Page 8 of Girl Between
He met her gaze. “You don’t?”
She instantly regretted the turn their conversation had taken. She was here to forget. “Discussion for another time,” Dana said, looping her arm back through his. “I thought you were going to show me New Orleans?”
“I am.”
“Jackson Square is hardly anything new,” she teased.
“Yes, but I’m sure Coop’s is,” George said, leading her down thecovered sidewalk of Decatur. They stopped in front of a worn brick building with a hanging sign announcing they’d arrived at their destination. A green cartoon alligator wearing a bib, merrily gripped a fork and knife next to the wordsCoop’s Place.
“Here?” Dana asked, looking worried for the first time since leaving Pat O’Brien’s with a complete stranger. She reminded herself that George was a cop, and they were still in the French Quarter, albeit at a local dive that she never would’ve ventured to on her own.
It looked like the type of place where the music stopped, and everyone turned to look when you walked in if you weren’t a regular.
“Come on,” George said, pushing open one of the old double doors and taking her hand. “We don’t bite. Hard,” he added with a wink.
9
Jake downed the warm cognac,Luca’s slightly astonished expression the only clue that the spirit was meant for sipping rather than shooting. But the consummate host, he simply refilled Jake’s glass without any fuss.
“So,” Luca started. “Shall we toast to brotherly bonds?”
Jake didn’t know if he could. He knew his anger was misplaced. None of this was the fault of the man across from him. But without Jake’s father there to curse, he needed an outlet. The best he could do was half-heartedly raise his glass and drain it again.
Taking Jake’s lead, Luca did the same and refilled both of their glasses.
“I have to say,” Luca admitted, “I was always waiting for a knock on my door.”
Jake started. “You expected your father had another family?”
Luca gave a sad smile. “No. But the way he disappeared, I had questions and hoped one day they’d be answered.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you,” Jake replied.
Luca set his glass down. “Disappoint?” He shook his head vehemently. “You’ve done no such thing. You’re my brother. As an only child, even one in his thirties, it’s a dream come true.”
“Tell me more about your family,” Jake prodded, this time sipping the cognac.
Luca shrugged. “I wish there was more to tell. You already know I never met our father. And my mother sadly died in an automobile accident when I was sixteen.”
“I’m sorry,” Jake offered.
“I married young. Marta, my childhood sweetheart. We had a daughter, Evaline. Marta didn’t get to meet her. She died in childbirth.”
Christ.Jake wished he hadn’t asked. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too,” Luca said. “We were young. Everyone told us it wouldn’t last. We never got the chance to prove them wrong.”
Jake couldn’t help admiring his half-brother’s obstinance. “And your daughter?”
“Evie?” Luca lit up, glancing at his watch. “She’ll be finishing school soon. I meet her at the bus stop each day and we walk home, stopping at our favorite pâtissier. Would you like to join us?”
Jake shook his head. He drained his cognac and stood. “I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time, Luca. Thank you for answering my questions. And for the drink.”
Luca stood, too. “When will I see you again?”
“I’m not sure you will.”
Luca opened his mouth to ask another question, but Jake didn’t give him the chance. He needed to leave before he lost the ability to do so. This wasn’t why he’d come to France. He wasn’t prepared to meet his half-brother, let alone like the guy. Having a relationship with him? That was out of the question.
