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.
“Are you nervous?” I asked her.
Her cheeks flushed and she looked at her lap. “Can you tell?”
“I’m nervous, too.”
“You don’t seem like someone who ever gets nervous.”
“It’s pretty rare,” I admitted.
“Well, I feel . . . really flattered right now. Is that weird?” She laughed nervously.
“No, not at all.” I took a sip of wine and coughed. Fuck that shit. It was horrible.
“Not much for wine?” Viv arched her brows and grinned.