Page 51 of The Chosen Son

In truth, until this very moment, I hadn’t had one. “B is for burgers, obviously,” I said, rolling my eyes like this had been the ace up my sleeve the entire time.

Taking his hand, I marched straight through the dining room, past the sputtering maître ‘d, doing his best to grovel while chasing after us, apologizing for whatever had not been up to my usual standards, then we emerged into the warm night beyond.

Cameron drew in a deep breath, and the hand gripping mine relaxed. It was the perfect night for a stroll, and now that we weren’t in a rush, we slowed our pace and took our time. I savored these last moments, and I could sense Cameron watching me from the corner of my eye, but whatever curiosity he harbored, he didn’t voice it.

We ended up at Burger Bliss Bistro, a tiny hole-in-the-wall family-run restaurant that had been in danger of closing until I came along and bailed them out. I could’ve replaced it with a Starbucks or even bulldozed the building to the ground if I’d wanted, but the truth was, I’d never had food this good—not even at the high-end cuisineestablishments I owned. And the owners, well… they’d essentially decided to adopt me because of it.

I pulled open the door and stood aside to usher Cameron inside. “After you.”

“Why, thank you, kind sir,” he said with a little mock curtsy.

As we stepped through the doorway, we were hit with the most delicious aroma, and I swore I’d never evoked such an erotic sound from Cameron as the moan he gave now. “Sweet baby mother of pearl,” he groaned.

“I suddenly feel very inadequate,” I said with a laugh.

“Ahh! There he is!” Mama Venti said, coming around from behind the counter to squeeze my face between her palms—then she smacked me up the back of the head.

“Ow! What was that for?” I asked, rubbing at my head.

“You haven’t been in to see us in months. You made me and Poppy worry about you! You know better than that.” Cameron’s giggle brought her attention over to him, and she immediately shoved her way between us and guided him with an arm around his shoulders toward my usual table next to the kitchen. “You seem like such a nice boy, surely too good for that lazy bum. Let me introduce you to my grandson.”

“Hey!” I groused, following behind. I knew she was kidding, and beyond that, I knew Cameron wasn’t mine to keep, but it got under my skin all the same.

We sat across from each other at the tiny table with the red-checkered tablecloth, our knees bumping. When we tried to order, Mama simply tutted and told us that she would take care of us, and I knew exactly what that meant.

After she’d hurried back into the kitchen, yelling at Poppy to put some meat on the grill, I loosened my tie and pulled it off, shoving itinto my pocket, before leaning across the table toward Cameron. “I hope you’re hungry, because I have experience with her idea of ‘taking care,’ and I might need to carry you home afterward.”Home…My grin threatened to fall when I realized what I’d said, but Cam didn’t seem to notice.

“Thank you for doing this. I know you had a nice dinner planned. I didn’t mean to ruin it.”

“Nah, you didn’t ruin anything. In fact, I think this is an improvement.”

Cameron’s eyes softened as he reached the short distance to take my hand. “I’ve never seen this side of you before.”

“And what side is that?” I asked, guarded.

“The nice one.” His smile grew, and I felt his words sink into me like claws. “I think I like it.”

This was a bad idea. I’d only been thinking that I wanted to share my favorite restaurant with him, but now I felt like I was walking through a minefield while wearing wide-toed clown shoes. I was trying to cut ties, not entangle us further together.

I reminded myself of all the things my father drilled into me. That kindness meant weakness, that generosity made men easy to take advantage of.

That love had no place in war…

The rest of our meal was spent in increasingly chilly silence. Cameron did his best to engage me in conversation, but I didn’t want to talk—couldn’ttalk—and eventually, he gave up trying. My throat had begun to tighten like it was caught in a noose. One way or another, losing Cameron had always been inevitable.

I could tell Mama was worried too, since I’d barely touched my food, but instead of her usual good-natured ribbing about needing to fatten me up, that I was practically wasting away to nothing, she tookone look at my face and saw something dark… somethingdreadful. She shrank away from me, as did the other patrons as we left the restaurant.

As we walked out, I shoved through the door first, not bothering to hold it open for Cameron. I didn’t reach for him or guide him with a hand at the base of his spine. He didn’t let me get away with that behavior, though. He jogged to catch up with me and took my hand, and when I let a trickle of fear out, he only held on tighter.

“I know what you’re doing, and it won’t work,” he said.

“And what is it you think I’m doing?” I snapped, setting a brisk pace, my long legs forcing him to take two steps for every one of mine.

“You’re trying to push me away. I just don’t know why.” I could hear the strain in his voice, feel the clammy sweat begin to form on his palm in mine as he absorbed my unnatural gift. Why wouldn’t he just let me go?

I stopped abruptly and turned to him. His face was pale and shiny, the lines around his eyes tight, visible signs that he was fighting against my influence. It nearly killed me, but I dialed it up another notch until his legs began to shake. I didn’t want to lose Cameron, but this was something I needed to do. For Gorgias, for the future stolen from me.

Setting my hands on his shoulders, I stepped back from him, even as every fiber of my being told me to hold him close. “Go back to Phobos. He’ll treat you better than I ever could.”

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