Tell Me a Desire (The Story Series Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

sulfite-free Pinot selection to serve at the party. I trailed behind him with a small cart, walking dreamily to the beat of Charlie Parker playing in the background. Caleb had turned me into a jazz lover.
    We’d had a lazy, easy morning, probably because neither one of us had brought up my previous day’s snit. He’d surprised me with a dozen red roses delivered to the condo, he’d made chocolate chip pancakes, and then he’d brought me to an Art Deco furniture auction.
    “Babe, what do you think of this organic varietal?” He looked up, his eyes demanding an answer.
    “Wonderful.” I barely glanced at the label. Two couples flowed into the store, talking in loud voices and drowning out the romantic jazz. Now I was antsy to get home. Home, as in, Caleb’s condo, because I wanted to decide where to put my new vanity.
    Earlier that morning, Caleb had bought me an expensive, vintage French Art Deco vanity at the auction, so I’d have a place to put all my makeup at his condo. He’d even said it could go in his bedroom and we’d eventually redecorate around the one stunning piece.
    When I moved in, he’d reminded me. Not if , but when . He was certain he’d soon get his way, but I wasn’t so sure. Maybe I enjoyed having one foot in his sleek world and another in my shabby-chic one at my little bungalow.
    “It’s not your only present, though. Wait until tonight,” he’d said. God, he could be so perfect. Why was I second-guessing his love for me?
    I watched Caleb squint as he compared two bottles of wine. Even the smallest of choices always brought out the analytical side of him, and I thought it adorable. Amused at his happiness, I scanned the store and saw couples fighting in the chardonnay aisle, their mouths turned down, eyes annoyed, teeth bared in open snarls.
    Yes, I was tremendously lucky.
    “Oh, wait, this is even better.” Caleb’s voice quickened with excitement as he held up a seventy-five-dollar bottle of sulfite-free Chianti from Italy. He kissed me on the cheek. “I only want the best for my blue-haired birthday girl.”
    He kissed me again, then allowed his mouth to hover near mine. With half-lidded eyes, I inhaled his warm, cinnamon-scented breath.
    “Something about your blue hair turns me on. And the shirt makes you look like an extra in Flashdance .”
    I grinned. My blue hue wouldn’t wash out for a few days, and today, I’d tamed it into a high ponytail. Combined with my tight, faded jeans and oversized, black, off-the-shoulder T-shirt, I channeled eighties retro style because I knew Caleb thought it was sexy.
    As he was adding four bottles to the crate of champagne already in the cart, someone called his name. A female someone.
    I spun toward the voice, and there was a willowy woman with long brown hair the color of maple syrup. She was pushing a stroller.
    “Jackie,” Caleb said warmly, then took two steps and hugged her. “It’s great to see you. I want you to meet my girlfriend, Emma.”
    Smiling, wishing I was something other than a girlfriend, I held out my hand and she shook it warmly. The woman was truly gorgeous, with her white, flowing tunic over lean khaki pants. Effortlessly pretty—somewhere in between put-together soccer mom and New Age hipster mom. She even had a well-folded stack of reusable shopping bags in a stroller pocket, whereas I’d forgotten mine because they were stuffed behind an old box of kitty litter in a closet at my house.
    I shrugged my black T-shirt higher to cover my shoulder, then fiddled with my blue ponytail, feeling out of place.
    “Hi.” My latent shyness surged to the surface.
    “It’s wonderful to meet you. I’ve actually heard about you, the mysterious bookstore owner who captured the heart of the most eligible bachelor in Florida.” She peered into our cart. “Ooo, someone’s throwing a party.”
    “It’s Emma’s birthday. We’re having family over.”
    Jackie mentioned something about hosting a dinner that evening and