Her Perfect Match (Liaison #1) by Valerie Ullmer Read Free Book Online Page B

dressed in a white tee with a deep-green v-neck sweater over it, and added loose-fitted jeans.   She had rolled to her left side and curled into a ball, so he placed his pillow next to her back to cocoon her in.  
    He smiled at how much of a romantic sap he was being, and shook his head as he pulled on his socks and shoes before he walked to his dresser and pocketed his wallet and keys.   He brushed a kiss over her forehead, and with one last look, shut the bedroom door and walked out of his apartment.
    The day was cloudy and looked as though it might rain.   He smiled to himself as he walked to the deli two blocks from his apartment, his thoughts on the woman he left back in his bed.   It would be the perfect day to spend inside with her, as he kissed and touched every square inch of her body, and learned how she loved to be touched.
    One of the first in line at the deli, he ordered a dozen bagels, three different loaves of bread, and deli meats, along with an assortment of salad platters, because he realized that he wasn’t sure what she liked to eat.   For some reason, that made him determined to find out more about her.   Her favorite places to go, what she loved to read, movies she watched, anything that gave him more insight into a woman who had intrigued him from the moment he’d met her.  
    As he waited for his order to be prepared, he sat at a corner table and sipped on a large coffee.   He watched the people pass by on the sidewalk, rushing around even though it was the weekend.   He’d always been focused on his business and making money, but as he sat there, thinking about Bec in his life, he couldn’t bring himself to care about anything else but her at the moment.
    “You’re out early for a Saturday.”
    Gabriel glanced up at his oldest friend as Lucian Cole pulled out a chair and sat down across from him.   He shook his head when he noticed that Lucian wore an immaculate suit, his hair slicked back, and was cleanly shaven.
    “Heading into work?”
    Lucian nodded and waited for some explanation.   Lucian knew him so well; he hated getting up early on Saturdays.
    “I was getting breakfast for Bec.”
    Lucian’s eyebrows rose, but there were no other outward signs whether he approved or disapproved of him seeing his sister.   Again, Lucian waited for further explanation.
    “I was worried about her.   Her business is running her ragged.”
    His friend nodded.   “When she has something in her sights, she doesn’t stop until she gets what she wants.”
    Gabriel hoped that included him.
    For a long time, Lucian looked at him as if he tried to gage something in his expression.   He had no idea what his friend saw, but the next words out of his mouth took him by surprise.  
    “You know that she’s always liked you, right?” Lucian asked.
    Their relationship was so new that he had no idea how she felt about him.   Yeah, she told him the night before that she wanted him, but sex was different than a relationship.  
    Whenever he made an appearance with Lucian, she would have a reason she couldn’t stay.   He never noticed that she looked at him with anything but friendly affection, so he didn’t really know whether his friend was right about her feelings for him.  
    He shook his head as he tried to make sense of the simple statement, and glanced at Lucian to see whether he was telling him the truth.   Lucian was serious about everything in his life, but he stowed his stuffy disposition for his sister.   They’d always been close.   He knew that Lucian would never lie to him, but it confused him when he couldn’t remember Bec even flirting with him in all the years they’d known each other.
    “Did she tell you that?”
    “She didn’t have to tell me,” Lucian boasted.
    “You never said anything to me.”
    Lucian shrugged.   “You have never been serious about a woman since I’ve known you, and I honestly thought that she would grow out of it, find a man, and settle down.