Bliss by Opal Carew Read Free Book Online Page B

Well, that’s exciting. This will give you a chance to talk with him casually. That’s a good thing, right?”

    “Sure.”

    Except that the last thing Kara wanted was to spend any more time than necessary talking with a Tantra expert.

    J.M. took the tote bag the woman behind the table handed him, thanked her, then turned to leave. As he walked past the line, he saw a familiar face, his old friend Quinn, who stood chatting to a young woman a few yards away.

    “Quinn.” J.M. walked toward him.

    His tall, sandy-haired friend glanced up and smiled. He held out his hand and J.M. shook it, then Quinn pulled him into a bear hug.

    “Emma, this is Jeremy Smith, an old friend of mine.”

    J.M. always went by his full name at conferences like this because he was usually speaking and promoting his books. His friends understood that.

    “Nice to meet you,” the pretty blonde said. She shook his hand. “You’re doing a workshop on Tantra tomorrow.”

    “That’s right.” Was his workshop that popular?

    “Emma is the conference coordinator, so a good person to get to know,” Quinn said.

    Trust Quinn to find the most influential person around. And attractive, too.

    “I’ll leave you two to catch up.” Emma smiled at Quinn. “So, lunch tomorrow?”

    Quinn smiled his devilish knock-the-ladies-dead smile. “I’m looking forward to it.”

    When she turned and walked away, Quinn made no attempt to hide his frank admiration for the gentle sway of her behind.

    “So how many dates have you made already?” J.M. asked.

    “Oh, just the one. But the night is still young.” Quinn slapped J.M.’s back, then settled his arm over his shoulder and propelled them toward the escalators. “So . . . dinner? I heard there’s a great little pub just around the corner that serves a fabulous prime rib.”

    “I already made plans with a friend of mine.”

    “Man or woman?”

    J.M. smiled. “Woman, but as I said, she’s a friend.”

    “Okay, then. Invite her along.”

    They stepped onto the down escalator. J.M. tugged his cell phone from his pocket and typed in a text message to Grace’s number. “What’s the name of the place?”

    “It’s called the Waterford Pub. Two blocks east.”

    Ran into a friend. Mind if he joins us for dinner? Heading to the Waterford Pub.—J.M. About fifteen minutes later, J.M. walked along the street, snow crunching under his boots as a blustery wind chilled his face.

    “It’s just another block,” Quinn said.

    Finally, they entered the dimly lit pub, hung up their coats on coat hooks at the end of a row of wooden booths, and sat down.

    “Two of the house draft,” Quinn said to the waitress when she appeared.

    A few minutes later, she brought two tall mugs of cold, foamy beer and set them on the oak table. Quinn took a deep sip and smiled at J.M.

    “That hit the spot.”

    J.M. sipped his beer. He hadn’t seen Quinn in about three years when they’d attended a seminar together on Kama Sutra, but they kept in touch a little over e-mail.

    “So how’s it going with that interesting romantic arrangement you had going on?” Quinn asked.

    J.M. didn’t tell a lot of people about Hanna and Grey and him—most wouldn’t understand—but Quinn was different.

    “Well, it’s essentially over.”

    Quinn’s eyebrows arched upward. “She booted you out?”

    “No—”

    “ He booted you out?”

    J.M. chuckled. “Nothing like that. They decided to have a baby—”

    “I thought the guy couldn’t. That’s why they’d had problems before.”

    “Grey can’t have kids, that’s true, but they decided to adopt.”

    “Ah, and you thought you’d be in the way.”

    “I think they need time to bond as a family.”

    “Hogwash.”

    J.M.’s eyebrows rose. “I beg your pardon?”

    Quinn leaned across the table and locked him in a visual grip. “I said hogwash. Having you around won’t affect a baby. In fact, I bet they’d love extra help around the house to