“This is embarrassing.”
“Why is it embarrassing?” Nia asked.
“Because I’m a matchmaker, too. Not like you, of course, but I do this for a living, and I can’t find my own girlfriend,” Becky returned before she sipped her Long Island Iced Tea.
“You don’t have to be in a relationship yourself to be a matchmaker,” Nia suggested.
“No, but it suredoeshurt the brand when you’re single. When a new client asks you about your own relationship, because, surely, you have found one if you’re out there recommending people for them to date and fall in love with, it would be embarrassing to tell them that she dumped me a year ago. I’d lose potential clients that way.”
“So, you’ve been lying?” Nia asked.
“Yes, but it’s a little white lie. I still have our picture on my desk, and I tell them we’ve been together for three years instead of the fact that it was four and that she dumped me before we got to five.”
“How long are you going to keep that up? You host events, too. Cocktails and things like that. Don’t people ask if she’s there or if she will be?”
“Yes. I lie,” she said and finished her drink. “And I’ll just keep lying until I can’t get away with it anymore or until I find someone else.”
“Which brings us to this event,” Nia said and set down her wineglass. “I’ll tell you nothing, because that’s how this works, but when I first suggested you join me for a week and you actually accepted months ago, I wasn’t sure I’d find the right event for you. I think this one is perfect, though.”
“Yet you won’t tell me who you’re trying to set me up with?”
“It doesn’t work like that, and you know it. I getconceptsin my head. It’s shapes, really; that’s the best way I can describe it, that two or three or even four people might get along and pair off in any type of way. Well, I’m using pair off loosely. I’ve had a few throuples leave together and one group of four.”
“I can’t even findonegirlfriend. You think I’m walking out of this thing withthree?”
“No, I expect you to be open. It’s not embarrassing to attend one of these events, have fun, get to know people in all sorts of ways, and maybe leave with a love connection. If you don’t, you still have fun.”
“You mean sex?”
“It’s not a requirement. If you don’t want to have sex with anyone, you don’t have to. I happen to believe that it’s an important part of a romantic relationship for two people who both feel that way, so I like making it so that people can relax and get to that part while they’re also getting to know one another in other ways. That’s all. It’s how I run these things, but I know that sex isn’t everything. For some people, sex isn’t part of their romantic connections at all. So, if people choose to attend this event and decide to relax, be open, and enjoy their time with other women seeking the same, it works for everyone.”
“That’s all?” Becky laughed. “She’s talking about possibly having sex with seven women in a week, and then she says, ‘That’s all.’”
“Only if you want to. You have tried the conventional methods this year. Have any of them worked for you?”
“No,” she said.
“You’re about to turn forty, and you told me you want to settle down in the way you never could with your ex.”
“Yes,” she said.
“Then, I think this week might be fun for you. Now, I have to run. I get there before the rest of you, so I have an early flight, and it sounds like you have some packing to do anyway.”
“I guess so,” Becky said and nodded to the bartender. “Can I get the check, please? I have to pack.”
“Huh?” he asked, confused.
“Just the check,” she said and saw him nod.
CHAPTER 6
Carrie
“I can’t believe I even told you about this.”
“Ican’t believe you can afford it,” her friend, Bradley, said.
“I can’t. I have credit cards, though.”
