Thwarting Cupid Read Online Free Page A

days afterward. He’d been unable to wait for the next time he'd see her at the foundation's office and that scared him. To try to get her off his mind, he'd gone out one night with some guy friends. He'd met Tabitha. After that, he'd gone back to calling her Carissa. She'd never mentioned the event ever again. Instead, she always just asked about Tabitha.
    Sometimes, he felt like he'd taken the easy way out. Others, he thought that maybe his imagination had just run away with him for a day. It was silly of him to be scared of Carissa. She was his friend. Or maybe that was the problem. He wanted more, but wasn't sure if she did. Just the thought of her rejecting him hurt more than it should. If she had the chance to spurn him for real, he wasn't sure he'd recover. Maybe it was best that they just be friends. Or maybe...
    His watch beeped. He was surprised to see how late it had gotten. The staff must be starving. “I should run.” For the first time, her smile didn't quite reach her eyes when she nodded. Just maybe... “But what are you doing for dinner? We can sit back and get all caught up.”
    She wasn't expecting that one. He could tell because she'd never be a good poker player. Not with the way she wore that heart of hers on her sleeve. Every emotion she had played itself out in those big brown eyes of hers for all the world to see.
    “Oh, um...dinner sounds good. But I don't know that I'm interesting enough to fill all that time.”
    He stood and pulled her to her feet, too. “Then we'll talk about the weather.”
    “That's gotta be more interesting than I am.”
    “Whatever. Do you live over this way? I'll swing by to pick you up. There's this lovely little restaurant on Main Street I think you'll love.”
    “That's perfect. I walk down there all the time.”
    Hutch's jaw dropped open when she told him her address. “You've got to be kidding me.”
    Carissa frowned. “What?”
    “You live across the street from me. What are the chances? And how have we managed not to run into each other until now?”
    “I haven't the slightest idea. That's pretty wild. I've been there for almost three years now.”
    “I moved in two years ago.”
    Carissa laughed. “The neighborhood went to seed and I didn't even notice.”
    He made a face at her. “Seems to me it was already there.” His phone buzzed in his pocket. The staff must be ready to send out a search party by now. Not necessarily for him, but for their food. He silenced the phone, and gave Carissa another hug. On a whim, he planted a kiss on her cheek.
    “I'll come over at seven. We'll walk to the restaurant together. Sound like a plan?”
    “It's perfect. See you tonight.”
    * * * *
    Carissa turned on the shower and stepped beneath the spray. She still couldn't believe how giddy she felt right this moment. It was silly, really. It was just dinner with a friend. Granted, the friend was a hottie whom she'd wished was more on multiple occasions, but that didn't change the facts. Hutch was just a friend. When he'd called her Cara, though, she’d thought she'd heard a ‘more than a friend’ note in his voice. It wasn't surprising, considering the circumstances surrounding his giving her the nickname.
    It had been a long time since she'd thought about that day. They'd bantered and flirted their way through a pretty unorganized fundraising dinner. It had been meaningless. She’d thought she'd been the only one affected by the constant looks and brushes and smiles. When the bartender suggested they get a room, she’d started to think maybe they could take it to another level. She'd gone home that night and wondered if they would still be in the same place the next time they saw each other. She had been disappointed when he introduced her to Tabitha instead. Deciding that she'd misread the signals–after all, she didn't have that much experience–Carissa had simply put everything behind her.
    But now, Tabitha was out of the picture and Hutch had asked her