Page 33 of Betting on Lizzie

When he returned to the condo, Maya was on the phone. After she hung up, she asked if she could go to UNC with Bella and her aunt and uncle the following weekend.

“What about UT?”

“It’s still in the running, but it won’t hurt to check out other options too. Plus, it just sounds like a fun trip.”

“You’re supposed to be grounded.”

“Maybe you could make a tiny exception?” She batted her eyelashes and stuck her lips out to pout.

“Don’t give me that puppy dog eye routine.”

“Please, Daddy.”

“Daddy?” She hadn’t called him that in years. “You’re pulling out the big guns.”

He could tell she really wanted to go, and if he let her, she wouldn’t find out about his date with Lizzie. It was selfish, and bad parenting to grant clemency regarding her punishment, but what the hell?

“All right,” he said.

She jumped up, squealing, and ran to hug him. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

Now, he had to figure out where to take Lizzie. The woman who’d been on more first dates this year than he’d been on in twenty. No pressure.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The grand opening of The Tipsy Twist could not have come at a better time. Without a job, Lizzie had been dying of boredom for the last few weeks. It had been a week since Ben asked her out, but she hadn’t heard from him. She’d invited him to stop by tonight and wondered if he would.

Kate and her mom had done a fabulous job planning the party. They’d only been open thirty minutes, and already the place was packed. Lizzie stood with Lucy and Jack, admiring Adam’s handy work.

“I love the openness,” Lucy said. “The high ceilings make such a difference, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” Lizzie agreed. “The whole vibe is awesome.” Music played from the overhead sound system, and people were lined up to shoot pool and play darts. Most of the booths were full, and her bartenders were busy pouring drinks.

“Free booze is one way to have a well-attended opening,” Jack said, sliding his arm around Lucy.

“You get one free,” Lizzie said. “Then you pay.”

“Sure,” Jack said with a wink.

“I’m serious!”

Kate approached, wearing a pained look. “So, um, tiny hiccup,” she said to Lizzie. “Nana’s planning to play her banjo. Wanted you to give you a heads-up and assure you Mom and I had no idea.”

“Didn’t she just start lessons a month ago?” Lucy said. “How good could she be?”

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say not very,” Kate said. “But I’m sure she doesn’t care about that.”

Lizzie sighed and shook her head. “Tell her to wait until people have had a couple of drinks. If they’re buzzed, maybe they’ll think it’s funny. And she gets one song. That’s it.”

“How could she know any more than that?” Jack said.

Kate left to break the news. Nana always had something going on, some new hobby or interest. Rumor had it she’d taken up acrylic painting and was doing individual portraits for Christmas presents this year.

Adam replaced Kate in their little circle. “Heard you got the all-clear from the fire department and that insurance money should come in soon.”

“Yeah,” Lizzie said. “We need to talk about that. Can your crew handle the rebuild of the old bar?”

“You bet. In fact, now that we’re finished here, we can move right over to it. Have you decided what you want done?”

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