Looking for Love (Boxed set) Read Online Free PDF Page A

on William's head.
    Or in his lap.
    "I can't remember when I've had so much fun." William took a sip of his fuzzy navel.
    Jenna's stomach knotted as she studied his long, narrow face. His high cheekbones made his face look gaunt and his long nose and pointed chin reminded her of a woodpecker. At first she'd thought him fairly attractive, but upon closer inspection, she decided his children would come out either looking like a scarecrow or The Roadrunner.
    "Did you enjoy your dinner?" William asked.
    "Yes." She glanced at William's plate. Spotless. It looked as if he'd licked it clean. Maybe he had when she'd gone to the ladies' room. "Looks like you did, too."
    "I always like pasta. It's meat I can't handle." He wrinkled his nose. "Especially fowl."
    "Really? Are you allergic?" A barrage of excuses to leave screamed through her brain, and she tried to sneak a peek at her watch without drawing attention.
    William shook his head. Still, his perfectly groomed, lacquered dark hair didn't move a smidgen. "I haven't eaten chicken since my mother died."
    "Oh, I'm sorry about your mom. Did she just recently pass away?"
    William sniffled, and Jenna stiffened. Please, Lord. Was he going to start crying?
    "No. I was twelve, but she'll always be with me." William dabbed at his eyes with his napkin.
    "I understand. I don't know what I'd do without my family," Jenna said softly. "Even though they live in Raleigh, I still talk to them all the time. And we skype on Sundays."
    William leaned over the table and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Actually she still lives with me."
    Jenna cleared her throat. "She does?"
    "Yes, at my house."
    Jenna squinted in confusion. He didn't keep her body there, did he? Maybe she'd been cremated and he stored her ashes in an urn. "I thought you said she passed away."
    Nodding again, William smiled, revealing a set of perfectly straight teeth. "She does. She's been reincarnated." He folded the napkin into a neat square. "She came back as a parrot. When I heard this bird talk in the store one day, I recognized my mother's voice. She said, 'Pick up your smelly socks, pick up your smelly socks.' I brought her home that day."
    Jenna clutched her stomach and picked up her handbag. "William, I'm sorry but I'm suddenly not feeling well. I need to go home." I have been for hours.
    William threaded his fingers through hers. "That sounds like a good plan to me. It'll be more, um... private."
    A shudder coursed through her. Weird William was one man she didn't want to spend another minute with, much less the rest of her life. He also reminded her of the reason she didn't date often. Too many weirdos out there.
    As he walked her to her car, he continued to babble, "When I first saw you, I knew we were meant to be together. Soulmates. I told Mama that." He leaned against her car. "I could follow you home, come in, and rid your apartment of all its negative energy. I'll cast out any evil demons you have, too."
    "That's necessary," Jenna said. The only evil thing she wanted to cast aside was the lecherous look William kept giving her.
    He motioned over his shoulder toward his black Saturn. "It's no problem. I have everything I need in the trunk. Sage. A few other spices. A little dish and matches. It'll only take a few minutes."
    "I think you'd better just go back to your apartment," Jenna suggested. "Like I said, I'm not feeling too well. I'd hate if I was contagious."
    William gave her a puzzled look. "But what about our karma? The moon is full."
    "Tonight's not a good night." Jenna patted his hand like she would a child's, then jumped into her car and cranked the engine.
    "But, Jenna, wait—"
    "I can't," Jenna shouted over the purr of the motor, not caring that her exhaust pipe blew a gust of smoke in his face. "I have to go home and wash my hair."
    * * *
    Zack stared at his blank sketchbook and twirled his pencil around his fingers like a baton. He should be drawing sketches for Jenna's ad. The only problem was, he'd