favourite restaurant,” Kira said. “So, good choice.”
She climbed out of the car and smoothed her dress down as Connor shut his door and locked the car. The Urban Cuisine was one of three casual dining restaurants in Harmony Falls. It had a modern and eclectic style and the food was – in a word – delicious.
Connor took her hand and she realized that she was beginning to crave even that simple touch from him. He led her into the restaurant and smiled at the hostess. “We have a reservation under MacMillan.”
The pretty blonde studied the screen in front of her before tapping a few buttons. “Of course. Right this way, please.”
They followed her through the bar section and into the restaurant area. It was busy and she held tight to Connor’s hand as they weaved their way past the booths and tables toward one of the tables at the back of the restaurant.
Her mouth dropped open when Connor stepped to the side and she saw the people sitting at the table. Gideon was sitting at one end of the table, with Preacher on his right and Ray and Rose on his left. Addison and Harrison sat next to them and Grace was sitting next to Preacher.
“Connor, what… did you do this?”
He grinned boyishly at her and squeezed her hand. “I wanted to make this a real celebration.”
“Oh my gosh, this is… this is so nice.” Her throat was burning, and her eyes were watering. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Thank you so much.”
He cupped her face and gave her a real kiss, one that made her mouth tingle and her pulse race. “You’re welcome, little Kira. But I need to admit that Grace had a big part in helping me organize everything.”
For a moment, she was tempted to just wave at everyone and then drag Connor back to his car. The urge to have him alone, to ask him to drive them home so he could take her upstairs to her bedroom and do all the delicious things to her she couldn’t seem to stop dreaming about, was almost too much to resist.
Before she could act on that madness, her brother was standing in front of them. Connor let go of her hand and Gideon swept her up into a bone-crushing hug.
“Congratulations, Kira. I’m really proud of you.” He kissed her cheek before setting her back on her feet.
“Thank you, Gideon.” She smiled up at him. “I wish Mom and Dad could have been here.”
A flicker of sorrow crossed his face. “Me too, kid. Me too.”
She squeezed his hand and blinked back the tears before following Connor to the empty seats beside Grace. Gracie stood and hugged her hard. “Good job, honey.”
“Thanks, Gracie. And thank you for helping Connor arrange this.” Kira kissed Grace’s cheek.
She and Connor sat down, and Preacher leaned forward to give her a rare grin. “Congrats, kid.”
“Thanks, Preacher. And thanks for coming tonight.”
“Wouldn’t miss it.” He leaned back in his chair and studied Connor. Connor held out his hand and Preacher shook it.
“I’m Connor MacMillan.”
“Preacher.”
“Nice to meet you,” Connor said.
“You too.” For a moment Preacher looked like he was going to say something else and Kira held her breath. There was no telling what the tattoo artist would say. In some ways, he seemed even more protective of her than her actual brother.
He studied Connor for a few seconds more. “Be good to her.”
“I will,” Connor said.
“You better.” Preacher took a drink of beer before turning away.
Connor leaned down and put his mouth to her ear. “Would you think less of me if I said I was just a tiny bit afraid of the giant tattooed guy?”
She giggled and shook her head and Connor pressed a kiss against her temple. Addison reached across the table and took her hand. “Congratulations, Kira. Harrison and I are so proud of you. Aren’t we, Harrison?”
“Sure are, babe.” Harrison, he was tall and on the thin side with blond hair and dark blue eyes, smiled at Kira. “If your client needs a corporate lawyer, you’ll give him my name, right?”
“Yeah, of course,” Kira said. “But I thought you were already pretty busy at work.”
Harrison gave her an easy grin. “A lawyer can never have too many clients, Kira.”
The server appeared and poured some wine into her glass and into Connor’s. “I’ll be back to take your order in a few minutes.”
Addison’s phone was ringing, and she pulled it from her purse. She answered it and said,