Page 43 of The Deadbeat DILF
My jaw dropped. It was Mike.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
It had been years since I saw Mike, but I recognized him immediately. He had the same chocolate brown eyes as Robert, and a similar bone structure with a sharp jawline. However, his hair wasn’t brown, but black, like his mother’s.
Mike’s brows came together. “Are you on a date?” he demanded, his gaze falling on our joined hands.
Robert and I ripped our hands apart. I tucked mine into my lap.
What was Mike doing here? How was he here, out of all the places in the city?
“We’re not,” Robert replied calmly, but his face had gone pale. “Brooke finished a big case. We’re celebrating.”
I nodded, unable to form words. People from nearby tables were looking at us, and I could feel their stares like hot coals against my skin.
“Celebrating?” Mike said, crossing his arms over his chest. Like us, he was dressed nicely, wearing a blue suit jacket over a white shirt. “Over steak and wine in a nice restaurant? How do you two even know each other?”
I looked at Robert. I wasn’t sure what Mike did or didn’t know, and I didn’t want to say anything that Robert wasn’t okay with.
“I’m living with Brooke at the moment,” Robert replied. His tone was nonchalant, but I could tell it was forced.
“What?” Mike replied.
“My landlord evicted me. I knew Brooke was a lawyer, so I asked her for legal help. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do, but she kindly offered me to live in one of her spare bedrooms.”
I’d never paid it too much thought before, but now I realized that Mike knew nothing about Robert’s situation. They were father and son. Did they not keep in touch?
Mike’s eyes widened. “You’re living with my ex-girlfriend? Do you know how weird that is?”
Robert lowered his head, withdrawing, going eerily quiet. I’d never seen him like that before, and anger flickered within me. I turned to Mike.
“We dated in college, which was years ago,” I reminded him. “We’re all adults here.”
“You know he’s twenty years older than you, right?”
“He was in a terrible predicament, and I was more than happy to help.”
Mike rolled his eyes. “That’s the story of his life. He falls into trouble and relies on other people to get him out of his own mess.”
“Mike—” Robert began, his tone tired, almost pleading.
“No,” Mike snapped, pointing a finger at his father. “You got evicted? I bet that was your own damn fault. Then you go knocking on my ex-girlfriend’s door, begging for charity. Do you even care how you’re making me look? You’re embarrassing me.” Mike turned his attention to me. “He’s taking advantage of you, Brooke. I thought you were smarter than that.”
I straightened in my chair, outraged. I opened my mouth, ready to rip Mike to shreds, when Robert interrupted me.
“Don’t,” he said, shaking his head at me. “We should probably go.”
My brows came together. “Why aren’t you defending yourself?” I asked him. “Are you really going to let him talk to you like that?”
“Oh, I could say a whole lot worse,” Mike said, his voice venomous. “This man’s the worst dad in the world. An absolute deadbeat.”
“Shut up, Mike,” I snapped.
“You might think you’re doing a good deed, Brooke, but I promise you, this man will cause you a lot more trouble than he’s worth. He destroys everything around him.” He shot his dad one final glare before stalking off.
Robert and I sat in silence. I was so angry, I was almost shaking. Slowly, I became aware of whispers from nearby tables, and my skin went hot. I was so embarrassed, but also furious. I wanted to chase Mike and demand that he say sorry for upsetting Robert. Seeing Robert’s expression now—his frown, his hollow eyes—made my chest ache.
“We should go,” he said, his voice toneless. He put some cash on the table before getting to his feet.
