Christmas With Hover Hill Read Online Free PDF Page B

I'll do
it myself,” Zoe said, edging around Elizabeth. “Hello, I'm Zoe
Darvin.”
    “ I am glad to meet a friend of Beth's. I did
not think she had any,” Hover droned.
    “ Really. Well, once you get to know Elizabeth,
you'll find she has plenty of friends. She's quite likable,” Zoe
said, trying to figure out why this man seemed so different. She
turned to Elizabeth. “Beth?”
    “ As far as my name goes, he doesn't know any
better. Truth be known, there's a lot of things about me he doesn't
know,” Elizabeth said with a half shrug. She gave Hover the wine
bottle along with her orders. “Hover, open up the bottle, bring two
wine glasses and the ice bucket to the living room then finish
cleaning the kitchen.
    Zo, come over and sit down. You and I might as well
not let your good wine go to waste. I expect you've had a long day
at the beauty shop with Christmas coming and could use a little
cheer.
    All your clients probably want the latest hairdo for
the holiday parties. Every woman must want to look better than
their friends.” She knew she was babbling so she stopped talking
and looked at Zoe.
    “ Yes, it was a madhouse.” Zoe agreed, staring
after Hover. Her mind wasn't on her work as she pointed at his
back. “He does your kitchen duties?”
    “ I told you this isn't what you
think.”
    “ I can see that. No wonder you can't keep a man
if you exile them to the kitchen to work for you,” Zoe criticized,
crinkling up her nose. “What nationality is he?”
    Elizabeth rubbed her forehead as she said softly,
“Robot.”
    Zoe puzzled, “Robot? What country is that?”
    “ Zoe! He doesn't need a country. He isn't
alive. He's a mechanical man. You know. A robot,” Elizabeth
declared.
    “ No way! That nice looking man isn't real. What
a shame,” Zoe declared, definitely disappointed.
    Elizabeth sighed. “Finally, you got it.”
    Zoe gave her a woeful stare. “That's really, really
sad. Are you that desperate? There has to be a real man out there
for you somewhere. Whatever possessed you to buy a fake man to live
with you?”
    “ For goodness sakes, Zo, it wasn't my idea. I
didn't bring him here to live with me. I'd never do such a thing.
It was my brother's idea to give him to me for a Christmas gift, of
all things. Just let me explain why Hover Hill is here before you
decide I've gone crazy or got that desperate.”
    Hover came back and set the wine glasses on the table
beside an ice bucket with the wine bottle in it He took the bottle
out of the ice and poured wine in the stemmed glasses.
    “ Thank you, Hover. You may wind down for the
evening,” Elizabeth said.
    “ What I do is called power down,” Hover
corrected.
    “ Sorry,” Elizabeth replied, waving him away.
She held her breath, waiting to see if the robot would obey without
some wise cracking objection. To her amazement, he went quietly to
the corner.
    Zoe, opened mouth, watched the exchange between them.
She leaned toward Elizabeth and whispered, “Is he safe to be
near?”
    “ Yes. At least I think so. I've only had him
here for a few days. The only thing about him I find annoying is
his mouth.”
    “ Why?” Zoe hissed.
    “ He has a bossy attitude when it is just him
and me here. He's good at rubbing me the wrong way. Maybe it's just
because I've lived alone for so long. I'm not used to him yet.”
Elizabeth took a drink. “This is good white wine.”
    Zoe curiously eyed Hover Hill as she said, “It's
called Warm Kiss. The label said it was a wine for romantic
moments. Sorry I had the wrong impression about what was going on
in here.”
    Wheels were turning in Elizabeth's brain as she
watched Zoe. She brightened up. “I just had an idea. How would you
like to take Hover Hill home and try him out? He does anything you
tell him to do. As soon as Scott comes back from a business trip,
he's going to take Hover with him. He can come to your house and
pick the robot up. That will be right after Christmas so you
wouldn't have to keep him