Heartbreaker (Unbreakable #1)(66)

“Sir” —I reached down to pick up a dark coat still draped over the back of his chair— “I think you forgot something.”

The old man turned, then smiled, weathered face crinkling. “Oh, thank you, my boy. I’d have been mighty sore to lose that.”

The woman appeared by his side and nodded. “I gave that to him on our fifth anniversary. Sixty-five years ago.”

“No problem.” I held out the coat, helping the gentleman put it on.

We watched the couple as they carefully negotiated their way through the tight tables of the dining room until they disappeared.

When I turned, Kiki stared at me with a dumbfounded expression. “Do you rescue everyone you come in contact with?”

“Nope.” I corralled her into my arms. “Only the destitute and the elderly.”

She poked a hard finger into my ribs as we stepped through the open french doors. “Ow! Okay, okay. I do have a soft spot for gorgeous metalwork sculptors who mistakenly think they need one-night stands.”

On a heavy sigh, she leaned into me. “Sooo…I need more than a one-night stand?”

I stared down into her eyes. A tender vulnerability shone back at me. And I wondered what I did to deserve her. I gave her a tight squeeze, then dipped down, brushing my lips over hers. “You need the whole enchilada.”

Laughter erupted against my lips. “Do not talk about sex and food in mixed company.” She sighed as we walked to the table, joining the others. “Great,” she muttered as I pulled out the chair beside Logan for her. “Now I’m thinking about a very big enchilada.”

“Ooo…” Logan flipped a page in her menu. “Do they serve Mexican?”

Kiki glared up at me.

I kissed her temple. Then hovered my lips over her ear, whispering. “You started it, Flash. Sex on a stick…”

That quieted her down. But all through dinner, between the jokes and laughter among old friends and new, she kept darting secretive glances at me loaded with heated innuendo. Like even though we were in mixed company, her thoughts kept straying to when we’d be alone—when we’d put something else altogether on the menu.

My attention drifted toward Logan as the servers began clearing the plates. She wore an easy smile and had engaged in razor-sharp banter several times during the meal. And yeah, we were out late on a school night, but taking a rare break out together and seeing her enjoying herself was worth a few hours of missed sleep.

Dino took a long pull of his beer after his plate was taken. When he put the bottle down, he glanced at Kiki. “So, tell me about your art.”

She snapped her head up from staring at the spot on the white tablecloth where her plate had been. “My art?”

“Sure.” He gave a nod toward me. “Your boy tells us you forge metal?”

She glanced at me, her eyes sparkling and smile widening. And although her art did that to her—made her glow from the inside out—I got the feeling it had more to do with Dino calling me her boy.

And damn, if that didn’t make my chest swell.

“I do.” She fingered the corner of her napkin, staring at it a moment. “Some are sculptures made of found metal objects. Originally, I forged botanical sculptures out of bronze. On each piece, I add a mineral pigment to the molten metal, turning one small element a color.”

In the relative quiet around us, with no other guests seated on the patio and everyone at our table listening to her, her voice softened as she spoke, clear passion about her art coming through in her tone.

Dino tilted his head a fraction to the side. “Why don’t you work with bronze anymore?”

“Oh, I do.” She took a deep breath, expression growing serious. “I mean, I will. I’ve just finished one. Money’s tight. Need to sell a few pieces in order to buy more of the good stuff.”

“Hand me your phone.” Dino reached over the table, palm up.

Kiki’s brows furrowed. “My phone?”

“I’ll put my number in there. When you have time, text me pictures of some of your pieces. I’m closing escrow on a pad in that new downtown skyscraper next month. Penthouse takes up the entire top two floors.”

Kiki’s eyes remained wide as she pulled her phone from her purse. “You like art.”

Dino pushed a button on her phone, then typed as his expression grew amused. He handed her phone back, giving her a pointed look. “I’m a musician, Kiki. Of course I like art.”

Gordie made a disgusted face. “I’m a musician, but I don’t like art.”

The entire table fell silent. The last weighted word hung in the air, like it held judgment. Everyone darted glances at everyone else, but for several seconds, no one said anything. Maybe because they couldn’t tell if there had been some private joke we’d all missed.

The longer the silence dragged on, the heavier an irritation uncoiled in my gut. He’d just insulted my girl. Brand-new bandmates or not, I didn’t give a shit about my lowlier sidekick status.

I sucked in a deep breath, ready to rail on him, but someone beat me to the punch.

“What don’t you like about art, Gordie?” Logan’s words oozed venom as she shot a pointed look at him.

I stared at my sister, shocked she’d jumped into the minefield.

Gordie blinked, suddenly looking uneasy under the heated scrutiny. Then he glanced at Kiki. “I didn’t mean any offense.”