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

time.
    Abby stared at the screen, realizing she was about to cross that line again. It was wrong to snoop, but the guy
was
talking about her. He had been nice—and funny. In fact, he hadn’t seemed the least bit torn up about the ex-girlfriend.
Amanda
. Gorgeous Amanda.
    Oh yeah. What about her?
    Amazing.
    She stared at the display as warmth flowed into her body. She grinned.
He thinks I am amazing? Really?
    He wasn’t so bad himself. She typed in a few letters then backed them out. What would a man say to compliment another? Would it be considered gay to tell him he was pretty amazing too? Yeah, probably.
    How would a best friend respond? Okay, well, technically the person he thought he was texting was a seriously shitty best friend, so she wasn’t sure it mattered what that man would say. She keyed in the next thing that came to mind.
    No warts or missing teeth?
    Seconds ticked by.
    No and not any moles either. So far. I haven’t checked everywhere yet.
    Yet. Abby tapped her feet in a quick happy dance. That sounded promising. Hmmm. So, he wanted to check her for moles? She grinned. Now there was a new game. She shoved the reminder of his recent break-up aside.
    LOL. Good luck with that.
    Abby snickered. This was fun. Dishonest, but fun.
    U don’t think I have a chance?
    Of course he had a chance. In fact, if he’d made the move the other night and actually gone in for the kiss, she might have … what, let him check her for moles? Of course not. Well, she wasn’t sure. She clicked at the keys.
    Go for it, man. Screw Amanda
    She didn’t feel the least bit regretful about that statement. Nothing dishonest there. She meant it. He deserved better.
    Amanda who?

Chapter Seven
    Carter watched ESPN highlights and drank the last beer he’d pulled from the fridge, which happened to be the
only
beer in the fridge. Actually, it was the only thing in the fridge at all, other than takeout from Hunan Joe’s. He wasn’t sure how long the box had been there but the contents couldn’t be edible. Surely sushi had a finite expiration date and, judging by memory, it was overdue. Best not to look.
    Preseason highlights were on for baseball and the Astros looked … pitiful. He didn’t care. He’d watched them for years and they always turned it around eventually. Who knew when it would happen?
    The tickets sat on his coffee table, a reminder of how badly he’d tanked with Amanda. The message from Jackson glared at him as if to say
sayonara, sweetie
. He should be remorseful, or at least miss her. He didn’t and that seemed a little strange. In fact, he was … relieved. Which was even stranger. Was that callous? Or had she merely met expectations?
    Jackson was right about Abby. He should go for it. And he would. Tomorrow. Twice in one day would be creepy. He’d taken the dog to the park but didn’t bother to search her out.
    When the highlights were over, he picked up the new phone and pecked another message to Jackson before heading to bed.
    Don’t 4get about game Sat.
    He didn’t wait for an answer; he was too tired. He wished he could say work had been a drain and he’d put in a rough day. It wasn’t true, though. All of his days were rough, and this was no exception. The only difference was his mood. It had lightened just a bit after his dinner with Abby. He tore off his clothes, dropped them in the closet, and crawled into bed. Sleep came easily.
    • • •
    It never occurred to Carter that Jackson hadn’t answered the earlier text until he was on his way to the ballpark. Work had been stressful the remainder of the week; piles of contracts and meetings that promised significant growth in his fledgling customer list had snowed him under. Not to mention the weather had turned ugly and, other than racing outside with Ruckus, he’d barely stepped foot past the door of his apartment. He’d searched for Abby a couple of times while out. Had she stopped running? Or was she avoiding another meeting with him? Probably