his usual tactless honesty, he looked back to his menu.
“The waffles do sound good. That’s what I’m getting.” He set aside the menu. “What about you?”
She looked at him for a moment, trying to decide if he really hadn’t been checking out women. Maybe he hadn’t. And thankfully, he didn’t seem to be at all aware of her peevishness.
She looked back to her menu, feeling a little silly for getting worked up. Couldn’t the guy just appreciate the cool décor without her getting all offended?
“I think I’ll have the waffles too. With fresh berries.”
This time, when she looked up, Killian was staring at her. Again he had that intense look she’d noticed earlier. An expression she didn’t understand at all.
“What was your old boyfriend like?”
CHAPTER 13
Before she could answer, a waitress arrived to take their orders. Poppy vaguely recalled ordering a coffee and waffles. She wasn’t even sure if she’d asked for the fresh berries.
Killian ordered too, seemingly oblivious to her stunned reaction.
But as soon as the waitress left, he turned back to her, eyebrows raised, clearly awaiting her response.
“My old boyfriend?” Why would he suddenly want to know about Adam?
“Yes, you said you lived with him. What was he like?”
Poppy shook her head. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to talk about him. Adam had been the love of her life. Her first serious boyfriend, the person she thought she was going to grow old with.
“He was …”
She wasn’t going to talk about this.
“He was a nice guy.”
“So you like nice?”
Poppy shrugged. “I don’t think many women actually like mean.”
Adam had been mean at the end. She hadn’t liked that at all. No, not mean exactly. More like distant, cold, absent in the relationship. But she’d held on, hoping he’d change back to the man she’d loved and so terribly afraid she’d lose another person who was important to her. In the end, she’d had to let go.
“I guess that is true,” Killian said, drawing her attention back to him, away from a memory she’d rather not recall. “But some women do like bad boys, right?”
“I guess.” Why were they talking about this?
“But definitely not you?”
She stared at him. “Not really.”
“And what about income? And age? Any preferences?”
Poppy didn’t answer for a moment, studying his face. His expression was expectant, his eyes bright with interest, as if her answers were of the utmost importance to him.
“Why are you asking me all this?”
He straightened, for the first time in the conversation appearing a little uncertain, like maybe his line of questioning was odd.
“It’s always nice to know what a woman wants in a man,” he said, shrugging as if suddenly her answers weren’t of much importance to him.
The waitress returned, placing steaming mugs of coffee in front of each of them. Killian took a sip of his, then turned, suddenly finding the painting on the wall above their table inordinately fascinating.
She added cream to her coffee until the dark liquid was pale brown. She reached for a couple packets of sugar. What had spurred on that line of questioning?
She stirred her coffee, puzzled. Then she realized what must have motivated him. Of course. How stupid of her. He’d been asking her about preferences, using her as a barometer to understand what women wanted in general. Maybe because of the loss of his own fiancée. And probably to understand what his new love interest might want.
He didn’t want to make the same mistakes again.
“I like men who are intelligent,” she said.
He immediately turned his attention back to her.
“And a good sense of humor is a must,” she added.
“Okay,” Killian said, nodding as if he was making a mental checklist in his head.
“And good looking never hurts,” she said with a smile. He definitely had that one in the bag. “And interesting is good. You know, not just run-of-the-mill.”
Killian listened to her list. Run-of-the-mill. That ruled out the guy with the average haircut and average build he’d been considering. The older man in the corner was definitely the best-looking guy in the restaurant. But there was one guy with longish hair who looked the most interesting. Damn, this was confusing.
“He has to like kids and pets. And have a great laugh.”
Killian frowned. How the hell was he supposed to find out half this shit? What did he know about a guy’s laugh anyway?
This was going to be impossible. A great laugh? Yeah, impossible.
“But I’m just one woman,” she finally said, after taking a sip of her now very creamy, very sweetened coffee. “You will find a woman who loves all the things you have to offer.”
Killian paused, the coffee mug halfway to his mouth. What woman? Then he realized she was referring to his declaration about wanting to find a wife.
He nodded, setting down his mug. “I hope you are right.”
“I am. You’re a catch,” she told him with a smile, then reached for another packet of sugar.
He watched as she added the fourth sugar to her coffee, the spoon clinking on the ceramic.
“You think I’m a catch?”
She smiled then, that little dimple appearing. “Of course.”
Something warm spread through his chest, a strange sensation that felt like pleasure, but more than that.
He didn’t trust it.
He took a long swallow of his coffee, letting the burn of the hot liquid replace the other warmth in his chest. Then he looked back at the other single men in the restaurant.
The one on the couch with the goatee and boots. That was his choice. Done.
Focusing on the man, he sent his thoughts through the air like radio waves directly to the man’s brain. The man immediately lowered his paper, frowning, a slightly confused look in his eyes.
The man shifted on the sofa cushion. Well, apparently Killian’s powers still worked—that was a relief. He couldn’t understand why they didn’t work on Poppy, but at least being able to control her love interest would make this crazy task only half as difficult.
Killian glanced at Poppy so the man would know whom he was supposed to notice.
The man turned further, craning his neck to see Poppy. She was in the midst of testing her coffee. She wrinkled her nose and reached for yet another sugar. Something about the action was really quite cute.
The man stared at her, clearly not finding Killian’s order too difficult to obey.
The man folded his paper and tossed it down on the table in front of him. Then he rose and headed directly to their table.
Killian watched his approach, wondering at the strange feeling of dread tightening the muscles in his shoulders and making his teeth clench.
