The Balance Thing Read Online Free Page B

chugging the rest of the bubbly. It gave me time to recover.
    â€œWait a minute.” I turned to Vida. “If this guy Sean is so perfect, why don’t you go out with him?”
    â€œBecks, it’s not like there’s one man who’s perfect for everyone. He’s so not perfect for me. But he was completely perfect for you.” She sighed and looked at herself critically in the mirror. “Besides, he’s one of the huge number of men who don’t seem to realize I’m a woman.”
    â€œYou’re not.” Connie’s matter-of-fact statement came from somewhere behind a rack of white silk stilettos. “You’re one of the guys.” She reappeared holding a Manolo Blahnik with a completely unreasonable heel. “But we’re not talking about you. I’m the bride and therefore the rightful center of attention.”
    Vida and I performed synchronized eye rolls.
    â€œHang on,” I said, “you can’t just blast me like this and then change the subject. Do you guys really think my radar’s that off?”
    Connie gave a martyred sigh and sat down. “Fine, but I don’t have the time for you to fight me on this,” she said. “Your only problem is that you’re date lazy.”
    Oh God. Had she been cruising the self-help aisle at Barnes & Noble again? “What does that mean?”
    â€œDate lazy,” she explained. “It means you don’t put any effort or thought into who you date.”
    â€œI do too!” I protested. “I have a whole list of rules.” I began counting them off. “Don’t date a guy who wears more jewelry than me, don’t date a guy who uses party as a verb, don’t date a Taurus because they’re emotionally unavailable—”
    â€œBecks, that’s not what she’s talking about,” Vida cut off my recitation, which could have gone on much longer. “What she means is you don’t ever go out with a guy you totally want to go out with.”
    â€œOf course I do.”
    Connie snorted. “You’re never the one who chooses. You date the guys who approach you, instead of making the effort of finding someone you really want.”
    â€œExactly.” Vida nodded. “You’re date lazy.”
    â€œI am not,” I said firmly. “I just have better things to do than troll bars looking for some mythical Prince Charming.”
    â€œWe’re not talking about bars, and we’re not talking about Prince Charming. We’re just talking about opening your eyes a little bit and looking around at the men you meet. Geez, it’s like some guy has to conk you over the head and say ‘please go out with me’ before you even think of him as a prospect. And then what do you do? You consult your stupid list of rules, and if he gets a passing grade, you go out with him. Do you stop to ask yourself if you’re even interested in him? No! And so of course you end up turning into a total bitch and dumping him six weeks later because you shouldn’t have been going out with him in the first place!” Vida sank onto a nearby couch looking exhausted.
    â€œGosh, Vee, tell me what you really think.”
    â€œWe just want you to be happy, Becks,” Connie said. “Like me.” She gave the Manolo a critical eye, then dropped it with a look of distaste.
    I almost said something about how I didn’t know if it was realistic to rely on some guy to make me happy, but I didn’t want to get yelled at anymore. Besides, Bridal Elegance was hardly the venue for that conversation.
    â€œYou just need to think about it a little bit,” Vida suggested. “For God’s sake, you have a point-by-point plan for every other aspect of your life, why don’t you come up with a man plan?”
    â€œA man plan.” I nodded. “Right. And then I’ll make a wish on the evening star, and before you know it, he’ll ride