Click on image to enlarge.

	Regular				Club
You Pay:	$1.99				$1.69

eBook Category: Romance
eBook Description: Jenny wants a little romance in her life, but her current boyfriend, Mark, is gorgeous, sweet and romantically challenged. Give him up or put up with it? Jenny has to decide if romance is more important than true love.--Photo Finish Contest Winner

eBook Publisher: By Grace Publishing/Short and Sweet, Published: 2005
Fictionwise Release Date: November 2005

11 Reader Ratings: Great Good OK Poor

Available eBook Formats [MultiFormat - What's this?]: Adobe Acrobat (PDF) [398 KB], eReader (PDB) [65 KB], Palm Doc (PDB) [40 KB], Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [37 KB], Microsoft Reader (LIT) [88 KB] - PocketPC 1.0+ Compatible, Franklin eBookMan (FUB) [107 KB], hiebook (KML) [158 KB], Sony Reader (LRF) [109 KB], iSilo (PDB) [33 KB], Mobipocket (PRC) [42 KB], Kindle Compatible (MOBI) [90 KB], OEBFF Format (IMP) [56 KB]
Words: 12007
Reading time: 34-48 min.
Microsoft Reader (LIT) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Format:  Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
All Other formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED

They walked hand-in-hand from the Harris Grove Cinema, a soft breeze cooling her skin on this warm August evening. The rain had cooled the air a little, but she still felt the heat emanating from the sidewalk. Temperatures in the movie house had been downright chilly as usual--cold enough so that every patron took along a light jacket to wear.

Jenny could smell the watermelon scent of freshly mowed lawns mixed with the light odor of small town traffic. Summer time smells--all of them bringing back fond memories of her life in small town America. She hoped to add this night to that list of events.

It was a perfect evening. She loved the feel of Mark's long, strong fingers encasing her own--reveled in the heat of him by her side, the scent of his cologne. She could imagine him holding her hand like this when they were old and gray. Not that old and gray sounded appealing in the least ... except when she thought of Mark being there with her.

As they neared his red convertible, he stopped and opened the passenger-side door. "Here you go," he said with one of his gorgeous smiles. Jenny loved the way his eyes twinkled with the flashing lights of the cinema marquee.

"I had a great time, Mark. Thank you." She stood on tiptoes and placed a kiss on his cheek, now slightly scratchy beneath her lips. When she pulled away, the look in his eyes made her tingle.

"Jen ... I have a little something for you.... "He reached into his windbreaker pocket and she caught her breath. Could it be? Was it too soon? After all they'd only been dating three months--but Jenny knew that if he asked....

"Here, honey." He pulled out an envelope and her heart sank to her knees. "Happy Birthday."

"Oh ... thank you," she said, taking the offering with what she hoped was a grateful expression. No, she hadn't really expected a ring, but.... She opened the loose seal and pulled out a rectangular piece of plastic. "A gift card. From Smart Mart."

"Yeah, that way you can get just what you want. I'm not great at picking out presents, and Dave thought...."

"Dave?" She looked up at him. "Your bowling-buddy, Dave?"

Mark shifted on his feet and glanced away. "Uh, yeah, that Dave. He thought it might be best if I got you a gift card so I didn't mess things up."

She stared at the card, trying to figure out what it all meant in the grand scheme of things. Maybe he didn't care about her as much as she did him? The thought made her feel all queasy inside.

"You hate it," he said.

"Oh, no!" Jenny lied. "I was just ... surprised. I really didn't expect any kind of gift after the nice evening we had."

"Jen, a burger and a movie isn't exactly a night on the town."

"Don't be silly." She mustered up the brightest smile she possibly could. "I had a wonderful time. Thank you, Mark. It was great."

The frown on his face told her he wasn't buying it.