Page 10 of Beautiful Broken Love

“Sure does.”

“That must’ve been a burden growing up.”

I shifted in my seat. “What makes you say that?”

“My oldest sister grew up as the caretaker. She was like a second mom, when I think about it. She was always taking care of me. Thenagain, I’m the youngest, so ...” He shrugged like it was no big deal, but that small statement seemed loaded.

“Hmm. Well, there are downfalls and perks to being the eldest.”

“Really?” He sat up taller in his chair, placing both elbows on the table. “Care to share any?”

“One of the downfalls is that your parents are harder on you, but only because they’re afraid of what the world will do to you. You’re basically this guinea pig, and they’re trying to figure you out and how to get you to navigate the world properly. But as you age, they begin to trust you, so much so that they want you to watch over theirotherkids. But with that comes the annoyance of babysitting on weekends, when what you really want is to go out and have fun with your friends—and you can’t, because your ‘parent’ has to work, or they end up having things planned for themselves.”

I fiddled with my fork, hoping it’d distract me from the brewing frustrations. I didn’t want to think about my childhood, and I was glad Deke didn’t notice how worked up I was getting. I sipped my water to calm down.

“Okay. I hear that. What are the perks?” he asked.

“The perks ...” I chewed on my bottom lip. “Well, one of them is the independence that comes with being the oldest. We learn how to do a lot on our own. Sure, there can be burdens, but being older means getting out first, exploring the world first, becoming the most responsible—well, sometimes. In my case, it paid off. Being the oldest made me work harder for the things I wanted so I wouldn’t have to share with my siblings forever. Believe it or not, I had to wear my sister’s hand-me-downs. She grew up bigger than me.”

Deke gave me a warm smile. “That’s usually how it goes, isn’t it?”

“Yep.” I sighed, then looked him over, grinning. “So, you’re the baby.”

“I am.”

“I bet you’re so spoiled.”

He belted out a laugh. “Spoiled? Nah, I wouldn’t say all that. I may be the baby of the family, but I grew up to be a respectful gentleman.”

“And a charmer, apparently.” I took a sip of my water like it was hot gossip tea.

“What gives you that impression?”

“You’re trying to charm me right now.”

“You think so?” A smooth smile tugged at his lips. “How am I doing?”

“It’s sweet. Unfortunately, it won’t work on me.”

His eyes dropped to my ring finger, and this time he made it very clear that he was aware of it. He tapped the cushion-cut diamond while holding my gaze.

“I assume it’s because of this?”

I glanced at the ring, trying hard not to react to the heat of his finger. Instead, I gingerly pulled my hand away from his to pick up a slice of bruschetta. “That’s part of the reason.”

I tried not to think how ridiculous it was to still be wearing my wedding rings so many months after my husband died. Just like the dragonfly necklace, they felt sacred—like something I couldn’t take off, not even in the shower.

Deke’s lips pushed together before he said, “I respect that.”

“I’m glad you do. That makes you atruegentleman.”

“Can I ask you something, though?” he asked.

I eyed him. “Sure.”

“Are you happy with the man who put that ring on your finger?”

My back straightened like a board as I fought a frown. I hesitated before asking, “Why do you ask that?”

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