Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77039 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77039 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
But that isn’t going to happen.
Not until tonight, at least.
“Are you hungry?” she asks me.
“Hungry for you.” I discreetly pat her on the backside.
“Yeah, me too. I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Believe it, baby. I’ve known for a while that you’re the one for me.”
Her eyes widen. “Really?”
“I think I’ve made that pretty obvious, haven’t I?”
“You made your attraction obvious to me. I had no idea your emotions ran deep.”
“They do, sweetheart. They do.”
She blushes adorably. “They do for me too, Brendan.”
With Ava blocking me from the crowd, I adjust the bulge in my jeans. “That said, since we can’t go make love somewhere, yes, I will settle for some food. The magnificent Greek food, and some magnificent bread made by my love.”
She takes my hand and leads me to a seat. It’s the table of honor, where her parents are seated.
Ryan and Ruby are smiling, though it seems kind of forced from both of them.
“Hello, Brendan.” Ryan stands and shakes my hand. “So you’re Ava’s date tonight.”
“I am, sir.”
I’m not sure where the sir came from, but I’m seeing him now as Ava’s father and not the man who’s keeping secrets.
“We’re happy to have you join us at our table.” He gestures. “Have a seat.”
I hold out a chair for Ava.
“You look lovely this evening, sweetie,” Ruby says.
“Thanks, Mom.”
It doesn’t escape my notice that Ava does not meet her mother’s gaze.
Gina arrives then, taking the seat next to her father. She gives him a kiss on the cheek. “Hi, Daddy.”
“Hi, sweet pea.”
“You look gorgeous, Mom.”
Ruby smiles again. “Thank you, G.”
I’ve been to many Steel parties during the past ten years. Sometimes there’s a sit-down dinner like tonight, served in their vast backyard. Other times it’s a buffet setup, like it was for Talon Steel’s welcome home party after he was shot.
Another unsolved Steel mystery. Who shot Talon Steel? So much going on with this family. Is it possible that these messages have anything to do with his shooting?
Servers appear and slide plates of food in front of Ryan and Ruby.
They wait politely until Ava says, “Go ahead and eat, Mom and Dad. You don’t want your food to get cold. No need to wait for the rest of us.”
“Don’t be silly,” Ruby says. “We’ll wait.”
Turns out they don’t have to wait long. Within another minute, the rest of the people at the table have been served, and it looks delectable. I slide my paper napkin onto my lap and inhale the spicy aroma. Then I turn to Ava. “I don’t know anything about Greek food. What do we have here?”
“That is a stuffed grape leaf.” Ava points to the dark-green bundle at the top of my plate. “It’s a Greek dinner, so Aunt Marj and I decided we had to have stuffed grape leaves. But they’re tiny, and you may not like it.”
I pick it up and take a bite. It’s surprisingly good, in an acidic sort of way. “I will eat whatever you put in front of me. This is good. What’s inside?”
“Rice and ground beef, seasoned with parsley, dill, and mint, plus some salt and pepper, of course. I’m surprised you like it.”
“Why wouldn’t I? It’s delicious. What else do we have?”
She smiles. “The thing that looks like lasagna is moussaka. It’s made with eggplant and béchamel sauce. And then of course this is a kebab with basmati rice seasoned with saffron. On the kebab is beef marinated in gyro spices—mostly garlic, cumin, and thyme—along with onion and red pepper. Then we have some tabbouleh—a wheat salad—and some tzatziki sauce made with yogurt and cucumber.”
“It all looks amazing. I’m not sure I’ve ever had any of these things, other than a kebab, of course.”
“I hope you love them all.”
She grabs the breadbasket from the table. “And I know you don’t want to miss my pita and my olive bread. But save room for dessert. I made fresh baklava, and Aunt Marj made one of her famous cakes.”
Ryan and Ruby don’t say much during dinner, but that’s not all that unusual. The Steels always serve a ton of food, and people eat heartily here.
I clean my plate quickly, and the server comes by and asks if I want seconds, but I shake my head. “No, thank you. I need to save room for my lovely lady’s baklava.”
Only then do I notice that neither Ryan nor Ruby ate much. Both their plates are nearly full when the server takes them away. Very unusual for a Steel—or anyone at a Steel party, as the food is always delicious and plentiful.
Ava interrupts my thoughts. “Did you like everything?”
“I cleaned my plate, didn’t I?”
“You did. I’m noticing a lot of plates going back to the kitchen with the stuffed grape leaf intact.”
She’s frowning, but I can’t tell if she noticed her parents’ plates.