Read Online Accidentally in Love by Laura Drewry - Free Book Online Page B

gathered his dishes, slipped them into the dishwasher, then leaned back against the handle of the stove and nodded.
    “I’m very sorry to have to tell you this, Mrs. Palmer, but your daughter’s a menace on the road.”
    “I am not,” Ellie cried, but they were both ignoring her.
    “Do you think you can fix her?”
    “
Fix me?
What am I, broken?”
    He didn’t smile, didn’t even crinkle around the eyes, but his face relaxed, which was as close as he usually got to a smile. “If she’s willing to put in the work, I’m sure she’ll do just fine.”
    Gail’s eyes lit up at him as though he’d just cured cancer. “No problem there. If there’s one thing she can’t stand, it’s losing, so if you turn this into a challenge, she’ll clamp onto it like a tick on a hound, if for no other reason than to prove everyone else wrong.”
    Oh, for…
    “Hello!” Ellie waved her hand between them. “Standing right here, fully capable of organizing my own self.”
    Not only did Gail push Ellie’s hand away, but she wrapped her long, slim fingers in a vise grip around both of Ellie’s wrists and held them out of the way.
    “You’ll save her a seat, then?”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    He might not be smiling, but Poncherello was enjoying this way too much for Ellie’s liking.
    “It’s not junior high, Mom. I don’t need him to save me a seat so I don’t get stuck sitting with the stoners.”
    That slowed Gail for all of about two seconds. “Are there stoners in your class?”
    “There better not be.” Then, before Gail could ask anything else, he added, “Thank you very much for dinner, but I should probably get going.”
    “You’re very welcome,” Gail gushed, releasing her grip on Ellie so she could pat his arm. “Come back anytime.”
    With a brief nod, he headed for the front door, and Gail literally shoved Ellie after him.
    “Go get your bike,” she said.
    Not even sure what had just happened, Ellie stumbled out after him. Was it really only an hour or so ago that she’d actually thanked God for her mother?
    “Sorry about that,” she said, folding her arms around herself to ward off the evening chill. “But I did warn you to take the Scotch, didn’t I?”
    “It’s fine—she’s great.” After lifting her bike out of the back of the truck, he started walking it around the side of the house.
    “You don’t have to do that,” she said. “I can…Wait a second.”
    Of course he didn’t wait at all, just kept on walking, pushing the bike along beside him and making Ellie hustle to catch up.
    “Did you—” She didn’t have to finish because of course he had—the proof was glinting off the back of the seat, along the frame, and down both arms of the front fork. “You put reflectors on it.”
    “Safety first,” he said, reciting the words as though they were some kind of personal motto.
    It wasn’t cute. It
wasn’t.
    “Right. Safety. Okay. Uh…you can just leave it there. That’s great, thanks. What do I owe you?”
    “Nothing; Tim said you could pay him the next time you’re by.” He leaned her bike up against the house, beside the back door, then gave her sensor light a doubtful look. “You should really lock it up.”
    “I know. I mean, I will, thank you.”
    “Good. Then, uh, I guess I’ll leave you to it.” They’d just rounded the corner at the front porch when his footsteps slowed. “Do you want a ride on Saturday? Class is in the multipurpose room at the high school, nine to five.”
    Ellie stuffed her hands into her pockets and exhaled a long, slow breath before dropping her chin to her chest. How could she have let herself get into this mess? And of all people, why did it have to be Poncherello who could help get her out?
    “No, but thank you
again,
” she chuckled. “I’ll figure it out.”
    “So I’ll save you a seat, then?” He cleared his throat quietly and shrugged. “Just need to make sure I have enough materials for everyone.”
    Of course she’d be