Charming for Mother's Day (A Calendar Girls Novella) Read Online Free Page A

car. “Yeah, I know. I watched, remember?”
                  “Hop in.” He gestured with two fingers—a ritzy customer calling over the waitress. “Let me give you a ride.”
                  I took a step back. “No, thanks. I’m fine. My ride will be here any minute.”
                  “Don’t be stubborn. Come on. Get in. It’s freezing out.”
                  Another step back while I shook my head. “Jack will worry if I’m not here. He knows I work late on Friday nights.”
                  “Jack?”
                  “The bus driver.”
              “Ah.” He nodded. “When’s he due?”
                  “A few minutes. Not long at all.”
                  “Good. Then I’ll wait with you so you can tell him you’re going home with me. From now on.”
                  Oh, now, he was going too far. Of all the arrogant, chauvinistic…
                  “I appreciate that, Chef, but it’s really not necessary. This is Snug Harbor, not Crime Central. Go home. Alone. From now on.”
                  “Actually, it is necessary. Good maître d’s are hard to come by, and Sidney swears you’re the best.”
              “And you believed him?” I clucked my tongue with exaggerated disappointment. “You know better than that. I’m a nobody.”
                  The reminder, sharper and icier than the temperature, came out before I could stop it, and he jerked back as if I’d slapped him. “Did I say that to you?” he asked, his tone a somber hush. “If I did, I’m sorry. I was a selfish jerk in those days.”
                  Yeah, right. Next he’d tell me I was a beautiful soul—inside and out. “Wow. An apology. Ten years too late, but good try.”
                  “I would have apologized earlier had I known. But I guess you didn’t want to accuse me of rudeness in front of your family or the rest of the staff. I appreciate that.”
                  I stared at the poster on the Plexiglass wall, advertising a local realtor. I wondered if the saleswoman’s teeth were real. No one had choppers that straight and pure white. Not naturally, anyway.
                  “Lucie, please. Let me take you home.”
                  “It’s not a problem. I’ll be fine.”
                  “Okay then.” He rolled up the window and slowly drove away. I breathed a sigh of relief until he pulled the car closer to the curb in front of the bike shop and killed the engine. Stepping out, he fumbled for the key fob, then closed and locked the door with a beep-beep .
                  “What are you doing?”
                  “Parking the car away from the bus lane.”
    “Why?”
    He strode into my Plexiglass cage, dwarfing the cramped size with his presence. “I’m trying to talk to you. So if you won’t get in the car with me, I’ll have to ride the bus with you.”
                  His thick wool coat looked a helluva lot warmer than my synthetic down jacket. Shivers threatened to make my teeth chatter, but I clenched my jaw. “Are you out of your mind?” My facial posture only made me sound exasperated—definitely a benefit.
                  “Take the ride with me and find out,” he replied with a sinister grin.
                  I sighed my defeat. “Fine.”
                  “Excellent.” He clicked the key fob, and the single beep rang out.
                  “No,” I said. “Take the bus with me.”
                  He turned to stare at me over his shoulder. “You’re kidding.”
                  “Hey.” I held up a hand. “Your idea, not mine.”
                  He groaned. “Along with that ‘nobody’ comment, I