Page 57 of Daddies' Captive

And it wasn’t easy.

“The two of you do that a lot,” she said as she picked up her menu, reading it with a frown.

“Do what?” Steele asked.

“Have conversations silently. I guess you’ve known each other a long time.”

“Yeah, a long time,” Grady said.

Steele frowned slightly, unable to read his tone.

“My best friend and I were like that,” she said.

Grady narrowed his gaze on her. “Were?”

“Yeah. He died in a car accident a long time ago.”

“He?” Steele asked.

She raised her gaze, looking slightly confused. “Uh-huh. His name was Joe. He was my best friend for years. We were driving home one night after we’d been to a wedding. Joe asked me to go as his date. A car tried to overtake another car going the other way, and we couldn’t get out of the way in time. That’s also how I injured my back.”

“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry,” Grady told her.

“Me too. Brooks got the worst of it.”

“Brooks?” Steele asked. Even though he knew that she was the guardian of a sixteen-year-old boy, Steele figured she wouldn’t be impressed to learn that Grady had done a background check on her.

“Yeah, Joe’s son. He came to live with me after Joe’s death.”

“What about his mom?” Grady asked.

Her face grew closed-off, anger flooding her features, which was surprising when she was usually so happy. “In jail.”

Christ. That poor kid.

“How long has Brooks lived with you?” Grady asked.

“Six years now.”

“What did his mom get put away for?” Steele asked.

“I don’t want to talk about that anymore. What’s celeriac?”

“It’s a variety of celery,” Grady told her.

Her nose wrinkled adorably. “Eww.”

“You don’t like celery?” Steele asked.

“It’s a vegetable, so no.”

“You don’t eat vegetables?” He gave her an alarmed look. That wasn’t healthy. He liked sweet things, but he still ate well.

“Hmm. I like raw carrots with dip. But not cooked carrots. They should be illegal.”

“Illegal?” Grady repeated.

“Uh-huh. Oh, and I like potatoes. All sorts of potatoes, really. I like fries, curly fries, mashed potatoes, potato skins, potato wedges, roasted potatoes. I mean, they’re basically their own food group. Oh, and sweet potatoes are good too.”

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