When Sparks Fly Read Online Free PDF Page A

hers.”
    “Thank you,” Monica answered, wondering who Lauren was. A girlfriend perhaps? Fiancée? It was none of her business; it wasn’t like they were dating or anything. As soon as the car was fixed, she and Kimber would be back on the road, heading to California and this little pit stop would be nothing but a memory. So why did the thought of Joe being with a woman put knots in her stomach? Choosing to push the thought aside, she added, “I just need to wash up.”
    Fran nodded and went back to the kitchen to supervise her husband and young house guest. Joe stood for a minute in the middle of the room, his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “I gotta get going,” he said, shifting uncomfortably. “I already made plans….”
    “That’s alright. I didn’t presume you were going to entertain us. You’ve done more than enough today.” Her tone was clipped with a frosty edge. She hadn’t really expected him to spend the evening at his parents’ house with her, had she? Berating herself for being angry with him, she softened her voice. “Thank you, Joe, for all of your help today. I really do appreciate it. I don’t know what Kimber and I would have done if you hadn’t come along when you did.”
    Pulling his hands out of his pockets, he walked over to her, stopping further away than he wanted to. He placed his hands firmly on her shoulders, the way he would a small child, and looked into her eyes. “I have the feeling you would have done just fine. You seem to know how to take care of yourself. City living and all that.” He took a step closer and leaned forward, grinning when her eyes widened. Speaking softly, he said, “You’d better go wash up. Your omelet is getting cold.”
    With that, he dropped his hands and sauntered out of the room, digging his phone out of his pocket. Pressing a number on his speed dial, he waited for the line to connect, waving to his parents as he passed through the kitchen on the way to his apartment. “Yo, Loren, what’s up? We still on for Deuce’s, bro?” he asked, hurrying up the stairs over the garage. Not bothering to turn on a light, he went directly to his bedroom, shrugged out of his t-shirt and threw it in the clothes hamper before pulling a fresh one over his head. Less than three minutes later he was pulling out of the drive on his way to the pool hall, still chuckling to himself at the look on Monica’s face when his mother had told him Loren had called. There’d been no mistaking the flash of disappointment in her eyes when she’d thought he had a girlfriend.
    As he drove past the house, the headlights of Joe’s pickup illuminated Monica where she sat at the kitchen table with Kimber. Though her daughter had no problem cleaning her own plate, sometime between arriving at the house and Fran passing the phone message on to her son, she’d lost her appetite. The only reason she was sitting here now was to not hurt Fran’s feelings. The Callaghans had welcomed them into their home and she refused to show any disrespect. Pushing the omelet around on her plate, she made one last attempt to eat before giving up completely.
    “Are you finished, baby?” she asked, picking up the plates from the table. “Run along and put your pjs on, okay? I’ll be there in a minute to help you brush your teeth and tuck you in.”
    “Okay, Mommy. That was the bestest breakfast supper I ever had. Grandma Fran sure is a good cook!” Ponytail bouncing, Kimber skipped out of the room to get ready for bed.
    Smiling at her daughter’s interpretation of an omelet for supper, Monica scraped her uneaten one into the garbage disposal and rinsed away the evidence, glad she was alone. She had no doubt that ‘Grandma Fran’ was a good cook, she just wasn’t in the mood to eat.
    Joe was the reason she’d lost her appetite and as she loaded the dishes into the dishwasher, replaying that moment from the bedroom in her mind, she was certain she hadn’t imagined the chemistry