into a soup can and catapulting through space.”
“Well, it’s not exactly catapulting through space.”
She shakes her head like she refuses to hear differently. Honestly, this girl is all kinds of interesting. “What is your idea of a good time?” I ask.
Before she can answer, Jenny comes back with our drinks. “Did you have enough time with the menu?”
“What are you thinking?” I ask Kira.
She closes her menu. “I think I’ll have the seafood chowder.”
“Always a fan favorite,” Jenny says. She glances at me. “The usual?”
“You know it.”
We hand her our menus, and Kira is watching me. “You come here often?”
I nod and turn the conversation back to her. “Are your folks out in British Columbia?”
“Yes.”
“Brothers or sisters?” I ask, but I’m guessing the answer is no.
For a brief second, she draws in her bottom lip and casts her eyes downward. “No, it was just the three of us. We’re not close.” Her head lifts, and she looks off into the distance as she fiddles with the stem of her wineglass.
“But you want to be,” I say, and instantly wish I hadn’t.
The sadness that comes over her hits like a punch. I’m delving into the personal here, and these questions are none of my business.
“What makes you say that?” she asks.
Wanting to lighten the mood, I say, “Don’t play poker—you have tells.” I take a big drink of beer, draining almost half the glass.
“I do not.” Her chin lifts, her look indignant.
“Fine, then. Strip poker later,” I tease.
“No, I am not playing any kind of poker with you. I’m not interested in taking your money or your clothes.”
A woman not interested in my money or my clothes—now that’s a new one. Oh right, she thinks I’m a lobster fisherman, not a CEO. I need to straighten her out on that. But I do kind of like her not knowing. Conversation has been easy between us, no stress, no awkward moments, but that can change on a dime once a woman discovers I’m a multi-millionaire.
Not that I ever bring it up. I’m not a complete asshole, and I don’t want to come off as some boastful jerk. But in this situation, I should broach the subject at some point tonight.
But just now, I wiggle my brow. “Ooh, braver words have never been spoken.”
She lifts her chin. “Words I can back up, mind you.”
I do love a woman with confidence. I smile at her, realizing I’m having a good time. I haven’t dated in so long that I’d forgotten what it was like. Not that we’re dating. I’m not trying to start anything personal with her. “It’s on.”
She takes a sip of wine. “You were warned.”
I laugh. “Listen, about what I do—”
She lifts her hand to stop me. “Can we please not talk about work? I rather talk about anything else. Why don’t you tell me about your family, how long you’ve been fishing?”
“I’ve been fishing my entire life,” I say honestly. “I think I had a rod in my hand before a spoon. We all did.”
“We?”
“I have three older brothers.”
That wistfulness comes over her again. “That sounds wonderful. I would have killed for a brother or sister.”
“You have a houseful now, or did you forget? You might come to regret it, though. Speaking of killed, I’m lucky to have made it out of childhood alive.”
She’d picked up her glass to take another drink, but it stills inches from her mouth. “What?”
“Being the youngest in a house of boys was not fun. Brutal, actually.”
She chuckles uneasily. “What did they do to you?”
I press my palm to my forehead and shake my head. “You don’t want to know.”
She leans toward me a little. “Oh, but I do.”
“Where do I begin? Okay, well, they used to love to play hide and seek with me.”
“What’s wrong with that?”