One Wish Read Online Free Page A

woman to spend some time with. The truth was, he hadn’t often been without one. This might be one of his longest stretches; he’d been too damn focused on a woman he couldn’t have. He wasn’t above brief liaisons but he preferred something a little steadier. For that, he had pretty rigid standards. First of all, appearance was important. Not the only criteria, but someone who made an effort, put her best foot forward, kept up her looks. Next, she had to like to play. Troy loved extreme sports and it was not required that a woman he was dating be into the extreme, but it was important she liked trying new things, liked being outside, enjoyed physical activity. Iris had fit those requirements. She appreciated the outdoors, liked hiking, biking, paddle boarding. And she’d liked watching his videos of his own more adventurous experiences. She’d covered her eyes sometimes, but she’d watched his white-water challenges, rock climbing, diving with sharks, whales, squid.
    Troy wanted a woman who was a good sport, at least. Of course she had to be intelligent and have a sense of humor. And since he was on the rebound, it was probably a good idea if she wasn’t the clingy, needy type. That made Grace, who didn’t get serious, a contender. She seemed to be casually dating someone and that sort of thing was usually a turnoff, but not at the moment.
    He knocked on her second-floor apartment door, not really expecting her to answer. He saw the curtain move and then the door opened. She was wearing yoga pants, heavy socks, an oversize, long-sleeved T-shirt and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He tilted his head and smiled at her. “You don’t have a date tonight?”
    “Well, not at the moment.”
    Troy tried looking past her. “Is the medieval knight here?”
    She put a hand on her hip. “Did you want to come in, Troy?”
    He lifted the six-pack. “If you’re not too busy. I brought beer. Sorry, I should’ve called.”
    She held the door open for him. “I’m surprised
you
don’t have a date.”
    “It’s not like I’m desperate,” he said, entering. He held out a beer for her, took one for himself, then opened her little refrigerator to stow the rest. “Oh-oh,” he said. It was stuffed. Small to begin with, there was no room for a six-pack.
    “Here, I’ll do it.” Some maneuvering was involved in getting four bottles of beer into the little fridge and ditching the cardboard pack.
    “You’re sure I’m not interrupting anything?”
    “Come in, Troy,” she said, moving through the dinky kitchen to the couch.
    There was a movie on Pause and a plate of something snacky on the coffee table. He peered at it.
    “Pizza rolls. I was just watching a chick flick but it’ll keep. Now what’s up with you? And take off your shoes.”
    He did as he was told, then sat on the far end of the couch. “Really, nothing. I worked at Cooper’s, which is why I don’t have a date or anything. It was dead tonight, and it was still early. I had about three choices—Cliff’s, Waylan’s or your place.”
    “You could have taken that new Jeep up to North Bend or even Bandon. Found a lively bar. Party a little.” She picked up the plate and offered him a pizza roll.
    “Thanks.” He chewed it and nodded. “Not bad. I didn’t feel like dealing with a bunch of strangers,” he said. “I just felt like some company before I go home.” He grinned at her. “And I thought maybe I’d run into one of your boyfriends.”
    “Oh, so that’s your ulterior motive and the reason you didn’t call. I didn’t want to go out tonight. I went for a run.”
    “A run? You don’t get enough exercise?”
    “Short hours in the shop today. The nice thing about being a one-person operation, I can close early or open late if I want as long as I have a cell number for the shop. That way I can take orders anytime. In fact, if I’m available and someone needs something, I can run downstairs and make up an arrangement. But I knew