Lily straightened in her seat. “No, please. Split it both ways.”
“First date, Princess.” Kieran bumped his knee against hers. “Allow me.”
Her wide-eyed gaze flicked between the server and him before the tension bled from her shoulders. Her knee knocked a little harder against his. “Fine. But dessert’s on me.”
Oh, if only that were true.
“And you, miss?”
Lily stacked her menu on top of his. “I’ll have what he’s having.”
“Anything from our brunch menu?”
At this, Lily brightened. “Can I please get the bourbon caramel glazed crepes with the strawberry and chocolate hazelnut filling?”
What in the sugary hell? Kieran sat up, sliding the brunch menu closer. Sure enough, it was there. Must’ve been a new addition.
“And you, sir?”
Well, he had planned on sharing an appetizer with her but that went right out the window with her sugary order. “I’ll have a half stack of the boxty and a side order of your scotch eggs.”
After the server left, Lily leaned forward with her forearms braced over the table. “So, what now? Consider me small-talked out.”
“Well.” Kieran made a show of leaning toward her. “Now we have to do get-to-know-you questions. Standard stuff. What do you do for your job? Where ya from?”
Lily tapped her short nails against the table and propped her chin up on the back of her hand. “Well, you already know what I do.”
“What about before the gym?”
“Odd jobs.” She shrugged. “I waitressed at a few places. Did the early shift at a coffee shop. I was just trying to make rent when I moved here. As a kid, I grew up outside of Joliet. Nothing remarkable.”
“Yeah?” He was familiar with the area. “What part?”
Discomfort crept into the set of her shoulders and shadowed the spark in her eyes. Her jaw clenched as if she were grinding her response into something palatable. Finally, she answered, “Custer Park?”
“No, shit. You’re a Comet?”
Lily straightened in her seat, blinking. “What?”
“The Reed-Custer Comets.” He leaned back with a chuckle and swiped his thumb over his bottom lip. “I grew up near the Kankakee, too. In Wilmington.”
“You’re a Wildcat?” She said it all hushed, like it was some scandalous secret.
He grimaced and hooked his arm over the back of his chair. “I did do team sports—wrestling—so I guess I’ll have to accept the mascot.”
She exhaled on a little “huh” that, paired with the confusion tenting her brows, was cute as hell. “But you live here. Your whole family lives here. You did MMA with Neal!”
Kieran chewed on the inside of his cheek. He hadn’t planned on diving this deep on their pretend first date. But her admitting to living in Custer Park was a confession. The Reed-Custer kids scraped the bottom of the barrel when it came to school funding. Not that the Wildcats were any better. He wanted to reciprocate. “I got a shitty car when I was sixteen. Started MMA at seventeen. Moved to Chicago by myself at eighteen.” Guilt dug its claws into his gut and squeezed. “My parents didn’t take off until I was in my mid-twenties. That’s when my siblings moved in with me.”
They both fell silent as the server returned with their drinks. The whiskey was a welcome warmth on the heels of the past.
“My turn?” Her eyes watered a little on her first swallow, but she didn’t cough.
What a champ.
“All yours.”
“Your tattoos.” Her finger floated over the rim of her tumbler, gesturing toward his arms. “Do they mean anything?”
