Turnabout's Fair Play by Kaye Dacus Read Free Book Online Page A

back, releasing Zarah and joining in with Zarah’s and Caylor’s chuckles. Flannery wiped the tears from her face with the backs of her hands. At least Jack wasn’t here to do his I-told-you-so dance.
    “I don’t know where you’ve gotten the idea that you’re losing either of us, just because we’re getting married—wait, yes, I do.” Caylor cut Flannery off before she could interrupt. “It’s because of your sisters. But come on. Think about what we’ve been through and done together over the years. Friendship like that doesn’t go away.”
    Flannery shrugged. “I guess.”
    “You guess?” Caylor scoffed, and even Zarah smiled. “Who else would, in their thirties, take a day off work, have a sleepover, and stay up all night so that they could watch a royal wedding together at five o’clock in the morning?”
    “Or what about that trip to Gatlinburg last month?” Zarah raised her brows. “Who else but us would put up with your being on the phone the entire tour of Cade’s Cove?”
    A snort escaped before Flannery could stop it. “Caylor, you’re a romance novelist. You would have stayed up—or gotten up—to watch the royal wedding. You just talked us into doing it with you so that you wouldn’t feel like such a nerd. And about the phone thing…I’m trying to get better. You notice I haven’t been on it all night, except when we were coordinating our meet-ups downtown with the other girls.”
    “You know what the solution to your problem is, don’t you?” Caylor looked down at her fingernails.
    Flannery was pretty sure she knew what her lifelong friend was going to say—and certain she wasn’t going to like it. “What’s that? Chocolate? Sushi? Chocolate sushi?”
    The left side of Caylor’s broad mouth quirked up in an expression that was more familiar to Flannery than one of her own from a lifetime of knowing her. “No—let us help you find a guy. You know, Dylan does have three brothers….”
    Flannery snorted. “ Younger brothers. I’m not interested in being a cradle robber like you, thank you very much.” Although Dylan’s brother Spencer was quite handsome—but there was that pesky eleven-year age difference. Besides, she’d already determined: no good-looking men. Ever.
    “Hey, you never know till you try it.” Thank goodness Caylor, a year older than Flannery at thirty-five, had gotten over her issue with the seven-year age gap between her and Dylan. Much as Flannery hated to admit it, Caylor and Dylan were perfect for each other.
    “It’s only fair that you let us try to find you someone—after what you put me through last year trying to set me up with someone.” Zarah poked Flannery’s knee and then hid a yawn behind her hand.
    “If I recall, I only managed to match you up with one or two guys—and nothing ever came of those.” But if she read the expressions on her friends’ faces correctly, they weren’t going to let go of this idea anytime soon. “Oh, all right. I’ll do it. But I reserve the right to veto any of them I don’t think I’ll like.”
    Caylor and Zarah exchanged an exasperated look.
    “One condition to the veto exception.” Caylor crossed her arms.
    Flannery turned and matched her position. “What’s that?”
    “That you agree to go out with Dylan’s brother Pax. You’re always insisting that geeky scientist guys are more your type—and he fits the bill perfectly, in addition to being cute. And I don’t want to hear about the age difference. As you once said, using his age as a reason not to go out with him is just an excuse. And you’re not getting any younger, you know. So tick-tock , honey.”
    The reference to her age infuriated Flannery. How dare Caylor use Flannery’s own words—spoken when trying to get Caylor to admit she had feelings for Dylan a few months ago—against her?
    Caylor extended her right hand across Zarah toward Flannery. “Deal?”
    Flannery narrowed her eyes, chewing the inside of her cheek. Go out