French Kissing (Restless Hearts) Read Free Page B

attempting to flirt with him. But now I found my eyes darting over, wondering if I had missed something with Jake.
    He was staring straight ahead, those unreadable eyes scanning the artwork. His profile was a sculpture in its own right. His nose was sloped at just the right angle, his eyelashes long and dark. He was more than cute- he was handsome. I don’t know how I hadn’t noticed that earlier.
    “Are you flirting with me?” I asked, sounding surprised.
    “I must not be doing it very well if you have to ask.” He looked at me with a boyish smile on his face. “Let me guess- you have a boyfriend?”
    He sounded so certain that I almost hated to prove him wrong. Almost. “No, I don’t have a boyfriend.”
    “Good.” His smile spread. “Now you can agree to go out with me.”
    “Just because I can doesn’t mean I will. ” Now it was my turn to smile. “I don’t even know your last name.”
    He paused, just for a second. “Wellington.”
    “Jake Wellington?” Just like that, it clicked. I knew why this strange man looked familiar to me. “The Grand Slam winning tennis player?”
    “My friends just call me Jake.” He shifted uncomfortably. “You’re a tennis fan?”
    I had been playing tennis since I learned to walk. By the time I was ten, I was beating adults. Four years of high school state championships. A full-ride athletic scholarship for college. Tennis was my life.
    “Yes, but that’s not why I know who you are.” The fact was, everyone knew Jake Wellington. He had been dominating tournaments for the last three years. Nearly every commercial for shoes, watches, and cars featured his face. And last year, he had dated three different celebrities. “You’re the King of the Court.”
    “Ugh,” he groaned. “Please, don’t.”
    With a name like Jake Wellington, it was only a matter of time before someone decided to give him a royal title. King of the Court was fitting considering his absolute domination in the tennis world.
    “Oh, poor you. All those beautiful women wanting to date you, sponsors throwing money at you, and children wanting to be like you. Rough.” My eyes rolled freely. “Don’t tell me you actually expect me to feel sorry for you.”
    “I don’t want your pity, Camryn.” His eyes were surprisingly cold. “But don’t pretend that you have any idea what it’s like to be me.”
    Clearly, I had hit a sore spot. As always, I had managed to ruin a new friendship before it even began. “Sorry. You’re right. I don’t know anything about you.”
    “You don’t.” He finally looked away, shrugging. “It’s my own fault; I don’t make it easy for people to get to know me.”
    “I would imagine that you have to be careful around new people.” I took a few slow steps toward the next photograph. “Probably a lot of people out there don’t have your best interest at heart.”
    “You have no idea.” Jake turned toward me, but kept his distance. “You never accepted my offer.”
    “Your offer?” My brow wrinkled in confusion. “You mean about the date?”
    He nodded.
    “When? Where?” For some reason I was having a really hard time saying yes to this gorgeous man.
    “Leave the details to me. Just say yes.”
    I took a deep breath and said, “Okay. Yes.”
    “Excellent.” His face relaxed and he smiled again. “You won’t regret it. I’m about to rock your world.”
    “It’s going to be hard to top this,” I said, gesturing around the room.
    Jace’s lips pulled upward in a crooked smile as he said, “Challenge accepted.”
    Unfortunately, our flirtation was short-lived. He had another party to attend and he was already running late. I was a little consoled when he carefully entered my number into his phone and made me promise that I wouldn’t screen his call. But then he was gone, and I was alone in a foreign land again.
    When I headed back to the party, I made a point to try and not be a total loser. I found some people from work, and after a couple