Stacking the Deck (A Betting on Romance Novel Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

THE NEXT AFTERNOON, thanks to Trish, Liz had eaten more Peanut Butter Captain Crunch than her diet allowed in a lifetime, cleaned out all the front gutters and stripped most of the paint off the front door. Which is why, when Bailey pulled into the drive to say hello and drop off a quart of yogurt and a bag of apples late that afternoon, Liz welcomed the diversion like a starving model welcomes an all-you-can-eat buffet.
    Bailey flipped the tab on her take-out coffee cup and sipped, her short, blonde pony-tails jutting out to the sides. “Sucks being you,” she finally said, balancing the to-go cup on the birdbath and peeling open a Snickers bar.
    Liz’s mouth watered. It was the one thing about Bailey she had always envied—her ability to eat anything and not gain an ounce on her pixie-framed figure. The deadbeat father, the crazy mix-up of half-siblings, the trailer-park upbringing—all that made Liz feel gratefully superior, of course, but the super-charged metabolism? That , she envied.
    Liz stepped backward down the front walk toward Bailey and squinted to soften the harsher realities the afternoon sun seemed determined to highlight. “I know it’s in tough shape. But, it has good lines. You’ve got to give it that. And old farmhouse charm.”
    “Sure. If you can see beyond the peeling paint, ugly aluminum storm windows and shingles that are rolling up like burnt hair.”
    Liz looked askance at her friend. “Nice visual.”
    Bailey shrugged and toed a clump of grass that was heaving up a chunk of cement on the front walk. She sipped her mocha latte, a drink she’d been addicted to since discovering it in high school. “Just trying to help.”
    Liz turned back to the house with a sigh. She had been home all of one day, and already her ‘to do’ list was three pages long. The home she’d always thought of as quaint and picturesque now just looked shabby.
    And the town, well, even though most of it felt disturbingly unchanged, there were other parts she didn’t even recognize. For instance, when had they redone the intersection of Route 6 and Miller Brook? If Trish hadn’t been driving, she’d have been half way across Vermont before she figured out her mistake.
    All in all, Liz felt like a stranger in her own hometown which only made her feel childish knowing she’d half-expected the world to stand still in her absence.
    “Snarky comments aren’t helpful,” she finally said aloud. “I’m shooting for curb appeal. A little fresh paint on the front door, a little pruning out front, maybe a pot or two of flowers and a welcoming chair by the door. Who knows, maybe buyers won’t notice the rest.”
    “If you’re looking for distractions, there’s a crazy cat lady in my neighborhood who has an even larger collection of lawn ornaments than your dad. Want me to see if she’ll lend you some more? This yard is just calling out for flamingos. The gnomes look lonely. I think they need pets.”
    “No pets,” Liz said. But she grinned, nonetheless. Of all the things she missed about Sugar Falls, it was Bailey. They’d been BFFs since before it was even an acronym. Thank God for cell phones and e-mail.
    “You’re no fun. How about a puppy?”
    “Be serious.”
    “Okay, I’ll be serious. How is Lover Boy taking the disappointment of not scoring Wednesday night?”
    Liz picked at a fleck of paint sticking to her shirt and wished she hadn’t shot down the flamingo idea. “Pretty well.”
    “I can’t believe he’s okay with waiting to do the deed with you. Is something wrong with him? A man that can wait this long…” Bailey trailed off and stared meaningfully at Liz as she took a long sip of latte.
    Liz frowned. “Nothing’s wrong with him. He’s very respectful of my need to take things slow, that’s all.”
    Bailey rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe he bought that load of bull.”
    “It’s not bull. It’s a statistically sound strategy. Ninety percent of couples that have sex in the