A Moment of Truth: A Complete Bonus Set (A Matter of Trust #1-2) by Q. T. Ruby Read Free Book Online Page A

ducking behind the menu.
    Our waiter comes by and takes our drink order—whiskey for Dan and wine for me.
    “So, what’s all this about?” I gesture to the empty, candlelit room.
    “Well, like I said, I figured if you didn’t want your flatmates to know about this, we ought to be extra cautious.”
    “Right. I think you just don’t want to be seen with me.” I tease, grinning.
    “Why would anyone want to be seen with you?” He scrunches his nose then laughs.
    I smile and shake my head. “You’re so smooth, so full of charm.”
    The waiter arrives with our drinks and we order our dinner.
    I take a sip of my wine, the heat of the alcohol calming me inch by inch as it descends. “How was the trip home? Aside from the running-for-your-life moment which, by the way, still cracks me up.”
    He shakes his head at me, grinning. “Yeah, well, other than that, it was fun. I just relaxed with my family and saw some friends. Nothing too exciting.”
    “Tell me about your family.” I lean in, ready to listen.
    “What would you like to know?” I’m surprised at how open he is, how it feels like I can ask him anything and he’ll answer.
    “Um . . . What do your parents do?”
    “My dad is a lecturer and my mum’s a nurse.”
    “Oh—like a teacher? That’s cool. Have they been married a long time?”
    “Yeah, nearly thirty years I think. They met at university and got married the summer after they graduated.”
    “Do you get along well with them?”
    Dan sips his drink and nods as if there couldn’t be another option. “Definitely. They’re very supportive. I don’t think I’d have gone into acting or kept at it without them behind me, honestly. The rejection can be really discouraging.”
    “I bet you don’t get rejected much.” Did I just say that out loud? I drink.
    He smiles sweetly. “I get turned down more than you think, actually.”
    “Yeah, sure.” I drink again, attempting to hide behind my glass. Topic change! “And you have two older sisters? Tell me about them. They sound like a riot.”
    “Yeah, the Twins of Doom, as I like to call them.”
    I crack up. “Twins of Doom?”
    “Yeah.” He nods. “And I’m not even joking. Charlotte is older by seven minutes—she’s a dentist; Gabrielle’s in advertising. They’ve always given me a hard time.”
    “But it’s all out of love, right?”
    “Oh yeah.” He nods enthusiastically. “Lots and lots of love.”
    We laugh and drink.
    “So do you get along with them?”
    “Yeah, actually we get on well enough—now that we’re older, anyway.”
    “So, what other stunts have they pulled?” I take a sip and lean closer, ready for more tales of the Twins of Doom.
    He narrows his eyes at me. “Why do you want to know?”
    “I think it’s funny. That story of you and them at the pub had me giggling for days.”
    “I’m glad you found it so entertaining.” He grimaces.
    “Yes, I did.” I just sit there and smile, waiting.
    His pretend pout sweeps into a wide smile. “I can’t believe I am telling you this . . . when I first started appearing in the papers, they’d cut out the photos and draw all sorts of things on them.”
    “Really? Like what?”
    “You are torturing me,” he says, grinning.
    I say nothing, waiting him out.
    “Fine. They would put marker makeup on them or draw horns and then send them to me. Things like that. Really quite mature.”
    I laugh, covering my mouth. “Siblings—you gotta love ‘em.”
    “I suppose. How about you? What’s your family like?”
    The mention of them is like being doused with ice water—I freeze up a bit and my buzz is gone. I take a big gulp of my wine. “Well, I have three older brothers. My mom stayed at home with us, and my dad is a banking executive.”
    “I’ve got sisters, you’ve got brothers . . .” He nods then says, “Did your brothers pick on you, as well?”
    “Oh yeah.”
    “Well . . . what’d they do?”
    “A lot,” I say, purposely being