Ready to Fall Read Online Free PDF

covered that angle. Make all the jokes you want about Civil War generals or about how my friend Penny—short for Penelope—should be dating him instead of me.”
    His lips pressed together as he unsuccessfully tried to suppress a smirk. “Ulysses is a fine name. Really. Not at all antiquated.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, if he hadn’t sent an e-mail yesterday to all Spring Ridge staff asking about the event, I’d certainly never have come here today for lessons.”
    Realizing how rude that sounded, she backtracked. “Though I’m glad I did, of course. Your shop is certainly . . . charming.”
    In an abandoned insane asylum sort of way. One that’s haunted by the ghost of a demented maniac who hates interior design.
    Even though she didn’t speak her thoughts out loud, he still seemed to hear them.
    â€œI’ll buy a poster for the wall with twenty bucks of the money you’re paying me,” he said. “But the rest has got to go toward rent and utilities. Starting a small business isn’t cheap. The optics have to wait until I’m actually bringing in some money.”
    â€œI understand.” Don’t say it. Don’t say it don’t say it don’t say it . “I just think any decorations would pay for themselves pretty quickly. More people might come to your bike shop if they could actually tell it was a bike shop, rather than a lair for the local fight club.”
    Shit. She’d said it.
    â€œI’m sorry,” she said with a sigh. “That’s none of my business. It’s yours. Literally.”
    Luckily, he didn’t seem offended. In fact, the corners of his mouth quirked for a second time. “No need to apologize. I don’t mind you sharing your opinions, as long as you don’t mind my ignoring them.”
    â€œSeems fair.” More than fair, as a matter of fact. Given his initial grumpiness, she’d expected him to be much less tolerant of her snark. Then again, he’d already cut his lunch break short to talk to her and offered her water.
    Helen was right. A sweet, funny man might very well lurk beneath Chris’s crusty exterior. So what exactly had caused him to hide himself away?
    The answer to that question didn’t really matter to her, of course. She was just a naturally curious person. Nevertheless . . .
    You need to call Helen this afternoon , she thought. Maybe she knows his story .
    He returned to the topic at hand. “So from what you’re telling me, you only need to know the basics of cycling. How to get going, stay upright, and stop. Is that right?”
    She nodded. “Yup.”
    He finished wiping the countertop, and bent down to replace his cleaning supplies beneath the counter. “Should be doable. I need to be here until seven each night. Our lessons can start after that.”
    â€œYou’re free all three nights?” Honestly, that seemed improbable. Despite what he’d said about taking a break from dating, surely a man as hot as Chris hooked up with women on a regular basis. “You didn’t have other plans for the Fourth of July? A cookout with friends or . . . someone else?”
    â€œNope.” He stared at her, stone-faced once more.
    Huh. Interesting.
    She frowned. “What about dinner? Will you have time to eat before the lessons?”
    â€œI’ll figure something out.”
    In other words: No, he wouldn’t have time to eat. Hmmmm.
    His eyes scanned her from top to toe. “You need to bring protective gear tonight.”
    She tried to picture the sort of equipment that could prevent injury if she went flying over her handlebars and onto the pavement. “Are we talking full-body armor?”
    â€œA helmet. That’s the most important thing.” He paused. “Those pretty blond curls won’t protect your head if you fall. And you will.”
    Without her permission, her hand reached up to touch her