Settling Up Read Online Free PDF Page A

couldn’t hide the smile that pulled on my lips. Boy, did I love my sister.
    “I’m sure. I’m good. Just, was everyone so abhorrently un-dateable when I was on these sites before? There’s seriously no one I would even feel comfortable serving me food let alone having a relationship with.”
    Betsy laughed. “I don’t know. Have you added more to the list that I don’t know about?” My sister was one of the people who knew the list and knew it well. She didn’t stop to let me answer her question, though. “I honestly think the guy that fits that list isn’t going to be anywhere online. His name is something like Gustav and he’s sipping port out of a tiny glass in a bistro in Paris or something. You’re not going to find that on the internet, or if you do, he’s most likely lying.”
    I pulled in a deep breath as I let her words settle over me. “I think you’ve got your cultures mixed up there. Gustav? Port? Paris?’ I chuckled. “Well, what do you think I should do?”
    “Josh knows this guy from work…”
    “No.”
    “Come on, Lauren. Just this once.”
    “Absolutely not.”
    I hated being set up. It was part of the reason I had gravitated toward those online sites. At least I knew what I was getting myself into that way. The only set-ups I’d ever been on had left me scratching my head, wondering who people thought I was. Did they really know me? Obviously not if they thought I would get along with the characters I’d been set up with.
    As much as my frustration with dating sites was causing me to become all hot-and-bothered, I wasn’t yet at the point where I was going to entertain people’s pity set-up suggestions. That was a slippery slope. It seemed once you accepted a date with one wacky far-removed relative or former co-worker, the scent of the set up was all over you and everyone you knew had someone you just-had-to-meet.
    No. I may have been getting desperate, but I wasn’t yet ready to stamp it on my forehead in bright red ink.
    “Okay.” Betsy sighed. “Well, do you want to hear what I found out about your balding at least?”
    I told her I did and spent the next few minutes listening to Betsy list what she thought we might be dealing with (most likely stress shedding) and the shampoo that would help with this and the cream that would combat that.
    “Anyway, let’s start there and we’ll see if that works. But pretty much the best thing you can do is to stay calm, Lauren. De-stress, sister.”
    I nodded. “Got it. Thanks for looking that up, Bets. You’re the best.”
    “I know. Talk to you later.” She hung up.
    After continuing my list of counting from where I’d left off, I was feeling a tad better. At least stress seemed to be the problem, which definitely sounded temporary. If I could lower my stress level, maybe those hairs would come back. I looked down at the sticky note where I’d written the names of the stuff Bets had told me to grab at the store. Yep. I needed to take a break, go pick up this stuff, and grab an ample supply of red wine and chocolate before I was ready to tackle those dating sites again without getting stressed.
    I took the sticky note, stuck it on my phone, picked up my purse, and headed out the door.
    My town’s drug store was seriously the cutest thing ever. It was more like a gift shop that just happened to also carry medication and physical hygiene paraphernalia. But for all of the cutesie crap they carried, the owners, Wanda and Steve, did a pretty good job stocking the important stuff, too. I was able to find both Betsy’s recommended cream and shampoo.
    I was about to head up to the checkout counter, when a woman walked past me. Her almost-halfway-down-her-back dark hair bounced as she swished by and turned down the stationary aisle. I found myself following her, eyes glued to her thick locks, wishing oh-so-fervently mine could look like that. I fiddled with a notebook on a shelf as I watched her from a few foot distance. There was a