Stone shook his head and gave me a sad look. “Man, you are making this way more difficult than it has to be, which means you should definitely use that certificate. And I’m not just saying that because of Sophie.”
“Bullshit,” Xander coughed in his beer, which earned him a glare and a middle finger from Stone. “Even though he’s totally whipped, he’s not wrong. Let the girls help, and if they can’t, you mama can’t be mad about it, now can she? At least not mad at you.”
And that right there, the most mercenary of all reasons, was what decided things for me. “But a matchmaker feels like giving up, like I’m saying I’m not capable of finding a woman on my own, doesn’t it?”
Oliver laughed. “Hell no. I use my GPS because it does the job more efficiently. Sure, I’d find my way around, eventually, but now I don’t have to because of the maps app.”
“And sports,” Stone added.
“And local babes looking for a good time,” Xander added with an arrogant smile. “Not to mention digital fingerprint scans. Weather. All kinds of other things we let professionals do for us when we could do it for ourselves.”
“Okay, I get the point.” It still felt like giving up, but I was half a beer away from caring, and it was time to turn the conversation to something else. Hell, anything else.
Joss
“You don’t have to look so nervous, Joss.” Kendra smiled at me from her spot perched behind the white reception desk. “This is the first step in finding love.”
Finding love. It sounded so damn hokey when she said it, all beautiful and well put together, but I wanted to believe, so I guess she was good at her job. “I’m more nervous about the trying and failing, than the finding love part.”
Kendra laughed and the sound was husky and sexy, and I was envious. Why couldn’t my laugh sound like that instead of a fourteen year old girl with a case of the nonstop giggles?
“No one has ever died from rejection. Trust me.”
Like she had ever been rejected for anything. Ever. “Not that we know of, anyway.”
Kendra flashed another friendly, yet sympathetic smile as she led me back to a room with a small round table, four matching chairs, and a giant television screen on the wall. “Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
“She doesn’t need luck, she has the Dream Team.” The sound of Olive’s voice startled me and I turned towards the giant screen to see her smiling face, a little bundle of joy in her arms. “Sorry. Hi.”
“Hey Olive. You’re looking good.” And happy, she was practically bursting with happiness.
“You mean exhausted,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “I’m only here to observe, to make sure these girls don’t intimidate the hell out of our new clients.”
I nodded, feeling stronger with Olive’s kind presence in the room, even if it was just virtual. I stood a little taller and felt a bit more confident about taking control of my life. About getting over my stupid crush. My stupid unrequited crush. “I’m ready.”
“See,” Eva said with a wide knowing look at the screen. “She’s ready. And not at all intimidated.”
“I didn’t say that,” I added but they all ignored me.
“Oh, come on Joss. You know us, we don’t bite. We’ll just make you actualize the best possible version of yourself to give you the confidence to find what you’re looking for in love.” Sophie flashed a grin and laid a sympathetic hand on my shoulder, and I couldn’t lie, I relaxed a little.
Only a little, though.
“All right Joss, tell us about why you finally decided to take a chance on Time for Love. And love.” Sophie’s smile was gentle, no prodding, and I let out a quiet breath and nodded, giving myself time to formulate an answer.
“Honestly? I want to fall in love and start that chapter of my life. I want a man who doesn’t mind that I wear jeans or workout clothes on most days. I want him to love me because I’m a jock, not in spite of it. And most of all, I want him to see me. Just me.” Ben couldn’t see beyond that, or maybe he could, and just didn’t like the package. Or the woman. Either way, he was in the past. Firmly in the past.
“That won’t be a problem,” Eva reassured with a sincere smile. “You’re gorgeous, and the rest is just wrapping paper. Fabulous wrapping paper, sure, but it’s not magic. I promise.”
I wasn’t sure I believed that, because fashion had always seemed a little bit magical to me, but before I could say as much, Sophie chimed in. “We’ll get to that in a moment, but why are you really here Joss? You’ve been in town for close to two years and you haven’t dated anyone, at least not publicly. Why now?”