“That’s what they keep telling me.”
* * *
Julianne showered and dressed for her date in a calf-length deep peach skirt and matching T-shirt. But before she left, she went to a closet and fished out the journals from over the years in case she needed to remember something tonight.
She kept a record of her online dates from a service called RightMatch.com. Everybody told her these sites could be dangerous, but she didn’t want to date a colleague and she didn’t socialize much. She used to have Seth’s family in her life and that was enough. Besides, she knew a lot of people who’d met their soulmates through the internet.
You already met your soulmate.
Stop it, Julianne.
She opened the book. And looked back.
Two years ago: Tristan Long, tall, blonde, handsome, a lawyer in Hidden Cove, nice guy. The relationship lasted six months, but they didn’t have a lot in common.
Eighteen months ago: Mitch Preston, dark eyes, dark hair, a middle school music teacher, sweet. Too sweet, as it turned out. She’d written: Why can’t I fall for somebody like this?
A year ago: Carlo Monti, very Italian, she’d liked his possessiveness at first. Then he became overly controlling. Too bad, because the chemistry was great. He’d been the first guy she’d slept with since Seth.
Six months ago: Drew Anderson, friendly, average guy, solicitous lover. But he was a sports fanatic, and all he wanted to talk or go see were sporting events.
There were two more, but she closed the book. Her online life had not been fruitful.
Maybe tonight would be better.
With still a half hour to go, her phone buzzed. Her sister, Liliana. Julianne clicked into FaceTime.
“Hey, sis, just checking to see how you are.” Liliana was dressed in a navy suit with a white blouse. Her light brown hair was pulled back in a bun, which accented her high cheek bones.
“Hi, Lil.”
“Do you have time to talk?”
“Yeah. You still at work?”
Liliana was and undersecretary to the governor of D.C. She had ambitions and immersed herself in Washington politics. “Yeah, no rest for the weary.”
“Do you do anything outside of work?”
“Do you?”
“Yeah, I go out.”
“That why you’re dressed up?”
“Uh-huh, I’m meeting a friend for drinks.”
She heard commotion, then said, “Hold on a sec.” From a distance, Liliana asked, “Do you need something, Mark?” A mumbling. Then, “Sorry Jules, I have to go. It thought I had time to chat, given the hour, but duty calls.”
“Don’t worry about it, we’ll chat more soon.”
She and Liliana used to be best friends, growing up only a year apart, sharing all of their experiences, but had had grown apart in the last ten years. She was never a Seth fan, so that caused division, too. All that made Julianne sad tonight.
Fifteen minutes later, she walked into the Hidden Cove Inn, then entered the restaurant. Several people were sitting at the bar. One turned. And smiled. That must be Jason Zyzeri. He slid off the stool and walked toward her. He was tall and well-built, but not pumped. His hair was dark and his eyes light brown, she could see when he got closer.
“Julianne?”
“Yeah. Jason, right?”
“Yes.” He extended his hand. “Nice to meet you.” He looked around. “Let’s get a table.” He motioned to one then allowed her to go first.
When they were seated, a waitress approached them. “I’ve got a drink,” he said to her. “Julianne?”
“I’ll have a gin and tonic.”
“So,” he asked when the woman left, “What do you want to know about me?”
“Well, I know you like old movies, you work at a computer firm in Camden Cove, and that you have a dog you love.”
“That’s on my profile. What else?”
She’d given this some thought. “What makes you happy, Jason?”
“Long walks in the park.”
Her face blanked.
“Gotcha, there.”
She laughed at the cliché. A sense of humor in a guy was a good thing.
“I like riding my bike in the morning. I love Italian food, red wine—” he held up his glass to prove it. “And I want a family. I didn’t put that down, so if you don’t, we can enjoy our drinks and part on friendly terms.”
“I want a family. I didn’t put that down either because the notion scares men away.”
“Yeah, parenting isn’t for sissies. I know that term isn’t PC, but it fits the bill.”
“Do you have any kids?”
His eyes crinkled. “A hoard of nieces and nephews.”
“Ah.”
“Do you have any? Kids or other little ones in your life?”
“No. There’s only my sister and me. She has no children either.”
When Alessia, Seth’s sister, had been in her life, she her adorable nephews to spoil.
They traded more likes and dislikes, and at the end of the hour Julianne had set for herself, she reached down and picked up her purse. “Thanks for meeting me tonight. I enjoyed your company. I hope you felt the same.”
His eyes widened. “Do you have to leave now?”
“I’m afraid so.” She stood. “I have a strict rule for first online dates.”
“Have you had many?”
“No. You?”
“You’re my first.”
“I’m honored. I’ll be in touch.”
“I hope so, Julianne.”
“Thanks. Good night, Jason.
What she didn’t see as she walked away was Jason’s hand fist, the dark scowl on his face. Nor did she hear the mumble arrogant bitch come from his mouth.
About the Author
* * *
A NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling author, Kathryn Shay has been a lifelong writer and teacher. She has written dozens of self-published original romance titles, print books with the Berkley Publishing Group and Harlequin Enterprises and mainstream women’s fiction with Bold Strokes Books. She has won many awards for her work: five RT Book Reviews awards, the Bookseller’s Best Award, Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year and several “Starred Reviews.” One of her firefighter books hit #20 on the NEW YORK TIMES list. Her novels have been serialized in COSMOPOLITAN magazine and featured in USA TODAY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and PEOPLE magazine. There are over ten million copies of her books in print and downloaded online. Reviewers have called her work “emotional and heart-wrenching.”
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