In the Dark Read Free

had been right behind him. He’d undoubtedly heard every word. Now his dark blue eyes were on her enigmatically. She wished he wasn’t even more appealing soaking wet, that thatch of impossibly dark hair over his forehead, bronzed shoulders gleaming. She wished there wasn’t such an irresistibly subtle, too-familiar scent about him. Soap, cologne, his natural essence, mingled with the sea and salty air.
    “Nice program you’ve got going,” he said. “Thanks.”
    Then he walked away. He didn’t even shake her hand, as the others had. He didn’t touch her.
    She felt burned.
    “Thanks,” she returned, though he was already too far away to hear her.
    “You okay?”
    Alex whirled. Laurie was watching her worriedly.
    “So hunky-dory I could spit,” Alex assured her, causing Laurie to smile.
    Then her friend cocked her head, set her hands on her hips and sighed. “Poor baby. Two of the most attractive men I’ve seen in a long time angling for your attention, and you look as if you’ve been caught in a bees’ nest.”
    “Trust me, David is not angling for my attention.”
    “You should have seen the way he was looking at you.”
    “You were reading it wrong, I guarantee you.”
    Laurie frowned. “I thought the divorce went smoothly.”
    “Very smoothly. I don’t think he even noticed,” Alex told her ruefully. She lifted a hand in vague explanation. “He was in the Caribbean on a boat somewhere when I filed the papers. He didn’t call, didn’t protest…just sent his attorney with the clear message to let me do what ever I wanted, have whatever I wanted…. I was married, then I wasn’t, and it was all so fast, my head was spinning.”
    “Well, that certainly didn’t mean he hated you.”
    “I never said he hated me.”
    “Well…want my advice?”
    “No.”
    Laurie grinned. “That’s because you’ve never been to a place like Date Tournament.”
    “What?”
    “I told you I was going the other day,” Laurie said impatiently. “It’s that new club in Key Largo. They’ve been doing it all over the country. You go, and you keep changing tables, chatting with different people for aboutten minutes each. The idea isn’t bad. I mean, there are nice guys out there, not just jerks. Some are heart-broken—like me. And some are just looking. Imagine, the perfect person for me could walk by me in a mall, but we’d never talk. We never see someone and just walk up and say, ‘Hey, you’re good-looking, the right age, are you straight? Attached? Do you have kids? Do you like the water? We wouldn’t last a day if you didn’t.’ So at Date Tournament, you at least get to meet people who are looking for people. Sexual preference and mar ital status are all straightened out before you start. You’re not stuck believing some jerk in a bar who says he’s single, gets more out of the night than a girl set out to give, then apologizes because he has to get home before his wife catches him.”
    Alex stared at her blankly for a minute. Laurie was beautiful, a natural platinum blonde with a gorgeous smile, charm and spontaneity. It had never really occurred to Alex that her friend had the least difficulty dating. Living at Moon Bay seemed perfect for Alex. She had her own small but atmospheric little cottage, surrounded by subtropical growth—and daily maid service. There was the Tiki Hut off the lagoons for laid-back evenings, buffets in the main house for every meal, a small but well-run bookstore and every cable channel known to man. She thought ruefully that just because she had been nursing a wounded heart all this time, she’d had no reason to think the others were all as happy with celibacy as she was.
    She arched an eyebrow, wishing she hadn’t spent so much time being nearly oblivious to the feelings of others.
    “So…how was your evening at Date Tournament?”
    “Scary. Sad,” Laurie said dryly. “Want to hear about it?”
    “Yes, but I want to get away from here first,” Alex said. She