27 Ways to Find a Boyfriend

by Tapscott, Shari L.

  “You got the cables in the back?” I ask, jerking my chin toward her trunk.

  “Of course I do.”

  “Hop in the cab and turn the engine on when I tell you to.” I act like I’m walking to her car, but I stop, waiting for her to spot the letter.

  She pauses when she sees it and then picks it up and frowns. “Carter?”

  I wait for her to read it, knowing she’s gotten to the important part when her frown deepens to a scowl.

  “What is this?” she demands, shaking the letter at me. “Are you leaving? Is this what you had to think about?”

  Trying not to smile, I step forward. “I don’t know. What do you think?”

  “What do I think about what?”

  “Chicago.”

  “I think it’s really far away.” She tosses the letter onto the cab, looking betrayed. “You’re not actually considering this, are you?”

  “Come with me.”

  “What?” Her eyebrows fly up.

  I pull the ring from my back pocket, as scared as I’ve ever been in my life. Slowly, I sink to one knee. “Addison Kentford…will you marry me?”

  Her mouth drops open, and she stares at me. “What?”

  Nerves make me laugh. “What part are you confused about?”

  “The part where you’re on the ground with a ring.” Her eyes meet mine, and she blinks quickly, looking like she’s trying to chase back tears. “Are you serious?”

  “Well, that depends.” My chest tightens. “Are you planning on turning me down? Cause I could play this off and save a shred of my pride if you are.”

  She barks out a laugh and shakes her head. “It’s a yes—obviously it’s a yes. I’ll marry you.”

  Relief floods me, and I stand, yanking her into my arms. I kiss her, and we laugh. She cries a little; I hold her tighter.

  “We should probably get your truck running,” she finally says.

  “The truck’s fine.”

  She pulls back and narrows her eyes. “What?”

  I shrug, smirking. “The truck is fine.”

  “You played damsel in distress for no good reason?”

  “Well, I figured if it was a good way to find a boyfriend, it might not be a half bad way to get a wife. And look—it worked.”

  Addison shakes her head, but her eyes are bright. “That’s the lamest thing ever,” she says, mimicking my own words back from when Jessa first showed up with her list.

  She wraps her arms around my waist and holds me tight.

  “I need you to do me a favor,” she says after several minutes, her head pressed against my shoulder. “I think we should do this right.”

  I freeze, worried I know exactly what this favor is going to be.

  She pulls back and makes me look at her. “You’re probably not going to like it.”

  Pretty sure I’m not.

  “Carter…”

  She begs me with her pretty green eyes, and I’m a goner. I’ll do whatever she asks.

  “I need you to ask my father.”

  Even that.

  30

  Carter and I decide to go to Dad together—I figure he’ll be less likely to maim Carter if I’m present. You know, maybe. Plus, he needs to hear it from me that I’m moving to Chicago.

  It’s the first time I’ve been back at the shop in months, and I’m terrified. My leg shakes, my hands are clammy, and I feel like I’m going to burst into tears.

  This is ridiculous. I see Dad and Lydia every Sunday; it’s not like this is our first meeting since I quit.

  Carter and I walk into the shop, and it falls silent the moment we’re through the doors. An air compressor runs in the background, but the drills, hammers, and sanders peter out.

  I feel like a black sheep.

  “Hey,” I address the whole shop, awkwardly lifting my hand in greeting and then pushing my sunglasses into my hair.

  “Addison.” Isaac steps forward with a big grin on his face, welcoming me like I’m the prodigal son. He looks like he’s going to pull me in for a hug and then realizes at the last minute that he’s filthy. “It’s good to see you.”

  Technically, we saw him last week when a group of us went bowling, but I don’t bother to bring that up.

  “I thought you took the day off, Carter,” Tad says.

  “I did,” Carter answers, “but we needed to stop by.”

  The rest of the group gathers around, asking me how I’ve been, where I’m working. I answer, but I keep looking at the door that leads to the offices. It’s only a matter of time before Dad comes out to see what the commotion is about.

  I take it all in, reliving my childhood. Though it’s not a particularly pleasant aroma, the smell of the new tires, body filler, and paint brings back a lot of memories—most of them happy.

  “Is Gary in the back?” Carter asks Isaac.

  The guys go quiet once more.

  “He’s in his office,” Isaac says, his tone solemn.

  Nodding, Carter reaches for my hand. It’s now or never.

  As we make our way through the shop, I remind myself this was my idea—that I can’t chicken out now, even if I can hear Chopin’s Funeral March in my head.

  Carter gives my hand a squeeze before he drops it and then knocks on Dad’s office door. Dad grunts from the other side—basically all the welcome you’ll ever get when he’s working on something.

  I look at Carter and take a deep breath.

  We push the door open together and then pause in the doorway, waiting for him to realize it’s the two of us. It’s a little weird to see Dad in his “natural environment.”

  I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed this place.

  Dad narrows his eyes, his gaze flicking from Carter, to me, and then back to Carter again. “Yes?”

  “We need to talk to you, sir,” Carter says.

  For a moment, I think he’s going to turn us away. Then he jerks his head, telling us to get inside. “Close the door behind you.”

  That’s not terrifying at all.

  We do as he asks and take the two seats across from his desk.

  “Well?” He tosses his reading glasses aside. “Are you going to get on with it, or are we going to sit here all afternoon?”

  “I’ve asked Addison to marry me,” Carter says, and to his credit, his voice is steady and sure. “I’d like your blessing.”

  Dad looks down. “Blessing denied.”

  “What?” I breathe, shocked that after all this time he’s still so set against Carter.

  He watches me, an enigmatic expression on his face.

  “Carter,” I say, “please step outside.”

  My fiancé’s eyes widen with surprise, but he does as I ask. Before he goes, he sets his hand on my shoulder, letting me know he’ll be close, and then walks out the door.

  As soon as we’re alone, I turn to my father. “You’ve known Carter for almost twenty years—first as Jessa’s brother and second as your employee. You know he’s a hard worker, true to his word, and faithful to his commitments. Can we be honest? You’re being stubborn. You know he’s been good to me. You know he’s nearly bent over backward these last few months to prove himself to you.”

  Dad meets my eyes, and the side of his mouth twitches in wry amusement. “I had no idea you were this tenacious, Addison.”

  “Well, I am. And I’m marrying him and moving to Chicago, whether you like it or not. But, Daddy, I don’t want it to go like that.”

  “Wait.” He holds up a hand. “Chicago?”

  I sigh, sitting back in my seat and crossing my arms. “Apparently, he’s been sending out resumes. Hilltine Automotive asked him to join their team. He’s supposed to start in March.”

  “He wants to leave?” Dad demands, sounding incredulous.

  “Are you serious?”

  “All right, all right,” Dad relents, rubbing his temples. “I haven’t made it particularly pleasant for him around here.”

  “Why do you hate him so much?” I whisper.r />
  He meets my eyes and frowns. “I don’t hate him.”

  “Why do you hate him with me?”

  Dad opens his mouth like he’s going to say something, and then he shakes his head.

  We sit here, in silence, for the longest time. A snail could ooze across the floor and build a small snail kingdom in the time we’re avoiding each other’s gazes.

  Finally, Dad says, “He’s been good to you?”

  I look over, a seed of hope burrowing in my core. “Yes.”

  “He treats you well?”

  “Yes.”

  He’s relenting; I can feel it. But he needs another nudge, an extra push. Leaning forward, I say, “And, for unknown reasons, he thinks the world of you. Do you have any idea how much it’s killed him that you—his role model, the man he most admires—can’t stand to even look at him?”

  Dad drums his fingers on the desk calendar in front of him. “Well. That’s certainly a point in his favor.”

  I smile and then press my lips together, trying to keep my game face on.

  “Carter!” he suddenly hollers, nearly making me jump out of my chair. “Get in here.”

  Not a second later, Carter steps in the door. Before he even has a chance to sit down, Dad points at him. “You want my blessing? You won’t get it if you drag my daughter to Chicago.”

  Carter nods slowly.

  Dad turns back to me. “And you want me to walk you down the aisle? Then you come back to work, do you understand? Lydia misses you.”

  Lydia—right.

  “I miss her too.”

  He grunts.

  “So…” I say. “Are we good now? Can we put this behind us?”

  He looks torn—he truly does. He’s not happy; he wants us to know he’s not happy…but maybe, just maybe, he realizes that he has to step back with the knowledge that he raised me to be a smart woman who makes sound choices. And Carter, though impossible as it may have seemed a year ago, is a sound choice.

  Dad turns to Carter. “I talked to your sister the other day. Have you truly been fixing up a GTO for Addison in your home garage for the last five years?”

  Carter studies him and then slowly nods. “About that long, yes. It’s finished now.”

  “You had no intention of selling it to her?”

  “No. It was always meant as a gift.”

  Dad shakes his head, thinking awfully hard. He turns to me, and for the first time in months, he smiles. “What color did you paint it?”

  “Midnight blue, with lots of pearl.”

  “I’ll bet it’s sharp.”

  I grin. “It’s out back. You want to see it?”

  He stands, leaving his desk. “Yes, I do.”

  Before he’s out the door, he extends his hand to Carter. Looking as if it pains him, he says, “Welcome to the family.”

  Okay, we still have a long way to go. But this is a significant step.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Dad then clasps Carter’s shoulder, buddy-buddy style, and they walk out the door together. “If you hurt her, I’ll make your death look like an accident.”

  Jessa appears out of Lydia’s office as I’m following them into the shop.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask, startled to find her here.

  She looks just as surprised to see me as I am her. “Carter talked Franklin into buying an old Corvette.”

  “No.”

  “Honest to goodness.” She laughs. “I just scheduled a time to get it restored.”

  Her gaze drifts to Carter and my dad. Her eyes widen with pure shock, and she presses a hand to her chest. “Would you look at that. You three all good now?”

  “We’re getting there.”

  She glances down at my hand, and I think I have a good idea what she’s looking for. When she spots my engagement ring, she squeals and pulls me into a hug. “He finally asked! You said yes! We’re going to be sisters!”

  I laugh at her exuberance, even when every eye in the shop turns to us. Guess it’s not going to be a secret for long.

  “Guess my list worked?” she says, beaming when she lets me go.

  I shoot her a wry look. “I don’t really think the list had much to do with it.”

  “You don’t think so, do you?” She gives me a cat-like smile. “What else would have lit a fire under Carter, so he’d finally make his move?”

  I stare at her for several long minutes. “You did all this on purpose.”

  She laughs. “Of course I did—and aren’t you happy?”

  Carter glances at me over his shoulder, giving me a smile that still makes my stomach flutter.

  “I couldn’t be happier.”

  “Well, guess what. I have news too.”

  And here we go—onto the next thing. I shake my head, wondering what it is this time.

  She sets her hands on her hips. “You’re going to be an aunt.”

  Carter swings around. “What?”

  “You’re pregnant?” I demand. Apparently, they skipped the houseplant and the puppy and went right for babies. I’ll bet Franklin is thrilled.

  “Yes, but it’s all right. I’ve been preparing—there’s all kinds of information online.”

  I close my eyes, trying not to laugh. “Let me guess. You’re making a list?”

  She grins and links her arm through mine. “You know me so well.”

  Epilogue

  We never got around to planting Addison’s front flower beds, but I planned a surprise to make up for that. The night before our wedding, when most guys are living it up at their bachelor parties, I was in the front yard, digging out sod.

  “Why am I wearing a blindfold?” Addison asks from the passenger seat of her GTO. We just got back from the Caribbean, and she hasn’t seen my house—our house now—since before the wedding.

  “If I were willing to tell you, why would I bother with it in the first place?”

  She’s now officially Mrs. Addison Dalton, my wife. We exchanged vows and rings one week ago, under the same flowering pear tree as my sister. It seemed a fitting venue considering it’s where we had our first kiss.

  I grin when I turn the corner and spot the house. Just as I’d hoped, the flowers are in full bloom.

  “I’ll help you out,” I say when I pull the car into the drive.

  She waits for me, extending her hand so I can guide her.

  “Where are we going?” she asks as I steer her toward the front of the street, where she’ll have the best view. “This better not be a new car—I’m still attached to the first.”

  “It’s not a car.” I remove the blindfold. “Okay…look.”

  She gasps when she sees the two flower beds on either side of the drive, both full of peonies in full bloom. They remind me of her, and they always will.

  “They’re beautiful,” she says, and then she turns to me. “When did you do this?”

  “We did this instead of a bachelor party—Isaac whined the whole time.”

  Laughing, she yanks me into a hug. “I love it.”

  “You haven’t seen everything yet.”

  “There’s more?”

  I hope it’s still alive. Please be alive.

  Taking her hand, I lead her forward and kneel, gently pulling back several of the glossy-leaved peony stems. And there, just where I left it, looking alive and healthy is my own special addition to the garden.

  “Is that a Venus fly trap?” Addison demands, leaning down for a closer look.

  “Yep.”

  “You’re insane.” She laughs as she pulls me in for a kiss.

  “You know you want me.”

  Grinning, she nods. “Every day of my life.”

  * * *

  Hi there!

  Thank you so much for reading Addison and Carter’s story! The idea for the book started with an article published in McCall’s magazine back in the fifties, titled 129 Ways to Get a Husband. You’ve probably seen it floating around social media at some point—it was all over for a while.

>   With the vague book idea in my head, I began searching the internet for dating ideas—and wow, there are a lot! I ended up making my own list, drawing inspiration from many different sources, including the article from McCall’s, and 27 Ways to Find a Boyfriend was born.

  If you liked the book, here are some fun extras:

  Signed paperbacks will be available for a limited time. Visit shariltapscott.com for info.

  The song soundtrack for this book is What Ifs by Kane Brown and Lauren Alaina. Listen to it on your favorite music service!

  Follow me on Instagram @shariltapscott. I post book updates, sale announcements, and more. Also, be sure to join my newsletter.

  Also, if you’d take a few moments to leave a review, I would be so grateful. Thank you for reading!

  Wishing you the best,

  Shari

  Also by Shari L. Tapscott

  CONTEMPORARY FICTION

  Glitter and Sparkle Series

  Glitter and Sparkle

  Shine and Shimmer

  Sugar and Spice

  If the Summer Lasted Forever

  Just the Essentials

  27 Ways to Find a Boyfriend

  FANTASY FICTION

  Silver & Orchids

  Moss Forest Orchid

  Greybrow Serpent

  Wildwood Larkwing

  Lily of the Desert

  Fire & Feathers: Novelette Prequel to Moss Forest Orchid

  Eldentimber Series

  Pippa of Lauramore

  Anwen of Primewood

  Seirsha of Errinton

  Rosie of Triblue

  Audette of Brookraven

  Elodie of the Sea

  Grace of Vernow: An Eldentimber Novelette

  Fairy Tale Kingdoms

  The Marquise and Her Cat: A Puss in Boots Retelling

  The Queen of Gold and Straw: A Rumpelstiltskin Retelling