Read One Lucky Deal for Free Online Page A

everyone had a television.” Tad pointed to their television. “We have a TV. Big. Flat screen. Crisp hi-def. Perfect color. Right here. Staring us in the face, and you want to listen to the game?”
    “I’m feeling nostalgic.” What she really felt was a little unnerved by how easily they sank into this whole hand-holding thing. She was nervous for what was to come after this.
    “Okay, crazy lady, do you want some popcorn?” Tad lifted Sasha’s furry head, slid out from beneath her, and headed toward the kitchen.
    “Yes,” she called after him. “And a bottled water. Please?” Candace decided to get up and let the dogs out to the backyard for awhile since Zeke was just pacing around the living room. She whistled and sent them all out the back door.
    She heard Tad’s phone ring. She heard him answer. “Hey.” It was more than a hey. It was a bedroom hey—a sexy hey—it was an I-was-just-thinking-about-you-naked hey. It propelled Candace to the kitchen to eavesdrop even closer.
    “Who is it?” Candace mouthed. She knew she was being nosy, so helpfully she swooped in to hit the popcorn button on the microwave that Tad was having a hard time locating. He turned away to ignore Candace, and so she dug into the fridge and pulled out her own water bottle.
    “Sure I can.” Tad grinned into the phone.
    “Don’t you dare,” Candace bit out.
    “Okay, Brenda, I’ll see you in awhile.” Tad hung up and then turned to Candace. “What’s your deal?”
    “My deal is that I am not going to wash cars and balance checkbooks, especially Reagan’s, or pick up beer tabs because you can’t keep Tad Jr. in your pants.” Candace crossed her arms over her chest.
    “She locked herself out of her car. She called and asked me for a ride back to her house to grab her spare keys and then back to town to grab her car.”
    “Yeah, just like she called you and had you come over to fix her pipes? I’m sure you fixed her pipes real good.” Candace pulled the steaming, still popping bag of popcorn out of the microwave.
    Taking a step closer, Tad gently pulled open the bag. “I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize us winning this thing.”
    “Except for Brenda.” Candace rolled her eyes.
    “I’m not going to sleep with her.” Tad sighed in exasperation.
    “Then don’t go.” Candace couldn’t believe how close to begging that sounded.
    Tad looked down at her with those serious gray-green eyes and said, “I’d do the same for you.”
    “But I’m different.”
    “Yeah. You are.”
    “I meant in a good way.” Candace frowned.
    “I know. So did I,” Tad said at the same time a knock sounded at the front door. The dogs erupted into barks from the backyard. In a huff, Candace handed the bag of popcorn over and went to answer the door.
    “Hello.” Reagan was already strolling inside.
    “Hey.” Candace stepped aside to allow Reagan to fully come into the house. “Popcorn?”
    “No, I just came by to give you guys the next mini-challenge, should you choose to accept it.” Reagan smiled at them, and neither of them smiled back.
    “Sure, what is it?” Tad asked, hands on his hips.
    “Dating.” They both shot Reagan a strange look. “Each other,” she clarified. “You have to date each other. Both of you must plan and execute one date.”
    “Okay.” Candace shrugged. “That’ll be easy.”
    “Yeah, but here’s the clincher; you have to run it by us first. Because we’re not allowing certain things to count as a date,” Reagan explained.
    “Like what?” Tad asked, stretching a hand out and leaning against the wall. His shirt rode up and exposed just how loose and low his pants were sitting on his hips.
    “Like paintball is off-limits.” Candace opened her mouth to object, and Reagan held her hand up to stop her. “Off-limits,” Reagan said again. “Along with laser tag, bowling, baseball, and Lucky’s.”
    Candace frowned. There went all of her good ideas.
    “Okay,” Tad