Title: Third Date
Author: Kylie Keene
Publication Date: June 20th 2014
Genres: NA Contemporary, Romance
Summary:
At 23, Morgan is a little behind other women her age when it comes to dating and relationships. More specifically, she’s a virgin. Dating wasn’t a priority in high school and college, but now that Morgan has a job and her own apartment, she’s ready to jump back into the dating scene.
When Morgan’s friends at work inform her that most men expect sex on the third date, she panics. She’s convinced her lack of experience will be a total turn-off for guys and make for a really awkward third date. Her friends tell her to just do it with a random guy to get it over with, but Morgan isn’t sure that’s what she wants.
When she meets a guy she’s certain is her dream man, she’s ready to lose it on their third date. But doing so isn’t as easy as she thought. And then there’s the fact that she can’t get another guy out of her head.
Through a series of mishaps and misunderstandings, Morgan eventually finds herself at a place she wasn’t expecting, but the place she wanted to be all along.
Excerpt:
“Serena?” A deep voice wakes me from my thoughts.
I look up and see a man standing next to my table, holding his hand out. He has jet black hair and deep brown eyes and he’s smiling at me. But since my name isn’t Serena, I’m guessing he’s meeting a blind date here and thinks I’m her.
I take a moment to consider my options. What if I just pretended to be this Serena girl? Doing so would certainly qualify as being adventurous. But then Serena wouldn’t have a date. But I’m sure she could find another one. With a name like Serena, I bet she gets tons of dates. Serena sounds exotic. The name alone would draw a man in. Morgan, on the other hand, sounds like a last name. Or the name of a company. It’s dull, practical, and not the least bit exotic.
“Excuse me. Are you Serena?” He asks it again.
“Um, yes. Have a seat.” The words come out of my mouth before I can stop them.
“I’m Luke.” He smiles and sits in the chair next to me. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too.”
“Can I get you a drink?” He’s still smiling, his teeth sparkling white.
“No, thank you. Water’s fine.”
“So Jackie said you work at the agency?”
Agency? What agency? I stare at him, not sure how to answer. And then I come to my senses.
What the hell I am doing? This is crazy! I can’t pretend to be someone else. Steal someone’s date. I really need to get a life. And a date. A real date, not someone else’s.
“I’m sorry. I’m not Serena.”
“What did you say?”
“I said I’m not Serena. I’m not your date.”
“I don’t understand.” He sits back in his chair, trying to get some distance from me now that he knows I’m insane.
“I was just pretending to be. Sorry. You just surprised me when you came up to my table and—”
“Yeah, okay.” He stands up and shoves his chair back in place. He almost seems mad or maybe he’s afraid of me. “Good luck with everything.”
He takes off to the hostess stand.
Good luck with everything? What does that mean? Good luck ever finding a date? A man? A life?
I watch as a tall brunette approaches him. She’s wearing a red dress and three-inch heels. She’s gorgeous. And exotic-looking, just as I thought.
The waiter comes back to my table. “Are you ready to order?”
“Yes, I’ll have a vodka tonic.”
“Um, okay.” He seems surprised, given that I turned down the wine earlier. Now I’ve skipped straight to the hard liquor. “Would you like anything to eat?”
My eyes are still on Luke and Serena. They even sound like a couple. Like one of those couples on a soap opera who are rich and always look perfect and have sex all the time.
Luke escorts her to the bar, his hand on her lower back as he whispers something in her ear.
“Ma’am?” The waiter’s still standing there. “Are you going to order?”
I sigh and look back at my menu. “Do you have burgers here?”
“We have a prime rib burger with a portobello mushroom sauce.”
“I’ll have that.” As he turns to leave, I say, “And bring two vodka tonics.”
“So someone is joining you?”
I scowl at him.
“Oh. Sorry.” He scurries off to the kitchen.
This is the last time I eat alone at a restaurant. Okay, maybe it’s not the last time, but I’m never going to a date restaurant again.
I should’ve stayed home and eaten one of the meals in my freezer in front of the TV.
Maybe I’m not ready to be adventurous.
Thank you for this chance!
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