Red Tape by Michele Lynn Seigfried Read Free Book Online Page B

date. I wanted a father for my child. And since I seriously doubted he was ready to settle down with a new baby at the moment, I was S. O. L.
    “If you don’t like him, then why do you keep trying to get me to go out on a date with him?” I asked her.
    “I’d simply like to see you get out and enjoy yourself. You are such a great person and I know that what your ex did to you was terrible. You have a full-time job and a second full-time job raising a baby on your own. You deserve some fun. Besides, people don’t usually get serious with their rebounds anyway. I never thought you should get into a relationship with him. He doesn’t strike me as the relationship type. He’s more of a heartbreaker type. I just think you should do him.”
    “Seriously, Bonnie? I should do him? That’s not quite my style.”
    “To each their own, but wouldn’t it be nice to get all dressed up, eat a little dinner, sip a little wine, and have someone dote on you for one evening?”
    I imagined that would have been nice. It would probably be smart for me to take baby steps with someone new instead of jumping right in to a relationship. I wasn’t crazy about the idea of dating someone from work. Everyone would have talked about us. I would have been embarrassed. Well, not as embarrassed as I was earlier with my leaky ladies, I supposed.
    I was becoming very torn about Officer Williams. I wasn’t sure I’d have anything to talk to him about. While I did like the idea of getting out for an evening with a hunk of a guy, I think I liked the fantasy that I had drawn up in my head more than the reality of actually going on a real date. I doubted he’d ask me anyway, which was good. It meant that I wouldn’t have to make any decisions about him.
    “I wouldn’t have anything to wear,” I told her.
    “I’ll take you out shopping. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you could use a makeover. Plus, I feel bad about the little problem you had with your ta-tas. You deserve something nice.”
    “Fine. I’ll ask my parents to watch the baby on Saturday. I realize I’m a mess.”
    “You are a mess, but I’ll fix that.”
     
    * * *
     
    Saturday couldn’t have come quickly enough for me. I dropped the baby off in the morning and headed over to Bonnie’s Taj Mahal beachfront home. Her house was pale pink this week.
    “Did you change the siding since I was here last? I thought your house was yellow. I almost drove right past it.”
    “I got sick of yellow. My husband hates the pink, but it reminds me of Bermuda’s pink sand.”
    It must be nice to switch your house color on a whim. My house was dark green with burgundy trim. It had been that way forever. I wasn’t sure if that was Uncle Lou’s choice or if Uncle Lou bought it that way. I certainly didn’t have the funds to paint my siding whenever I felt the urge.
    I slid into the cushy charcoal leather seats in Bonnie’s shiny new black Mercedes. She revved the engine, then pulled out of her three-car garage, making a right onto Ocean Avenue. She made a left onto First Street and headed toward the causeway.
    “Where are we going?” I asked.
    “I thought I’d take a ride out to Jackson to the outlets since there are a lot of stores there.”
    “Jackson? We should try that Bratz Restaurant for lunch.”
    Bonnie was game to try a new place to eat. She merged onto Route 195 and headed west toward Jackson. Within thirty minutes, we were pulling into the outlets. She then dragged me from store to store for hours.
    I had to say, Bonnie was a fantastic personal shopper. I should have brought her shopping with me all the time. She had an eye for what would look good on a person’s body. She picked out the perfect pair of jeans to fit my shape. I had sticker shock at first. I usually spend around twenty dollars on a pair of jeans. These were eighty-five dollars. I also got a cute peach halter top to match the jeans on a clearance rack for only five bucks.
    Bonnie wouldn’t let