For the Love of Pete Read Online Free Page B

Cottage?" he asked as he set the soup and sandwich in front of her.
    She stared at the food, then scowled at him. "I don't want this and 1 don't want to make small talk, especially not with you," she said with a bit more spirit.
    "I get that," he said. "But the food's hot and I'm here, so why not make the best of it?"
    She frowned. "Were you always this annoying?"
    "Probably," he admitted. "You tended to see the good in people. You probably overlooked it."
    "Must have," she muttered, but she picked up her spoon and tasted the soup.
    Pete felt a small sense of triumph when she swallowed the first spoonful, then went back for more. When she picked up her sandwich, he did a little mental tap dance. The food?or her annoyance with him?was putting a little color back into her cheeks. She didn't
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    look nearly as sad and defeated as she had when he'd first arrived. He would have put up with a lot worse man what she'd dished out to see that change in her.
    When she finally glanced his way, she asked suspiciously, "Who really called you to come by here? Are you sure you didn't make the whole thing up?"
    He shrugged. "I can't say for certain who called. The answering service took the message. You said Ashley had told you she was going to call someone, so I assume it was her."
    "But you?" she asked skeptically.
    He grinned. "My number's in the book, so why not me? Besides, I did some work for her and Josh a while back. They were happy with it. Unless you filled her head with a list of all my shortcomings since then, it makes perfect sense."
    "I've never even mentioned your name to her."
    "Then what's the big deal?"
    "I think you know the answer to that."
    "It's a coincidence, Jo, not some big, diabolical conspiracy I worked out with your sister. Trust me, I have more than enough work to keep me busy?I don't need to drop in on unsuspecting people and beg for little nuisance jobs like this. I got a call. I came by to check things out. That's it. Till I saw the lights and the smoke coming from the chimney, I had no clue anyone was staying here."
    "Okay, so you're just following up on a call," she finally conceded. "You've done your duty. Leave your estimate. I'll get another one. You'll lose."
    "I don't think so," he said. What he'd said was true?this was a nothing little job for him, but he intended to
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    do it. In fact, he was going to stick to Jo like glue till he found out why she'd looked like death warmed over when he'd turned up. "Whoever called was right. The porch is a disaster. Better to rip it off and start from scratch before someone gets hurt."
    "Fine, but I'm sure someone else can do it cheaper," she said flatly. "Heck, I could probably do the work myself if I put my mind to it."
    He grinned at that. "Really? You think so?"
    "How hard could it be to nail a few boards together?" she said brashly. "And I wouldn't be charging Ashley some exorbitant price for labor."
    "You haven't seen my estimate yet," he reminded her, not even trying to hide his amusement at her obvious ploy to get rid of him. "You just don't want me hanging around."
    She met his gaze, then looked away, the color in her cheeks deepening. "No," she said softly, then immediately apologized. "Sorry."
    "No offense taken," he said easily. "I could have someone else come by, but whoever called asked specifically for me. When loyal customers do that, I do the work. It's a point of honor."
    She frowned at him. "As if," she said bitterly.
    Her comment was like a slap. It stung. "I suppose I deserved that," he admitted.
    "And more," she retorted. "Look, Pete, you can forget that whole trumped-up honor thing. I'll deal with my sisters. Besides, I thought you were building all these huge homes around here. Why would you want to waste time fixing up a porch?"
    "Keeps me humble," he said lightly, though what he
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    wanted to say was that it would give him a chance to be around her again, to maybe make amends for what he'd done to her seven