Free Island Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story (The Kisses Series Book 9) by Krista Lakes Page B

“I’m sorry. It’s just that, I know that I’ve had a rough few years of dating and it’s hard to get reminded of it.”
    “I shouldn't have brought up Craig. I sounded like Mom,” she admitted. “I think I've just been spoiling for a fight. I'm really sorry, Harper. It was mean of me. I'm going to blame hormones for this one.”
    I rolled my eyes. “You blame everything on hormones.”
    “It's one of the few perks of being pregnant.” Rosie’s defeated look quickly turned back into a hopeful smile. “I really am happy for you, though. It’s good to hear that you had fun. Plus, you never know. Maybe Gabe will turn out to be something good. Like really good.”
    I shrugged. “Anything is possible.” My eyes moved past her to the clock on the wall. It was almost seven. “Rosie, I’m sorry to do this, but I have about fifteen minutes before I need to be at the bowling alley.”
    “Are you going bowling with Gabe?” she asked, her smile giving away her excitement.
    “No, it’s a new guy,” I explained, immediately wishing I had thought of saying anything else.
    “Really?” Her face fell. “But I thought things with Gabe went well?”
    “I already told you, sis. The date went well with Gabe, but that doesn’t mean I have to put my entire dating life on hold because of it.” I gave her a hug and offered her my hand to get off the couch. “Besides, I have to have bad dates to put up on the blog. This date is just for work.”
    Rosie eyed me warily for a moment before taking my hand. She grunted with the effort of standing as she followed me to the door.
    “Just for work, huh?” Rosie let out a long suffering sigh as I slid on my shoes. “I suppose that’s fine. But if you really like Gabe, you shouldn’t do anything that could screw it up. Be careful with this guy.”
    I walked through the front door with Rosie close behind as she followed me out. I hoped that my hair would be dry by the time I got to the bowling alley. “I won't screw anything up. I'm a dating pro, remember?”
    “Are you sure you should go on this date?” she asked as I locked the door behind us. “You could call and cancel right now. Maybe go on a date with Gabe instead?”
    “Good night, Rosie,” I said, as I gave her a quick hug and hopped in my car. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow and tell you all about on tonight’s date. Or you can just read about it on my blog tomorrow night. I have a feeling it’s going to make for a great story.”

10
    T he moment I laid my eyes on Dave, I knew that this was going to be a date that would result in an awesome blog post. He was standing next to his car in the parking lot of the bowling alley. The car looked like it probably belonged to his grandma. It was one of those giant olive-green boats that I would see old women driving while their white hair bounced just above the steering wheel.
    Dave, my date for the evening, was leaning against this car like it was the coolest thing on four wheels. He looked proud while wearing a two-tone bowling shirt and khaki-colored slacks, which actually made the car look pretty good in contrast. His blonde hair was combed over to the side and he smiled goofily as soon as I walked up.
    “You must be the lovely Harper,” he said, flashing me a friendly smile.
    “And you must be Dave.” I went for a handshake but he ignored it and pulled me in for a hug. My face hit his chest and a scent entered my nose. It was the smell of cheap cologne attempting to hide body odor. It wasn’t pleasant, to say the least.
    “Do you have your bowling shoes?” he asked, looking around like I had an invisible bag somewhere on the ground.
    “Um, I don’t actually own bowling shoes,” I responded.
    “What about a ball?” He was still looking for my invisible bowling gear. “Do you have your own ball?”
    This is off to a great start, I thought. A great start for my blog...
    “No, I’m not really a bowler, so I don’t have any of that stuff.” I shrugged