Love Finds You in Treasure Island, Florida by Debby Mayne Read Free Book Online

to respond.
    “I’d love to be friends,” he added.
    She forced a smile but still didn’t trust her voice to remain steady. She reached up and pushed her hair off her forehead.
    A look of concern instantly covered Jerry’s face. “If you don’t want to, that’s okay. I understand. After all, once my mother gets started, she doesn’t let up.”
    Amanda quickly recovered. “Oh, it’s not that. It’s just that…” How could she say what she felt—that ever since Eric jilted her, she’d been gun-shy when it came to relationships? She didn’t want to set herself up for another heartbreak, and with her track record, she’d given up on trusting men.
    “Would you like to go to a nice restaurant somewhere in Treasure Island or St. Pete Beach?”
    Even though there were plenty of nice restaurants, Amanda didn’t feel like going down that path again anytime soon. Sitting across the table from a man with just the two of them enjoying an intimate conversation over dinner would be dangerous. She slowly shook her head.
    He held up his hands. “I give up. What’s going on? Do you want to go out with me or not?”
    Their gazes locked as she felt the heat rise to her cheeks. “I think it would be nice to do something together, but not a fancy restaurant, okay?”
    His hands came down and slapped his sides in obvious frustration. “So what would you like to do?”
    “Well…” She thought for a moment. “The Sun, Sand, and Swing Festival starts tomorrow. We can go there.”
    Jerry chuckled. “The Sun, Sand, and Swing Festival? I’ve seen plenty of sun and sand here, but where’s the swing?”
    Relief flooded Amanda, and she laughed. “Music. Every kind of live band you can think of. On the beach. Lots of fun.” Lots of noise, kids, and insanity—everything she needed to keep her from focusing on him.
    He rubbed his chin for a moment then nodded. “Music is good. Yeah, I’d like that.”
    Her heart thudded at the thought of doing anything with him. “Then let’s go to the festival.”
    “I think you’ll enjoy it.” She glanced at the screen on her computer then turned back to face him. “I have to work tomorrow morning and early afternoon, but I have a teenager coming in when she gets out of school.”
    “Sounds good. Why don’t you give me your address so I’ll know where to pick you up?”
    She wasn’t ready for that yet. “We can just leave from here.”
    Jerry’s smile faded just a little before he caught himself and grinned even wider. “Is three o’clock okay?”

    He’d been right about one thing. Amanda obviously didn’t want to hang out with his parents, and he couldn’t blame her. He wished he could talk to them about it and show them how intrusive their behavior was. But what was the point? If they hadn’t seen it in the lives of their other two children, he doubted they’d see it with him, so he didn’t bother addressing the issue. At least he wouldn’t abandon them like his sister and brother had.
    He shifted his thoughts to how much he wanted Amanda to trust him. He liked her, even beyond the physical chemistry, which was powerful from the moment he’d touched her hair last night, and he at least wanted her respect and trust. It bothered him that she might think he was in on some scheme with his parents.
    Trust is something to be earned, and it doesn’t come easily . Those words were spoken by his father years ago during a discussion about relationships, business, and life in general. It certainly held true now. For some reason, probably due to his parents’ obvious matchmaking plot, Amanda didn’t trust him enough to give him her home address. At least he had time and she wasn’t completely giving him the brush-off.
    He tried to put it out of his mind, but that was all he could think about for the rest of the day. Thankfully he only had a few simple business details to take care of for work. He spent the time necessary to make sure the business flowed smoothly before