Blind-Date Baby Read Online Free Page A

offered his hand. ‘Noah…Smith.’ A necessary diversion from the truth if he was to gauge if his dates really liked him for his personality rather than his bank balance. Sometimes he wished he’d had enough sense to use a pen name, but the lure of seeing ‘Noah Frost’ stamped in square letters across the front of a book jacket had been too great after all the years of rejections.
    ‘Hello,’ she said, shaking his hand, then quickly pulling hers away again. ‘You’ve got really nice teeth.’
    He opened his mouth to say, All the better to eat you with, but managed to stop himself. Instead, he just kept quiet and motioned for her to sit down. He did the same.
    ‘Nice teeth?’ he said, smiling again. ‘Do you want to check my hooves to see if I’m good stock too?’
    She blushed ever so slightly and the mischievous little smile from the profile photograph made an appearance.
    ‘Grace Marlowe—blind-date virgin…’ She clapped a hand over her mouth. It looked as if she were trying to wipe a cheeky smile away as she dragged her hand over her lips and let it fall. It didn’t work. The grin popped back into place as if nothing had happened.
    ‘That came out all wrong. What I meant was…this will be my first time.’
    She closed her eyes and bit her lip. Without opening her lids, she kept speaking. ‘I’m making it worse, aren’t I—digging myself an even deeper hole?’
    Noah stared at her. This wasn’t how the other dates hadstarted. Where was the murmured conversation, the polite questioning as to jobs and musical tastes?
    ‘It’s only because I’m more of a blind-date veteran that I’m not in there with a matching shovel.’
    She opened one eye. ‘You’re nice, Mr Smith. And chivalrous to a lady in distress.’ The other eye popped open and she tipped her head to one side. ‘How come you’ve had so many first dates if you’re such a nice guy? What’s wrong with you?’
    Now it was his turn to laugh. His male pride really ought to be dented. None of his other dates had been so blunt. But none of his other dates had been quite so interesting.
    ‘This is only the fourth date I’ve been on.’
    ‘In how long?’
    He shrugged. ‘A month?’
    ‘That’s a lot of ladies who passed you by, Noah. Tell me why I shouldn’t follow the crowd.’
    Despite the fact that he was known for his cool, unruffled demeanour, he found himself laughing again.
    ‘I’ve got nice teeth?’
    ‘There is that,’ she said, her eyes twinkling. And they really were that blue. She looked at the tablecloth and scratched at a catch in the linen. ‘Sorry about the teeth thing. I was a little nervous, and when I’m nervous I tend to say the first thing that pops into my head.’
    Although it seemed to get her into trouble, he found it quite endearing. And refreshing. The more successful he’d become, the more people second-guessed their every word around him. Getting an honest reaction—rather than one that had been carefully edited before it left a person’s mouth—was a wonderful novelty.
    ‘Shall we order?’
    She breathed out a sigh, making a little round shape with her mouth. ‘That would be lovely.’
    He opened the large, unwieldy menu and scanned it, eventhough he was pretty sure he was going to start with the carpaccio of beef and follow it with the scallops.
    ‘We can discuss my many faults over the appetisers,’ he said, completely deadpan.
    The bright eyes appeared above the menu, laughing at him. Noah smiled to himself and paid careful attention. You could tell a lot about a person from what food they ordered. She chose the beef too. Another good sign.
    No. Not a sign—he didn’t believe in signs. Just an indicator of compatibility.
    She let him choose the wine and, by the time he’d narrowed the choices down to match their courses, their appetisers had arrived.
    ‘So, what do you do, Grace?’
    She looked up from her salad—not by raising her head, but by looking at him through her lashes. A