“Not even close.” If anything, Kieran felt even more restless. “But that’s not your fault. Just too much on my mind today. I think I’m gonna head out.”
“So I guess you’re not going to be my designated driver, then?” she asked.
“Shit, I forgot about—”
“I’ll be more than happy to take you home later, kitty.” Kane grinned, reappearing next to them. “I’m just having the one drink. Promise.”
Nora eyed him, contemplating what she wanted to do. Narrowing her eyes at Kieran, she huffed. “Last time I go drinking with you.”
“Sorry.” He smiled sheepishly. “Kane will be a perfect gentleman, I promise.”
“What? Since when?” Kane whipped his head around to him, clearly not happy about Kieran’s promise. “Dude, way to kill my game.”
“Perfect gentleman, I promise,” Kieran reiterated to Nora as he smacked Kane upside the back of his head.
“And where the hell are you going to go?” Kane asked. “You live with me, remember?”
Kieran shrugged. He wasn’t ready to turn in for the night, but he definitely wanted to get out of there and find some peace and quiet. Or find a pretty brunette who always smelled like flowers.
“Are you going to go see Fiona?” Clare asked with a wide smile and raised eyebrows.
He shook his head, worry churning in his gut as he was reminded why he was feeling on edge. “I haven’t seen her all day. I’m worried something’s wrong.”
“So why not go check on her? Give her a call,” Clare suggested.
“I don’t have her phone number.” He turned to Nora with a hopeful look.
“Don’t look at me.” Nora shook her index finger no. “Girlfriend 101: Don’t give out your best friend’s phone numbers to random dudes.”
Kieran frowned. “I’m not a random dude.”
“No, you’re a random ex-con. So much better.” She rolled her eyes.
Kieran paused, feeling the sting of her words.
“Oh shit, sorry,” she said, seeing his expression. “That was insensitive.”
Kane laughed before clapping a hand on Kieran’s shoulder for support. “Low blow, kitty.”
“All right, all right, fine. I’ll give you her number, but you’ll have to say you forced it out of me. I had no choice,” she relented dramatically.
“Sure,” Kieran told her, moving to grab her phone.
She snatched it first and held a finger up. “Promise me one thing first, though.”
He tilted his head, waiting for her to continue.
“Promise me this isn’t a fling. Fiona is my best friend, and she has been for as long as I can remember. I obviously don’t want to see her hurt, but I also know she’ll allow you to do that. If you keep pursuing her and being her knight in shining armor, she’ll fall for you.” Nora chewed the inside of her cheek, looking nervous, before sighing and continuing. “Fiona is not fling material. She has her own mini-family. She needs someone who wants to be part of that permanently or not at all.”
Kieran stared at her for a moment, absorbing everything she was telling him. If someone had said something like this to him two years ago, he’d never have given it a second thought. The very idea of committing would have had him running in the opposite direction, but now he felt only comfort at the thought.
He felt as if his life had been on pause for the past two years, and he was now ready to press play; in fact, in a sense he had. Before prison, he hadn’t wanted to give up the chance to be young and wild, to meet women and sleep around. He had quickly realized that not only did that behavior lead him to prison, but prison had taken valuable years away from him.
Now that he was free, he wasn’t willing to give up any more time. He didn’t exactly know what that meant yet, but he thought Fiona might be the answer. He had a feeling that she could be a game changer for him, and he wanted that.
He wanted her.
Clearing his throat, he shook his head. “I don’t know what’s happening between Fiona and me, Nora, but I do know that I care about her. She’s definitely not a fling.”
Nora studied him for a minute, seemingly deciding if she believed him or not. Finally, she handed him her phone with a nod. Kieran’s grin stretched from ear to ear as he scrolled through her contacts until he found Fiona’s name. Transferring the number to his phone, he quickly typed in a text message to her.
K: Hey, flower girl, it’s Kieran. Missed my stalker today.
Feeling relieved, he placed his phone back on the bar and finished his Coke. Just as he was about to check the phone for a response, a middle-aged man walked up and stuck out his hand.