Read Bet Me for Free Online Page A

Boring.
    "Well, your friend isn't exactly Prince Charming," Bonnie said, giving him her best fluttery smile.
    He beamed back down at her. "Neither am I. Is that okay?"
    Oh, come on
, Liza thought, and caught Tony-the-bullethead's eye.
    "He means it," Tony said. "Roger has no line."
    "After the chaos theory debacle, that's a plus," Liza said.
    "Poor baby," Bonnie was saying as she put her hand on Roger's sleeve. "Of course, that's okay. I'm Bonnie."
    Roger looked down at her with naked adoration. "I'm Roger, and you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life."
    Bonnie's smile widened, and she moved closer to him.
    "Which doesn't mean he's bad with women," Tony said, sounding bemused.
    "I begin to see his appeal." Liza turned back to Tony. "What's yours?"
    "I'm great in bed," Tony said.
    "Right," Liza said. "You're hopeless, but you can buy me a drink and tell me all about yourself. And your friends."
    "Anything you want," Tony said, and waved to the curly-headed bartender. When she came down the bar, he said, "Hey, Shanna, you playing on my side of the street yet?"
    The bartender shook her head. "No, but when I do, you'll be the last to know."
    "Just so I'm somewhere on the list," Tony said. "Shanna, this is Liza. We need refills all around here."
    "You know him?" Liza said to Shanna.
    "He hangs out with my next-door neighbor," Shanna said. "I get him by default because of
Cal
."
    "
Cal
?" Liza said, and thought,
Damn, I could have just asked the bartender about him without picking up this yahoo. Well, later for her
.
    "You don't want to know about
Cal
," Tony was saying. "He's no good. Women should stay far away from him."
    Shanna rolled her eyes and moved away.
    "That's interesting," Liza said, smiling at him. "Tell me all about
Cal
and why he's no good."
    "I lied. He's great," Tony said. "We met in summer school—"
    "You went to high school together?" Liza said, taken aback.
    "We went to third grade together," Tony said. "Although why you think this is interesting—"
    "I want to know everything about you, sugar," Liza said. "I find you fascinating."
    Tony nodded, accepting this as fact. "I was born—"
    "You and
your friends"
Liza said. "So you and Roger and
Cal
—"
    Tony began to talk, while behind her, she heard Bonnie say, "You know my mama would like you," and Roger answer, "I'd love to meet your mother."
    Liza jerked her head toward Roger. "Does he say that to every woman?"
    "What?" Tony said, startled out of his story about being a football star in the third grade.
    "Never mind," Liza said. "Let's fast forward to puberty. You and Roger and
Cal
..."
    Cal watched the shock on Min's face as she caught the full force of Emilio's for the first time, seeing his favorite restaurant in all its funky glory, the wrought-iron chandeliers with the amber flame bulbs, the old black and white photos on the walls, the red and white checked tablecloths on the square tables, the candles in the beat-up Chianti bottles, the hand-lettered menus and mismatched silver. He waited for her lip to curl and then realized it couldn't because her mouth had fallen open. Well, she deserved it for being such a pain in the—
    "This is
great,'''
she said, and started to laugh. "My God, how did somebody like you ever find this place?"
    "What do you mean, somebody like me?"
Cal
said.
    She walked over to look at the photos of Emilio's family for the past eighty years. "Where did they get this stuff?" She smiled, her soft lips parted and her dark eyes alight, and then Emilio came up behind him.
    "Ah, Mr. Morrisey," Emilio said, and
Cal
turned to meet his old roommate's glare. "How excellent to see you again."
    "Emilio,"
Cal
said. "This is Min Dobbs." He turned back to Min. "Emilio makes the best bread in town."
    "I'm sure you make the best everything, Emilio," Min said, offering him her hand. She looked up at him from under her lashes, and her wide smile quirked wickedly.
    Emilio cheered up, and
Cal
thought,
Hey, why didn't I get