The Opposite of Wild Read Online Free PDF Page B

obsession with new cleaning products.
    He gave a curt nod, turned, and headed down the sidewalk toward his house. She exhaled slowly and reminded herself very firmly, as she watched his broad shoulders that tapered into a trim waist and very nice butt walk away, that even if The Humiliation had never happened, Ryan O’Hare would still not be in the running for her white picket fence fantasy of husband, kids, and nonshedding dog. Everyone in town knew he never got serious with anyone.
    She put the air conditioner on full blast to cool off the permanent blush she’d felt since his arrival in Mrs. O’Hare’s living room. After easing out of the driveway, she drove five miles over the speed limit, eager to get home and dance in the living room (curtains closed) with her Pink playlist. Dancing had been her stress relief for years. Then she remembered Daisy was there and she couldn’t dance freely. She didn’t want to trouble her sister over her new job anyway.
    When she unlocked the door to her apartment, her sister was sitting on the sofa, watching TV and munching on microwave popcorn. “How are you feeling, Daisy?”
    Her sister picked up the remote and pressed pause on her show. “I told Mom and Dad about the baby, but they already knew.”
    Liz nodded. “You know word spreads fast. And you do look—”
    “What? Huge? I look like a whale!” she cried, dropping the bag of popcorn on the coffee table.
    “No, no, you look beautiful.” She sat on the sofa with her sister and stroked her hair. I’ll clean up the spilled kernels in a minute. “What’d they say?”
    “They were very supportive,” Daisy said flatly. “Mom promised to babysit, and they said I could have my old room back.”
    A pang of loss went through Liz. She wanted Daisy and the baby here so they could raise the baby together. She didn’t want to miss a single moment.
    “I can’t go back there!” Daisy cried. “You should have seen their faces. They had this disappointed-but-ready-to-deal-with-it expression like they always have with me. They’ve probably been waiting for this to happen since high school.”
    “I’m sure that’s not true,” Liz said gently, thrilled she’d still have the baby with her.
    Daisy turned off the TV and pushed off the sofa. “I’ve got a craving for grilled cheese. Are you hungry?”
    “Sure,” Liz said, just to be nice.
    “I’ll make us lunch.”
    “Sounds good.” She headed toward her bedroom and stopped. “Wash some of those organic strawberries too. The vitamin C and antioxidants are really important for the baby. Oh, and some of that spinach salad. The vitamin C in the strawberries will help your body absorb the iron in the spinach.”
    “Yes, Professor Pregnancy,” Daisy intoned.
    “If you read those pregnancy books I got you, you’d know all this stuff.” She’d stacked them on Daisy’s nightstand. She should have at least read one by now .
    Liz opened the door to her bedroom and locked it behind her. Forcing herself to ignore the mess—unmade bed, Daisy’s clothes on the floor and hanging on the treadmill, the empty glass on the nightstand—she grabbed her iPod and put the earbuds in place.
    And danced like a wild woman.
    ~ ~ ~
    Liz had just settled on the sofa with her pillow and blanket that night to watch some HGTV before bed when her cell rang. She picked it up. Ryan . Her heart started pounding for no good reason.
    “Hello?”
    “Oh…hey, Liz. I dialed by mistake when I pulled up your number to add to my contacts.”
    Liz gripped the phone in silence.
    “It’s Ryan.”
    “Okay,” she finally said. “I’ll let you go.”
    “Wait.”
    She swallowed hard. Did he find out something hideously embarrassing in the background check? I can explain. I just like things neat. And the Craig thing is best left unspoken.
    “Yes?” she asked.
    “I should warn you…”
    Omigod, he found my neurotic cleaning tendencies out! Or is this about The Humiliation? Gah! Why did I agree to