A PERFECT FIT Read online

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  A PERFECT FIT

  by

  MEGAN HART

  Amber Quill Press, LLC

  http://www.amberquill.com

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  A Perfect Fit

  An Amber Quill Press Book

  This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author's imagination, or have been used fictitiously.

  Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

  Amber Quill Press, LLC

  http://www.amberquill.com

  All rights reserved.

  No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

  Copyright © 2006 by Megan Hart

  ISBN 1-59279-539-0

  Cover Art © 2006 Trace Edward Zaber

  Layout and Formatting

  Provided by: ElementalAlchemy.com

  Published in the United States of America

  Also by Megan Hart

  Driven

  All You Can Eat

  The Clear Cold Light Of Morning

  Convicted

  Dream Upon Waking

  An Exaltation Of Larks

  Friendly Fire

  From Distant Shores

  Lonesome Bride

  Love Match

  Monster In The Closet

  After Class

  An Exaltation Of Larks

  Opening The Door

  Passion Model

  Playing The Game

  Pot Of Gold

  Right To Remain

  Riverboat Bride

  Sand Castle

  Emerald Isle

  Trial By Fire

  With Steps Like Knives

  Dedication

  To "Lance" and "Kira"

  who made my birthday so much fun in 2005.

  And to DPF, who watches

  Nip/Tuck with me as much as I want.

  A PERFECT FIT

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  A shadow fell across Audrey Winsom's textbook, and she looked up, shading her eyes against the early May sunshine. She smiled when she saw the man interrupting her studies. "Joel, hi. Have a seat."

  He grinned down at her, his dark hair falling over his chocolate-brown eyes in the way that always had her itching to brush it away. "Audrey, my favorite head shrinker in training. How's it going?"

  Audrey moved over so he could slide into the seat next to hers. She gestured at the book. "Just me and Advanced Developmental Psychology."

  Joel made a face and reached across her to close the book with a solid thud. "Bor-rrring."

  Audrey laughed, but opened the book again. "Maybe. But the final's in two weeks. C'mon, Joel, you need to study for it, too. Why not come over tonight? I know it's Friday, but we can order pizza, buckle down, crack open the books. Lauren's going with her dad until Sunday, and I plan to study all weekend."

  Joel shook his head. "Can't."

  "Ah." Audrey nodded. She studied his face, the high line of his cheekbones and the perfect curve of his mouth. Of course he wouldn't want to hang out with her on a Friday night. "Hot date? Who's it with this time? The cute blonde from Counseling Procedures? No...let me guess. It's the brunette who giggles at you in the café."

  Joel laughed. "Jennifer is the blonde, and she's got a new boyfriend. Marianne's the brunette and no, it's not her, either."

  Audrey pretended to study him thoroughly before saying, "Aha! I have it! Secret agent stuff, right?"

  It was a well-worn joke between them. Secret agent or a gigolo, two careers that would suit him should he decide not to become a psychologist.

  "Something like that. Not," he added, "that anything could be more exciting than a night with you, going over human development."

  "Riiiight." Audrey rolled her eyes at his non-subtle flirting, which she'd steeled herself not to take seriously about two seconds after meeting him the first time.

  They laughed together. Joel nudged her shoulder. Audrey turned to look at him.

  "What?"

  "Is that all you ever do?" he asked her, for once the teasing gone. "Study?"

  Audrey closed her book to look at him. She sat silent for a moment, thinking. "It's important I get good grades, Joel. My future and Lauren's future depend on me being able to support us."

  He nodded and did something unexpected. He leaned forward to brush a strand of hair that had come undone from her ponytail away from her face and tuck it behind her ear. The simple gesture, far less outrageous than some of the flirtatious things he'd said to her in the past, nevertheless made her catch her breath. She looked into his eyes.

  "I admire you," Joel said.

  She couldn't ignore the sincerity in his voice, but Audrey ducked her head, looking away. "Joel..."

  He leaned back, effectively breaking the moment. "Maybe next week instead? There's plenty of time before the final. You can even cook me dinner. I'll bring a movie for Lauren, she'll veg out in front of the tube and we'll make a night of it."

  It had become safe to look at him again, and she gave him a raised brow. "Sounds fine, except for that me making you dinner part."

  Joel winked as he got up from the table. "I could make dinner for you instead. I'm not just a pretty face. I make a mean omelet, Audrey."

  "Oh, yeah?" She laughed and threw a balled-up napkin at him. "Such modesty. Fine, I'll make dinner."

  Laughing, Joel ducked the napkin and gave her a little wave as he walked away. Audrey stared after him a moment, admiring his long, lean form, the bag slung with such casual fashion sense over one shoulder, the confidence in his stride. She knew he was more than a pretty face. He had a great sense of humor and a real brain, too, beneath the perfect features and golden smile. They'd been paired off by chance in the first class they'd had together, and the easy way he broke down and absorbed even difficult concepts had impressed her from the start. Studying with Joel made her push herself, and they often vied for top position in their classes.

  He was gorgeous, smart, funny...and an outrageous flirt. The sort of guy she'd avoided in college, setting her sights instead on the nice guy, the reliable one--Ted.

  And where had that left her? Nice, reliable Ted had discovered the pleasures of constant one-night stands while on the road, the joys of corporate success that outweighed the quieter joy of domestic bliss. He'd left her for his secretary, a cliché so overdone Audrey had laughed when he told her. When she finally cried, it wasn't for herself, but for the dreams they'd shared. For her child, Lauren, who now saw her daddy every other weekend, which turned out to be more often than when he'd actually lived with them.

  The divorce had been swift and equitable. It had left her with enough money to go back to school and get her Masters in Psychology, keep food on the table, clothes on their backs. She wasn't interested in much more, right now.

  Not even if it came packaged in a six-foot-two, dark-haired, dark-eyed, swaggering bad boy who made her laugh.

  * * * *

  Joel wheeled the cart of magazines and games into the social room. "Hey, Morty, my main man."

  "Joely," answered the older man with a grin that showed his straight white dentures. "How they hanging?"

  "High and dry," Joel answered without missing a beat. Morty was his favorite resident at Country Breezes. The octogenarian had a wicked sense of humor and a weakness for butterscotch pudding, but along with that, he never seemed to assume that, because Joel was young, he didn't know what end was up. Morty never patronized him.

  "Young fella like you? That's a shame." Morty chuckled, wheeling his chair closer to Joel's cart. "