Page 22 of His Noble Heart

“It’s a job, not a career, and what man wants their mother, or any woman they love, cleaning up after other muthafuckas for a living?”

I nodded. “Point taken.”

“She’s never made enough to pay all the bills. I’ve been doing what I could to help her out since I was ten.”

Ten? There aren’t many ways a ten-year-old can earn money. I wonder what kind of things he did.

“That’s very admirable of you. Is that why they didn’t stay in Savannah?”

“Partially.”

“What’s the other part?”

“Damn, you ask a lot of questions. We won’t have shit to talk about at the restaurant,” he said with a smile.

“You’re right. I’ll chill until after we order our food.”

I told him as much as I could about Onyx City for the next few minutes until we arrived at the restaurant. Once inside and seated, we took our time reviewing the menu, discussing items we could order and share. After we received our drinks and placed our orders, I returned to my previous line of questioning.

“So, what was the other reason your mom and sister didn’t stay in Savannah?”

“Enough about me. How about I ask you a few questions?”

I wasn’t sure if he was avoiding the question or if he was tired of talking about himself, but I assumed the latter.

“Go for it,” I agreed.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-eight. You?”

“I’ll be twenty-nine on October thirtieth.”

“Hmm . . . a Scorpio.” I never dated a Scorpio.

“You got a problem with Scorpios?” he questioned.

“How could I have a problem with Scorpios when I’m one too? My birthday is November eleventh.”

“Interesting.”

“Very. Celebrating our birthdays together could be a vibe.”

“Look at you, planning for the future. I agree. Do you have any other siblings besides your sisters?”

“I have an older brother, and both of my sisters are younger. It’s just you and your sister, right?”

“Pretty much.”

“What do you mean, pretty much? Do you have other siblings?”

“My father has three other sons, all older than me. I heard the one closest to my age passed away.”

I narrowed my brows, confused by the second part of his statement.

“Youheardhe passed away?”

“That’s what I said.”