She then remembered the missed phone call earlier. She’d been too absorbed in her studying to take the call, thinking it was probably Vashti. Going into her living room, she grabbed the phone off the coffee table, where she’d placed it earlier.

It had been from Jeremy. They had met for coffee again last week, and although she had enjoyed his company, she knew that was as far as things went with them. She listened to his voice message. He confirmed he’d gotten her message from earlier, letting him know her instructor had canceled the class today, and for that reason she wouldn’t be meeting him for coffee before class, like they’d planned. He’d also said he would be in New Orleans for two more days and would love to see her and take her to dinner if she had the time. He asked her to text him if that could be arranged. Unfortunately, right now she didn’t have the time.

Jeremy was a nice guy and she enjoyed their conversations over coffee the times they’d met. However, she knew she could never see him as anything more than a friend. She had a feeling he was hoping for more, but the vibes just weren’t there.

Deciding to phone him instead of texting, she punched in his number only for her call to immediately go to voice mail. She thanked him for the invitation to dinner and then told him that although she had enjoyed her time with him, she would be busy studying for a while and after that she would be focusing on building her career as a multistate Realtor and wouldn’t have time for much else.

She hoped he got the message since she hadn’t invited him to come to Catalina Cove to see her or asked for a rain check. The one thing she refused to do was lead any man on. Jeremy was good-looking, had a nice personality and a good job. He was a good catch for any woman looking for a man she’d want to get serious about. However, for her something was missing.

She never felt any sparks around him. Not even strokes of sensations swirling around in her tummy, and she couldn’t see anything serious ever developing between them. Satisfied with the message she had left him, she headed toward her bedroom to take a shower.

* * *

KAEGAN BROUGHT HIS truck to a stop at a traffic light and smiled as he recalled the two hours he’d spent with Bryce. He thought of how he would throw several questions out to her to stimulate her mind and how she would pace the floor before answering.

He had eventually gotten her to quit pacing and focus...so that he could stay focused, as well. It had been hard watching her lithe and graceful movements and not concentrating on her hot-as-sin curves. She even had pretty feet with painted toes.

Watching her lounge on her sofa as she answered his questions had been challenging, as well. He was glad when she’d stretched her long legs out on the ottoman in front of him.