Knock Out Curves (Plus Size Loving) BBW Romance Read Online Free Page B

kiss. And since every
time I see you that’s all I can think about doing, I think it might
be best if we take our relationship out of the dojo.”
    Her heart fluttered. Had he really? “What
time and place?”
    “Tomorrow, at Bravo’s? Six O’Clock?”
    “I’ll be there.”
     
    ****
     
    She arrived at the Italian bistro five
minutes early. She’d finished dressing about an hour ago and had
eventually gotten fed up fidgeting nervously at home, and so
decided to just go. The entrance was jam packed full of people
hoping to get a seat—Bravo’s was very popular, and she winced as
she heard the hostess tell someone else that the wait time would be
thirty minutes. Hopefully Jace had made reservations, because
otherwise they were going to spend half the night just waiting
around to eat.
    “Hey beautiful.” Jace spoke directly into
her ear, sending shivers down her spine, and she squeaked in
surprise and turned to face him. Her heart galloped in her chest as
she studied him. He wore an un-tucked blue and white plaid button
up shirt and khaki slacks, both of which were not baggy in the
least—she could see the clear outline of his shoulders, as well as
the powerful muscles in his thighs.
    “I know,” he said, chuckling. “I look a bit
different out of uniform, don’t I?”
    You look sexy as hell, she thought,
but only smiled as he stepped up to the hostess and gave his name.
He did have a reservation—thank goodness—and they were escorted to
a table outside on the patio. A warm breeze tickled her bare legs
and teased the few tendrils of hair she’d allowed to escape her up
do.
    They picked up their menus to decide on what
to order, but Jace could hardly focus on the selection—he was too
busy staring at Shelby. His jaw had nearly hit the floor when he
saw her standing by the hostess booth, dressed in a low cut green
halter dress that hugged her curves in all the right places—and he
did mean all. From the back it accentuated the area where
the small of her back flowed into her derriere, and made the most
of that area of her body too. And when she’d turned to face
him he’d nearly swallowed his tongue at the sight of her
cleavage—that dress was obviously meant to flatter a woman’s cup
size, and he knew already from spending time with her that her cup
size needed no flattering, so the effect was… well… effective.
    “My skin is going to combust into flames if
you keep staring at me like that,” she finally said, putting down
her menu and giving him a crooked smile.
    “Sorry.” He ran his fingers through his hair
and gave her a sheepish grin. “I can’t seem to help myself. You’re
gorgeous.”
    She felt her face flush with heat and
touched a hand to her cheek self-consciously. “Thank you,
Jace.”
    They slipped into easy conversation,
divulging information about who they were. She told him about her
career as an accountant, and he told her that before he’d decided
to devote his professional life to martial arts that he’d been a
professional photographer.
    “Seriously?” she gaped at him. “That’s the
last thing I would have guessed.”
    He laughed. “I’ve still got my equipment.
You should come over some time and let me snap a few shots. I know
you’d make a very sexy subject.”
    Blushing, she waved him away. She hated
having a camera lens pointed at her—she was so picky about her
photos she was hardly ever satisfied. They enjoyed their meal and
continued to make small talk, then walked around the outdoor mall
the restaurant was located in. She stopped to admire a blown glass
pendant in a display case at one of the jewelry shops, and before
she could even ask he was getting the saleswoman to open the case
and putting it around her neck.
    “It looks great on you,” he said, admiring
the blue, white and gold swirling design of the pendant. “We’ll
take it.”
    “Oh no—“ she protested as the woman
giftwrapped it and rang up the sale. “You don’t need to do