Finding Kyle(24)

“Right this way,” Kiley says as her eyes linger on Kyle curiously before she grabs the menus.

We follow her through the restaurant, and she puts us at a lovely table by a long wall of nothing but glass that overlooks the harbor.

“Miranda will be right with you,” Kiley tells me with a smile, and I give her an appreciative nod. I knew Miranda was working tonight, which is her preference since she gets way better tips than at The Lobster Cage. Miranda would actually prefer this to be her “second” job, but it’s hard to get on here as a part-time employee because the money is fabulous during the tourist season and return summer employees get preferential offers. Still, she keeps her foot in the door by covering people’s shifts if they have an emergency come up, and Gus, who owns The Lobster Cage, never seems to get bent out of shape when she can’t work there because she picked up an impromptu shift here.

I chose this restaurant tonight not only because the food was fabulous and I worked my ass off today to help Kyle so I deserved a great meal, but also because Miranda was working and I wanted her outside observing eyes to give me feedback later. Kyle’s so damn hard to read, and Miranda is a great judge of character. She’ll be eyeballing the hell out of him tonight to try to denote body language and such.

I snicker to myself over my devious ways, and that causes Kyle to prompt me, “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing,” I say, smirking as I pick up my menu and open it. “The she-crab soup here is to die for so you should try that, and, of course, if you like lobster, that’s a great choice too.”

“Do you like lobster?” he asks, and I raise my eyes to him. I think that might be the first genuinely curious question he’s asked about me personally.

“I love it,” I tell him. “You?”

“Never had it,” he says.

“What the what?” I ask dramatically as I close my menu and set it down. “You’ve never had lobster before?”

“Nope,” is all he says.

“Then you have to try it,” I tell him firmly.

“Okay.” He puts his menu down and doesn’t even open it.

“But it’s expensive,” I feel the need to provide, as he didn’t even bother to look at the market prices for the day that would be printed on a piece of paper in the middle.

“Then you should have it too,” he says gruffly.

“Well, okay then,” I say, giving him a tentative smile, silently marveling to myself that for a man who doesn’t want this to be a date, he sure is pulling out all the stops to impress me.

“If it isn’t my favorite person in the entire world,” I hear Miranda say from my left as she walks up to the table and pours water into my glass. I glance up at her, but she’s staring across the table at Kyle, who sits to my right. Then she turns to look down at me and gives me a wink. “Oh, and hey, Jane. Good to see you too.”

I grin at her, but then give her a mock pout. “I thought I was your favorite person in the world.”

“No,” Miranda drawls out as she puts her free hand on her hip and waves the mostly empty water pitcher at Kyle. “He’s now my favorite person after that epic smackdown he laid on Craig the other day.”

I purse my lips and give her an accommodating nod. “That’s true. It was epic, and I can see how your loyalties would change.”

Miranda laughs and blows me a kiss, then sticks her hand across the table to Kyle. “We weren’t formally introduced the other day, but I’m Miranda. Best friend to Jane here, and well, she really is my favorite person in the world. But you’re a close second.”

Kyle smiles at Miranda, and I have to admit it’s a beautiful smile. He shakes her hand and says, “I’d have liked to have given him more the other day, but didn’t want to cause a scene.”

Miranda laughs as she releases his hand, and then leans over to pour his water. “Okay, you’re my favorite again. Jane will just have to be satisfied with second best.”

And to my surprise, Kyle chuckles and that’s even more beautiful. His face actually changes and his eyes lighten up. He actually looks approachable and I have to resist the urge to lean over and kiss him.

Instead, I look back up at Miranda. “We’re going to both have the she-crab soup and full lobsters.”

“What to drink?” Miranda says with efficiency.

“I’m fine with water,” I say.

“Whatever you have on draft,” Kyle says.

“We have a great summer seasonal from a local brewery over in Bar Harbor,” Miranda tells him. “I’ll go put your orders in and be right back with the soups and your beer.”

I watch for a moment as Miranda walks to the next table to check on them before I turn back to Kyle. “And that crazy girl is Miranda Gale, truly my best friend in the world.”

“She’s funny,” Kyle observes. “And she clearly adores you.”

“Not as much as she adores you apparently,” I say dryly. “But the feeling is mutual.”

“Two peas in a pod?” he asks.

“Actually, no,” I tell him as I cross my forearms on the table and lean toward him a bit. “We’re almost like night and day. She’s crazy, wild, and uninhibited. She doesn’t have a filter on her mouth and can talk to any stranger. Miranda likes to fly by the seat of her pants and is completely spontaneous.”