A Better Reason to Fall in Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

about Armando first, Tabs!” Jocelyn whispered.
    “You won’t believe this, Joss,” Tabby began, “but your Latin lover owns the Acapulco!”
    “What?” Naomi and Emmy gasped.
    Jocelyn bit her lip, obviously delighted. “Tell me more,” she begged.
    “Well, it seems Armando’s uncle owns a similar restaurant down in Phoenix,” Tabby began, pausing as a waiter walked past them.
    “Yeah?” Emmy urged.
    “Apparently, Armando’s uncle’s restaurant does so well down there, Armando decided to open this one here,” Tabby continued. “But here’s the clincher. Jagger Brodie used to work summers at Armando’s uncle’s place, with Armando…as a cliff diver!”
    “No way!” Naomi breathed as Jocelyn and Emmy rippled into giggles.
    “Yes way!” Tabby assured them. “I guess Jagger worked as a lifeguard at a pool and moonlighted as a cliff diver. Can you believe it?”
    Emmy clapped her hands together and reeled with laughter.
    “Awesome! How awesome is that?” she giggled. “How awesome is it that your Latin lover knows the Derrière-inator, Joss?”
    “Totally awesome!” Jocelyn whispered. Her smile was so widespread that Tabby wondered if her cheeks hurt.
    “Who’s the other guy?” Naomi asked then. “The older guy. He’s not from the office.”
    “Oh, that’s David Lowery’s brother,” Tabby answered.
    “He’s really handsome,” Naomi muttered.
    Tabby grinned as she saw Emmy’s eyebrows arch in astonishment—as Jocelyn’s expression changed to that of surprise.
    “He’s, like, forty!” Emmy said.
    Naomi shrugged, however. “So? He’s really handsome.”
    “You’d probably like him too,” Tabby whispered. “He’s some big-shot professor from somewhere. He’s in town to do a lecture at the university on poetry or something.”
    “Professor Anthony Lowery?” Naomi exclaimed.
    “Shh! He’ll hear you!” Tabby scolded. “But yes…his name is Anthony.”
    Tabby was intrigued as she saw Naomi smile and bite her lower lip. Her eyes were fairly twinkling.
    “He’s speaking on the poetry of the Victorians tonight! I’ve got a ticket in my purse,” Naomi explained. She sighed, and Tabby was awed by the rather lovesick expression on her friend’s face. “Oh, he’s a wonderful poet in his own right too. I hope he’ll present one or two recitations of his work.”
    “Do you want me to go ask for his autograph, Naomi?” Emmy teased.
    “Would you?” Naomi asked, entirely missing the point of Emmy’s sarcasm.
    Emmy giggled, “I guess so…if you really want me to.”
    Naomi straightened her posture, however, shook her head, and said, “No. No…I’ll just see if his new book will be for sale at the lecture. If it is, maybe he’ll sign one for me.” Naomi sighed, shook her head, and breathed, “Who would have ever thought that an idiot like David Lowery could be related to Professor Anthony Lowery?”
    Tabby exchanged glances with Emmy and Jocelyn, knowing they were each as flabbergasted by Naomi’s crushing on the stranger. Naomi never crushed on anyone!
    “Okay, now I’m freaked out!” Emmy said. Tabby looked to Emmy, who sat shaking her head in wonderment.
    “Why?” Naomi asked.
    “Because!” Emmy exclaimed. “I mean, seriously. What are the odds that Jocelyn’s Latin lover would be someone from Tabby’s super-crush’s past, who’s sitting there eating lunch with a guy you have a ticket in your purse to see lecture tonight? I swear, all we need now is to find out if Luke has some connection to one of them!”
    “It is pretty freaky when you put it like that,” Jocelyn agreed as she reached into her purse and began rummaging for her debit card.
    Naomi’s eyes widened. “Emmy,” she began, “where did you say Luke went to college before he joined the military?”
    “Boston University. Why?” Emmy asked.
    “Anthony Lowery is a professor of literature at Boston University!” Naomi whispered.
    As Jocelyn began humming the theme to The Twilight Zone