“Nothing,” Randi murmured.
“Not true,” Eden said. “I was just telling Randi that people like her are few and far between. My best friend happens to be pretty on the outsideandthe inside.”
Randi felt Analise’s eyes on her as she smiled and shrugged. “As I said, we’re not talking about me.”
“Why not? When’s the last timeyouwent on a date?”
“It’s been a minute,” Randi said.
“It’s hopeless.” Eden sighed. “I’m not going to find anyone on these dating apps. I’m giving up.”
“That’s it! We’re going to do Pitch a Friend,” Randi said firmly.
“What’s Pitch a Friend?” Analise asked.
“It’s an alternative to dating apps,” Randi said. “Picture this.” She stood up and swept her arm through the air. “A PowerPoint presentation illustrating all of the best features of your single friend given to a room full of other like-minded people.”
Analise smirked. “You’re going to pitch Eden to a group of singles, encouraging them to take her on a date?”
“No, I’m going to tell a group of singles a little about Eden,” Randi said. “It’s more than a dating profile on an app. I like to think of it as a way to get to know someone before you ask them out. That way you don’t waste time and money on a date finding out those things that aren’t appealing to you, things you don’t have in common.”
“Hmm,” Analise murmured. “Is this a real thing? Where do they have it?”
“Yes, it’s real! They hold these events in cities all over the country,” Randi explained. “I’m doing social media hype for one they’re having here next week at the brewery on Cedar Springs.”
“Really?”
Randi nodded and smiled at Eden. “I can do this. I’ll give the pitch of a lifetime for you, bestie. We’ll find you all kinds of options. They’ll be lining up to ask you out.”
Eden scowled. “Why does this feel dangerous?”
Randi chuckled and looked up at Analise. “Hey, they’re looking for sponsors. Hook, Line & Reader has a few sapphic authors. It could be an opportunity to get their names and books in front of new readers.”
“Okay,” Analise said. “Tell them to contact me. I want to see this pitch and who lines up to ask out my director of finance.”
“We’re going to find someone who shares your interests, Eden. It’s going to be great,” Randi said with zeal.
“This could be fun,” Analise said.
Eden groaned. “Fun? I’m not sure I’d call this fun.”
“If nothing else, maybe we’ll make new friends,” Randi said. “You know how it goes in our little world. Friends of friends can lead to happily ever after.”
Eden rolled her eyes and Randi couldn’t keep from laughing.
Eden stared at the computer screen and the report she’d been working on that afternoon, but her thoughts were on the Pitch a Friend Event, which was the next day. What would she wear? And how had she let Randi talk her into this?
She scoffed and shook her head. Randi had been talking her into things almost from the moment they’d met. She’d never let Randi know, but most of the time it was fun. Whether it was an activity she would never do on her own, like the time they made watercolor Christmas cards, which to her surprise turned out well. Or the time Randi dragged her to a game night with several of Randi’s then work friends. Her best friend tended to move from job to job, but she kept many of the work friends she made along the way.
They’d won several of the games and even brought the game Codenames back to their friend group. Eden and Randi were the reigning champions and she didn’t see that changing anytime soon. They’d been friends for years now and knew how each other thought, which was a big asset in that game.
She sighed then smiled. Her best friend could be pushy, even whiny, but Eden knew she always had her best interests at heart. Just like now. Eden openly complained about her unlucky streak with dating and wanting someone to share her life. At thirty-five she was by no means past her prime, but dating was hard. She kept doing it because the thought of coming home to someone who wanted to see her was appealing. Of course, her four-legged furry feline, Letty, was definitely in this category.
Eden wasn’t sure if Letty was happy to see her because she gave her a few head butts and back rubs or if it was because Eden filled her bowl with food. The skittish, yet sometimes vocal cathad wandered up to Eden’s house more than a year ago. She was skinny, hungry, and had looked at Eden warily. That’s when she noticed the cat’s right eye was an unattractive, weepy indention where her eyeball should have been. One of Eden’s smartass friends called her Lefty, which Eden couldn’t abide. So the cat’s name morphed into Letty which was somehow appropriate for her. She was mostly white with pretty gray streaks curling down her back and another patch of gray on top of her head. Letty was a beauty.
Once Eden was sure the cat planned to stay she took her to the vet and found out she was healthy except for the eye infection. The vet surmised that the eye had probably been injured and had come out on its own. She performed a procedure to clean the tissue, sew it up, and now Letty looked like she was permanently winking. It was the cutest thing, especially when she would loudly meow her wishes.
Eden had become pretty good at understanding her cat’s conversational style which mainly involved loud meows when she was hungry, more subdued growls when she wanted a little love, and a crabby snarl with a meow when she didn’t want to be bothered.
