Love Lessons Read Online Free Page A

her face.  “Yeah, what about them?”
    “What do you see?”
    “Some jerk who’s paying more attention to his phone than his date.”   She arched a brow and looked pointedly at Nate.  “Don’t tell me you see love in that.”
    He laughed. “No, you’re right.  The guy’s a jerk.  I’d never text when on a date.” 
    “Any guy who is more interested in his phone then his date is definitely not the guy for me.  I mean, for Kate.”
    “What about that couple?” he said, gesturing with his head. 
    “You mean the guy pouring wine for his wife?”
    “Yeah. What do you see?”
    “I see an accident waiting to happen.”
    He shook his head.  “You’re always looking for the worst case scenario.  It’s like you’re programmed to find flaws.” 
    “My job, remember?”  She held her arms up in defeat.  “What can I say, I write about dating foibles.” 
    “Yeah, but now you have to start writing about love, so you have to start looking at things differently.”  He paused for a moment and stole another glance around the restaurant.  “What about that couple?  What do you see?”
    She turned to see a guy shucking his girlfriend’s oysters.  “I see that someone is about to put an eye out.”
    This time, he laughed out loud, and his hand closed over hers. He gave a gentle squeeze that she felt all the way to her thighs.  “What am I going to do with you?”
    Oh, I can think of a few things…
    “Tell me what you see then?” she asked, needing to get her mind back on her job.
    “I see a guy who is kind and thoughtful.  She’s having a hard time shucking it, so he’s helping her.  I’ve seen my dad do that for my mom many times.” He looked at the couple again and went quiet, contemplative.  “I mean, she’s capable, but he does it because he puts her needs first.”  He turned back to Grace.  “That’s why my dad always pumps mom’s gas.  She can do it, but he doesn’t want her to get cold or dirty.” 
    “So you’re saying love is about kind gestures?”
    He lifted his hands, and his eyes widened like she just had an epiphany.  “Yes, and knowing what the other wants and needs.”
    “No guy has ever shucked my oyster.”  As soon as the words left her mouth, she cringed.  “Wait, I think that might have come out wrong.”
    Nate laughed.  “And that’s because you’ve been going out with the wrong guys.”
    “I’m kind of a jerk magnet.”
    “Well yeah, the guys you date are jerks, but it’s not your fault.  You just don’t know how to pick them or what to look for.  But that’s all going to change.”
    “You think?”
    “Sure, you just need to start paying attention to the way the good guys treat their girls.” 
    As she thought about that, Jaelyn came with their food.  Grace grabbed her fork and dug in to her creamy pasta. 
    “Mmm, delicious,” she said. 
    “I take it you’re glad you went for the pasta?” he asked, a sexy grin on his mouth.
    “Smart-ass,” she returned, then nodded to his food.  “How’s the burger?”
    “Good.  I mean how can it not be?”  He grinned.  “It came on a bun.”
    They chatted quietly as they ate, and once they finished, Nate grabbed the dessert menu.  Honest to God, Nate was always pushing her to eat sweets, even going so far as to stock his fridge with her favorite treats on movie night.  He didn’t care that she was plump, because he obviously never saw her as anything more than a buddy—to him, she was just one of the guys.    
    “What are you having?” he asked. “The chocolate mousse looks good.”
    She held her hands up, and even though Tess, the lodge’s baker, made the best sweets, she said, “No way.  I’m so full if I eat any dessert, I’ll be rolling down the ski hill.”
    “Oh, and you think passing up dessert is going to change that outcome?” he teased playfully.
    “Hey,” she said, pinching her lips as she glared at him.
    He grinned.  “Don’t worry, I won’t