Shadow Ridge Read Online Free

had driven past the restaurant already so it gave her an idea that it wasn’t quite five star upscale, but it wasn’t quite jeans and t-shirt either. It was new since the last time she was a permanent resident of Freeport so she had never been there to dine. The drive-by research was a necessity.
    She hated first dates. First dates were too much about what to wear—dress or pants, makeup or no makeup. First dates were too much about what to order to eat. Although she would admit with Miles she shouldn’t have to worry about that. It’s not like this was some Hollywood guy who would be judging everything that went into her mouth and sizing it up for how many calories and how much fat it could pack on her.
    She laughed about that as she drove down Freeman toward Sebastian. The good doctor t hat her friend in Bev Hills had set her up with had actually been a plastic surgeon. The worst thing to do in Hollywood was date a nip and tuck guy because the entire dinner, despite her healthy meal, he kept pointing out how much that cream sauce over the broccoli was going to cost her in calories. Calorie count turned into how many calories equaled one pound of fat. She assured him she wasn’t worried about getting fat and that she worked out religiously. He assured her that even with her workouts she could still use some work. The only thing that surprised her that night was that he didn’t pull out the Sharpie and mark all the areas he was pointing out on her body that needed work.
    “Oh, not so good times,” she laughed again. She had dated some nice guys, but some of them were complete douche bags too. Maybe she had come across more of those than she had nice guys lately. She hoped Miles didn’t turn out to be a douche bag.
    “There’s only one way to find out,” she said as she turned on to the isolated road that would lead her to her home. She passed the apple orchards and kept on driving. Yeah, there was only one way to find out. If that date tanked then at least she would save herself some time on trying to make it work. She was not going to hang on to something that wasn’t right.
     
    Miles had arrived at the restaurant early. He was nervous; he would admit that. But he had arrived with the same confidence he had when he asked her out. He was wearing his black custom made Armani suit, a deep red silk tie, matching pocket puff, cuff links and perfectly polished shoes. Having money afforded him some luxuries and while he didn’t walk around town in Armani suits he did pull them out for special occasions. This was a special occasion for him. A date with a beautiful woman who might be more than just a one date thing was definitely an Armani worthy occasion. The suit was only six hundred dollars and some change. It wasn’t as if he spent near millions on it, but still, Armani was Armani and the class in the design was what really made the garment for him.
    When she walked into the lobby she smiled at him so warmly he felt areas of his body stir that needed to settle down before he did something stupid that scared her away from him. A date did not mean she wanted to find a room and explore what was beneath the top clothes.
    “Hey,” she had walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him as much as she could. His stomach extended a little too much and his waist line was just a little too big for her to have a full connection. He felt embarrassed. She was used to California surf guys with hard bodies and perfect tans—what did he think he could give her that they couldn’t?
    He kicked the thought from his mind. He could give her a lot…love, laughter, so many things if they just got to know each other beyond the wrapping.
    Another slender woman had shown them to a back booth. It wasn’t near the bathroom, but it wasn’t near the crowd either. He wondered if they were trying not to let people see him. He wondered if they were trying not to scare their patrons away from the table and into the gym.
    “I love it