Barely Breathing(12)

“Uh . . . I don’t . . . what’s this?”

She looked over her shoulder at me and smiled. “It’s a wrap. Kind of like a light sweater thing. Will you wrap it around my shoulders?”

“Oh. Yeah.”

I opened the wrap and spread it out over her shoulders. My hand brushed across one of her boobs and she stiffened.

“Fuck. Sorry.”

She laughed lightly. “You’re fine. Thanks.”

When she turned to face me, I watched her fingers as she fastened a button on the wrap. Red nails, too.

Those hands would look f*cking hot wrapped around my cock.

“You look really good yourself,” she said, her gaze moving up and down me.

“Uh . . . thanks.”

I opened the door and held it for her as she walked through. At least I’d gotten one thing right.

The club’s Town Car was parked in front of her brownstone. I’d been planning to open her car door, too, but Len was already standing there. He held on to the door and grinned at Viv.

She said hi to him and slid in. As soon as he closed her door, I shook my head and gave him a look.

“The f*ck are you looking at her like that for?” I whispered. “It’s creepy.”

“Sorry,” he whispered back. “I’m just happy you’re going on a date. She’s beautiful.”

“Len, keep your eyes on the road and for f*ck’s sake don’t let on that this is the first date I’ve ever been on.” Now my whisper was more like a hiss. Why hadn’t I covered this shit with him before we got here?

His eyes widened with surprise. “Ever? First date ever, boss?”

I glared at him and leaned closer. “It’s gonna be over before it starts if you keep this up. Just drive the car, alright?”

“Yes, boss.” His expression turned serious and he ran around the car to open my door. I’d told him no less than fifty times that he didn’t need to open my door, but every damn time, he did it anyway.

I went to get in the car and caught a final glimpse of Len, who was giving me a covert thumbs-up. I couldn’t help it, I smiled.

“What?” Viv smiled from her seat next to me.

“Len.” I shook my head. “So are you hungry?”

“I am. I didn’t have much time for lunch today.”

“You didn’t eat ramen noodles, did you?”

She laughed. “No, I had a milkshake at the mall. I was shopping . . . for these shoes, actually.”

I liked that she’d bought new shoes for our date. And the pink flush of her cheeks when she’d admitted it just now . . . yeah, I liked that a lot.

“They look good,” I said as Len pulled into traffic. “I had to go shopping for this shirt and tie.”

“You did well.” She turned to face me. “Were you off work all day?”

“Yeah, but I stopped in earlier to get things going for the night.”

“Have you found a new bartender yet?”

I sighed deeply. “No. I’m trying to steal one away from another club. We’ve got a meeting set up next week.”

We made more small talk about our jobs until we got to Emerson’s. Len was all business when he opened our doors this time. I nodded at him and he got back in the car and headed for the club. He’d drive our VIP customers until I texted him to come pick us up.

The restaurant had tall, dark wood double doors. I held one open for Viv and she rewarded me with a smile. Her bright, warm smile had the opposite effect of her heels and nails. It made me feel soft inside. I looked at her sexy shoes again until the feeling passed.

“Mr. Kane.” A man in a suit came toward us, his hand extended to me. “We’re thrilled you’re here.”

“Thanks,” I said shortly, shaking his hand. His grip was unimpressive.

“Right this way.” He led us into the dining room, talking to me over his shoulder. “I hear Six is doing extremely well.”

“Business has been good,” I confirmed, wondering how he knew I was an owner of the club. I’d only given my name when I made the dinner reservation.

He pulled out Viv’s chair for her and handed us both wine lists. Viv and I looked at each other across the table. I couldn’t hear a word this guy was saying. Nothing was getting through but the dance of her blue eyes and the smile tugging up the corners of her lips.

“Mr. Kane?”

“Hmm?” I glanced up.

“Some wine to start?”

“Oh. Yeah, sure. Whatever you recommend.”

“Very good, sir.”

He left and I cleared my throat. “So . . . you’ve been good?”

“Yes. Busy week at work. How about you?”

“Yeah.” I shrugged.

“So are you from New York originally?”

“Jersey, actually. Came here when I was fourteen. What about you?”

“I’m from Indianapolis. My parents still live there.”

A few seconds of silence passed. I wished like hell I was one of those guys who knew how to carry on a long conversation, but it wasn’t my thing.

Our server brought bread and wine. We both ordered steak and Viv started telling me about what kinds of cases she was working on. I liked watching her talk. Her eyes sparkled when she smiled. She liked keeping her hands busy, whether it was to brush the hair back from her face, tuck it behind her ear or run a fingertip around the edge of her wine glass.