AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hank glanced at Joe. “I hope I’m not dead by the time he spits it out.”
Joe snorted.
“Here we go.” Killian tapped his fingers on the table. “I need to woo Anne.”
“Woo? Who the hell says that?” asked Joe.
“Me, asshole. Now shut up and listen.” Killian swallowed the frustration he was feeling. At this rate, he’d be an old man sitting at the table waiting for advice. Maybe he should have asked one or two of Anne’s girlfriends to help. They would have good advice and a hell of a lot quicker with it.
“Explain,” Joe said, a solemn expression on his face.
Thankfully, someone was taking this seriously. However, it was hard to tell because Joe didn’t smile much at all.
“Well, I realized that I don’t take Anne out. I think she’d like to go to a fancy restaurant or a museum or an art show. Something a little more sophisticated than eating here or going to friends’ houses.”
“What’s wrong with here?” a voice behind Killian asked. Shit. Killian turned to see Jake glaring at him.
“Nothing. I like it here, but I was thinking of something more to do with Anne.”
“Move over,” Jake said to Hank, who was sitting on one side by himself. Hank slid over, giving Jake some room.
“So,” Jake said as he gave Killian a small smile, “tell Uncle Jake all about it.”
Sweet Jesus. Killian wanted to dig a hole and bury himself. When did a simple thought turn into a guy’s confessional? Pretty soon, they’d be holding hands and singing “Kum Ba Yah.”
“I’m just wondering if Anne wants a more cultured man than me?”
Jake shook his head. “What brought this on?”
“Um. I just returned from providing security to an upscale art show. Then I saw Anne walking out with one of the male teachers and thought maybe she wanted someone more sophisticated. Someone who knew about art and shit.” Killian’s hands started to sweat, so he rubbed them on his pants. Too bad he couldn’t get his heart rate to calm down. This was worse than going into battle.
Joe finished the chicken wing he was eating and wiped his hands. “None of us went to a four-year college”—he looked at Hank—“except for him. None of us had a white-collar nine-to-five job.” He put his finger up when it looked like Killian would interrupt him. “And yet, most of our women have gone to college, and they still found us interesting and, I might add, sexy as hell and good in bed.”
“Here, here,” said Hank.
“I’m not talking about the bed part; there’s no complaint there. I want to do something special for Anne.”
“You could take her to Laura’s place, Salt and Sea, which is excellent. I also took Laura to the restaurant at the Art Deco Hotel. It’s at the top of the hotel, revolves to show the whole city, and it’s very romantic. Plus, the food is delicious. If I’m not mistaken, there is an informal gallery as you walk into the hotel.”
“Oh, you could get a room there. Make it special,” said Jake.
Hmmm. That was a good idea. He’d wanted to take Anne somewhere overnight. If the Art Deco had a fancy restaurant and an art gallery, it would be a one-and-done.
He’d find out quickly if she were into those things. He would adjust accordingly. The one thing for sure was that he wasn’t losing Anne.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Killian ushered Anne into the elevator that would take them to the top of the building to the Four Winds restaurant.
She looked gorgeous.
Her stunning short black dress, with a ruffle meandering down the front, touched just above her knees. She had on black high heels, which brought her up to his shoulder. The diamond-encrusted ruby necklace her mother had given her was perfect with the V-neck of the dress, and she added a pair of plain gold earrings.
She looked elegant but understated. He wanted to unzip the dress, take off her shoes, and get her in bed. Killian sighed. That would have to wait until later.
He leaned in to sniff her. Whatever perfume she was wearing was driving him crazy. He’d ask later.
Laura promised to call ahead to have the chef stop by the table to talk to them. He was curious if Anne ever had a chef stop by her table; he sure hadn’t. But then again, he’d never gone to a fancy restaurant like this.
