Mr. Wonderful Lies Read Free Page A

different than a blind date.”
    “A blind date is pre-screened!” Anna sat up and waved her hands in the air for emphasis.
    “Do you have a lot in common?” Finally, a rational question from Jared.
    I nodded at him. “We seem to.”
    “Like what?” Anna demanded.
    I struggled to answer. It wasn’t that simple. How do you explain to someone that a list of activities we both liked didn’t matter when there were so many other things we had in common. That was what had astounded me the most about Ollie to begin with. We’re both laid back and willing to try something new. We weren’t inclined to force our opinions on people and didn’t expect anything but respect in return for acceptance. How could I explain to my friends that the most important thing Ollie and I had in common was our outlook?
    “It’s complicated,” I began hesitantly. “We have a lot of the same personality traits.”
    “Maybe it just seems that way,” Jared offered realistically. “Sometimes what seems like a good match in a chat doesn’t pan out when you get real chemistry involved. It’s always easy to get along with someone when there’s a time delay in the conversation.”
    I appreciated his point of view. It wasn’t like I hadn’t had those same thoughts a thousand times before. I mean, I’d started chatting on a daily basis with a virtual stranger. It was like falling in love with a television character. How did I know the whole thing wasn’t a figment of my imagination?
    “I thought of that,” I admitted. “But when we talk on the phone it’s just like our chats. We can talk forever about nothing or everything and it doesn’t matter. I just like talking to him.” I paused, trying to put what I felt into words. “He listens to me.”
    It sounded so simple, but it really wasn’t. If you’ve had this with another person, you can understand. If you haven’t, you won’t ever understand until it happens to you. It’s that one person you want to talk to no matter what. The one who maybe doesn’t always agree with you, but still manages to make you feel like a million bucks anyway.
    Jared smiled at me, his full lips tilting up at the corners though I didn’t see the flash of perfect white teeth from his full, devastatingly handsome smile. I think he got it, even if Anna didn’t. That was sort of strange since his relationships typically had an abbreviated lifespan. I wondered if he’d ever had a real connection with someone, only to have it fade away over time. It was the one thing I was most afraid of with Ollie and the number one reason I’d resolved to take things slowly. I’d jumped in headfirst with Professor Jackass. There was no way I was going down that road again.
    “Please tell me talking on the phone is all you’ve done,” Anna moaned. “What if this guy is a psycho axe murderer? We should check him out on casenet.com or something.”
    I sucked in a big breath and held it. “He wants to meet.”
    Anna snatched my hand, squeezing it until I thought my fingers might pop off. “Megan Myers, are you insane?”
    I did a sort of noncommittal shake of my head. “I don’t know. I’m thinking about just doing it.”
    “Megan…” Anna gasped.
    “In a public place somewhere!” I shot back defensively. “I just want to know if this is a real connection or just some freak accident.”
    “Meeting him in person will definitely answer the chemistry question,” Jared murmured. “But you have to remember that people can lie in person too.”
    “Anyone can lie,” I told them bitterly. “I thought I knew Professor Jackass. Look how many lies he told.”
    “You know what?” Anna announced, “This is a good thing! You’ll meet him and realize he’s some freak who looks like the Elephant Man or something.”
    I looked at Jared and we both burst out laughing. It was so like Anna to put a slant on something that was to her advantage. It was how she operated. She eyeballed the two of us laughing like crazed