Island Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story (The Kisses Series Book 9) by Krista Lakes
Authors: Krista Lakes
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brow, somehow making him even more attractive. “What do you write? Anything I'd recognize?”
He seemed genuinely interested, which actually made me a little nervous. Very few of my dates ever seemed this interested. I obviously couldn’t tell him about the blog I ran, since I knew later that night I’d be writing about this date and the last thing I wanted was him looking me up.
“Oh, nothing special. Just articles here and there. A little of this, a little of that. I’m freelance, so I don’t work for a specific magazine.” I shrugged, trying to play it cool and tell him enough without actively lying. “I just take the work as it comes. Sometimes I write about the latest marathon in town and other times I’ll write about football.”
“I love football,” he said, with a smile. “It’s my guilty pleasure.”
“Mine too,” I said, feeling some of my nerves fade. “Sundays are the only times that nobody can get ahold of me. My whole family knows that I won’t answer my phone if a game is on.”
Gabe laughed and leaned back in his chair. His laugh was easy and confident. It made me want to join in.
“I wouldn’t have taken you for a football fan,” he said. “No offense, but you’re kind of missing the beer gut and sideburns.”
“Come on now, not every football fan is like that,” I said with a laugh. “Besides, I’m working on my sideburns. I think they're coming in quite nicely, actually.”
Any initial awkwardness was quickly vanishing. It was unusual for a first date, but nothing to write home about. Some men were just good at talking to people and I assumed that’s all it was. I started taking mental notes so that when I wrote the blog a little later, I’d have all the details I’d need to make an interesting post.
“What do you do, Gabe?” I asked.
“I am a…” he started to say, pausing as the waiter came up and delivered our drinks.
Here we go, I thought. This is where he fluffs up his position at whatever company he works for. This is where he tells me he’s a “Master of the Custodial Arts” when in reality he’s just a janitor.
“Software engineer for my own business,” he finished. He took a sip of his martini and smiled.
“So what does that entail?” I asked, hoping he'd give me something juicy to write about later. “What kind of software?”
“Oh nothing special really. A little of this, a little of that. I just take the work as it comes,” he said with a sly smile.
“Is that right?” I played with the straw in my water, swirling the ice around as I smiled. He was poking fun at me for my vague response to his similar question, but I actually liked it. This guy had a backbone and he wasn’t letting me walk all over him.
“Yeah, it’s just a job,” he responded with a shrug that made me notice just how broad his shoulders were. “Kind of boring, honestly. Unless you like typing and looking at numbers all day. It's not exactly riveting date conversation.”
“But you own your own business?” I asked, trying to remember exactly what his profile had said.
“Well, me and two other guys own the company,” he explained. “I run all the computer code and software programming for it.”
“You don’t exactly look like the 'computer nerd' type,” I said. I motioned to his perfect hair, smoking body, and confident smile.
“What, do you think we all look the same?” he responded. “I left my pocket protector and nerd glasses at home just for this date. I can run back and get them if you want.”
“How else am I supposed to believe you work on computers for a living?” I asked, laughing. “I brought a pen and paper just to prove I'm a writer.”
Gabe chuckled as he grabbed his martini and held it in the air.
“Let’s cheers. How about to new people in our lives?” he asked.
“To potential new people in our lives,” I corrected him. I wasn't quite ready to mark this date in the win category just yet. We still had a full meal to go and
He seemed genuinely interested, which actually made me a little nervous. Very few of my dates ever seemed this interested. I obviously couldn’t tell him about the blog I ran, since I knew later that night I’d be writing about this date and the last thing I wanted was him looking me up.
“Oh, nothing special. Just articles here and there. A little of this, a little of that. I’m freelance, so I don’t work for a specific magazine.” I shrugged, trying to play it cool and tell him enough without actively lying. “I just take the work as it comes. Sometimes I write about the latest marathon in town and other times I’ll write about football.”
“I love football,” he said, with a smile. “It’s my guilty pleasure.”
“Mine too,” I said, feeling some of my nerves fade. “Sundays are the only times that nobody can get ahold of me. My whole family knows that I won’t answer my phone if a game is on.”
Gabe laughed and leaned back in his chair. His laugh was easy and confident. It made me want to join in.
“I wouldn’t have taken you for a football fan,” he said. “No offense, but you’re kind of missing the beer gut and sideburns.”
“Come on now, not every football fan is like that,” I said with a laugh. “Besides, I’m working on my sideburns. I think they're coming in quite nicely, actually.”
Any initial awkwardness was quickly vanishing. It was unusual for a first date, but nothing to write home about. Some men were just good at talking to people and I assumed that’s all it was. I started taking mental notes so that when I wrote the blog a little later, I’d have all the details I’d need to make an interesting post.
“What do you do, Gabe?” I asked.
“I am a…” he started to say, pausing as the waiter came up and delivered our drinks.
Here we go, I thought. This is where he fluffs up his position at whatever company he works for. This is where he tells me he’s a “Master of the Custodial Arts” when in reality he’s just a janitor.
“Software engineer for my own business,” he finished. He took a sip of his martini and smiled.
“So what does that entail?” I asked, hoping he'd give me something juicy to write about later. “What kind of software?”
“Oh nothing special really. A little of this, a little of that. I just take the work as it comes,” he said with a sly smile.
“Is that right?” I played with the straw in my water, swirling the ice around as I smiled. He was poking fun at me for my vague response to his similar question, but I actually liked it. This guy had a backbone and he wasn’t letting me walk all over him.
“Yeah, it’s just a job,” he responded with a shrug that made me notice just how broad his shoulders were. “Kind of boring, honestly. Unless you like typing and looking at numbers all day. It's not exactly riveting date conversation.”
“But you own your own business?” I asked, trying to remember exactly what his profile had said.
“Well, me and two other guys own the company,” he explained. “I run all the computer code and software programming for it.”
“You don’t exactly look like the 'computer nerd' type,” I said. I motioned to his perfect hair, smoking body, and confident smile.
“What, do you think we all look the same?” he responded. “I left my pocket protector and nerd glasses at home just for this date. I can run back and get them if you want.”
“How else am I supposed to believe you work on computers for a living?” I asked, laughing. “I brought a pen and paper just to prove I'm a writer.”
Gabe chuckled as he grabbed his martini and held it in the air.
“Let’s cheers. How about to new people in our lives?” he asked.
“To potential new people in our lives,” I corrected him. I wasn't quite ready to mark this date in the win category just yet. We still had a full meal to go and
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