The Promise of Love Read Online Free Page B

honest, with David Jansen and his quiet sarcasm and rugged smile.
    But, worse, every time she nervously sipped her drink, she’d recall what Sara had said about two men . ‘ Does that really, truly happen in real life ?’ For the first time ever, she regretted not owning a cell phone. Sara had one. She could have called her and asked what it meant when two men sat over dinner with her, and seemed to want the night to go on and on…
    “Yeah, well, that didn’t go over so well in the long run,” Will commented after taking a drink of beer. He reminded her of the actor who played Hawkeye in The Avengers , but much, much bigger and way tougher, simply because he was sitting inches across from her. Will was a warrior, through and through. They both were, but she’d never met a man as intense as Will.
    Except for maybe David.
    With his sleepy blue eyes and narrow face, he reminded her of Ryan Gosling. He had more of a warrior build instead of a bodybuilder thing like Gosling, but he had the eyes and the smirk hidden just below the surface. Maybe it was the rough shadow of darker blond hair on his jaw—it made it seem like he hadn’t shaved for a few days, which added to the Gosling image.
    Or maybe I watch too many movies.
    He also watched her—all the time, it felt like. She’d almost dropped her drink twice just because he made her so nervous she couldn’t think straight. Worse, she seemed unable to take her eyes off him either. She’d never been so attracted to a person so quickly. Why now? Why two of them ? Will was…interesting, but David…
    Does he even live here?
    “If I remember right, we were stuck wading through swamp because of that dumb move, and I still have snakebites that bother me,” David said, his voice going higher in indignation.
    It was obvious they were good friends. She found herself becoming relaxed around them, enough to stop stuttering over what to say. But both were men—real men in ways that made Greg and every other guy she knew seem sheltered and well, kind of pale in comparison.
    She knew she was small, but next to David, she felt delicate and fragile. She really wasn’t. Not after years of figure skating. She liked that next to him she felt that way though.
    “There were only a few snakes, and if they bit you, you probably antagonized them.” Will’s quietly spoken comment drew her out of her mooning over his friend.
    “Did they really bite you?” she asked, then gasped when David nodded over his beer. “Oh, that’s horrible,” she managed. “I wouldn’t be able to go near water where I knew there were snakes. I don’t even like the garden ones.”
    They didn’t laugh at her. They listened and nodded, seeming as if what she said really interested them. David’s grin grew around the toothpick he was playing with, but they didn’t act as though what she said was silly.
    “Will’s got a thing for snakes, so they like him,” David muttered, bumping his shoulder against hers, which nearly toppled her, since she hadn’t been anticipating he’d do any such thing. “Careful, pay attention.”
    She smothered a laugh behind her hand then bumped him right back. “Wait, what do you mean, a thing?” she asked, not sure what that meant. “You have a thing for snakes?” she asked his friend.
    Will shrugged. “They don’t bother me. Most are just trying to survive. Only a few want you dead, and those warn you.” He sounded as if he was serious—like a professor or something. “What? You don’t believe me?” he asked around a mouthful of burger.
    She reached across the table and, without thinking, brushed away some of the hamburger bun that had stuck to the whiskers on his chin. Immediately it dawned on her what she was doing, and she dropped her hand hastily. “Sorry, I’m sorry, you just have—”
    He reached for her hand and squeezed it gently. “No problem, I don’t bite.”
    “Only if you ask.” David bumped her shoulder again. “And then it won’t