“No. He’s never mentioned him.”
“Can’t say as I blame him. Dad was a real piece of work. Always had a scam going. Insurance fraud, identity theft, catfishing old ladies.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Wish I was. He wasn’t above involving his own kids in his bullshit either. Austin did his best to shelter me from the worst of it. As you can imagine, Dad wasn’t the most attentive parent, so Austin made sure I ate my veggies and finished my homework.”
A sad smile pulls at my lips as I picture Austin as a kid, torn between being a child himself and being a caretaker to his little brother.
“I can definitely see him doing that,” I say.
“He almost didn’t enlist cuz he was worried about leaving me alone with our old man. But I was old enough to see our dad for who he was. I never said it out loud, but part of me was pissed at Austin for wanting to leave me behind. I didn’t want to be the reason my big brother stayed stuck. He’d been taking care of me since Mom left. Asking him to stick around for my sake felt selfish, you know?”
The server brings our food. Mike digs into his burger, taking large, unselfconscious bites. I munch a few of my fries, still not hungry, as a question looms large in my mind.
Am I being selfish by imposing the mess that is me onto Austin’s quiet, put-together life?
The day he told me he loved me, he also said not to be afraid to fall apart. But I don’t see how it’s fair to expect him to put up with my messes while I attract asshole reporters to his workplace and pull his brother away from his desk.
“Mind you, Austin never saw it that way,” Mike says. “He never begrudged me for all that time he spent babysitting me instead of going out with friends.”
“Sometimes I feel like I lean on him too much. Like I need more help than most.”
“If Austin’s helping you, it’s because he wants to. And he wouldn’t want you to feel guilty about it.”
He nods to something behind me. My heartbeat flutters at the sight of Austin making his way toward the booth.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, as he slides in beside me.
“I came as quick as I could.” He cups my face in his big, warm hand, his gaze searching mine. “Are you okay, baby?”
“I’m fine.” I can tell from the look he’s giving me that he knows damn well I’m not fine, not even a little.
Mike grabs his plate and his Coke and slides out of the booth. “I’ll leave you kids to it.”
“Thanks, man,” Austin says with a meaningful look. Mike must have texted him before we came here.
He drapes his arm around my shoulders.
“Did you get his name?” he asks.
“Whose name?”
“The asshole journalist who bothered you.”
“Oh... Yeah, but it’s fine, really. I doubt he’ll come back.”
“It’s not fine,” Austin says firmly. “I should’ve been there.”
“No, you shouldn’t have, and Mike shouldn’t have texted you—”
“If he hadn’t, I would’ve given him hell for it.”
“But you shouldn’t have to leave in the middle of the workday to come console me.”
His mouth tilts to the side. “Baby girl, one of the perks of being the boss is that I can come and go as I please.” He kisses my forehead, his gaze warm with affection. “Don’t you worry about my job. That’s Daddy’s business. Your job is to take care of yourself when I’m not there to take care of you.”
Even as I soak in the support of his body, I can’t help thinking that I’m not doing a very good job at anything these days.