The Perfect Stranger (37 page)

Authors: Wendy Corsi Staub

BOOK: The Perfect Stranger

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Not me. Not most single people in their right mind.

With Nick Butler, a woman seeking an unencumbered man won’t even have to worry about pets. He lied that he’s allergic, to keep the crazy cat ladies away.

He couldn’t believe how many of those he found when he first entered the realm of online dating. It seemed like such a cliché until he started noticing all the single women who posted photos of themselves cradling kittens or managing to work feline-centric answers into their questionnaires.

Nick Butler’s questionnaire just covers the basic favorites in every category.

Favorite Food: Italian. Who doesn’t love Italian food?

Favorite Movie:
The Last of The Mohicans.
An oldie but not ancient; suitably rugged, with both historic and literary appeal, plus a romance.

Favorite Music—

Someone clears her throat behind him, and he jumps, startled. Turning around, he sees Ivy Sacks, one of the project managers, standing in the doorway of his cubicle.

“How’s it coming along?”

Ivy is referring to the spreadsheet that has, with a quick click of the mouse, replaced the dating questionnaire on his desktop screen.

“It’s . . . you know. Coming along.”

“When do you think it’ll be finished?”

“Soon. Very soon.”

“Good.”

For a moment she just stands there looking at him. Her expression is impossible to read.

“Anything else?” he asks, hands poised on the keyboard as though eager to get back to work on the spreadsheet.

“I was just wondering . . .”

When she trails off, he doesn’t prompt her to continue, afraid that she might be on the verge of asking him out. This wouldn’t be the first time, since the divorce, that he’s gotten that vibe.

Ivy is the only woman at the firm who happens to be roughly his age and single. But her facial features and build are far too angular for his taste, and her no-nonsense personality makes it impossible to imagine her ever kicking back and having the slightest bit of fun.

“Never mind,” Ivy says. “Just shoot that spreadsheet over to me when you’re done, okay?”

“Sure, no problem.”

He waits for her to leave.

The moment she does, he clicks away from the spreadsheet, back to his online profile.

Favorite Music?

Perhaps the easiest question of all.

Smiling to himself, he writes
Classic Rock
.

About the Author

USA Today
and
New York Times
bestseller
Wendy Corsi Staub
is the award-winning author of more than seventy novels and has twice been nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award. She lives in the New York City suburbs with her husband and their two children.

Learn more about Wendy at www.wendycorsistaub.com.

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www.AuthorTracker.com
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By Wendy Corsi Staub

T
HE
P
ERFECT
S
TR
ANGER

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Excerpt from
The Black Widow
copyright © 2015 by Wendy Corsi Staub

THE PERFECT STRAN
GER.
Copyright © 2014 by Wendy Corsi Staub. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

EPub Edition AUGUST 2014 ISBN: 9780062222411

Print Edition ISBN: 9780062222404

FIRST EDITION

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About the Publisher

Australia

HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

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Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

http://www.harpercollins.com.au

Canada

HarperCollins Canada