Third Time's a Charm by Virginia Smith Read Free Book Online Page B

saw him, she crooked a finger in his direction to beckon him into the hall. He stepped past Ken, who entered the room to grab a couple of chairs, and joined Joan and Allie outside.
    “She’s not coming,” Joan said as he stepped through the doorway. “She called Mom this morning and claimed to have a meeting at work.”
    Disappointment deflated Ryan’s tense muscles. Disappointment, and maybe a touch of relief. Tori probably wouldn’t go out with him anyway. Embarrassing situation avoided.
    Allie scowled. “She didn’t even have the nerve to call one of us, not after she promised to be here. And of all the lame excuses.”
    Ryan cocked his head. “You don’t think she really had a meeting?”
    She grimaced. “On Sunday?”
    Joan plucked at his sleeve to move him out of the way so someone could enter the Sunday school room. “I believe her about the meeting. Tori’s boss is a real slave driver. Mom said she sounded upset at having to go into the office this morning.”
    Allie folded her arms. “Still. She could have called me.”
    Ryan hid a smile. Seeing the fierce grimace on Allie’s face, he didn’t blame Tori one bit for wanting to avoid her oldest sister.
    In the next instant the grimace faded, replaced by a calculating smile. She patted Ryan’s arm. “But this doesn’t change anything. She’s still coming to Gram’s for dinner. Just call the house this afternoon to ask her out.”
    Ryan scuffed his heel on the thin carpet, doubt nagging at him. It was one thing to sit beside a girl in Sunday school and casually suggest a cup of coffee later. If she said no, he could always act like it was no big deal. But if he called her on the phone specifically to ask her out and she turned him down, that cranked the humiliation factor upward a ton.
    “I don’t know,” he said. “I sort of promised my brother I’d help him work on his house this afternoon. Maybe I should just wait until next week.”
    Allie’s hand gripped his forearm. “No. Today’s the perfect day. We’re going to be working up in the attic, so she’ll be here all afternoon.”
    Joan nodded. “Call the house around four. By then she’ll be ready for a break.”
    “We’ll make sure she’s ready for a break.” Allie grinned. “By the time we finish with her, she’ll be begging you to rescue her.”
    He looked from one intense face to the other. They wore nearly identical expressions that put him in mind of his sister-in-law when she was trying to convince him to go on a blind date with that girl at the restaurant. Joan and Allie were playing matchmaker, trying to fix him up with their sister. Even though he shared their goal where Tori was concerned, the feeling of being manipulated didn’t rest easy with him.
    He narrowed his eyes. “What’s going on here? Why are you two doing this?”
    Both pairs of eyes went round.
    “What do you mean?” Allie asked. “We thought you wanted to ask our sister out.”
    Joan nodded. “We’re just trying to help.”
    Actually, he was feeling the same reaction he’d had to Loralee. The harder they pushed, the more he wanted to dig his heels in. In fact, maybe asking Tori Sanderson out wasn’t such a good idea after all. He edged toward the classroom. “Well, thanks, but I’ve got it covered on my own.”
    Allie stepped in front of him. “So are you going to call her or not?”
    Irritation flickered in the base of his skull. “I’ll think about it.”
    Joan moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with Allie, blocking his path. “Ryan, please don’t be upset with us. We’re just trying to look out for our little sister.”
    By manipulating him into asking her on a date? He cocked his head. “What do you mean?”
    “Like we said yesterday, she’s working too hard,” Allie said. “She needs to go out, relax, have a little fun.”
    “And not only that, but there are some pretty unscrupulous men out there.” Joan’s smile was soft. “We know you’ll treat her well.”
    “And