Playing for Keeps Read Online Free PDF

“I’m trying not to think about it.”
    “I don’t know what your deal is. You have great legs. You should wear short skirts.”
    “Right. So I could look like a stork.”
    “Maybe if you dressed like a girl for a change you’d get asked out.”
    My hackles rose. “I get asked out all the time.”
    “I meant by someone other than Wendell.”
    She had me there.
    Wendell was always pestering me for a date. Respectfully—he’d never do anything to offend me because he had a healthy fear of my father.
    There were three reasons I’d never date Wendell.
     
    1) He was ex-military. Been there, lived that. No thanks.
    2) He was a bit possessive. Example: If he saw one of the other male students talking to me, he’d come over, stand behind me like my own personal secret service agent, and glare until the poor guy peed his pants and scurried away.
    3) His knuckles dragged on the ground.
     
    Fate would have to be cruel as to pair me with Wendell for the rest of my life.
    I started to worry. “I dress like a girl.”
    Nell rolled her eyes but kept them on the road. “You don’t. Not since that bastard Kevin broke up with you.”
    I couldn’t deny it. I used to try harder back then. Sometime after Kevin (that jerk) dumped me, I stopped wearing makeup and fixing my hair in anything other than a ponytail.
    “At least you don’t wear baggy T-shirts any more.”
    I crossed my arms and pouted. Several months ago, Nell and Chloe ganged up on me. While I was in the shower, they collected all my clothes and burned them. Burned them . In the fireplace. Then they made me buy the clothes they selected. I loved all my old T-shirts. They were perfectly broken in.
    Okay, I like the clothes they made me buy. I may still mostly wear jeans and T-shirts, but my jeans are fashionable and my shirts are cute. I was loath to admit it to my sisters, but my clothes really were flattering.
    But I drew the line at wearing a skirt. I didn’t even wear dresses very often for Kevin (that jerk). “Maybe Chloe and I could wear pantsuits. Kind of like tuxedos but for women.”
    Nell scowled at me.
    “It’d be elegant.”
    “Nice try, Gracie, but I already know what I want.”
    “That sounds ominous.”
    “Resign yourself to it, babe,” she said, glancing sideways at me as she changed lanes.
    She didn’t have to be so gleeful about it.
    Maybe it was time to change the subject. “Were you really serious about inviting a hundred guests?”
    “Of course. We have a lot of family and friends, and Riley needs to invite some of the people from his firm. It adds up.”
    No kidding, it added up. To a fortune. They could take a trip around the world for a year with what they were going to spend on that caterer. “Have you called the church yet?”
    She shot me a little girl smile. “I thought maybe you could do that for me. Please, Gracie?”
    She wasn’t as good as Chloe but it still worked. “Sure thing. No problem. I’ll do it when I get back to work.”
    “You’re the best.”
    I snorted.
    She screeched to a stop in front of the studio. “See you tomorrow. We’re hitting the florists.”
    At least I’d have a reprieve before the dresses.
    I was barely out of the car before Nell tore off. I shook my head. She wouldn’t make it to the wedding if she kept driving like that.
    It was early afternoon and there was a kids’ class in session. I stopped to watch the munchkin kung fu, smiling at the parents who greeted me.
    Daddy was teaching three-year old Rose McKenna to tumble. She stared at him with big trusting eyes, listening intently to his instruction.
    I loved watching Daddy teach the little kids. He was a big bear of a man, tall and large. Not fat—he was in perfect condition even though he was sixty-two. You wouldn’t expect such a big man to be so gentle with tiny human beings, but that was what he was.
    I walked over to Rose’s mom, Mena. Mena was a student as well, but she’d come to my dad already a black belt. Her husband