Daddy Crush - Adriana Anders Page 0,15
be?”
“Oirish.” My only response is to raise my brows. “That bad, hm?” He shakes his head and, though he’s not smiling, there’s an unmistakable light in his eyes. It’s possible I put it there. “Let me buy you dinner.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
“I want to do that, Jerusha. It’s the least I can do after how that asshole took advantage.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t—”
“Let me.”
“Okay.” I offer a smile, suddenly worried that giving in to me wasn’t what he actually wanted. Had he offered as a way to keep me out of trouble? No way would I accept that.
“Listen.” I plant my hands on the bar and stand on the rungs of the stool to stretch closer to him. “Don’t feel obligated, okay? To show me the ropes? It was just an off-the-wall idea the other day, and—”
“Nope. Too late now.” He blinks the demons from his eyes. “Unless you change your mind, obviously.”
When I nod and sit back down, he follows, like there’s a two-foot cord stretched between us. “Did you?”
“What?”
“Change your mind?”
“Are you kidding me? I’ve wanted to kiss you since the moment I…” I shut my eyes and fight a losing battle against a hot blush. No point fighting it. No point denying it. I open my eyes and force them to meet his. “I’ve thought about this. A lot. With you.”
“Me, too.”
“Really?”
“You surprised?”
“I didn’t…I mean, I sort of thought… You’re doing me a favor here.”
“You’re…” He shuts his eyes, shaking his head for a few seconds before looking at me again. “The feeling’s mutual, Jerusha.”
“You like me,” I say, unable to keep the wonder from my voice.
“Yeah.” When he nods, I imagine there’s a touch of that same thing there—a sort of happy surprise. Like we’ve been unexpectedly blessed. Giving me a warm look, he pours a glass of wine and slides it in front of me. “Anything you don’t like?”
My eyes go wide. Is he really trying to talk about this here? “Well, I mean, the only thing I’ve ever done was when you kissed me the other night. But I liked that.”
“Okay,” he says, with an odd expression. “Is there any food, though, that you don’t care to eat? Or allergies or anything?”
“Oh, goodness.” I hide my burning face behind both hands. “That wasn’t… Oh, geez. Okay.” I shake my head. “No. Nope, I eat everything.”
“So, raw squid and calf liver and…” Suddenly his voice lowers to a whisper and he’s right there in front of me. “Hey.” I open my eyes to find him smiling warmly. “You okay?”
“Embarrassed is all.”
His head tilts to one side, eyes glowing darkly. “You’re so damn…cute.”
“Really?”
“Shit.” He takes a quick look around, looking like he just woke up to where he is. “Be right back.” He folds his lips together and disappears through a door to what must be the kitchen.
The second he’s out of sight, Harper—Karl’s beautiful daughter—skips over. “I’m seeing things, right?”
“Seeing things?” I’m so hot, I must look like I’ve been boiled in water.
“My dad’s into you.”
“Oh, no, he’s just… I mean, I…” What am I doing? I can’t tell his daughter that I asked him to show me what a good kiss is like. “I…I’m…”
“Hey. Hey. Wait a sec. This is amazing.” She nudges me with one slender shoulder. “I’ve literally never seen him into anyone. He’s a monk. Fricking Friar Karl, self-flagellating at home ’cause he was a wild man in his youth and sowed one too many wild—” She cuts off abruptly as the door from the back swings open, revealing her father with his arms full. After a quick elbow nudge and a wink, she disappears into the crowd of diners, humming.
“What’d Harper tell you?”
“I…I think I’m not supposed to tell you.” It’s not like this type of thing’s happened to me before.
He plunks down silverware and a napkin, along with a basket of Heavenly-scented bread and a ramekin of butter. They send my tastebuds into overdrive.
A distrustful squint takes over his face. “Why not?”
“She was nice. I don’t want to…” I wave my hand, as if that’s any sort of explanation.
“Nice?” He harrumphs “That’s good enough for me, I guess.”
I eye the bread. “That smells amazing.”
“Have some.”
“Oh, no, I’ll wait.”
“Do it, Jerusha. Eat the bread.”
“Yeah? I’m not supposed to, you know, wait until the food arrives, or something?”
“No.” He breaks open a roll, releasing steam and enough scent to set off a rabid growl in my belly. “Whoa. Hang on.” In a hurry now, he spreads butter on the