over some wine,” Brandon said to the waiter before turning to me. “Lily do you want the same?”

“Is it OK if I look at the menu a moment?” I asked hesitant and very conscious of the prices in these kind of places. I didn’t want to order anything too expensive and make Brandon think I owed him anything. It was too soon for that.

“She’ll have the same as me.” He ordered for me without giving me a second to look over the menu. “I hope that’s OK?” he asked after the waiter left. His mood had shifted and his words were more gentle now.

I smiled back at him, hoping the tension stayed at bay. “Yeah. It’s great. Thanks.”

“You do seem like the indecisive type. Why is that?” He fixed his gaze on me.

I searched my mind for an answer, but I guess I didn’t really have one. I found myself shrugging my shoulders.

“Don’t just shrug your shoulders at me. Give me an answer,” he said, almost demanding, the mood switching again.

“I-I’ve… always been this way.”

“You need to work on that. It’s not a good trait to have.” He offered me unsolicited advice.

I stared down at the table. I knew he was right. My indecisiveness had led me to this entire crazy situation. Both with Brandon but more so with the Fallen Ones. And then of course there was the individual situations I faced with Jace, Caleb, and even Damien.

“Lily.” Brandon’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Huh? Sorry, what did you say?” I asked, feeling embarrassed for not listening.

“Drink.” He pointed at the glass of wine in front of me. I’d zoned out so much that I hadn’t even realized the waiter had placed it down on the table.

“You feeling OK?” The concern in his voice seemed genuine. Again with the mood shift with him. It was confusing because I didn’t know which version of him was going to come out of his mouth. The nice Brandon or the irritated Brandon.

“Yeah. I’m fine. I’ve just been so focused on my artwork lately. You know, I’ve been thinking lately that I want to open my own art studio after college,” I replied.

“Well, who knows, if you end up on my arm you won’t have to worry about anything in life again. You can stay at home and paint all you like. You won’t need to open up some hippie studio.” He gave me a grin as if I’d agreed to his outlandish plan.

“I wouldn’t want to live off someone else like that. I want to sell my artwork and make my own money.”

I grabbed hold of my wine glass and took a nervous sip. If this was how our night was going to go, I didn’t see it ending well.

“That’s admirable and all, but why work when you could have a man provide for you? I’d always provide for my girl. She’d never want for anything.You’dnever want for anything, Lily. Besides, is your artwork really that good to be able to live off?” He raised his brows at me.

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