When he turned back to the pan, she lifted her glass and tossed back the rest of her scotch, then poured herself another.
“I would like to take you out on that date you owe me, but this will have to do for now. Nate is expecting me back at the club later tonight.” He plated one large omelet.
“There’s only one.”
“We’ll have to share.” He grinned. “Unless you insist on dirtying another plate.”
“Share a plate. Save the planet.” The smile he flashed in response made her pulse pound. Her wolf bowed her head and raised her haunches, ready to play.
Milo must have sensed the shift in her inner spirit; he leaped to his feet, barking and wagging his tail.
“What’s gotten into him?” Kyle asked.
“I have no idea.”
“Come on. It’s a beautiful night.” He gestured toward the patio.
She collected the glasses and scotch and followed him outside to an umbrellaed table near the pool. She noticed he only brought one fork, but she didn’t say anything.
Milo followed, off leash. She wasn’t concerned, given the fenced yard, but he proved too tired to run anyway. The big dog curled up beside them.
“Did you always want to be a vet?” he asked.
She sipped her scotch and sat down beside him. “Always. I’ve had a special connection to animals since the day I was born, more so than I do to people sometimes. Caring for them just seemed like a natural extension of that.”
“If your work with Milo is any indication, you made the right choice. You’ve been here half a day, and he’s already glued to your side.” Kyle offered her the first bite, and she accepted. The omelet was good, although the egg was slightly overdone. She presumed he didn’t cook often.
“How about you? Did you always want to run a lifestyle club?”
He took a drink, looking a bit bored. “In short, no. This is one of over a dozen businesses I’ve run. Hunt Club was my father’s idea. He grew up during thePlayboygeneration and wanted to create something modern but in the same vein. Something that would appeal to both men and women.”
“For being the face of Hunt Club, you don’t seem overly enthusiastic about the role?”
He shrugged. “My brother, Nate, is the actual CEO. He handles operations and is the true leader of the company. He has the passion for it. I’m part owner and on the board of directors, but I’m more of a figurehead when it comes to the details.”
“Wait… Nate from the club is your brother?” There was absolutely no family resemblance.
“Half brother. We share a father.”
It was easy to see why Kyle had been chosen as the figurehead for Hunt Club. As unfair as it was to judge a book by its cover, his carved-from-stone physique and Hollywood good looks would be far more effective in the media than Nate’s overstuffed-Danny DeVito appearance, given the nature of their business.
“Is your mother also involved in the company?”
He shook his head and laughed. “I don’t know who she is. Dad never married. Two boys from two different women. We’ve never met either of them.”
She took another sip of scotch. “Must’ve been hard growing up without a mother.”
“Gerty’s been with me from the beginning.” He shrugged and cut off the corner of the omelet. “Open.”
She obeyed and was rewarded with another bite. As he pulled the fork from her mouth, he stared at her lips, his eyelids growing hooded. He fed himself while she chewed. The conversation diverted into the mundane: the unseasonably warm weather, where she’d gone to school, his time at Harvard, her first job at an animal shelter. By the time the eggs were gone, they’d talked and laughed for over an hour.
“Are you close to your family?” he asked, pushing the empty plate away and concentrating on his scotch.
She nodded. “Very close. To my brothers, at least. My parents were killed several years ago.”
“Killed? How awful.”
She nodded. “They’d gone to a play—a charity event—and were gunned down in their seats. You probably read about it. It was all over the news at the time.”
