HER EVERY FANTASY

A blind date...

Collins Templeton rolled his eyes at the idea of putting himself out for a woman he hadn't seen, knew nothing about, and would never meet again, given the work schedule he had lined up.

"Hell no." he said, "Definitely not doing that. It's not going to happen"

"Why not?" his old friend, Leonard Cooper asked with a slight frown on his face.

"Because I said so" Collins retorted.

"She's a stunner," Leonard assured him.

"Stunners are two a penny in my world. All of them relentlessly ambitious."

"That might be so in L.A., but this is home time in Australia, remember? Look, Favour's sister is something else."

"Something else like what?" asked Collins with a confused look on his face. His derisive tone earned a chiding shake of the head.

"You're jaded, mate. When was the last time you let yourself do something like this? A long time ago... Probably even never. Which is why you're here spending a week with me. A night out with a gorgeous down-to-earth beautiful woman will do you good. Trust me when I say this."

Collins winced at the argument, turning his gaze to the soothing view of the sea rolling its waves onto the Beach. They were sitting on the balcony of a house Leonard had recently acquired—his getaway from the pressure of being a dealer for an international bank. It was only an hour and a half away from Sydney, the perfect place to relax, he'd told Collins , persuading him into this week together, catching up on old times.

They'd been friends since school days and had always kept in touch, despite their different career paths. Leonard was geared to competitive risk-taking while Collins had sought the creative fields opened up by computer technology. He'd built up a company that was now in hot demand for producing special effects for movies.

But he didn't want to think about work yet. Tomorrow he was booked on a flight back to Los Angeles and he'd be getting his mind prepared for a series of important meetings, but today was still about recapturing the carefree days of their youth; eating hamburgers and French fries for lunch after a morning of riding the waves on surfboards and baking their bodies in the sun.

It had been a great week; not having to impress anyone or win anyone over. He and Leonard had done all the things they used to do—playing chess, challenging each other to listen to their choice of music, drinking beer, swapping stories...just having fun.

He felt wonderfully lazy and didn't want to give up the feeling. Not until he absolutely had to. Here it was, Saturday afternoon Down Under, midsummer, and the living was easy.

He didn't need a blind date. Didn't want one, either. Didn't even want to think about it. His broad chest rose and fell in a contented sigh. This was more than good enough for him.