Waiting for You (RightMatch.com Trilogy) Read Online Free Page B

her. She was finally going to take a chance on a man she wanted to date, though she was still more wary of Joey than Craig Dawson. When the laptop booted, she called up her email. Oh! There was one from Joe, saying he’d be recuperated enough to get together in a couple of days.
    Finally, so had she.
    o0o
    Removing his sunglasses with his working arm—the other was in a sling—Joe exited the cab in front of the outdoor eating area at The Red Apple. Dana had chosen this downtown restaurant because, she’d said, she knew the people here and she was comfortable in the setting. He’d asked what that meant and she’d told him she’d explain when they had lunch.
    He was excited about meeting her. He’d come to like this woman online, and now he was going to get to see her in the flesh. From her picture on RightMatch, that would be a treat.
    At the entrance to the gated area, Joe found her in the corner, reading a menu. Wow! He was close enough to see that she was gorgeous with her dark hair curling over her shoulders, down her back. She seemed even more buff in person. Her daily workout routine was rigorous, as was his, and was one of many things they had in common. Hell, she’d been a dancer, so she had to be in top shape. Though he wasn’t obsessed or superficial about appearances, physical fitness was important to him. Too important, Cole said, but because Joe had watched his father waste away, conditioning his body had become vital to him. And he valued it in others.
    She looked up as he approached the table. Her eyes were sky blue, the color enhanced by the sleeveless blouse she wore. Around her neck was a silver chain with a delicate dove nestling against her creamy skin. Beneath her blouse, he could make out the outline of her breasts, a trim torso. “You wouldn’t happen to be Dana, would you?” he asked easily.
    Those eyes twinkled. “If you’re the handsome cop she’s supposed to meet, I am.”
    Another thing he liked about her. In their email exchanges, she’d matched his teasing and sense of humor. What surprised him the most was her sometimes black humor, which cops fell into all the time.
    She motioned to a chair. “Have a seat.”
    Dropping down into the adjacent—and closest—one to her, he noticed she wore tan pants. She must be hot in the eighty-degree temperature. And damn, he’d hoped to catch glimpses of those dancer’s legs today. Even if she avoided shorts, like some women, she should have on something cooler, like those Capri things.
    He didn’t even try to be discreet as he took in every detail of her face. She had flawless skin, wide-set eyes, a cute, perky nose. Her picture didn’t do her justice.
    “How’s your shoulder?” she asked.
    “Getting better.” He lifted his arm. “Only one more day for the sling.”
    “I’m anxious to hear from you how you got shot. I watched the TV coverage, but I’ll bet the incident was more intense.”
    She always did that online, too. Asked about him. Got him talking about himself. “Let’s order first. I’m starved.”
     Dana chose an egg-white omelet, whole-grain toast and juice. She’d said she adhered to a strict diet for health reasons. “The food’s good at this place.”
    “Yeah. You come here a lot?”
    “They accommodate me.”
    Odd choice of words. Maybe she didn’t like the sun; the trees on either side cast the whole area in shade. Birds perched there sang an afternoon song, and a slight breeze ruffled the leaves.
    After they ordered, Dana settled back in the chair, met his gaze and asked again about the school shooting.
    Relaxed, he gave her a rundown on the student’s motivation and somehow got into his feelings about what had happened. “I hate when a call goes bad. I had the whole situation under control and the teacher blew it.”
    “You’re a rescuer, Joe. I could tell from what you said online.”
    “Yeah, maybe. Most cops and firefighters are.” He talked more about the aftermath of the incident, his