Page 35 of Love Is Brewing

“Now I need to pull up a chair and hear this. With the same guy? Elias Carlisle that is working with Ben?”

At least she knew how her mother found out. Not that there was any doubt.

“Yes, the same guy,” she said.

“Tell me about him,” her mother said. “First impressions and how you met.”

Guess her brother didn’t give all the details. She could be thankful for that, but she’d be honest with her mother.

“Don’t tell Matt this,” she said.

“Why?” her mother asked. “Ben seemed to think Elias was a nice guy. Comes from a good upstanding family.”

“So you know about his family?” she asked.

“Just who his older brother is,” her mother said. “I will confess I did a quick search and saw there are multiple kids, most working for West.”

“Yes,” she said. “What I don’t want you to do is tell Matt how Elias and I met.”

“Why are you laughing?”

She couldn’t help it. She was even holding her side while she tried to catch her breath.

“I slid into him. My car hit his truck.”

“Are you okay?” her mother asked quickly. “How come I’m just hearing about this now?”

She took a few deep breaths to stop the laughter. Guess it was going to be one of those embarrassing things to look back on.

“I’m fine. It was the snow day earlier in the week. We were the only two people that I saw on the roads.”

“Of course you would try to go in that day,” her mother said.

“I have a practice to run,” she argued.

“That wouldn’t have suffered if you went in late. I’m sure your staff didn’t come in on time.”

“No,” she said, waving her hand and putting her feet up on the couch. Not that her mother could see her relaxing or brushing off the fact her staff weren’t as reliable as her.

“Don’t sound annoyed over that,” her mother said. “Considering you got into an accident it was a safety concern.”

“It wasn’t much of one. He was at a stoplight and I was braking. I wasn’t even going that fast, but my car didn’t stop in time. I slid and just barely kissed his bumper as I turned the wheel. He’s got this big truck and all it did was leave a scratch. Not even a big one. I’ve got a bigger one on my car, but that’s it.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” her mother said. “You would have given him your card.”

“I did. I only knew his first name and nothing more. First impression was he’s very attractive.”

“And nothing at all like the men you normally date,” her mother said. “Not from the pictures I saw of him. There are a lot in terms of him with his business.”

“Don’t be snobby, Mom,” she said, frowning.

Her mother snorted. “I’m offended. I’m one of the least snobby people I know. I don’t live off of sushi or need a fancy espresso machine because there might have been some whining going on.”

She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t whine over that. Matt made more out of it.”

“Your brother is known for making more out of things, but we know you do like some of the finer things in life. Some might thinkyou’resnobby.”

It was not the first time it’d been said to her. “I’m not though,” she argued. “I do like nice things, but that doesn’t mean I want to be with a guy who is the same way.”

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