Thwarting Cupid Read Online Free Page B

out! Carissa tried to curb her enthusiasm at the thought. He hadn't said it was a date or anything of that nature. Sure, he'd kissed her cheek, which he'd never done before, but that was more of a friendly gesture, right? Her body didn't want to agree, since her nipples insisted on tightening at the memory.
    Carissa took a breath and forced herself to think of anything else. She adjusted the frosted glass slat on the bathroom window to stare into the tree where she'd watched squirrels or an occasional hummingbird chowing down on the thick vegetation. There. That was better. Concentrating on the little bulbs that all appeared to be half eaten at this time of year meant that her hands didn’t have much chance to wander off course while she bathed. Instead, she mused about how neat it was that such different animals could feed from the same place.
    A door closed somewhere beyond the tree, shaking her out of her thoughts. The building across the way was pretty much hidden by the leaves, but she could still just make out an outline of a porch. She had no idea who lived there. Maybe she should make more of an effort to meet her neighbors. If she had done that before, she would've known long ago that Hutch lived right across the street from her. It was mind boggling.
    Carissa shut off the water and grabbed her towel from the rack to dry off. She paused when she noticed the bruise forming on her arm. She rolled her eyes. It was a byproduct of her little run-in with Kelvin, no doubt. She’d contacted Officer Garcia the moment she’d gotten home. She hadn’t been able to reach him, but his partner had given her an email address to which she could mail the photo. She’d taken care of that before they’d hung up. It was almost too bad. Garcia had been a hottie, too. Carissa frowned. Was it wrong of her to be thinking of one hottie while getting dressed for a date with another?
    Before she could work that thought through, a new problem struck her. Carissa hadn't the faintest idea what she should wear. Her hands froze while her mind made a desperate mental search through her closet. Hutch hadn't told her the name of the restaurant so that was no help. He had said they could walk down to Main Street, which meant she'd need to wear comfortable shoes. Knowing the types of restaurants lining the street was no help either. They ranged from totally upscale to beyond beach casual.
    She hung up the towel and headed to her bedroom naked. She stood in front of her closet, hoping the visual would help her decide. She didn't want to appear to have made too much effort in case she had read him wrong and this was just two friends having dinner and getting caught up on each other's lives. But if he was thinking ‘date,’ she'd need to go in a different direction with her selection.
    She laid a blouse on her bed and pulled out the slacks she always wore with it. Was this too business-like? Carissa held up a skirt and thin sweater that had sparkly thread knitted in. Was this too fancy? She groaned. Why was this so hard? She never fussed this much over her appearance. Besides, it wasn't like he hadn't already seen her at her fanciest best or her grungiest worst, given the tasks they'd undertaken as volunteers.
    Carissa fingered the blouse and mused how much easier it would be if she could just see what he was wearing first. She cocked her head at the thought. He was walking over to her place, right? She had a pretty long driveway, which would be plenty of time to spy what he had on and then slip into something comparable before he got to the door. Perfect!
    While she laid out one more choice, Carissa got that not-so-alone feeling she would get every now and again. Even though she knew it was ridiculous, Carissa still looked around her bedroom as if she could see who was spying on her. She hastily pulled out a matched set of bra and panties in an effort to feel less vulnerable. When she bent over to slide the panties on she felt a twinge in her low