Finding The Way Back To Love (Lakeside Porches 3) Read Online Free

serious,” Gwen told her. “I may have lost my mind.” Gwen picked up her mug and blew across the hot liquid.
    “If I want suspense, I’ll go back to Stephen King.”
    Gwen held up a finger while she took a hot sip of strong, sweet coffee. “There. Now I can talk.”
    “Start with why you’re dumping Ned.” Deirdre rested her elbows on the table.
    “I vowed to stop seeing Ned because the sex was outstanding but, beyond that, there was no relationship. Same with all the others I’ve been dating the past few months. Eye candy and a hot car might be cool when you’re twenty, but I’m thirty-two, Deirdre, and I want a meaningful relationship with a man I admire and respect and who wants to have a family.” She ran out of breath.
    “It’s about time you figured that out.” Deirdre’s tone was stern, but a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
    “I got there a lot slower than you wanted, I know. But the guy who’s coming to breakfast at nine might be Mr. Right.”
    “Wait. After you drove home from Eye Candy’s house, you met someone else and you’re having breakfast with him?”
    “At nine o’clock this morning.”
    “Gwen, do you hear yourself? As a psychologist, you’re a thoughtful, intelligent, dedicated professional. But when it comes to men, you’re a flake.”
    “And I want to stop that. Deirdre, I think the universe put this man in my path last night.” Like the deer that forced me to stop and decide to end it with Ned . “He’s the kind of man I want to date. He’s strong, he’s dependable, and he’s making a contribution to the community.”
    “That’s good. And where is this man now? At home in your bed?”
    Gwen’s face flamed at the criticism. “No.” I deserved that . “He’s a cop, and he’s finishing his shift.” Gwen turned to see the clock on the wall behind Lynnie.
    Deirdre tapped a coral fingernail on the table to reclaim Gwen’s attention. “I’ll watch the clock. You talk. How did you meet him? Were you speeding?”
    Gwen shook her head. “He and his partner, Tony Pinelli’s brother Sam, were in my house when I got home, and their cruiser was out front with its lights going. I called 911. Sam came out and informed me it was a break-in and they’d caught my niece Haley.”
    “Haley, the straight-A student who’s operating a responsible business as an artist and halfway through her degree in botany? That Haley broke into your house?”
    “Haley has an online business?”
    Deirdre waved her hand at the wall beside their table. “You know those fruit and vegetable posters above my kitchen table that you like so much? Haley did those.”
    “I had no idea. How come you know about her business and I don’t?”
    “Gwen, I keep telling you, there’s a whole world on the Internet that’s passing you by. You’re only thirty-two, but you’re stuck in the last millennium. Maybe Haley can teach you a few things while she’s here. How long is she staying?”
    “I hope she’ll be here until the baby.”
    “You’re planning to have a baby?”
    “No. Didn’t I tell you Haley’s seven months pregnant?”
    “Sheesh. Anything else you left out?” Deirdre counted on her fingers. “She’s due in October?”
    “Yes, but she’s really big.”
    “And she came unannounced. I’ll bet she’s planning to stay until the baby is born.”
    “I agree.” Gwen sipped her coffee without further comment.
    “Tell me what your Mr. Right looks like.”
    “Why do you always want to know what my dates look like?”
    “Humor me.”
    “He’s taller than me by—I don’t know—five or six inches.” Gwen took another sip.
    “Huh.”
    “Dark hair, kind of curly, a little too long, probably cuts it himself.”
    “Already you’ve found something you can fix.” Deirdre chuckled.
    “Hush. Green eyes, like sea glass, that just scream, ‘I’m a good guy.’”
    “Now, wait. What does that mean exactly?”
    “You know, the eyes are the windows of the soul, and