Betting on Lizzie: The Parker Sisters Book Five

CHAPTER ONE

This was not Lizzie Parker’s first break up. In fact, it was the second this week.

She stared at Andy, the handsome yet overly gung-ho man across from her. He’d stopped by The Drop to ask if she wanted to meet his parents—hard pass.

“We’ve only been on two dates,” Lizzie said. “What’s the hurry?”

“Well, I mean, you did just turn thirty…”

Oh, no, he did not. An eyebrow shot up. “And?”

Reading the room correctly, he shut up and shrugged. Unfortunately for him, the comment sealed his fate. Lizzie was glad they were at her bar instead of her home. This pill went down smoother with a crowd.

“I’m sorry, Andy. I’m just not girlfriend material,” she said. “You deserve someone better than me.”

Andy nodded silently, and she smiled. This was her forte. Dating, she was only so-so at, but breaking up? Her time to shine.

“Well, I’ve got to get Charlie home for dinner,” she said, standing. “Keep in touch, okay?”

Hearing his name, her seven-year-old Great Dane ambled over and nudged her thigh with his ginormous nose. She scratched his head and watched Andy walk out.

“Whew,” she said to the dog. “That one was a little awkward. Anyhoo, you ready to go?”

Charlie’s sweet eyes met hers, and just like the first moment she saw him, her insides melted. After Lucy, her twin sister and next-door neighbor, got married, Lizzie found she had a lot more time on her hands. At the suggestion of Emma, another sister, she’d gone to the shelter looking for a friend. It had been exactly a month ago that Lizzie fell in love with Charlie. The only male to ever capture her heart so completely. Now, he was her constant shadow.

“Later, guys,” Lizzie said to her employees, picking up the box of wine she’d packed. “Call if you need anything.”

Charlie jumped into the back of her Jeep, and Lizzie buckled him into his doggie seatbelt. “You’re such a good boy,” she cooed. She placed the wine on the backseat floorboard and got into the driver’s seat. “Maybe Kate and Adam will bring Duke and Luna to dinner. Would you like that?”

Kate was another sister who’d married recently. Although, there was no longer any point in differentiating sisters by whether they were married. As of last month, all four had tied the knot. Lizzie remained the lone single Parker sister—the last woman standing. Her mother didn’t pressure her overtly, but Lizzie knew she worried. Her being thirty and all.

Thankfully, her siblings had gotten straight down to business producing grandkids—three in the past six months—which took some heat off Lizzie’s singleness.

She pulled up to her parents’ mini-mansion. Judging by the cars in the driveway, she was the last to arrive. Damn it. That meant all the good hors d’oeuvres were gone. She grabbed the wine and encouraged Charlie to pee in the front grass before heading inside.

Every Sunday was the same. Lizzie’s sisters, their husbands and babies, her nana, and now her cousin Bella, gathered ’round a burgeoning table and stuffed their faces with whatever deliciousness her mother made. With the exponential growth of the family, and to take some of the burden off their mom, they’d converted to a semi-potluck-style dinner.

“I’m here,” Lizzie called out, hoisting a box of wine bottles. “Party can start now.” As a bar owner, her standing potluck contribution was the booze.

Nana, wearing a T-shirt that read, “I want the job where I push scared skydivers out of the plane,” appeared from nowhere, holding a wine glass. “Finally,” she said. “Whatcha got?”

“Two reds, two whites, and a rosé,” Lizzie said. “Pick your poison.”

“Five bottles? You do realize three of us are nursing, right?” Kate said, hoisting a pink bundle to her shoulder.

“Hard not to notice,” Lizzie said. “It’s like a Hooters in here. That’s why I didn’t bring a twelve count.”

Kate thought for a second. “Touché,” she said before gliding away in three-inch heels. Not even a five-month-old baby and a casual family dinner, could push that woman into a pair of flats.

Ever the hostess, Lizzie’s mom had set up two playpens in the living room to house the little ones. Most of the time, it was unnecessary. Too many arms waited, ready and willing, to be filled with a soft, sweet-smelling slice of heaven. Lizzie’s two nieces and one nephew—all under six months old—were passed around like footballs on Super Bowl Sunday. The actual meal was the rare occasion they were banned to playpen jail. Eating was serious business for the Parkers and required both hands free.

Once everyone had their food and drink, they settled in at the table, and the battle was on. Lizzie’s father called it conversation combat—everyone talking at once, over, under, and around each other. If you had something important to say, you had to come armed for a fight.

“Lizzie,” her mother said. “You bringing anyone to Thanksgiving dinner?”

“Oh,” Lizzie said. “Probably not. Andy had to be let go this afternoon, so my slate’s clean.”

“Let go…” Emma chuckled.

“You make him sound like an employee instead of a boyfriend. What’d this one do?” her dad asked. That opened a can of all the wacky reasons she’d ever broken up with a guy.

“Coughed or yawned too loud?” Kate guessed. “I think you dumped one of each.”

“Bad breath?” Emma’s husband, Dirk, said. “Bad driver? Bad kisser?”

“Sewed his own clothes?” Lucy said. “That guy was awesome.”

“Only ate foods that were green?” Adam said.

“We really gonna do this?” Lizzie asked.

“Thought Stevie Nicks was a man?” Lucy’s husband, Jack, asked, ignoring Lizzie completely.

“Doesn’t know all the words to ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’?” Daisy asked.

“Wouldn’t sneeze in front of anyone?” her mom said.

“I guess we are doing this,” Lizzie mumbled.

“Mistook your dog for a horse?” Daisy’s brand-new husband, Noah said.

“Never mind,” her dad said. “Sorry I asked.”

“I think they’re making fun of you, Lizzie,” Nana said. “Not sure if you caught that.”

“Yes. Thank you, Nana,” Lizzie said, rolling her eyes. “Y’all are hilarious. And wrong. He wanted me to meet his parents. After two dates. He also gave mention to my shriveling ovaries.”

A collective gasp of indignation flared around the table. “What?” “No way.” “Rude.” “Men!” “Oh, dear.” “Idiot.” “He did not say that.”

“Fine. Maybe not those exact words,” Lizzie admitted. “But that was the gist. He brought up my age.”

“Oh. So there’s a body in your trunk?” Daisy asked.

“We can bury it after dinner,” Nana said. “Once it’s dark.”

“And the babies are sleeping,” Emma added. Bella giggled.

“I’m the mayor,” Lizzie’s dad said. “Nobody’s burying a body.”

“He’s right,” Lizzie’s mom said. “We’ll dump it in the river like civilized people.”

Lizzie bit her lip to fight a smile. “We have derailed, y’all.”

“Geez. How many guys have you broken up with?” Lizzie’s cousin Bella asked.

“A few,” Lizzie said at the same time Lucy said, “Countless.” She shot her twin a dirty look.

“Oh. Remember that guy who carried a lucky rabbit’s foot everywhere?” Emma said.

“That was an employee I fired, not a boyfriend,” Lizzie said defensively. “And he was frickin’ weird. One day, he forgot the thing and had to go home for it before he would start his shift.”

“Can you wash something like that?” Kate asked. “I mean, if he’s rubbing it all the time and it never gets cleaned…”

“Wasn’t so lucky the day you fired him,” Noah said, and Daisy snickered.

“Any…way…” Lizzie said, dragging out the word. “Surely someone has something else on the docket. Bella? How about you? How’s the new school? You making friends?”

Seventeen-year-old Bella, recently orphaned, had come to live with Lizzie’s parents. Moving from Charlotte to New Bern meant starting from scratch at a brand-new high school.

“Pretty good, I guess,” Bella said, shrugging. “I made the varsity basketball team and met this girl, Maya. She’s pretty cool.”

Lizzie wondered if the thick, black eyeliner and over-sullen attitude had anything to do with her new friend. Or maybe the mourning of her father, who’d died of a heart attack less than six months ago. Either way, Lizzie wouldn’t judge. First, because she’d gone through a similar phase—some might argue she was still in it—and second, Bella had had a rough go the last few months and deserved some slack.

“That’s wonderful,” Kate said. “I’m sure it will get easier the longer you’re there.” Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Speaking of that,” Lizzie’s mom said. “Mark your calendars for Bella’s first game. It’s on Friday, and it would be great if y’all could come to support her.”

Everyone agreed to make it work.

“Kate, any update on selling The Drop?” Lizzie asked. Kate was a real estate agent, working to sell Lizzie’s bar so she could move to Parker Place—the informal name they’d given the strip mall Adam purchased a couple of years ago. Parker Place had five storefronts, and Adam was remodeling them to spec for Lizzie and her sisters. Everyone but Lizzie had already moved.

“Not great,” Kate said. “Commercial real estate is a different beast than residential. The market’s way smaller.”

Lizzie had been anxious about starting the remodel and planning a move before selling the old place, but something had to give. The Drop had been on the market for a year without so much as a bite, and she felt bad leaving Adam with an empty space at his mall.

“Daisy,” Lizzie turned to her sister. “I thought you said moving to the new place would ‘tell the universe’ I was ready to move, and The Drop would sell accordingly.”

Daisy shrugged. “There are still a few weeks until the grand opening, and the universe works in mysterious ways.”

Lizzie rolled her eyes. “I never would have committed to the remodel so soon if I knew The Drop was gonna take forever to unload.”

“Worse comes to worst, just do what I did and run both,” Lucy said. Lucy and Lizzie had been neighbors on Main Street for years. Lucy owned a coffee shop called The Drip directly across from Lizzie’s bar. She’d kept that one running even after opening the new store, which she named The Drip 2.0.

“Emma, how long could I do that?” Lizzie asked. Emma was an accountant and handled Lizzie’s books.

“Well, since you paid off The Drop and there’s no mortgage on it, you could easily run both for a few months,” Emma said. “After that, it’ll depend on what kind of revenue hit The Drop takes and how well The Tipsy Twist is doing.”

“The market for coffee is bigger than booze,” Lizzie said. “I have a feeling the Main Street crowd will just move to the new bar.”

“Especially since it’ll be so much easier to park,” Kate said.

“Yeah, the patio and pool tables will be a draw too,” Dirk added.

“Well, for now, I won’t have a choice,” Lizzie said. “I’ll have to operate both until Kate sells this thing. You got three weeks. Get after it, woman.” Kate gave a smart salute.

In the back of her mind, Lizzie had already prepared for this contingency and had interviews lined up to hire a new crew. She’d even picked out who among her current staff she trusted to run The Drop while she opened The Tipsy Twist. Things would work out. They always did.

Sophie Parker did not allow electronic devices at her dinner table. So, after dinner, everyone made a mad rush to the wicker basket that held phones. Lizzie checked for messages. The only new one was from Andy, apologizing and asking for another chance.

Lizzie hit delete without replying. He might not know it yet, but she’d done him a favor. He was better off without her.