Blind-Date Baby

‘So you already said.’

He took a step backwards beyond the shelter of the doorway and the rain hit him in multiple wet stabs. He shuddered. For an instant, rational thought hadn’t come into it—he was only aware of his body’s physical response to the drop in temperature, the cold water running down his skin.

Grace stood in the doorway, in front of one of the angled panes of glass, her eyes large and round. All the laughter had left them now, but they were focused intently on him.

‘Bye, Noah,’ she said, and looked down at the floor.

Suddenly, he was moving. He took two long steps until he was standing in front of her and, without stopping to explain or analyse, he placed a hand either side of her head on the window and leaned in close. Her lips parted and she sank back against the pane and jerkily took in some air.

And then he kissed Grace the way he’d wanted to all evening.

CHAPTER THREE

GRACE clung to Noah for support. She had to. If she released the lapels of his jacket, she’d be in serious danger of sliding down the glass and landing in a heap at his feet.

It had been quite a long time since she’d been kissed. Perhaps the memories were a little fuzzy, but she didn’t think she remembered it being this good. Every part of her seemed to be going gooey. And he wasn’t even using his hands. They were still pressed against the glass as he towered over her and it was merely the brushing, teasing, coaxing of his lips that was making her feel this way.

She’d never been kissed like this before. Never.

And with that thought an icy chill ran through her.

Surely Rob’s kisses had excited her like this? He had to come top of her list. He was Daisy’s father, her soulmate, her grand passion. Anyone else would only ever be second place. But when she thought of him, she could remember youthful exuberance, raw need, but never this devastating skill that was threatening to…

Her fingers unclenched and she laid her palms flat against Noah’s chest, intending to apply gentle pressure as a signal that she wanted him to stop. But she didn’t stop him. Noah chose that moment to run his tongue along her lip and she moaned gently, reached behind his neck with both hands and pulled him closer.

When Noah’s hands finally moved off the window and started stroking the tingling skin of her neck, her cheeks, that little hollow at the base of her throat, she stopped thinking altogether. And she had no idea how long they’d been necking in the doorway like teenagers when he finally pulled away.

She was shaking—literally quivering—as he stood there looking down at her with his pale eyes. His thumb was still tracing the line of her cheekbone. Just that alone made the skin behind her ears sizzle.

This was so not what she’d been expecting on her first date. The chat rooms on Blinddatebrides.com that afternoon had been full of stories of nerdy guys and boring evenings, lots of jokes about kissing frogs. After getting her head around Daisy’s whole madcap plan, that was what she’d been anticipating. She’d been expecting to feel a sense of relief that the ordeal was over, to chalk it up to experience and carry on with her life. She certainly hadn’t been expecting to feel this.

‘Grace?’

Even his whisper was sexy. Low and growly. She tried not to shiver more than she already was doing.

‘I’d really like to see you again.’

Her body was telling her to yell yes, drag him back into the coffee shop and make use of one of those squashy sofas. And just that thought alone was enough to throw a bucket of cold water all over her. She didn’t do one-night stands, or necking in doorways. She did soulmates and loveat first sight—with marriage and baby rapidly following. This wasn’t for her. Blinddatebrides.com wasn’t for her.

She wriggled out of Noah’s arms and retreated behind the door, using it as a shield as she held it half-closed. ‘I’m sorry, Noah. I just don’t think that’s a good idea.’ And before she could talk herself out of it, she shut the door, flipped the catches and walked through the shop without looking back.

Noah stared at Grace as she disappeared into the barely lit café. In the gloom, she became a dark grey blob, then, suddenly, the interior of The Coffee Bean was plunged into darkness.

He just kept on staring, even though he was now staring at his own reflection in the glass. The one woman he’d found who’d really caught his interest had just given him the brush-off. He couldn’t remember the last time that had happened in the previous five years. The irony of it hit him so hard he started to chuckle.

Aware that the pubs were emptying and people were starting to fill the High Street, he pulled himself together. Men who stood and laughed at their reflections in shop windows were likely to be carted down to the local police station to sleep it off.

He looked himself in the eyes.

Well done, Mr Best-selling Author. You’ve finally found the secret to repelling women: be interested.

The narrow flight of stairs that led up to her flat seemed especially steep this evening. Grace opened the door at the top and, once she’d taken her coat off, she looked down at herself. Who was she kidding? In Daisy’s prom dress and Daisy’s shoes, she looked like someone playing dressing-up.

Sophisticated? I don’t think so!

She stripped the clothes and the stockings off right where she stood and marched into the bedroom to find her pyjamas. Once dressed in her striped three-quarter length trousers and vest top, she stood, hands on her hips, and glared round her room. It was cluttered with lotions and potions, clothes borrowed from Daisy and clothes Daisy had returned.

There was no point trying to go to sleep. Not going to happen.

She fetched Daisy’s laptop and took it into the sitting room, where she collapsed onto the sofa with it. Once it had booted up, she logged into Blinddatebrides.com.

Blinddatebrides.com is running 12 chatrooms, 36 private Instant Messaging conferences,and 4233 members are online. Chatwith your dating prospects now!

Grace clicked on the ‘New to the site’ chatroom where she’d found Kangagirl and Sanfrandani earlier on, but none of the names listed in the conversation were theirs. She shook her head. It had to be midday in Australia and she had absolutely no idea what time it would be on the west coast of America. Sanfrandani was probably fast asleep.

She was about to turn the blasted machine off when it beeped at her and a little window popped up.

Kangagirl is inviting you to a private IM conference.Click OK to accept the invitation.

Grace didn’t hesitate. Another window popped up.

Kangagirl: You’re back! Tell us how it went!

Englishcrumpet: Us?

Sanfrandani: I’m here too!Englishcrumpet: Shouldn’t you be in bed?Sanfrandani: LOL! Only if I want to get fired.It’s three o’clock in the afternoon!Englishcrumpet: Oh.Kangagirl: So…Sanfrandani: Yes! Juicy details please!

Juicy details indeed. There were no juicy details. It had just been a kiss.

Yeah, right. And caramel moccachino was just plain coffee.

Englishcrumpet: We had dinner and coffeeand then he left.Sanfrandani: The question is: are you goingto see him again?Englishcrumpet: I don’t think so.