Can't Stand the Heat by Shelly Ellis

newspaper with the article about the rich ex-NFL player. She now glanced at the article as she drove past several cookie-cutter houses with the same impressive facades and perfect lawns. The newspaper was folded in the passenger seat near her purse and a brightly colored gift bag.
    Their mother was right: If any of the Gibbons girls managed to snag Weaver, that would definitely be a major coup. But competition for such a guy would be stiff. At least Lauren was dropping out of the contest, though that wasn’t a surprise. She hadn’t chased after anyone since her ugly breakup with James. But it looked like Cynthia wasn’t backing down. She already had her boxing gloves on and was ready to come out swinging, taking out any woman who even bothered to look Weaver’s way.
    Stephanie pulled into a concrete driveway, turned off the engine, grabbed the newspaper, and looked down at Weaver’s photograph.
    Hmm, cute , she thought. But was he worth the battle?
    Weaver certainly was, on paper, but Stephanie didn’t know if she was up to challenging Cynthia. Their eldest sister had always ranked as Queen Bee in their family, and knowing Cynthia, that schemer was already drawing up plans to woo and win over Weaver in three months flat!
    Nah, Stephanie thought, slowly shaking her head and tossing the newspaper aside. She’d let Cynthia have a go at Weaver first. Then—if her sister crashed and burned—Stephanie would give him a try. It was only fair and part of the family’s rules of conduct. Cynthia couldn’t argue with that.
    Stephanie flipped down her visor and examined her reflection, making sure everything looked perfect.
    â€œNot a hair out of place,” Stephanie said, whispering Grandmother Althea’s mantra, “not a frown on your face.”
    She flipped up her visor, pasted on a smile, and opened her car door.
    A trail of people slowly made their way up the brick pathway to the front door of the Tudor-style home. A very pregnant Tisha Baylor stood in the doorway, greeting everyone. The instant she saw Stephanie, the pretty, dark-skinned woman smiled.
    â€œHey, girl!” Tisha shouted as Stephanie strode toward her in her stilettos, carrying the oversized gift bag.
    â€œHow are you?” Stephanie embraced Tisha and lightly kissed her cheek. She handed the gift bag to her. “Just a little something!”
    â€œOh, thank you! You shouldn’t have!”
    Stephanie looked around the impressively decorated foyer. “Honey, I just love your home!”
    â€œYou should! You sold it to us!”
    Stephanie tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled. “I did, didn’t I? Well, I guess that means it is fabulous, then!”
    The girls in the Gibbons family might be avid gold diggers, but that didn’t mean they didn’t believe in also having a backup plan. They all had their own careers. Some even had their own businesses. Lauren was a chef, Cynthia was the director of the local historical society, Dawn was an art gallery director, and Stephanie was a real-estate agent—one of the top agents in Chesterton.
    Stephanie had helped the Baylor family purchase their house less than a month ago. The couple had been looking for a larger home now that they were going to have their second child and had hired Stephanie as their agent. The Baylors hadn’t been easy to please; they had very specific, high-end tastes and had nitpicked over every detail. But it took her less than four months to find and close on the sweeping three-story house in which they were now settled. Stephanie heard the baby room was already painted a tasteful pale pink in honor of the little girl they planned to have in July. Today they were holding a house blessing for their new home and had invited Stephanie, among many other guests, to the event.
    Tisha grinned and ushered Stephanie inside. “Go introduce yourself to everyone! We’re serving hors d’oeuvres in the