Forget Prince Charming. Natalie Stenzel

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СКАЧАТЬ out and intimated a future together, it had seemed almost too good to be true. She’d pictured herself living happily ever after with a handsome, loving husband. Some fairy tale this turned out to be. Jerk.

      The unmistakable sound of the cash drawer opening and closing drew her attention.

      “Thanks, Mr. Samuels. Have a nice day.” The pleasant tones of Jen’s voice were soothing to Haley.

      “I appreciate the help.” As he turned and strode toward the door, his eyes met Haley’s. She stared. He smiled and nodded slightly before opening the door. The bell jingled cheerily after his exit. Something about the man seemed vaguely familiar. Haley frowned a moment, thoughtful, then shook her head and sighed. She couldn’t place him.

      She turned back to Jen. “Sorry I caused such a scene, especially with a customer in the store. It was incredibly unprofessional.”

      Jen grinned. “I don’t think he minded.” She hustled to the back room and returned with a box, which she passed off to Haley.

      Haley set the box behind the cash register then began gathering up the defective toys to be returned. “I don’t get it, Jen. Why do the men I date always turn out to be rotten? All men can’t be that bad. Frank’s not.”

      Jen smiled at the mention of her husband. “No, he’s not.”

      “So how do I find my Frank?”

      Jen paused thoughtfully. “I don’t know. Patience helps. That way you’re not rushing into relationships with men who aren’t worth your time. Look around you. The nice guys aren’t going to jump up and shout for attention. The attention hounds are probably the jerks you’ve been dating.”

      Haley considered that idea, thinking of the sexy blonde who’d just left the store. Much like Peter, the man had the kind of good looks and presence that commanded a woman’s attention. “That makes sense, I suppose.”

      “Of course it does.” Automatically smoothing a mailing label onto the box, Jen warmed up to her subject. “Women overlook the nice guys all the time. They don’t even see the kind of guy who worships a girl in silence, who offers friendship but hopes for more. The guy who loses out. The nice guy who finishes last.”

      Enlightenment. Haley squeezed her eyes shut and groaned. “My mother was right. I should have married Jimmy Plankett.”

      “Jimmy who?”

      “I’m an idiot. I can’t believe I didn’t realize all this before.”

      “Slow down, Haley. You’re making my head spin.”

      “It’s so simple. You’re saying I’ve only been looking at the guys who attract lots of attention. The good-looking, charismatic ones. The kind of guy who can sweet-talk his way past a woman’s good sense and straight into her heart.” Haley started pacing furiously and gesturing with her hands as she worked through her developing theory.

      “Right. So?”

      “Well, a woman dazzled out of her common sense isn’t going to pick up on all those little clues that should tell her the hunk has some major character flaws.”

      “Okay, I’m with you.” She eyed Haley warily. “I think.”

      “Well, I’m tired of being dazzled and clueless. I’m tired of falling blindly for faithless jerks. It’s too exhausting. I think it’s time to take a more practical approach to finding a man. And this time I’m going to focus on a different breed of guy altogether.”

      Haley pressed a knuckle to pursed lips, realigning her thoughts before she continued in a thoughtful tone. “In order to find a guy like Frank or Jimmy, I really do need to ignore the good-looking Prince Charmings in this world. And start checking out the frogs.”

      “Uh-huh. You’re losing me, Haley.”

      Haley sighed, wondering how to get her point across without being insulting. “I need to look for someone who isn’t flashy or good-looking. When I’m with a hottie, I get all caught up in his looks and can’t see past that. I want the nice guy who lost out to the gorgeous jerk. Basically, I need to find my very own sweet, reliable, but very overlookable—” She paused to look around, searching and sputtering, before settling almost defiantly on the appropriate term. “—geek.”

      Jen eyed her for a shocked moment. “I see. I don’t know whether to be offended that you’re calling Frank a geek or curious about this perfect Jimmy Plankett.”

      Haley waved her hands as if to erase the impression of her last statement. “I didn’t mean anything personal against Frank. He’s perfect. I want one just like him. All I meant in suggesting he was a geek is that you don’t look at him the first time and immediately realize his great qualities. Nothing about him shouts Stud Muffin or Mr. Personality. But, according to you, he’s a wonderful husband. Right?”

      Jen laughed reluctantly. “Okay. I see what you’re getting at. So tell me about Jimmy Plankett.”

      Haley paused, smiling slightly. “Jimmy Plankett gave me my first kiss.”

      “This makes him a geek?”

      Haley turned stern eyes on her friend. “Do you want to hear this or not?”

      “Sorry. You were saying?”

      “Okay.” Haley paused, gathering her thoughts. “I was in seventh grade and Jimmy and I had this mutual crush going on. We’d pass goopy notes and hold hands in the hallway. Innocent stuff.” She closed her eyes, remembering. “He was very shy. Short, too. But nice eyes.” She sighed. “Anyway. I could tell he wanted to kiss me for a long time but he couldn’t quite work up the nerve. Then one day, right in front of my locker at school, he pulled me close and kissed me.”

      “How sweet.” Jen smiled.

      “Hmm. Yes. But then our braces locked together.”

      Jen groaned.

      Haley nodded. “My algebra teacher had to walk us to the principal’s office so they could call for help to untangle us. There we were, joined at the eyeteeth, stumbling down the hallway together with kids laughing and whispering. Talk about embarrassing.” She grimaced momentarily then looked up to meet Jen’s eyes. “But you know what? Jimmy held my hand through the whole thing.”

      “He’s the perfect guy?”

      Haley’s smile was smug. “Even better. He’s Mr. Sweet Geek, like your Frank. His kind of guy would never dream of cheating on his girlfriend.”

      “So, whatever happened to you two?”

      This was the embarrassing part of the story. “Well, I kind of broke it off after the cutest guy in our class asked me to dance at the Spring Fling. I swear, for weeks and weeks after that I only had eyes for…” She paused, frowning. “You know, I can’t even remember his name anymore. But I do remember Jimmy.”

      “Really.” Jen gave her a pointed look.

      Haley groaned. “Yes, really. Oh my God. That’s my problem, isn’t it? I never matured past the age of thirteen.”

      “Ah. Progress СКАЧАТЬ