Wild Nights With My Brother’s Ex-Best Friend novel Chapter 110

NICOLE

“Is that her?” Mason asks in my ear.

I turn to look at the entrance and see a woman walking into the diner on heels that are way too high. The black, sparkly, sequined dress she’s wearing is body-tight, and her heels are a Ferrari red color. When her gaze lands on us, I raise a hand to capture her attention. It’s really her, even if the profile picture on her social media was taken with a filter.

“She’s a rough forty-eight,” Mason comments in my ear before she makes her way over.

I turn to my brother. “It’s disgusting that you’d comment on a woman’s appearance like that.”

He all but rolls his eyes at me. “That’s the age she’s supposed to be according to her social media, idiot. Does she look forty-eight to you? No.”

“Your point?” I ask, bewildered.

“She’s a liar.”

Mason’s forced to fall silent when she sits across from us, smiling from ear to ear and flashing yellowed teeth at us. ” Hello! Why, why… never thought I’d see you children again. Jessie’s children. Who would’ve thought?”

She removes her faux fur coat and places it next to her onthe leather seat of the booth, right next to her purse that has seen better days. Her eye makeup is smudged along with her bright red lipstick. I manage a smile because Mason’s in his quiet mood and I know what this means. I know him so well.

“Thank you for meeting us here, Donna.”

“was sorry to read about your mama being dead,” she comments as she reaches into her purse for a pack of cigarettes. Is she really going to light this in this closed space? “What a shame. She was a nice woman: And you,” he jerks her chin in my direction, “look just like your daddy.

I blink a few times, unsure of what she means because ! never mentioned the whole father situation to her. I only wanted to know more about Richard’s. “I’m sorry, are you referring to…John Monroe?”

“Jessie didn’t tell you?” she questions, looking back and forth between the two of us, her lit cigarette resting between two long fingers. Even her fingernails are painted a bright red. She points at Mason. “Now, this is Johnny’s kid, alright. You look just like him.”

She knows the truth about my biological father. I never imagined she would. Her gaze finally settles on me. “I see.

You didn’t-”

I interrupt her. “I did. I found out recently and I wanted to find out more about him.”Donna looks at me for a long time. “To tell you the truth, didn’t really know. I knew Jessie got pregnant from another man and there was some talk, but when she left, all the talk died with her disappearance. Looking at you now? know who he is, alright.”

“Do you know his name?” I ask hopefully. Why is my heart beating so fast?

“Get me something to eat first, will you? I lose my train of thought when I’m this hungry. I haven’t had a proper meal in days, you know? A woman my age working the streets… it’s rough out there.”

I stiffen but raise my hand to catch the attention of one of the only three waiters in this joint. She walks up to our table, all smiles, but when her eyes settle on Donna, she stops. “What can I get ya?”

We order two small meals. I’m definitely not hungry-I’m too anxious for that. Donna, on the other hand, orders three plates. One with a sirloin steak and fries, one with eggs, sausage, and bacon along with half of a grilled tomato, and the other is a pasta dish.

“Will that be all?” the woman asks with a slight edge to her voice.

“Nah. We’re good, Natalie.”

The waitress, Natalie, glares at Donna before walking away. Donna lets out a bark of laughter, then has a coughing fit. “Sorry about that. And don’t mind her, she’sjust mad that I slept with her husband in the eighties.’

Once Donna has her dessert in front of her, she starts to eat, and for a moment, I’m afraid that this woman will only use us for a free meal and that maybe she doesn’t have any information on us. But it could be worse, right?

What if she had asked us for money?

“I’ll tell you what I know,” she says around a mouthful of pie. “What are you looking for exactly? What do you want from your visit here?”

“My biological father’s name, for starters.”

“Tough luck, sweetie. Nobody knows that bastard’s real name. We all called him The Bruiser, because he was… something, I’ll tell you.” This reminds me of what Katiesaid. “I’m a lady of the night. I deal with men on a daily basis, but let me tell you one thing: I only ever went to him once. And once was enough to scar me for life. It doesn’t matter that he pays well at all. He could kill you, and he’d have fun doing it.”

I shudder. Mason glances at me but I don’t return the look.

Donna continues, “You wanna find out more about him, you go to Richard’s. I’ve got a friend, Sandra, who’ll hetp you out. I don’t know how much she can help you because they’re bound by NDAs, but it’s your best shot.”

She pushes her empty plate to the edge of the table and looks at Mason for a long time over the rim of her coffee cup. “As for your father, well, I suggest you never go looking for him.

“Why?”

“Don’t ask too many questions,” she claims before tipping her head back and downing the whole cup. She raises her arm and I notice the scars and bruises on it for the first time. Donna smacks her lips. “It’s better for your safety if you never come across that man, ya understand? Thanks for dinner, boys and gals. It was nice meeting you both, but I really have to run.”