Read Online Love Me: The Complete Series by Shelley K. Wall - Free Book Online

try a different approach. ”
    He bristled. She had a point. “That makes two of us.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    Her tone of voice elevated. Should he stop before he said something incredibly stupid? Besides, who was he to give love advice? He’d just been ditched for someone else.
    “Now you’re trying to say my blind date ditched me because I smell bad?”
    “Whoa, that was a leap. Honestly, my guess would be the guy showed up, took one look at this,” Carter pointed a finger at himself, “and realized he was way out of his league. He probably thought there was no way you’d go out with him after talking to me. Smell had nothing to do with it.”
    With both hands on the wheel, she stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. Seconds ticked by. “You really believe that? That someone would look at us and think we actually belonged together?”
    He winced. Of course not.
    “What difference does it make? We’re not.”
    “Not?”
    “Together.” He said it, but for the life of him he couldn’t tear his eyes away until she started the truck and put it into gear. An awkward silence sat between them as they went to the church. He helped her carry in the boxes and waited while she distributed them. He had no desire to seek out the wedding party and intertwine himself in their day. He’d never met them, so it would have been even more uncomfortable than sitting in the truck in silence.
    It didn’t stop him from staring at her as she worked and
that
was ridiculous.
    When she turned down the block toward her shop, she took her foot off the gas. “Where to?”
    “Huh?”
    “Your car or your apartment?”
    His mouth dropped open. Was that an invitation or his perverted mind playing tricks? She pointed to the back. “For your plants. I told you I’d drop you.”
    Whew.
    “Two blocks down on the left.”
    “What did you think I meant?”
    It wasn’t what she meant; it was what he thought that had him confused. He’d spent all of a few hours around her and, for a second, he’d actually thought she wanted sex—what the hell was wrong with him? That was like going from zero to fifty in a millisecond. Not going to happen. Not to mention he had a slight problem with commitment. An ideal problem in this situation. Quick and over might work. Could he do that?
    Carter noted the meticulous way Abby managed her shop and how she’d helped him with Amanda. Her laughter and the way she’d almost cried when she looked at the wedding fiasco they just left.
    Nope.

Chapter Nine
    At ten the following Monday, Abby’s phone announced a series of text messages but she was tied up. Literally. She had ribbon everywhere as she readied another group of deliveries for her next wedding rehearsal. A call came in for a funeral and she switched gears to prepare a suitable wreath.
    “Are you going to answer any of those messages, or do I have to listen to your phone bleep all morning?” Caroline’s snarky response wasn’t really impatience over the noise.
    If Abby knew anything, Caroline wanted to hear the latest on Carter.
    “If it bothers you that much, answer it yourself.” She hadn’t been serious but when Caroline dove over the counter for her purse, she squealed and intercepted.
    Caroline’s spiked hair ruffled as she tried to grab the device away. “Don’t tell me to answer then change your mind. You know I’ll do it.”
    “Yeah, and if I remember correctly—that’s how this all started. You answered a random message from a mistaken guy and somehow I ended up in a big mess of confusion.”
    “You know, a lot of people would say it wasn’t a mistake—in fact, if you believe in karma or fate—it was bound to happen. No mistake involved.”
    “Oh my God, the next thing I know you’ll call yourself some type of messenger or medium. He got me all mixed up, that’s all. I should never have answered. Correction.
You
should never have answered. He would have eventually figured it out.”
    Caroline grinned.