Fixed up in February (Spring River Valley Book 2) by Clarice Wynter Read Free Book Online

set Audrey up on another date, set her up with me.”
    “You’re kidding.”
    “And don’t tell her it’s me. She’ll never go for it otherwise.”
    “I can’t do that.”
    “Trust me.”
    “I did last night and look what happened.”
    “The next time will be different. It’ll be perfect. I’ll make sure of it.”
    Cassie watched him over the rim of her tea cup for a long moment. “I’ll think about it,” she said finally. “But no promises until I talk to her and find out what you did to make her so mad.”

Chapter Six
     
     
    “I knew you’d call.” Max Shannon’s voice caressed Audrey’s ear, the same sultry, husky sound he’d used last night to tell her she was perfect. She shook off the memory of it as she crumpled up the note she’d just fished out of the trash.
    “I’m only calling to…thank you for cleaning off my car on behalf of my friend Harper, because she was going to help me today. So, thank you for sparing her the shoveling.”
    He laughed, and the low rumble made her stomach flutter unpleasantly. She put her hand over it and rubbed to settle the butterflies she had no business feeling. “On behalf of Harper, you’re welcome.”
    “Okay, well, it was nice talking to you—”
    “That’s it? You just called to thank me?”
    She studied her nails, wishing he could see her acting nonchalant and disinterested. “What else should I have called for?”
    “A second date.”
    “Ha! Really? After last night.”
    “I bet if we tried we could do better next time.”
    “I’m giving up dating. The universe has been trying to tell me something for the past year, and I’ve finally decided to listen.”
    “That’s a shame.”
    “I think it’s a fine way to avoid a concussion.”
    “I think it’s a fine way to avoid your problems.”
    Audrey’s jaw dropped. Why had she done this to herself? Because she felt guilty about not acknowledging the hard work he’d done cleaning off her car. It would have been rude of her to let that little favor go unnoticed. She put the crumpled note in the sink and ran water on it. “My problems?”
    “Your hang-ups about men.”
    “Oh, do tell me what those hang-ups are! I’ve got to know.”
    “You’re terrified of commitment.”
    “I am not.”
    “Sure you are. Let’s see, twenty first dates, am I right? No second dates. You don’t want to get close to a guy and give him a chance to get under your skin. You’re afraid of really caring about someone, so you’ve become a serial dater. Usually that’s a guy thing. It’s actually refreshing to find a woman with the problem.”
    “Serial dater, like serial killer?” Her blood heated again. She reached into her fridge for a cold can of soda, but they were all gone, so she settled for holding the margarine container up to her burning cheeks. “I see you’re trying to draw a comparison here, aren’t you?”
    “I suppose if you think about it, serial killers collect trophies from their victims, little mementos. You collect stories about your bad dates, and you whip them out like badges to show where you’ve been.”
    “Oh , my god. I can’t believe I’m having this conversation. You’re a lunatic. You’re accusing me of being like a serial killer because I’ve been on a bunch of dates with a bunch of men who…who…” Wasn’t there some truth to his words? She had a story for every date she’d been on, a nickname for every guy, and she usually managed to work mention of at least one of them into every conversation she had with Harper. Now she could add two more to her repertoire: Appendix Guy, the date that never was, and Dead Battery Guy, the date she couldn’t forget no matter how hard she tried.
    “Audrey? You still there?”
    She considered hanging up. “Yeah. Never mind. Look, thanks for cleaning off my car . Y ou didn’t have to do that.”
    “How’s your ankle?”
    “It’s better.”
    “And your head?”
    Spinning. “Fine. How’s your car?”
    “I have to