Iris in Bloom: Take a Chance, Book 2 Read Online Free

Iris in Bloom: Take a Chance, Book 2
Book: Iris in Bloom: Take a Chance, Book 2 Read Online Free
Author: Nancy Warren
Tags: Book 2, take a chance series
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an excuse to act like a hostess. She strode forward. “Hi, Geoff,” she said, and took the bowl from him. “I’m—“
    “Iris. I remember.” No doubt they were both hearing the silent ‘the one who needs to get laid.’
    “You made it. And you brought food.”
    “I brought salad. I drove to Eugene to get vegan salad dressing. I didn’t want to risk compromising the vegan guidelines.”
    She chuckled. “Come on, I’ll show you where the food goes.”
    She led him through to the dining area off the kitchen where a line up of various casserole dishes, plates and bowls contained everything from kale slaw to nut casseroles to her beet brownies.
    She made a space for Geoff’s salad. “Would you like a glass of wine?” she asked.
    “Is it vegan?”
    “Of course.”
    “Okay, then.”
    She poured him a glass of red and topped up her own glass.
    “Come and meet everyone,” she said taking him under her wing without even realizing she was doing it.
    The crowd wasn’t all hemp and tie-dye. A few of the women in particular dressed up.
    He had a nice way with him. He was friendly, able to make conversation with anybody but she noticed there was always a slight distance as though he knew that he could end up on the other side of a parent-teacher conference with any of these people so he didn’t let himself get too cozy.
    They were called to order by Hal Gerome, a soft spoken man who ran the local health food store and offered meditation retreats and yoga classes in the back of his store. “I’d like to welcome everyone to our feast.” He held out his two hands. “Now, if we could all join hands, let’s share a blessing before we eat.”
    She glanced at Geoff to see how he was taking the blessing and found him looking down at her with a tiny twinkle in his eye. He held out a hand and she put hers into it. Why should that feel intimate? It was ridiculous. Her other hand was taken by Barbara Mirkowitz who, everyone in town pretty much considered a saint. She and her husband had retired here with little money and what they had they tended to give away. Barbara rode her bike in all weather all year round, wearing a string of battery operated Christmas lights around her neck to make her more visible on the roads. When they’d discovered a homeless woman begging, they’d invited her to pitch her tent on their property.
    But Barbara’s saint like hand did not make her sizzle on contact.
    When everyone was joined in an approximation of a circle, Hal asked everyone to close their eyes, “If that feels right to you.” He gave them a moment and then he gave a blessing that was more of a standing meditation than a prayer.
    After that, it was time to eat. Geoff stayed loosely by her side as they chomped on nut casseroles, rice and bean dishes, various dips and breads and salads.
    At one point, they were alone and he leaned in. “I have a confession to make.”
    “Really?” And here’s where he tells you his wife will be following with the U-Haul in a couple of days.
    He leaned closer. He really did have the nicest eyes, blue with enough flecks of gray to keep things interesting. “I’m not a vegan,” he said with great seriousness.
    Oh, he was definitely hitting on her. In that moment she became convinced that no wife in a U-Haul was going to show up. “Neither am I,” she whispered back.
    “Does that mean if I were to ask you out for a burger you’d go?”
    “Are you asking me whether I eat meat or are you asking me out on a date?”
    His eyes squinted briefly. “I am so out of practice. I’m asking you to have dinner with me. Do people still date?”
    “I believe it’s still a common custom.”
    “Will you? Go on a date with me? Have dinner with me?”
    She recalled the way he’d walked in as though an invisible partner were by his side. “Are you single?”
    “Yes,” he said sounding shocked that she would ask. “Of course.” He added, sounding less certain. “Barely,” he finally admitted.
    She
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