He looked at her and realized she really didn’t believe him. “Maybe if you take a bite, you’ll realize I’m not joking.”
“I eat them every morning.”
“Then why did you decide on them for lunch?” he asked.
Rosslyn sighed. “It’s not what I had planned, but the cat I’m watching thought the ham and turkey were for her.”
“The cat ate them?” Rosslyn nodded. “I’m glad. I prefer these.”
“Well they go along with the theme.”
“So do chocolate covered bananas.”
Her eyes widened. “I should’ve made those.”
“What?”
“A peanut butter and banana sandwich,” Rosslyn said.
“Next time.”
She giggled. “Oh no. The pressure is on. How can I top these?”
“Guess we’ll have to go out again to find out.” Charles couldn’t believe he was suggesting they keep this going.
“Only if you promise to do more of the talking. Right now you seem to know a lot more about me than I do you.”
“What do you want to know?” Charles wasn’t sure giving her that power was a good idea, but he’d answer honestly no matter what she asked.
“Tell me about your family.”
“I have five younger brothers, all pretty much local, living either in the city or nearby. My father is retired, and he and my mother spend their time traveling.”
“After raising six boys, I bet she needed a vacation.”
He laughed. “A few of my brothers may have given her a few gray hairs. I, on the other hand, was a—”
“Don’t bother saying angel. Mama told me a few stories about you and Salvatore.”
“I’d never claim that. But when I was at home, I spent most of my time with my father. So whenever I got a break, I hung out with Sal. He showed me how to . . . have fun. Oddly enough my brothers never would believe the stories.”
“Why is that?”
“Being the eldest, the responsibility to be a good role model fell on my shoulders. That meant not getting caught doing anything wrong.”
“Ah, I get it. You had to look like the perfect child when in fact you were a little hellion.”
“Hey, what did Mama tell you?” Charles had been concerned leaving the two alone while he went to the men’s room during dinner.
“She made me promise not to tell.”
“Is that how it is?”
Rosslyn shrugged. “She said if I did, there would be no more desserts for me. Since she’s an amazing cook, there’s no way I can rat her out.”
“I might need to find a new place to take you. Someplace where no one knows me.”
“Don’t worry. They weren’t that bad. Actually she said you were the one who kept Sal out of trouble most of the time.”