Everything She Needs (The Everything Trilogy) by K.L. Shandwick Page A

One even stopped to talk to him.  I made my way to him and saw him place his hand on the blond girl’s arm. “Excuse me, here is my beautiful girl now,” he told her, his eyes locking with mine and side stepping away from her.
    “Still practicing your rock star image I see,” I said, smiling as he slid his arm around my waist and kissed me lightly on my cheek before drawing his nose up and stroking it against mine.
    I stepped away and he released me, his hand sliding down to take mine. “May I?” He gestured and looked at our hands.  His hand was warm and felt comforting as his calloused fingertips folded over the backside of my hand.
    It felt good, almost like he wanted people to know I was with him. “Yeah, but we’re going to talk ground rules on touching,” I stated warily.
    Alfie had no idea where we should eat, but my dad had an account at a few restaurants in town due to contacts he met during his working life. So I took Alfie to The Oxo Tower restaurant.
    The Maitre’d Pierre owed my dad a favor, and was a friend of the family. When I rang him he told me, provided we could leave by 9pm, they could squeeze us in.
    Dinner was fabulous , and Alfie was in awe of the London skyline at night. He hadn’t seen it from the south side, and I had to admit I felt proud as we took in the view of St. Paul’s Cathedral by night.
    When Pierre took my coat, Alfie stood back and admired my dress. He was shaking his head slowly , and I could see the pleasure my outfit gave him.  He leaned in and whispered, “The hottest girl in the room.” He looked around him and back to me, saying out loud, “by a mile.”
    He grinned , and I smiled shyly back.  He had thoroughly checked me out, and his eyes had changed colour, showing me exactly what my dress had done for him.  He was aroused, and I saw him pull at the seam of his pants, and I knew that my appearance had turned him on a little.
    During dinner we actually got to know each other a lot better.  He talked a little about his parents, and my heart squeezed for him that h e had lost both at such a young age.
    It reminded me to give mine an extra hug the next time I saw them, and how fortunate I was to have mine for support.  Alfie was also witty and charming, and showed a lot of cons ideration for me during dinner.
    I wondered how immune he actually was to me when I went to the restroom and on the way back saw him watching for me.  His face lit up with his sexy lopsided smile as he rose slowly from his chair when his eyes held mine.
    As I crossed the room, I was aware of a few women recognizing the look he gave me, and they almost swooned, even though the look wasn’t for them.
    When we finished our meal, he pushed his chair back a little and huffed out, stroking his abdomen in satisfaction. “Wow, Lily, that food was unbelievable.  Thank you for having dinner with me…and for bringing me here.” He nodded at the window and l ooked out at the skyline again.
    I signaled the waiter for the check, and he approached the table.  He dipped and discreetly told me it was taken care of.  I looked over at Pierre, the Maitre’d, and he blew me a kiss.
    Pierre helped me into my coat, and turned to Alfie, smiling. “You do realize you are with the most beautiful woman in London this evening?”
    Alfie grinned . “Yeah, don’t I know it. All the guys in here have been drooling, and I don’t think it was solely due to your great cuisine.”
    Pierre and Alfie chuckled , and I blushed.  Alfie tugged my coat, pulling me into him and hugged me. “You’re adorable. Sorry I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” He gave me a lopsided smile, his eyes twinkling in the soft lighting.  We turned and waved to Pierre then made our way down to the street below.
    Alfie stopped outside and faced me, pushing his hands in his front pockets, looking a little unsure of what to do next. It dawned on me that he may think the night was over as I had only mentioned dinner. “Do you want to