Hot Corner (Baseball Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

concession in having to turn to her mom and her book club to find a date.  But the man they picked was just shrouded in such mystery.  The only kind of surprise Audrey liked was the pleasant kind.  But there was only a 50/50 chance of that happening. 
    Audrey thought that the book club would find a man that she already knew.  That was in the same circumstance as her--fairly recently back on the market and ready for love again.  Then they'd have some common ground, or at least a little familiarity.  But it turned out that beggars really couldn't be choosers. 
    As the date approached, Audrey grew more nervous than usual.  Finally Audrey got herself all ready for the date.  She got all dressed up, but it turned out it was for nothing.  The waiting game was Audrey's least favorite.  Audrey used to hear men complaining about how annoying it was when women made them wait.  She always thought the men were blowing things out of proportion, but now she realized they weren't.  Anxiety was a terrible thing.  Audrey's nerves were already more jelly than steel to begin with.  The true problem with waiting was the uncertainty of it all.
    Then again, Audrey was also the impatient type.  But was it really impatience when her date was not on time?  Maybe he was just running late.  Or maybe he was right around the corner.    Audrey just had to wait it out.
    Audrey called her mom to make sure the guy had been given all the right details--and more importantly--the correct address. 
    "I'm sure he'll be here soon," Carla insisted. 
    Audrey hoped her mom was right.  "Yeah, he's probably just running late.  Although I feel horrible now about every guy I've ever kept waiting in my life."
    "Don't worry.  He'll be there soon," Carla said.  
    As the minutes went by though, Audrey wasn't so sure.  Maybe the guy had reconsidered.  Maybe he hated the idea of blind dates.  Maybe he wasn't going to show up at all.  Letting Audrey's mind wander was a dangerous thing.  But giving those thoughts legs and room to run was even worse.
    Still, Audrey tried to hope for the best.  Her mind so often lingered on the worst though.  Time was running out on optimism though.  At that point, Audrey's date was over a half an hour late.  It was becoming all too clear that Audrey had been stood up.  She couldn't believe it.  It was so humiliating.  Carla tried to come up with something to say to her daughter on the phone that would make her feel better, but she struggled to find the words.  Audrey meanwhile knew there was nothing to say.  The embarrassment spoke volumes already. 
    Audrey just wanted to eat a whole tub of ice cream.  But just before she broke into tears, a car pulled into the driveway.  A sweet sense of relief came over her.  Maybe it would work out after all.  But her date would sure have some explaining to do.  He had better have a good explanation.  For the moment though, Audrey was just relieved that there would be a date after all. 
    Audrey's enthusiasm proved to be short lived though as she saw the man getting out of the car.  It wasn't her date that had pulled up after all, but rather her sisters fiancé John.  Audrey couldn't believe it.  She'd gotten all excited for nothing.  She was still stood up. 
    As John made his way inside the living room, irony came with him.  After all, John had come over to pick up Elizabeth for their date, but Elizabeth wasn't ready yet. 
    "I'll be down in a minute," Elizabeth said, from the top of the stairs. 
    John mumbled to himself.  "I hate waiting."
    Audrey couldn't help but break out into awkward laughter.  "Tell me about it."
    A few minutes later though, Elizabeth was ready and left with her fiancé.  Audrey meanwhile was still out of luck.  It was so embarrassing.  Absolutely humiliating.  Audrey couldn't believe it.  She'd had been through a lot of heartbreak in her life, but she'd never been stood up before.  This was a new unwanted milestone.  And