Read Robin's Reward (Bonita Creek Trilogy Book 1) for Free Online Page A

himself. He’d been on some pretty dull dates, but he quickly discovered Susan Stinson was unbelievably self-centered, conceited, and inconsiderate. He quickly grew weary of listening to her drone on and on about her clothes, hair, body, makeup, and career.
    Upon review, he realized she hadn’t asked him a single question about his life, career, background, hobbies, or interests. Absolutely nothing. When Susan wasn’t talking about herself, she was harshly criticizing others and gossiping unkindly about trivial matters involving the citizens of Bonita Creek. It didn’t take him but half an hour to surmise this would be his only date with his neighbor, so he sat back and let her dominate the entire conversation.
    Amid Susan’s torrent of self-proclamations, his mind wandered back to the town’s librarian. She’d impressed him as being sweet, wholesome, pleasant and kind. She possessed beauty, grace, and humanity. He longed to be sitting across from the lovely librarian at this moment. However, he’d made certain there’d be no positive rapport or close relationship with Robin by his thoughtless, obnoxious behavior.
    “How are your meals?” interrupted their waitress, Jorie.
    “Fine,” Susan snapped impatiently. She was busy shoveling chips and salsa into her mouth when she wasn’t pontificating about her world of beauty.
    Jeff made eye contact with the waitress and said, “Everything’s delicious. Thank you.”
    Jorie lingered in front of the table and spoke directly to Susan. “Penny and Robin were in here for lunch today talking about the Storybook Fair for the library. It was just like old times seeing them together.”
    The model rolled her eyes dramatically. “Don’t those two ever go out with men?” Susan said snidely. “They’re a little old to be joined at the hip like they were in high school. Maybe they can’t get dates with men so they date each other.” She laughed hysterically at her own remark.
    Jorie rolled her eyes. “At least they’re interested in trying to help others instead of only thinking only of themselves. The library really depends on the funds raised at the Storybook event. Robin does a fantastic job of putting the whole event together and coordinating her volunteers to pull it off successfully. Besides, the families in town really have fun at the fair.”
    The waitress turned to Jeff and said, “Let me know if you need anything else.” Then she moved on to the next table.
    “What- ev -er . . .” replied Susan as she dug into her combo plate of a taco, enchilada, burrito, beans, and rice. “I get so tired to dealing with small-minded people, don’t you? The girls I went to high school with have never grown up. Take Penny Ralston and Jorie Woodstone, for instance. They’ve never been engaged or married. Their friend, Robin Bennett, was—”
    “How’s your meal?” Jeff interrupted before Susan could launch into her criticism of the town’s librarian.
    “It’s delish,” Susan answered with her mouth full.
    Jeff wondered how she managed to stay so slender with the amount of food she was inhaling. It was incomprehensible to him how someone her age could be so immature. Was she always this self-centered or was she just in a bad mood this evening? Maybe the tequila was affecting her brain function. He didn’t want to hang around to find out. He decided there would be no second date with Susan Stinson no matter what.
    As the meal progressed, the conversation remained on the woman’s needs, wants and desires. She drank two margaritas before she became noticeably tipsy. When Jorie returned to clear the table and take their dessert orders, Susan blurted out, “Oh, I can’t have dessert, I’m watching my figure.”
    With great effort he bit back a fit of laughter and requested the check. As they reached his car Susan turned to him and placed a hand on his chest. “Want to go back to my place for some adult R & R?”
    “No, I have an early day tomorrow, so I think