His Love Read Online Free PDF

day—and have a few drinks. She wanted to know what lay beneath that calm, composed exterior. The quieter men always made her wonder what really made them tick.
    She took a deep breath and said, “I’d really like to take you out tonight, Gavin. It’s not a chore. It’d be nice.”
    His eyes lit as he studied her face. “Really.”
    “Yes. Unless…” A thought occurred to her, and it made her stomach do a quick nervous twist. “Well, maybe you don’t want to spend the evening with me ? You just said yes to placate Anna?”
    His gaze intensified as he said in a low, warm tone, “Toni, there’s nothing I’d like more than to spend the evening with you.”
    *
    Gavin looked out the window as Toni drove them down Park Avenue, through the central part of Long Beach. The other part of the beach town was mainly residential, with a few stores nestled among the houses and apartment buildings. There was a church, a synagogue, a school with a playground. Toni told him that the tallest apartment buildings were a few blocks down, along the beach, prime real estate with unobstructed views of the sand and ocean.
    He asked her about the neighborhood, the people, what the winter was like there. Conversation with her flowed easily and he felt comfortable with her, despite the fact that he was wildly attracted to her. Sometimes, just looking at her made his brain turn to mush.
    He wondered if Toni knew she was beautiful. Aye, she was physically pretty, but it was more than that. He watched her face as she talked about the town, animated, ebullient. She was open, quick, and radiated light from the inside out, which made her appeal to him all the more. All that, along with her curves, made her sexy as hell.
    When she asked him where he wanted to have dinner, he asked for someplace casual. Her face lit up when an idea struck her. “Oh! I know! Do you like seafood?”
    “Aye, sure.”
    “Okay, then! I know exactly where we should go.”
    They drove down Park Avenue, passing several beach clubs on the right, to what seemed to be the end of the strip. But it led into a smaller neighborhood of smaller houses, and she explained they were actually in a different town now, called Point Lookout. The houses were set very close together; it kind of reminded Gavin of where he’d grown up.
    “There’s a lot of Irish folks in this little town,” Toni said, as if hearing his thoughts. “American Irish, of course. Not the real thing like you and Anna.”
    “Ah, any Irish folk are the real thing, lass,” Gavin said, overexaggerating his brogue. He got the big smile from her that he’d hoped for.
    She made a left onto a side street, then down another street that looked to be by a body of water. “That’s the bay,” she said. “The towns of Long Beach, Lido Beach, and Point Lookout are all sandwiched by the ocean on one side, and the bay on the other.” She slowed the car as she searched for a parking spot. “Which is nice, but it’s also why this area got slammed so hard when Hurricane Sandy hit.” She glanced his way. “Do you know about that?”
    “Aye, Anna told me. Sounded terrible. She said the whole West End was a pure disaster.”
    “It was. So much was just completely destroyed. The first floor of our house was flooded, they had to rip out and redo the floors, the basement… it was chaos. You can’t imagine… it was one of the worst times of my life.” She found a spot to park, maneuvered her car in, cut the engine, then turned to him with a huge, determined smile. “But, thankfully, most have recovered. And tonight, we’re here to have a good time. So I’m changing the subject now.”
    They got out of the car and a strong, warm breeze blew, lifting her curly hair with invisible fingertips. She grabbed at it with a wry laugh. “It’s always windier by the water. I should’ve brought a ponytail holder; I’ll end up eating my hair if I’m not careful.”
    “Doesn’t sound too appetizing.” He grinned.
    “No,