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My eyes widened, and I inhaled deeply. Kir was logical and smart, which was one of his better qualities. Then I smiled. “That’s more than fair. And, Kir?”
“Yeah?”
I squeezed his arm muscle. “Thank you.”
We made it to the door, and he said, “Don’t thank me yet. You haven’t tried the food yet.”
The tables had white linen tablecloths. I pressed closer to him as he opened the door. “So you’re saying this nice-looking place has a horrible chef?”
He placed his hand on my back and laughed. “No, but we’re about to see if we can talk for long without doing a lot of drinking or being surrounded by friends.”
It was true that, for the most part, I’d never trusted myself near him without other people around. As we followed a server to our table, I said, “We rode in a limo together.”
“True.” He held my chair for me.
I waited for him to join me, then I put my napkin on my lap. “You must have forgotten.”
We perused the menu without prices, and I decided to order the roasted chicken, since that was usually cheap. I normally avoided places that skipped on disclosing money up front. I listened to Kir order the lamb special.
Once the waitress was gone, he said, “I just figured our moment in Hawaii was sweet and memorable.”
I blinked and folded my hands on the table. “Are you normally the perfect guy any girl might want to take home?”
He shook his head, and his cheeks darkened. “The last ‘girlfriend’ I had wasn’t anyone I ever talked to. It was entirely physical, and no, I never brought her home to meet Maman.”
The idea of Kir being a bad boy sent a small giggle through me. I held it back and shrugged. Once the salads were delivered, I said, “I think your mom liked me well enough. She told me to call her Roxanne.”
“She’s a big fan of yours,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.
“That’s nice to hear.”
Kir was pretty close to checking all the boxes for my perfect man. I had no time for romance, but as I sat opposite him, a small part of me wished things were different and that this was a real date.
Chapter Four
Kir
* * *
Avril’s story of the previous night replayed in my mind. My older brother Evan had been twelve when he’d died of cancer. My heart thundered in my chest. I wasn’t sure what I’d do next other than help.
Maman ran a cancer charity site in my brother’s name, so I’d filled her in on the details after my date, and she’d agreed that we would fund whatever Avril needed. Avril wouldn’t need to apply for a loan or to lie to get a raise.
I would ensure that she was fine. I hated lying to my family, and I wasn’t ready to show up at my brother’s wedding with Avril on my arm just because we were pretending. My mother would want that to be real.
Fuck. I wanted it to be real, but she wasn’t my type. As I showered, a plan came to me. I had donation funds for the year that were unmarked, and I could give away more if needed.
I changed into gray slacks and called my brother’s butler to switch the business-meeting review hour to next week. “Fuller, please tell my brother to check his email, but I need to work remotely.”
“I will, sir.”
“Thanks.” I grabbed a white button-down so I would be taken more seriously at a hospital. Fuller was always a good customer of my father’s company, so I asked, “Oh, and are you happy with the managed team for your portfolio?”
“Yes. Thank you for recommending Oliver.”
Good. I smiled. At least I’d helped him. “No problem. I totally understand diversifying, so it’s not just my family that’s managing your retirement. Have a great day.”
I found my loafers and headed out the door. The limo took me over the bridge to New Jersey as it headed to the hospital. I checked my portfolio during the drive and made a few short calls. Soon, I stepped out of the limo and gazed up at the general hospital.
