Match Made In Paradise by Barbara Dunlop (black female authors TXT) 📕

Later, as Zeke paid the check, his friends called to him from where they surrounded the pool table on the lounge side of the building. He invited Mia to join the fun, but she saw a perfect opportunity for a graceful exit. She brushed away his offer to walk her to her truck—it was exactly half a block away with plenty of daylight even this late in the evening, although dark clouds were moving across the sun. She shooed him toward his friends and left with a cheery wave, feeling a sense of relief when she made it to the sidewalk.

There was nothing wrong with Zeke, but during the date she’d felt like she was back at her old job, schmoozing with contacts at an industry party, or chatting up Lafayette clients after a runway show. She’d forgotten how tiring it was to be “on” for an entire evening.

She turned toward WSA housing and rounded the corner. Raven’s truck was just three spaces down the road, and she pulled the keys from her purse, smiling at the whimsical fob that was a goofy cartoon leather moose head. It was adorable, and not at all Raven’s style.

She pushed the key into the driver’s door and turned the lock. She pulled on the door handle, but nothing happened. Frowning, she reinserted the key, twisting it both ways, listening for the click of the lock. Nothing happened.

“Problem?” a deep male voice asked from behind her.

Silas, of course. He always seemed to be there when things went sideways.

She was glad of the help but not so glad that it had to be him. “Something’s wrong with the lock.” She wiggled it back and forth.

“You locked it?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“To keep—” She remembered Raven leaving the keys in the ignition. It was a safe bet she never locked her truck doors. “Habit.” She turned to face him, feeling a sense of defeat. “Can you try?”

“It probably doesn’t work,” he said as he stepped up.

“Brilliant diagnosis,” she muttered.

“You just can’t keep it to yourself, can you?” he asked as he took the key from her. He was gentle as he eased it back and forth in the lock.

“No,” she admitted, peering around his shoulder. Why did he have to be both so annoying and so sexy at the same time?

“This isn’t going to work,” he said.

“Maybe the other door?” she suggested.

“I’m guessing you locked it too?”

“What would be the point of locking one and not the other?’

“They freeze in the winter. The locks do. That’s why nobody uses them.”

“It’s summer.”

“Keeps us in the habit.” There was a smile in his voice.

She was amusing him. Great. “You just won’t let up, will you?”

“Let up on?” He turned.

“One-upping me. Mocking me. Making me feel like I don’t belong.”

“You don’t belong.”

She was too surprised by that answer to respond. She’d expected him to argue, to reassure her that he hadn’t meant to come across that way, he hadn’t meant to make her feel bad about being here. At least that’s what a normal person would have done.

“Why would you want to belong here?” he continued, looking her up and down. “If there was ever anyone who wasn’t your average Paradise resident, it’s you.”

It was an insult. She was sure of that. But she couldn’t quite put her finger on the right rebuttal.

She switched focus. “So, you mock me?”

“I’m not mocking you.”

She wasn’t about to let him get away with that one. “At least own it, Silas.”

He held her gaze for a long moment. “Maybe I’m having a little bit of fun with you.” He made a small space between his thumb and forefinger. “Little bit.”

She socked him in the arm, her knuckles coming up against sinewy muscle. “It’s not funny.”

“You’re the new kid in town. Own it.”

“So, you bully me?”

His expression turned more serious. “Is that what you think? Really?”

She didn’t, and she wasn’t going to lie. “No.”

Thunder rumbled overtop of them. There’d be lightning flashing in the sky as well, but they couldn’t see it since the sun was still up.

“How was your date?” he asked.

“Fine.”

“Fine? Really? Not disappointing or bad or dull?”

“Why would you ask that?” A drop of rain pinged the roof of the truck.

“Because you’re out here, and he’s in there, and it’s only ten o’clock.”

“He wanted to play pool with his friends.”

“Instead of seeing you safely to your truck?”

“It was half a block.” She could tell Silas she’d insisted on coming out alone, but that would give away the fact that the date had been dull.

“Yet, you ran into trouble all the same.” He sounded both self-satisfied and amused.

“It seems to be my special talent.”

He smiled. “Doesn’t it just.”

Her back went up again at his attitude, and she fought an urge to point out her successes. A modeling career for one, plus she’d helped Alastair run a mid-sized corporation. They’d succeeded in the international fashion industry, one of the mostly competitive spaces there was.

But another drop of rain hit, then another and another, a couple of them landing on her head.

“We should try the other door,” he said, extracting the key.

“I can do it,” she said, reaching for it.

Instead of giving up the key, he headed around the hood of the truck. “Unlike Zeke, I’m not about to leave you stranded.”

“I’m not stranded.” She followed, trying not to notice the way he walked. His gait was smooth, not quite graceful but contained and easy, his strides balanced, shoulders set square, arms moving slightly.

Her gaze dropped from his broad shoulders to the fit of his jeans. She wasn’t proud of her reaction, but he’d never know, so she indulged until he stopped and turned to the passenger-door lock. She raised her gaze, noting his profile was gorgeous too, nose straight, chin strong, chest deep.

The rain came harder and faster, heavy drops out of the thunderclouds, wetting his dark hair, plastering his T-shirt to his chest, highlighting the definition of his biceps and pecs, making her heart beat more deeply in the hollow of her chest.

“Bingo,” he