Hollywood Dragon: BBW Dragon Shifter Paranormal Romance Read Online Free PDF Page A

never been outside of Los Angeles, and I pretty much stick to foods I like. But the weirdest foods I ever saw were some of the combinations students came up with at the cafeteria my first year at UCLA. French fries in ice cream, anybody?”
    That got a general expression of disgust, and Mick turned to Jan, smiling. “How about you, Jan?”
    “I also have to pass,” she said. Her voice really was pure gold, a molten, glowing river. JP shut his eyes, fighting another surge of fiery heat as she uttered a soft laugh. “The only traveling I’ve done is choir tours, on which they took us to chain franchises. Oh, and there was the short-lived opera company that was supposed to perform across the country, but they ran out of money. Cut us loose in Chicago to get home any way we could. I lived on peanut butter and crackers for the duration of the billion-hour bus trip home.”
    Shelley turned around in her chair. “I’d forgotten that! No wonder we never had any peanut butter in the apartment.”
    “Can’t stand the sight of it.” Jan shook her head, her curls falling like corn silk around her face, and JP’s fingers tingled with the desire to touch.
    The others laughed easily, then Dennis said, “JP?”
    He had curled his fists under the table, and forcibly relaxed them as he said, “Pass. You know I like everything.”
    “Whereas I eat everything,” Dennis said, and went off retailing another of his adventures.
    JP didn’t hear a word. Jan’s beautiful voice kept ringing in his head. And under cover of the general chatter, he bent toward her. “Opera?” he asked.
    How could she be more amazing?
    * * *
    How can I be more boring? Jan thought, groaning inwardly, and braced for the snarky comment about opera.
    But when she dared a peek at him, his expression was anything but snarky. No way. No possible way this incredibly handsome, smoking hot man liked opera? His amazing black eyes had widened, his lips—she tried not to stare at the sexy curve of his lips—parted.
    Though everybody else was now talking about sports, JP’s attention was solely on Jan. And he was waiting for an answer.
    “Yes.” She swallowed a boulder the size of Texas. “Opera. I can sing anything, of course, and have for short soundtrack gigs. But I’m a trained soprano.”
    First rule of dating , the senior resident had told Jan and Shelley their first year in college dorms—neither of them having been very successful at dating. When you meet a hot guy, don’t drool.
    “What type of soprano roles do you sing?”
    He knew subcategories of opera vocals? I can’t remember Rule Two , her inner voice wailed as she stuttered, “Lyric, certain spinto roles.”
    The others at the table laughed at something Mick said, but JP leaned toward her, lowering his voice. No drooling , she thought in panic as her entire body lit up from within. He asked, “Which operas have you sung?”
    Her mind blanked so hard she couldn’t remember the tune to “Three Blind Mice.” Get a grip , she told herself as he waited for an answer. Of course he would be married, or have a harem of girlfriends, or was gay, or any and all combinations of the three.
    But then she caught herself up. I’m the chubby sidekick, the comedy relief , she reminded herself sternly. He’s being polite. As soon as these good-looking guys leave the room, out will come the jokes about the fat lady singing .
    Because there was no possible way that JP LaFleur could have any interest in her .
    The thought steadied her enough to gulp a breath and speak. She told him the names of operas, and to her amazement saw recognition in the tiny nods he made now and then.
    “Probably everyone has seen, or been dragged to, La Bohème ,” he said, “but my favorite Puccini is Madama Butterly , seconded closely by Turandot .”
    He liked her favorite opera? “’Un Bel Di’ is in my repertoire,” she said, not adding that though she sang it well, no one in weight-conscious LA wanted a roly-poly