His Kind of Perfect (Sugar Bay #1) by Kinsley Gibb Read Free Book Online Page B

far
from home.
    “A bit nervous to tell you the truth.” Her smile felt more like
a grimace rather than anything genuine. How had she let Charlie talk her into
this tonight? She’d just opened the account his morning, for goodness sakes. It
was all too fast, too fast.
    “Is this your first match up then?” Heath’s smile crinkled at
the corners and he pushed back a lock of sandy colored hair that had fallen
over his eyes.
    “Yes. Could you tell? Am I awful?” She kept her shaky hands on
her lap and clutched her purse as if it were an anchor. She focused on deep
breathing exercises because it wouldn’t do to hyperventilate on her first date
in over eleven years.
    “Not at all. You’re quite lovely.”
    His warm smile reassured her and she grinned in return. “Thanks
for lying,” she said and forced herself to release her death grip and placed
the purse on the seat next to her.
    “Have you been here before?” He looked around the quaint
restaurant.
    “Yes. This is one of my favorite sushi places. It’s popular with
the locals and the sushi is always fresh. I’ve watched the Tomoka’s only child
grow up here. He used to sit at the back table doing his homework and answering
the phone for take out orders, now he’s at Yale studying economics. They’re
proud of him.”
    “The American dream. Very nice. I
normally eat at Seito’s, it’s closer to my office.”
    “That’s nice as well. Great design there. Modern yet intimate
but it’s pricey.”
    He shrugged and they settled into a comfortable conversation,
mostly about design. Heath proved to be quietly assured, an overall nice guy, basically
a male version of Anabelle. As if he’d sensed her nervousness, he spent the
next forty-five minutes calming her nerves. By the end, she recognized as far
as first date’s went, it hadn’t been terrible so maybe her pushy pal was safe
for the night.
    The problem was, she couldn’t imagine Heath naked, and she
definitely couldn’t imagine hot, dirty sex with this bow tie wearing architect.
Passionate, design debates, yes, but sweaty sex, no. Poor guy. Everyone
relegated her to the “nice” territory and she hated it, yet here she was, doing
the same thing to this guy.
    Maybe she was being too quick to judge. Maybe underneath the bow
tie and crisp, blue shirt, lay the heart of a sexual animal? It was possible.
He looked fit, she hadn’t detected a paunch and he was attractive. She cocked
her head and smiled at Heath, maybe chemistry would build between them.
    “Heath, would you like to help judge a student design
competition our network is sponsoring?”
    “I’d love to. When is it?”
    “It’s in two weeks at the Convention Center.”
    “Let me check my calendar but I think it’ll work, I’m not in
town for the next few days but I’ll put that on my calendar.”
    “Excellent.” This time her smile felt natural and Heath answered
with a smile of his own. Deep dimples bracketed his mouth and she wondered why
she didn’t feel an answering heat like when Derek smiled at her. She frowned at
the thought.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing.” There was no point in thinking about Derek. He didn’t
need a cougar lusting after him. And she didn’t want to be pitied.
    Heath was a fine looking man, perfect for the next stage of her
life but a thought occurred to her. “Are you gay?”
    He looked surprised but shook his head. “No.”
    “Not that there’s anything wrong with it…I needed to be sure…you
never know anymore…” she rambled on and he let her. It was an awkward
conversation for the first date and her face felt hot but she needed to know.
    “It’s ok, Anabelle.” His hand covered hers, his warmth and quiet understanding reassured her that maybe coming out tonight hadn’t
been a mistake after all.
     
 
    It wasn’t everyday a man turned into a stalker.
    Not his finest moment by any stretch and he wasn’t proud. The
initial plan had been to disrupt the date by any means necessary.