the right floor for the awful apartment he was staying in? He couldn’t remember. He looked left, then right, and was trying to decide what to do when he heard voices coming towards him.
Seconds later, three familiar faces appeared.
“What are you doing back?” Daisy asked, surprise and then dismay flashing in dark eyes so very much like her older sister’s. He’d seen both these emotions from Poppy too.
“Were you mean?” Daisy asked.
“No,” he said, not quite keeping the defensiveness out of his tone. Apparently, he had been, although he didn’t know how. “Your sister just wanted to come home to work.”
Daisy gave him an unconvinced look. “If she had been having fun, she wouldn’t have been thinking of work.”
Killian supposed he couldn’t argue with that.
“She’s not that easy to befriend,” he admitted.
“I told you that.”
“Yes, you did,” he said. “So what’s the next move in this master plan of yours?”
Daisy looked at her friends. Madison shrugged with her usual boredom. Emma looked pained—a common look for her too.
“What did you say to her right before she decided she wanted to come home?” Madison asked, revealing that her lack of interest was feigned.
“I told her I was hoping to settle down.”
All three girls looked at him as if he was mad.
“And I asked her if she’d help me meet women,” he added by way of clarification.
“You do remember that you’re supposed to be finding my sister true love? Not yourself,” Daisy said.
“Yes,” he said. “I’m well aware of that. I told her that so she’d go with me to meet people. I mean how else am I going to find this man for her?”
“It’s not a bad plan, really,” Emma said, then glanced at her friends to see if they’d reprimand her for agreeing with him.
“It’s not a bad idea,” Daisy said. “But what ticked her off?”
Killian relayed the story of their lunch and how well things were going until the moment when Poppy pointed out the blonde, who’d been watching them.
“And I simply said I didn’t want that woman, because she was blond.”
All three girls stared at him, speechless for several seconds. Only Emma showed any emotion as she touched her fingers to her hair, clearly feeling a little self-conscious about her own blond curls.
“Wow,” Madison finally said, shaking her head.
Killian frowned, still not sure why his comment was so awful.
“That is pretty bad,” Daisy agreed.
He shook his head, waiting for them to explain.
“You kind of sound like a jerk,” Madison said.
“And super shallow,” Daisy added.
“That’s rude,” Emma said, her voice barely above a whisper, still watching him with large, wary eyes.
“Why?” he asked.
They gaped at him like he was an utter moron. He was starting to think maybe he was.
“Because now Poppy thinks you would not date a whole group of women solely based on their hair color. That doesn’t make you very likeable,” Daisy said.
“Why would she care? She’s not blond.” He still couldn’t see why it should matter to her.
“Like Daisy said, shallow, dude,” Madison said.
Killian considered that. He supposed it did make him seem a little shallow. Poppy definitely didn’t seem like the type of woman to respect someone who was so superficial. Not that he needed her respect. That didn’t matter. At all. The only reason her reaction was bothering him was because he needed her to like him enough to hang out with him.
That was the sole reason he was concerned with her irritation.
“Okay, so how do I fix it?” he asked.
“You don’t,” Daisy said, moving to punch the down button for the elevator. “You go back to Mrs. Maloney’s apartment and let us fix this.”
The elevator opened and the girls piled in, while Killian just stood there, wondering yet again how he’d ended up in this ridiculous situation.
“Wait,” he called just as the doors started to slide shut, “where is Mrs. Maloney’s
Seconds later, three familiar faces appeared.
“What are you doing back?” Daisy asked, surprise and then dismay flashing in dark eyes so very much like her older sister’s. He’d seen both these emotions from Poppy too.
“Were you mean?” Daisy asked.
“No,” he said, not quite keeping the defensiveness out of his tone. Apparently, he had been, although he didn’t know how. “Your sister just wanted to come home to work.”
Daisy gave him an unconvinced look. “If she had been having fun, she wouldn’t have been thinking of work.”
Killian supposed he couldn’t argue with that.
“She’s not that easy to befriend,” he admitted.
“I told you that.”
“Yes, you did,” he said. “So what’s the next move in this master plan of yours?”
Daisy looked at her friends. Madison shrugged with her usual boredom. Emma looked pained—a common look for her too.
“What did you say to her right before she decided she wanted to come home?” Madison asked, revealing that her lack of interest was feigned.
“I told her I was hoping to settle down.”
All three girls looked at him as if he was mad.
“And I asked her if she’d help me meet women,” he added by way of clarification.
“You do remember that you’re supposed to be finding my sister true love? Not yourself,” Daisy said.
“Yes,” he said. “I’m well aware of that. I told her that so she’d go with me to meet people. I mean how else am I going to find this man for her?”
“It’s not a bad plan, really,” Emma said, then glanced at her friends to see if they’d reprimand her for agreeing with him.
“It’s not a bad idea,” Daisy said. “But what ticked her off?”
Killian relayed the story of their lunch and how well things were going until the moment when Poppy pointed out the blonde, who’d been watching them.
“And I simply said I didn’t want that woman, because she was blond.”
All three girls stared at him, speechless for several seconds. Only Emma showed any emotion as she touched her fingers to her hair, clearly feeling a little self-conscious about her own blond curls.
“Wow,” Madison finally said, shaking her head.
Killian frowned, still not sure why his comment was so awful.
“That is pretty bad,” Daisy agreed.
He shook his head, waiting for them to explain.
“You kind of sound like a jerk,” Madison said.
“And super shallow,” Daisy added.
“That’s rude,” Emma said, her voice barely above a whisper, still watching him with large, wary eyes.
“Why?” he asked.
They gaped at him like he was an utter moron. He was starting to think maybe he was.
“Because now Poppy thinks you would not date a whole group of women solely based on their hair color. That doesn’t make you very likeable,” Daisy said.
“Why would she care? She’s not blond.” He still couldn’t see why it should matter to her.
“Like Daisy said, shallow, dude,” Madison said.
Killian considered that. He supposed it did make him seem a little shallow. Poppy definitely didn’t seem like the type of woman to respect someone who was so superficial. Not that he needed her respect. That didn’t matter. At all. The only reason her reaction was bothering him was because he needed her to like him enough to hang out with him.
That was the sole reason he was concerned with her irritation.
“Okay, so how do I fix it?” he asked.
“You don’t,” Daisy said, moving to punch the down button for the elevator. “You go back to Mrs. Maloney’s apartment and let us fix this.”
The elevator opened and the girls piled in, while Killian just stood there, wondering yet again how he’d ended up in this ridiculous situation.
“Wait,” he called just as the doors started to slide shut, “where is Mrs. Maloney’s
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