What the Heart Desires (Contemporary Erotic Romance) Read Free Page A

soul-crushing week.  They were standing in the tiny kitchen of his apartment, where he was chopping vegetables for a salad.
    “Yes, only every minute of every day!” Kimberly replied, frustrated.  “You know how hard it is to find jobs relevant to our field.  I’ll need specialized training to get the type of career I want and even then, who knows what the job market will be like.   I’m planning to follow up on a couple opportunities I came across, but they’re probably long shots.”
    “Think positive,” Felix encouraged her.  “Things just have a way of working out.” 
    “I hope you’re right,” Kimberly sighed.  “But enough about my evil manager and the hospital’s stupid new policies,” she said decidedly.  “Let’s just have a good time tonight.  Hey, do you want to go out to eat?”
    Felix looked up.  His salad was half-prepared and water was boiling for pasta.  “What, you don’t like my cooking?” he teased, sounding surprised.
    “You know I do,” Kimberly assured him, “but maybe a change would be nice.  I think I need to get out and be distracted, you know?” 
    “Alright,” Felix replied, shutting off the stove burner.  “Where do you want to go?”
    Kimberly shrugged and then reached for the phone book that always sat exactly two inches from the kitchen phone.  She opened it to a random page, scanned the restaurant listings and pointed at a Thai place neither of them had ever heard of.  “How about here?” she suggested.
    ~~~
    Spontaneity wasn’t something that came naturally to the couple.  Kimberly and Felix were both very much creatures of habit.  Even so, Felix dutifully indulged Kimberly’s request to try something different. 
    That was how they found themselves at a small hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurant filled with strange yet enticing smells.  The menu, unfortunately, wasn’t in English.
    “You order now?” the young server said in broken English.
    “Um, we’ve never been here before,” Felix informed her.  “What do you recommend?”
    The young woman held up her hands apologetically.  “You order now?” she asked again.  It was evident she didn’t speak much English. 
    “Why don’t we just point to some random things on the menu?” Kimberly suggested.  “Our dinner will be a surprise but that’s okay, isn’t it?” 
    “As long as there’s no shellfish,” Felix agreed somewhat reluctantly.  “I’m allergic.”
    A well-dressed man sitting at the bar turned around.  It was evident that in the close quarters, he’d overhear d the conversation.  He had an amused grin on his face and a drink in his hand.  “Need some help?” he offered.  “There’s a lot of shellfish on the menu, actually, but I can suggest a few dishes if you want.  The food here is fuckin’ amazing.” 
    Felix’s eyes widened at the man’s colorful language.  He wore a Rolex and a high quality suit.  He was probably a businessman of some sort, and a successful one at that.  He didn’t seem to be the type to throw curse words around in every day conversation, yet there he was doing exactly that. 
    “Um, that would be great,” Felix replied politely, regaining his composure.  “Thank you.”
    The food, it turned out, was fuckin’ amazing.  The stranger at the bar made excellent selections and Kimberly found herself absolutely salivating over the meal.  It was to die for. 
    “Thanks again for your help,” Kimberly said to the guy at the bar as she and Felix were leaving the restaurant.
    He turned around, his piercing green eyes slightly bloodshot.  Day old stubble covered his strong jaw.  He’d loosened his tie and it hung haphazardly from his unbuttoned shirt collar.  He was incredibly attractive in a slightly inebriated, rough around the edges sort of way.  “No worries,” he replied, raising his glass and taking a swig of whiskey.  “Have a good one.”
    ~~~
    Kimberly did, in fact, have a good one.  Maybe it was the wine