Big Daddy Sinatra: There Was a Ruthless Man (The Sinatras of Jericho County Book 1) by Mallory Monroe

very young.   And very fit.
    She sat
her huge shoulder bag on the floor between her legs.
    “That
a big purse,” Charles said.
    “When
you rely on the kindness of friends and public transportation, you have to be
prepared for any clothing changes, any weather changes, anything.   I come prepared.”
    Charles
smiled.   He’d never met a woman quite
like her.   “Had dinner yet?”
    “No.   But you have.”
    “I
have not.   I had a beer, nothing
more.   I preferred to break bread with
you tonight, not two crusty old white guys.”
    Jenay
laughed.
    “What’s
your favorite restaurant?   We’ll go
there.”
    “When?   Now?”
    “Why
not?”
    Jenay
smiled.   “Yeah.   Why not.”
    “So
where do you, Jenay Franklin, like to go?   And I know it’s not this place.   I
know it’s not Capani’s.”
    “Most
definitely not!   But as for my
favorite?   Nothing fancy. I like Red
Lobster.   What about you?”
    Charles
cranked up.   “Are you kidding?   I’m from Maine, sweetheart.   The lobster capital of the world!   Red Lobster it is!”
    Jenay
felt elated, as he backed up, and sped off.

 
    But
Red Lobster on a Friday night was so crowded that they would have to wait
another hour before they could be seated.   Jenay and Charles both were already dead on their feet.
    “Let’s
go to the house,” she whispered in his ear as they huddled in the overcrowded
vestibule inside the restaurant.   “I’ll
throw us something together.   At least we
can kick off our shoes and relax.”  
    Charles
loved the idea.   He placed her arm in his
and headed back outside.   “You and those
shoes,” he said with a laugh.

 
    They
sat at her small, kitchen table and ate the last of her spinach omelet.   Charles thought she was kidding when she
suggested it. He was a big man with a big appetite.   But it was loaded with turkey bacon, with
cheese, with roasted red peppers and other veggies.   It was delicious.
    “And
you graduate when again?”
    “June
5 th .   In a little over a
week.   But who’s counting?”
    He
smiled.   “You’re excited?”
    “Very.”
    “What
about your parents?   You heard from
them?”
    “No.
I haven’t called them.”
    “I’m
sure they would like to hear from you.   They’re your blood.   You need
somebody to look out for you in this world, Jenay.   I don’t know what I would do if my sons
didn’t stay in touch with me.”
    Jenay
didn’t respond to that.   It was her
parents who decided she wasn’t good enough, not the other way around.
    “So,”
he said, as he cleaned his plate and pushed it away, “what do you normally do
on a big Friday night?”
    “A
number of things,” Jenay responded.   She
was still eating.
    “Such
as?”
    “Well,
I might study if I needed to.   Or I’ll
catch a movie or go out with some friends.   Or I’ll just read and enjoy a good book.”
    “I
don’t get it.   A girl as gorgeous as
you.   Where are all the handsome young
men?”
    “Being
handsome and young, I suppose.”   She
didn’t finish eating, but she pushed her plate aside.   “They don’t interest me.”
    Charles
considered her.   “Why are you bothering
with me then?” he asked.
    She
smiled.   “I’ve only seen you twice in
seven weeks, Charles. You’re hardly a bother.”
    But
he continued to stare at her.   She hadn’t
answered his question.
    She
felt as if she was putting it on the line.   “You’re different,” she said.
    “How
so?” he asked.
    “Just
different.”
    “You
mean because I’m white?”
    “Because
you’re not like any other guy I’ve known before.   You tell it like it is, for one thing.   You don’t beat around the bush.   You don’t flatter me to get into my panties,
you just get in.”
    Charles
laughed.
    “And
when I needed you, after that accident, you were there.   You’ll never know how good it felt when I
stepped out of that car and saw you coming.   It was a very special