Read Online QuarterLifeFling by Clare Murray - Free Book Online Page A

ago.” On a drunken,
peer-pressured whim . “I was supposed to be here with my friend but she had
to cancel. Name’s Alanna Shelby.”
    “Yes, I have you right here.” She tapped the keyboard,
typing painfully slowly with her two index fingers. I winced and looked away.
    “Okay,” she said after like five minutes. “We’re going to
need your credit card too.”
    I handed it over, mentally preparing for another long wait.
“Is it a long walk to my cabin?”
    She typed. Slowly. “You’re in number seven. It’s just over
the footbridge past the crystal garden. Less than ten minutes’ walk.”
    “Thanks.” I picked up my stuff, but she cleared her throat.
    “Miss Shelby? We’ll need to take that laptop. And your phone
too.”
    “What?” The word burst out of me before I could stop it. I
probably had ten emails to respond to by now. And my boss really wanted me to
put in some time on the latest app our company was developing…
    “You did read the Terms and Conditions on our website,
didn’t you?” The receptionist gave me a semi-apologetic smile. “Personal phone
calls can be made from your landline. You can check your email from the
communal computer near the dining room. The Daydream Retreat strives to
distance the individual from the material world, granting them a full reprieve
from—”
    “Okay, here’s my laptop. And my phone.” I gritted my teeth
as I handed them over. “Do you need my iPod too?”
    “No, that you can keep. We have complimentary meditation
music available if you would like us to load it onto your device.”
    “No, I’m good without, thanks.” I really didn’t want to
stand through another marketing lecture, so I grabbed my bags and sidled toward
the door. “See you later.”
    “Dinner is at six thirty,” she called after me, her voice
far too cheerful. “There are a few other younger people here you can sit next
to.”
    “Cool. Yeah.” I closed the door behind me. Other “younger
people”? I really didn’t know what to think about that. One thing was for sure,
without my laptop to keep me distracted, I was going to plan some real revenge
on Charlotte for getting me into this.
    First things first. I needed to walk past that sexy
gardener. He was still shirtless, still just as muscular. My mouth went a
little dry. Should I say hello? Or should I play it cool, maybe give him a
little Mona Lisa smile or something?
    I’d barely settled on the latter when he spoke first. “Good
afternoon.”
    His voice was deeper than I’d expected, his hazel eyes more
intense. He looked as if he was in his late twenties, maybe early thirties, so
older than me but nothing crazy. And no wedding ring. Not that I was checking
or anything.
    “Uh, hey.” I stopped, not sure whether to continue or not.
My body wasn’t exactly obeying me the way it should.
    “That’s a really nice car you drive.”
    I deflated. Shit, he really had been checking out my wheels
and not me. I felt pretty stupid. It’s not that I can’t deal with men—working
in software, I hold my own with them every day. But that was business and this
was personal. At work, I’m respected because I can out-code half the guys and
multitask with the best of them. Men don’t care that I’m geeky and plump
because frankly, it doesn’t matter. Behind a computer screen I’m equal or
better, and even if they initially smirk, they learn to respect me.
    On a personal level…well, my last date had been like six
months ago and I’d chosen some real losers as boyfriends. I didn’t do men on a
personal level. Not anymore.
    “What’s the mileage?”
    Case in point. I’d been standing there like a landed fish as
he complimented my car. Talk about making a good impression.
    “There’s less than a thousand miles on it. I work from home
a lot.”
    “Really? I think that means you should go on a road trip.”
He grinned and part of me melted. Even if I couldn’t have him, I could
appreciate his hotness.
    “I’ve always