Chapter Thirty-two

Izabella watched Bram walk out the door and tried like crazy to pull herself back together. She was a fool and a jerk. She’d clearly hurt his feelings. Seeing him look sad, rather than him getting mad, had not been what she’d expected. Devon pulled out some napkins and handed them to her. “Dad said he’s going to try anyway. That he still thinks you’re a good fit. He just doesn’t like that he feels like you weren’t honest.”

“I understand. I wasn’t honest, and I don’t blame him for being angry about it. I’m angry at myself too.” Devon wrapped his little arms around her waist and hugged her tight. He was such a darling, she was glad he was around. Johnnie was just bringing their plates over.

“Sit, eat, I’m going to let your dad know the food is ready.” Izabella got up, and her legs were a bit shaky as she went to the door, poking her head out. Bram was standing with his head against the wall, eyes closed, a trail of smoke puffed from his mouth. Two women had already stopped on the sidewalk a dozen feet away, whispering behind their hands. Izabella frowned, how awful would it be to be fawned over everywhere you went, all the time. She completely understood why he would get annoyed when going out in public. “Bram?” She swallowed hard as his cold blue eyes met hers. She stepped outside, and closer to him. “I’m really sorry. The food is ready, I wanted to let you know so it doesn’t get cold.”

Dropping the cigarette, he squished it under his toe and strolled over to where she stood, his thumbs hooked through the belt loops of his jeans. He stopped in front of her, hooking a finger under her chin to have her look up at him. “I didn’t come out here because I was angry. You looked like you needed a moment. I know things have been rocky on both our ends since we met, but at least we’re getting all the unpleasantness out of the way early. I do understand what happened, so I don’t blame you. I just… have a jaded past when it comes to these types of secrets and get defensive. Most people are not as honest and open as you’ve been.”

Izabella couldn’t help but throw her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. “I really am sorry.” She sighed, letting her head rest on his chest as his arms circled around her. He rubbed her hair gently.

“It’s alright. Why don’t we get inside and eat?” When she looked up at him, his large hands cupped her face and the pads of his thumbs wiped away any remnants of tears left on her cheeks.

“Can we just stay like this for a minute?” She whispered into his chest.

“Of course. You okay?” His thumb ran circles over the arm, and his other hand rubbed her back soothingly.

She hadn’t been comforted since her father passed. There were condolence hugs, and promises to do anything if she needed help, but nothing like this. She felt safe in his arms. “I think I’m just feeling emotional because it’s been a long few days, and I’m just tired. I haven’t hugged anyone like this since dad died. It just feels good. I guess I’ve been lonely.” Bram stayed quiet the entire time, comforting her gently. “I’m sorry… I lied to you and you’re the one comforting me. I feel so bad.”

“You didn’t really lie.” His voice sounded deeper than usual, but she didn’t want to break whatever magic was happening right now.

“A lie of omission is still a lie.”

“Not when you meant to tell someone and were never given the chance.” His arms tightened around her, holding her even closer. “I do have to admit, this does feel good. I guess it’s easy to forget how lonely we can become.” Her head rose and fell with his chest as he sighed. “You know, we could just go home and turn on a movie and sit like this on the couch all night long.”

Izabella laughed, pulling away from him. “You have a one track mind, don’t you?”

“What? You just said it was nice.” She turned, heading back to the door and pulling it open. He took the door from her but waited. “I’m not walking through a door before a woman. I got the hard lessons on how to be a gentleman young, and if my mother ever saw me do such a thing, she’d kill me.”

“So prim and proper.” Her hand touched his side gently, and she hadn’t even thought about it. Though, she could have sworn his blue eyes were darker now than they had been earlier. She went through the door without giving him a hard time and slid into the bench with Devon. Bram took his seat across from them again, and their food was already there, waiting for them. Devon had stollen the small bowl of fresh fruits Bram had ordered though. “Hey, I don’t think those were for you.”

“It’s fine.” Bram smiled. “I ordered them because he won’t eat his fries, but he would have argued if I asked him to get something else. So, I’ll steal his fries and he’ll steal my fruit.”

“That’s really cute, actually.” Izabella smiled, “Either one of you want to pray with me?” She looked at them, Bram just shook his head, and Devon looked up at her. He folded his hands like she did, and then she said the prayer slowly allowing him to follow. Bram waited respectfully to be done before lifting his burger.

“This looks really well done.”

“Actually, that’s the Matt Special.” She laughed. “My dad loved Ronnie’s burgers, because he would sear the outside and leave the inside pink, so he would get the best of both worlds. Johnnie’s may not be as good as Ronnie’s, but it’ll be close. Oh, dad also used to cut off the corners, during the sear, they cook the fastest, so they were always well done.” Pushing out of her seat, she went to stand by his plate and took her fork and knife and pulled away a good chunk of corner meat. She was right, it was well cooked at that part, but the center looked incredible. It was a nice, melty pink.

“Thank you.” He said as she pinched the last corner, sticking the little piece of meat in her mouth and licking her fingers. There was something in his eyes that she couldn’t quite put her finger on, but it left her feeling happy and excited. She’d never met anyone else like him before, and he was stirring some wonky emotions inside her.

As Bram bit into the burger, his mouth stilled on the bun, just like her father’s used to. His eyes closed and he looked like he was really enjoying it. “Okay. Your dad found a gem. This is probably the best damn burger I’ve ever had.”

Izabella couldn’t have been prouder of those words if he had said it about her own cooking. “I knew you would like it.”

The ate in silence for a while, and it was nice. The women that had been ogling him outside had come in for lunch too. They sat close by, but clearly lost interest when they saw the child at the table. She wondered if that was part of the reason he chose to adopt a child. Did he use Devon as a buffer to avoid the women that followed him around? Not that she believed Bram adopted him for that reason, but it may have been a silent perk.

“Are you up forgoing to the orphanage still? Like you said earlier, it’s been a long haul the last few days. I’m exhausted, and emotionally done. I was thinking it may be more beneficial to call it a day. If we go home early, we could make an appointment with the Caregiver for tomorrow and start focusing on those plans alone. It may not be quite as heavy if we take this in waves instead of jumping into all these unknown waters all at once.”

Devon immediately started to pout and wine, but Izabella put her arm around him. “Come on, your dad’s right. I would love to just have a little time with you guys. We’ve been out and about since lunch yesterday. Maybe we could watch a movie or something and just vegge out on the couch for a while.”

“Fine.” He said, “But when we get home I want to play that new game dad bought me.”

Bram and Izabella exchanged a glance, and he picked up his phone. “Hey, Tyler, what are the chances you or someone could come and help set up a new game console for me?”