Meant for Love by Marie Force

profile and the scent of subtle but appealing cologne coming from him. He was exactly the type of guy she had always gravitated toward—handsome, a bit preppy, successful, confident, obviously witty and intelligent.  
    She made up her mind to give him a fair chance tonight, and the best way she could do that was to forget all about the moment of madness with Alex. It was in the past where it belonged, never to be repeated. There was no point giving it any more attention, especially when the perfect guy had just appeared at her door possessing all the qualities she looked for in a partner.  
    “So you’re a big reader?” he asked.
    “I love to read.”
    “What do you like to read?”
    “Anything and everything. Mostly mysteries and suspense, some memoirs.” She didn’t mention that she’d recently been devouring the memoirs of 9/11 widows and widowers. Enough time had passed that she was able to read about the partners others had lost on that horrible day.
    “I figured you were a romance type of gal.”
    “I used to read a lot of romance, but not so much anymore.” He was only making conversation, and she didn’t want him to be uncomfortable, so she didn’t elaborate. The truth of it was she’d gravitated away from the genre she used to enjoy, because reading about fictional characters ending up happily ever after made her yearn for her lost love.
    Linc took her to dinner at the Lobster House and regaled her with stories about the Coast Guard, including some amazing tales of his tenure with the search-and-rescue teams, and had her laughing about life as the older brother to four conniving younger sisters.  
    “I’m being a total bore talking about myself,” he said as he poured the last of their bottle of chardonnay into her glass.  
    “Not at all. I enjoy your stories.”
    “I wouldn’t mind hearing some of yours, too.”  
    “My life is nowhere near as interesting as yours. No searches, no rescues, but I do have two younger sisters, so I feel your pain there.” She made a joke, but her sisters were her best friends. “Yours sound a bit more spirited than mine, who married their high school sweethearts and have made me an aunt five times over.”
    “I bet you have pictures.”
    Charmed that he would ask, she withdrew her phone from her purse and found the latest pictures of her nieces and nephews. “Matter of fact, I do. Meet Michael, Lacey, Brent, Tyler and Mackenzie.”
    He flipped through the pictures with genuine interest. “They’re incredibly cute, and clearly, blond hair runs in your family.”
    “Yep. We’re all blondes.” She found another picture of the entire family taken last Christmas and showed it to him. “Here’s one with all of us. My dad, the one with the dark hair and eyes, is king of the blonde joke.”
    Linc cocked a brow that only added to his rakish good looks. “You let him get away with that?”
    “In a house full of women, he put up with a lot more than we did. He deserves to take his fun wherever he can get it.”
    “Beautiful family. Where do they live?”
    “They’re all in North Carolina.”
    “How’d you end up so far from home?”
    She suspected he already knew but was hoping to hear it from her. “That is a very long story.”
    “I don’t have anywhere to be. Do you?”
    He was charming and easy to talk to and funny. It would be too easy to share her story with him, but she wasn’t in the mood for a trip down memory lane. “If it’s all right with you, I’d like to pass on telling you that very long story, for now anyway. I’m having fun tonight, and it’s not a fun story.”
    “Fair enough,” he said, running his fingers over the stem of his wineglass. “As long as you know I’m interested.”
    She couldn’t miss the double meaning in his words and smiled at him, grateful for his kindness, his interest and the fact that he didn’t try to cajole the story out of her despite her obvious reluctance. That had happened before, and it was