Read Online Sweet Dreams on Center Street by Sheila Roberts - Free Book Online

“Listen,” she began.
    Bailey cut her off. “I know you think nobody can run the
company like you, but we’re all pretty creative.”
    There was no denying that. Samantha looked at the shredded
nails on her left hand and decided manicures were overrated.
    â€œI’m calling Cec,” Bailey said decisively. “I’ll go over to her
place tonight and we’ll Skype you at Mom’s at seven.”
    By seven all Samantha wanted was to be in her condo, escaping
into a computer game or a movie on TV with Nibs curled up in her lap. “I don’t
think—” she began.
    â€œCome on now, don’t balk. Let’s at least give it a try.”
    Her baby sister would stay on the phone and harass her until
she caved. Might as well cave now and be done with it, she told herself. “All
right. Seven tonight.”
    â€œGood,” Bailey said in a tone of voice that sounded as though
they’d already accomplished something.
    * * *
    Cecily stared in surprise at the buxom blonde in the
low-cut top and overdone jewelry sitting on the other side of her desk, hardly
able to believe what she was hearing. Liza and Brad should have been a perfect
match. He wanted a woman with boobs the size of life rafts and she wanted a man
with a deep well of money to support her Rodeo Drive spending habit. Brad not
only had money, he was good-looking to boot, another requirement of Liza’s, and
now Liza was saying she didn’t want to see him again? Seriously?
    â€œSo you didn’t hit it off?” Cecily asked.
    â€œWe should have. He took me to Melisse, and the food was to die
for. We both love great food.”
    â€œCommon interests are important,” Cecily said. They could have
happily eaten their way through life while Liza ate her way through Brad’s bank
account.
    â€œThen he said he liked my hair.”
    â€œCompliments, that’s good.”
    Liza made a face. “Oh, yeah? Not when he says it’s the same
color as his mother’s hair and then he starts talking about her .”
    â€œMaybe he thought you’d like his mother?”
    â€œNot by the time he was done. I swear it was like there were
three of us on that date. And she lives with him. He’s forty and he lives with
his mother? Sheesh. I can’t believe you don’t screen your guys better.”
    â€œWell…” Cecily stumbled to a halt. She wasn’t even sure what to
say to that. She didn’t have a place on her forms to check off mama’s boy . “I’m sorry, Liza. I thought he’d be
perfect.”
    â€œWell, he wasn’t. You’ve got to do
better.”
    That might not be so easy, considering the fact that Liza had
tried to sucker the last two guys she’d gone out with into taking her shopping
on the second date. “I’ll try,” Cecily said. “But you have to remember not to
ask these guys to buy clothes for you when you’ve barely started dating them. It
makes them think that’s all you want out of the relationship.”
    Liza scowled at her. “Of course that’s not all I want. What do
I look like, a hooker?”
    Actually, yes, and not a very high-class one. “No, no,” Cecily
said quickly. “Don’t worry. We’ll find your perfect match.”
    â€œI hope so. I mean, I could go to
someone else, you know.”
    The Millionaire Matchmaker on TV?
Cecily smiled the diplomatic smile that had always stood her in good stead. “Of
course, I want you to be happy.” The rest of that sentence should have gone
something like, “And I’m going to do everything in my power to find the perfect
guy for you.” But the rest of the sentence never got out of her mouth. Instead,
she discovered she had an evil twin, and the evil twin said, “So if that’s how
you feel, then you should trot those Jimmy Choos somewhere else and see if they
can find you a man who’s into gold