My dad gave another slap to the table. "Don't be shy, son. Go on. Tell us how you two met."
Lawton looked at me. "Chloe, you wanna tell the story?"
My mouth opened, but no words came out. What story should I tell? The one where I saw Lawton kick two guys' asses in the parking lot where I worked? The time I showed up on his doorstep, soaked and looking for a dog that wasn't even my own? The time I fell half-naked over his fence?
"Never mind," Lawton said, leaning forward. "Lemme tell it."
Chapter 61
I reached for my own wine glass and downed what little remained. I glanced at Josh. He was grinning from ear to ear, with both eyes on Lawton.
Lawton looked around the table. "It was right after this underground fight in downtown Detroit. I'd just had the worst beating of my life. Total massacre. And I'm lying there in a pool of my own blood—"
"Oh for the love of God," Loretta muttered.
"Mom!" Lauren Jane said. "Don't interrupt." She gripped Lawton's arm. "It's just getting good." She leaned closer to Lawton. "Go on. We're all dying to hear the rest of it."
"And I look up," Lawton said, "and I saw this girl, and she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen."
Lauren Jane's brow wrinkled. "Who was she?"
Josh spoke up. "It was Chloe. Wasn't it?"
Lawton nodded. "Yup." He gave Josh a significant look. "And you know what?"
"What?" Josh asked.
"She probably saved my life."
"I knew it!" Josh said.
Loretta was frowning. "That's some story," she said.
I tried to keep from laughing. It sure was. I'd never even been to one of Lawton's fights, not the real ones, anyway.
Lawton held up a hand, palm out. "All true, I swear."
Lauren Jane looked at him with narrowed eyes. "But you've never lost a fight in your life." She straightened in her seat and announced, "I know everything about him, probably even more than Chloe."
I snorted. If she had toaskhim about secret tattoos, she was way behind the curve on that one.
"What's so funny?" she said.
I blinked back at her. "Nothing." I gave a little pat to my throat. "Chicken bone."
Her jaw clenched. "We had turkey."
"Oh. Turkey bone then."
She pushed back from her seat. "I'm bored."
"Then maybe," Loretta said, "you can do the dishes."
"But I don't wanna do the dishes," Lauren Jane said. "I know. Make Chloe do it." Lauren Jane turned to me. "I mean, you're used to it, right?"
Lawton pushed back his chair too. "Sorry," he said, "but Chloe and I have to get going."
Loretta frowned. "Why?"
