She considered it a moment, then said, “Yeah, actually. It is. Because I think you’re too chicken to go through with dating someone you met online.”
“I’ll have you know that I was working on my profile just last night.” I’d been scanning some of my new matches before Bennett had interrupted.
“Before or after the ‘baking’?”
I resented those air quotes. “It wasjustbaking. It will only ever be baking with Bennett. He doesn’t look at me like that.”
“You sure?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous.” I grabbed my phone and navigated to the LoveBirds app. “Ooh. I have some matches.”
“Let’s see what we’re working with,” she said, pulling up a chair next to me. I scrolled through the men I’d been paired with.
One of the messages was…wow. “Delete.”
“Just ignore that,” she said, probably afraid I’d become rattled by the lewd offer to be my sugar daddy.
The next one prompted me to immediately click on the “X” button. All his images were of partying and beer pong, and just no. “Too immature.”
“Ooh, what about him?” she asked, pointing at the screen. “He looks promising.”
I opened the profile. He was handsome enough, though he wasn’t as tall as Bennett.Why are you comparing him to Bennett?
“I guess,” I sighed. Something about him just…well… I didn’t feel excited.
“Why don’t you leave him for now and check out the other match? Always good to keep your options open.”
“Good idea.”
I navigated to the third match. Bob was handsome. Worked in IT, mostly telework. No kids. Never married. Enjoyed golfing. He seemed…stable. Safe. A good place to dip my toes in the online dating waters.
Even so, I wasn’t particularly excited about the idea of going on a date. I didn’t know if it was because of my previous experience or all the time I’d been spending with Bennett, but I knew better than to dissect it.
“He looks promising!” I could feel Harper watching me. When I didn’t answer, she said, “Wren?”
“Well, maybe…” I hedged, though he really was handsome. He volunteered to read to hospice patients, for crying out loud.
“Come on. You said yourself you’re tired of being alone. Maybe it’ll work out, maybe it won’t. But you won’t know unless you try.”
She was right. I knew she was right. So, I hit “Accept” just as the hair and makeup team from Mane Street arrived. A second earlier, and I might not have pulled the trigger on the date with Bob.
“You going to join me today?” Harper asked, standing to greet them.
I shook my head. No freaking way.
The morning picked up after that. Harper was busy with the shoot, and I stayed out in the main room working on edits. When no one was around, I checked out Bob’s LoveBirds profile. He’d sent me a message and he seemed polite, but I didn’t feel fireworks. I told myself to give him a chance. To meet him in person. Honestly, what did I expect from a picture on a screen and a few paragraphs about his life?
The rest of the day passed quickly, and by the time I arrived at my parents’ house, Bob and I were trying to nail down a date and time to meet.
I opened the door and called out, “Hello!”
No one answered, so I called again, listening. I heard some laughter coming from the backyard, so I headed out there to see where everyone was. I found River and my mom sitting next to a mirror on the ground, covering it with shaving cream.
“What are you guys up to?” I asked, crossing the back patio to join them.
“Hi, Mom!” River grinned up at me. “Grandma and I are painting clouds. Come. Come.” He beckoned me to join them then proceeded to give an impressive explanation about the different types of clouds. Today, the sky was filled with cirrocumulus, and he’d use the mirror to paint them and whatever other formations he wanted. At the moment, he was leaning over and giving his reflection a beard that looked remarkably similar to Bennett’s.
What was with me and Bennett? I couldn’t seem to escape thoughts of him, even in the most mundane of things.
