Besides, spending a few more hours with Kieran wasn’t exactly a hardship. He had been so patient and kind with Matt. If she was honest with herself, she had to admit that she had enjoyed his company, too. It was nice to be with someone so easy going and pleasant.
As a general rule, she avoided that kind of thing – especially with single men. She had neither the time nor the inclination to get involved with anyone. But this wasn’t really a date, she rationalized. It was more like a friendly, welcome-to-the-neighborhood kind of thing. She could handle that.
Maybe.
“Okay, but only on the condition that you let us treat you.”
Kieran frowned. “I asked you. You can’t treat.”
His downcast expression was so boyishly adorable that she found her fingernails digging into her palms to keep from touching him. That was enough to startle her into cognizant thought again. Faith had never had such a strong reaction to anyone before, and it set off blaring alarms in her head. She quietly turned them off with a mental note to examine them further later on.
“Technically, I asked you first when I asked you to stay for dinner. And I’m afraid it’s the only way we can go.”
He looked like he wanted to argue, but apparently he thought better of it. “Okay. I guess I can leave my man card at home for one night.” He grinned and winked at Matt, who laughed. “See you in about an hour?”
Faith nodded, unable to completely stop the smile from curving her lips.
––––––––
Guiseppe’s was everything a traditional Italian pizza parlor should be. Along the side of the building, a red and green striped awning hung over a patio dotted with tables. Inside, dangling lights were suspended over high-backed booths and red and white striped tablecloths. Huge framed posters of Italian cities, buildings, and maps hung on the walls, and the delicious mix of spicy aromas had Faith’s mouth watering within minutes.
“I think I gained ten pounds from the aroma alone,” Faith murmured, making Kieran laugh. She didn’t miss the appreciative glance he gave her, feeling it all the way down to her open-toed sandals.
“I like a woman who can appreciate good food.”
“Easy for you to say,” she muttered, attempting to hide her blush behind the menu and internally racked up a substantial calorie count. “You have what, about two percent body fat?” She looked longingly at the tray the waitress carried past filled with thick, Sicilian style pan-fried crust. “You could probably eat one of those and burn it off before we leave.”
Kieran flicked his eyes over her in such a way that heat blossomed in places that had no business being that warm. “Nothing you need to worry about either,” he said with an enigmatic smile before turning to his own menu. Faith wasn’t sure what to make of that. Was it a compliment? Or was he politely telling her to mind her own business?
Faith deferred to Matt to order on their behalf, then sat back and looked around. There was a decent crowd, fun but not overly rowdy. It was a nice place, and the prices were reasonable. Anything was more than she had budgeted for, though, so she’d have to get extra creative for a week or two, but it was worth it to see the smile on Matt’s face.
Matt and Kieran handled most of the conversation. When Matt found out Kieran was a seventh degree black belt, Faith swore she saw stars in the boy’s eyes. For a while they talked about the programs offered at BodyWorks, and Kieran invited them to attend the free demo on the following day.
“Kieran!” Faith turned to see a very pretty young blonde woman balanced on sky-high heels waving and making her way over to their table.
“Natalie,” Kieran acknowledged with a polite nod. Was it her imagination, or did she see a flicker of irritation in Kieran’s expression? Was this one of the women Lacie had alluded to?
Natalie tore her eyes away from Kieran only long enough to take in Faith and Matt and summarily dismiss them as unimportant. “I had a wonderful time the other night,” she said silkily. Suggestively. Faith’s eyes widened as she felt the rush of color rising up into her cheeks. Matt gaped at the substantial amount of cleavage revealed as Natalie leaned in a bit closer.
*
Wrenching his gaze away from Faith, Kieran cursed silently in his mind. This was exactly what he had been hoping to avoid. After spending the day around Sean, Lacie, Faith, and Matt, he’d had no desire whatsoever to return to his lonely room at the Pub. He didn’t go out on his own much anymore, either. It just wasn’t worth the hassle of being approached every ten minutes when women realized he was flying solo.