Page 25 of Protecting Silver
“Sorry, but when you said Italian, I couldn’t resist. Personally, I could eat it at every meal.” He gave her a sheepish grin. “I even had left-over spaghetti for breakfast this morning.”
Silver shook her head at him, then turned and checked herself in the mirror beside the door. She picked up her clutch and turned back to him. “I’m ready if you are.”
“I am.” Patch escorted her out, gently took her keys from her to lock her door, then handed them back. As they walked down the hall to the elevator, he put his hand on the small of her back.
Thirty minutes later they were settled at a table in the Italian restaurant, looking over the menu. When they looked at each other, they grinned and said the same thing at once. “Lasagna.” Patch put his menu down, and studied Silver intently.
“What?”
“Another sort of medical question.”
Silver rolled her eyes at him, then nodded. “Go ahead.”
“Are you on any medications? I’m only asking so I’ll know what wine to order with our meal.”
“Oh, none that alcohol would affect. Just birth-control pills.”
“Good to know.” Patch grinned, then wiped his face clear when the waiter approached to take their order. Minutes later they were left alone again. Patch rubbed his hands against the legs of his slacks, and looked at Silver.
“What?”
“What did you mean by you were the Silver two point oh?”
Silver grinned, and took a sip of her water. “After what happened, I decided that I wasn’t going to take any crap from anyone anymore. I had a lot of time to reflect on my situation while recovering. I’m only going to mention Eddie’s name once, and that will be the only time. From now on, he’ll be referred to as a he or a him. Anyway, he was the fourth person I dated, but the first one I lived with. Since leaving him, I’ve never dated anyone again. That relationship broke up four years ago.”
“Was the reason why you didn’t date anyone, because you still had feelings for him?”
“No, it was because I needed to get my self-esteem back. I needed to be Silver again before I could be with anyone else.”
“That makes sense. Tell me about yourself. Where did you grow up?”
“In New York city. I’m an only child and both my parents are high-powered lawyers. However, they aren’t what you would think.”
“I don’t understand. I’m not judging here.”
Silver looked at him with wide eyes, then waved her hand. “Oh, no, I didn’t think that. What I meant was that most people think when I tell them about my parents’ jobs, they get the impression that I was raised by the housekeeper. Not in my house. My parents did have high-powered jobs, but they also were there for me. Every event for school, they were there. They were home each night, we all cooked and cleaned, you know, like a normal family. We were more than comfortable in the financial department, but they never lived outside of their means.” She paused when the waiter brought their salads, and because Silver still had to eat soft foods, she had opted for the soup instead of the salad. Once the waiter left them again, she continued.
“Remember me telling you about that car accident when we were hit by that drunk driver?” She looked at Patch and saw his nod.
“What about it?”
“Remember when I said Mom and Dad went after the drunk driver? Then the settlement was for monthly payments?”
“Yes?”
“Well, what I failed to mention was that our car and the drunk’s weren’t the only people involved in that accident. When we were hit broadside, our car was shoved into the car next to us. They had the exact same make and model, just a couple of years difference. There was something faulty with the metal supports inside the doors. When we were hit, it broke loose, and went into my leg, pinning me to my car seat. I was only five, but when our car hit the one driving next to us, their metal rods broke and pierced the front passenger and they were killed.”
“Holy shit,” Patch said as he looked at her with wide eyes.
“Yeah, when Mom and Dad sued the drunk driver, they also went after the car manufacturer. Turned out they knew about the faulty bars, and instead of making it a huge deal, they settled out of court. Mom and Dad wouldn’t take the settlement until they talked to the family of the deceased person. They didn’t want any fanfare, so it was settled. Once all the payments were made, there was a massive recall on the type of vehicles we both drove. I think by the time I was ten, that company had declared bankruptcy.”
“Damn. I know I should never ask a woman this question, but how old are you?”
“I’ll be thirty on my next birthday.”
“So, all this happened twenty-five years ago?”
“Yes, in New York. Anyway, one of my physical therapists suggested to Mom and Dad that I learn to ride a horse, that it would be great therapy for me. They looked into it, and after doing extensive research, they found a location that did equestrian therapy. Even after I was completely healed, I continued to go there to help the owners.”
