Page 47 of Mr. Dangerous

"Okay." I took my plate off the table, using my chopsticks to scoop up some sticky rice. He hadn’t exactly imparted a lot of important fatherly wisdom over theyears.

"I know things have been rough between us for the past few years,"Mitchsaid.

I glanced away, across the busy dining room; at large round tables nearby, big families sat together, from small children sitting up on their knees to reach the table to smiling grandparents. I braced myself for whatever manipulative web he was going tospinnow.

"Rob, would you look at me?" Mitch's voice wasimpatient.

"Sure, Mitch," I said, swiveling to look at him, my tone coollycondescending.

"Mitch?" He shook his head. "Whatever. We only have a few minutes before your girlcomesback--"

"She's notmygirl."

"I'm not blind, I'm not an idiot, and I don't care." Mitch said. "But I need to talktoyou.”

“I’mlistening.”

"I want you to know that the things that happened when you were in high school, they were complicated. More complicated than they looked on thesurface."

"I can't imagine how drunk driving is more complicated than it looks," I said. As long as we were beingblunt...

"I made mistakes," Mitch said doggedly. "I'veownedthem."

"Except in the civil suit." Somehow, a criminal case had never been brought against his father. Mitch had made sure he didn't have to pay for his sins in the literal sense; the team of lawyers he'd brought to bear in the civil case had made Ally Greyson's lawyers looks like a joke. And then Ally had died, and her family had given up the fight. I felt my stomach churn, and I dumped my plate back onto thetable.

"Rob. I don't want you to think the wrong thingsaboutme."

"I wish I didn't think of you the way I do," I said coolly. Mitch's handsome mouth turned down in surprise, his eyes widening slightly. I felt a surge of anger at his expression of hurt. He wasn't the victim in this story, not evenclose.

Naomi wound her way through the tables, stopping abruptly as a toddler in a long pink dress ran in front of her. She shared a smiling moment with the bob-haired girl. Then the girl ran off to her mother and Naomi continued towards us, her face stillhappy.

"Are you done? Can we go now?" Iaskedhim.

"Can you go now?" Mitch's voice was just as soft. Neither of us wanted our voices to carry to Naomi. "What'll shethink?"

"Maybe I'll take her to the movies. She won't mind." There was a fantasy. Naomi willingly going on a date with me, letting loose and having fun. I could imagine Naomi grinning as I tucked her under my arm, as we meandered down the colorful, grittystreets.

"Yeah, you do that, "Mitchsaid.

Naomi reached the table, plucking her red napkin off her chair so she could slide back into her seat, and I smiled at her. "Do you have a recommendation for desert? I don't usually indulge, but I think Naomi deserves desert after the last twenty-four hourswe'vehad."

"I'd hate to take you away from your caveman diet,"Naomisaid.

Mitch rose from the table, his leanly tanned hands trembling faintly. There was a faint flush across his high cheekbones. Things were always tense between us, but I couldn't help feeling like today was different. Mitch, always so proud to show off his knowledge of his adopted city of Boston, didn't offer up a recommendation forgelato.

"Well," Mitch said, leaning in to hug me. I hugged him back automatically. "I guess I should let you know I'm proud of you, son. And Iloveyou."

"Love you too," I said, the words quicker than thought. I hadn't heard Mitch say that since I was a boy. Mitch would come home from work after we kids were already lullabied-and-good-nighted by our mother. I always fought sleep until I saw my father silhouetted in the doorway, tall and lean in his expensive suit. Mitch would hesitate until he saw fluttering eyelashes, and then come kneel next to the bed, running a hand over my bristly dark hair.Love you, son. Sleep well.I would murmur the words back, already falling asleep by the time the door latched shutbehindhim.

I didn't know how long it had been since I had told someone I loved them. It felt like it had been twentyyears.

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