Read Waiting for You for Free Online Page B

back into the kitchen. “How about a can of tuna, instead?”
    ***
    A few hours later she was eating tuna, too, although hers was seared and served with a sauce of cilantro, lime, and ginger. Beth had picked her up in her rental and driven back to the hotel so Erin could pick up her car, and now the two of them were eating lunch at a restaurant in the city before Beth left to catch her flight back to California.
    “So Jake drove you home, huh?” Beth asked for the fourth time as she poured dressing over her salad.
    “Like I said.”
    “And nothing happened?”
    “Like I said. Jake and I are just friends.”
    “Well.” Beth chewed her first bite of salad thoughtfully. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, since I usually encourage romance in all its forms, but this may actually be a good thing. I adore Jake Landry, but at this point in his life…well, he’s got project written all over him.”
    Erin frowned. “What, like he’s damaged goods or something? The man serves his country for ten years, goes through who knows what kind of hell, and because that might have affected him no woman should go near him?”
    “I didn’t say that. But he only got out of the Army a few months ago, didn’t he? And the word is he’s not interested in dating right now.”
    “What word? Whose word?”
    “I overheard Mindy talking to someone in the bathroom. She came on to him, and he turned her down flat.”
    Mindy was an old girlfriend of Jake’s. Erin shouldn’t have felt so happy that Jake had rejected her, but the truth was, she did. “What’s your point?”
    “If he’s not looking to get involved with anyone, maybe he’s taking some time to deal with…well, whatever he’s got to deal with. And good for him if he is.”
    That might actually make some sense, except—“I don’t think he is dealing with it.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I don’t think he’s dealing with anything right now. He’s sort of…closed down.”
    “Well, there you go. Project. You should stay far, far away.”
    Erin opened her mouth to argue, but closed it again. It was a moot point, anyway. She didn’t have to stay away from Jake. He was going to stay away from her.
    “Let’s change the subject. What have you been reading lately?”
    “Ooh, that reminds me.” Beth reached into her purse and pulled out an eReader. “I finally got one!”
    Erin grinned at her. “I never thought I’d see the day.”
    “I know, I know. I love paper books so much. But I read so fast that it’s a real pain for traveling. I have to pack, like, ten books for every trip. And now I can pack three thousand in this little thing! I got it last week right before I flew out here.”
    “Have you already started loading it up?”
    “Of course. I’m a total junkie. And I have to say, it’s nice to be able to read something steamy on the plane without having to hide the cover from the businessman next to me reading his Wall Street Journal or whatever. As far as anyone knows, I could be reading War and Peace .”
    Erin laughed. “And what are you actually reading?”
    “Romance all the way, baby.”
    “Vampires and highlanders?”
    “You know me so well. But I’ve been in the mood for some realism with my escapism lately, so I’ve been on a contemporary kick. No billionaires or sheiks allowed, and no virgin heroines. It’s just too unbelievable, at least in this day and age. Whoever heard of a woman in her twenties or thirties who’s never had sex?”
    Erin couldn’t control her involuntary reaction. She flushed bright red, instantly and completely, and couldn’t say a word.
    Beth froze with her fork halfway to her mouth, staring at her. Erin blushed even harder, the heat so intense she could feel it coming off her skin.
    After a moment Beth set her fork carefully back on her plate. “Whoa. Okay, tell me the truth. Are you a virgin heroine?”
    Erin dropped her eyes. “Um.” She cleared her throat. “I wouldn’t call myself a heroine. My life