Page 9 of Never Let Go

I shook my head hard and fast. “No. No way. It’s not like that and I just told you that he’s a client now. It’s a new job. I can’t be known as that girl who asked out the primary beneficiary of the first estate she handled. It’s unethical.”

Ashley let out a long sigh. “It’s not, but we’ll get you there.”

Thankfully, the waiter appeared and saved me from the conversation. He set down our drinks. After he’d taken our food orders, he disappeared again. I asked so many questions about the wedding that Ashley seemed to forget about Foster.

I knew it wouldn’t last long, but at least it lasted for the duration of our dinner. When we finally said goodbye, I knew she was going to bring it up again soon, but I was relieved I had dodged the bullet tonight.

On my way home, I called my mom to check in, and I was tempted to tell her about Foster too. Ultimately, however, I decided against it for now. I’d always been close to my mom, but she’d probably recognize the name if I mentioned him, and since nothing worth talking about had happened, it just didn’t make sense to even bring it up.

Instead, I chatted to her about Ashley’s wedding and how excited we both were for the big day. Mom sighed when she finally got the chance to get a word in. “I still can’t believe she met that fiancé of hers through a blind-dating site. It’s so unorthodox. Is she sure she even knows who this man is? I mean, thank God, it’s not you. I would’ve been so worried if you were making such a big commitment after such a whirlwind romance that started without you even being able to see the man.”

“Of course, she knows who he is, Mom,” I reiterated the same thing I’d told her dozens of times before. “The place is popular and trendy. They’ve got a great reputation and it’s not such a whirlwind.”

“It’s uncouth,” Mom said, and I didn’t argue again.

The fact was that Ashley’s mom and my own were very uncomfortable with the idea of online dating as a whole. Factor in the whole blind-dating aspect of the model offered by Sight Unseen and they simply refused to get it.

I sighed and steered the conversation in a different direction instead, glad now that I hadn’t mentioned Foster to her. He was still on my mind, and I was definitely regretting not telling him the truth, but it was best Mom didn’t know about him for now.

In fact, I shouldn’t have told Ashley about him either. Or maybe I was going about all this completely wrong. Maybe I should be assertive and forward like Ash or brutally honest no matter what like my mom.

I just didn’t know, but as I lay in my bed later that night, the one thing I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt was that my crush was back in a big way, and that I had no idea what on earth to do about it.

5

FOSTER

After they’d made their bet, Hope and Porter had agreed to level the playing field. She’d fed my information into the Sight Unseen system and then she’d provided him with the list of women the computer had made for me.

They would both be selecting women for me to date from that list, and I was very much regretting saying yes to this when I pulled up in front of the restaurant where I’d be having my first date.

Since I’d been working for Sight Unseen for years, I wouldn’t have thought that I’d be so uncomfortable about going on one of these dates myself. Hell, I’d set up hundreds of people on blind dates exactly like the one Porter was sending me on tonight, but fuck. My heart was pounding. My palms were sweating and my skin felt too hot. Maybe I’m sick.

I blew off the thought as soon as I had it. I would’ve loved to cancel on account of having come down with something, but that just wasn’t me. I didn’t cower, hide, or make excuses. So I narrowed my eyes and headed into the restaurant.

In the past, we’d used the private rooms in one or two restaurants for our dates to take place in. Our clients had worn blacked out goggles so they wouldn’t see each other during the meal, but it hadn’t worked all that well and we’d found that using the date rooms at our offices were much better.

Now, however, we were trying something different again.

After sending out a survey and receiving feedback from our clients, Hope had partnered with a variety of different venues where the dates could now take place in the dark, like they did at our offices, but without the need for goggles. It allowed us to be more creative when we set these things up, but being on the other side was disconcerting.

For starters, I was having a hard time with the concept of eating in the dark. I’d already chosen what I wanted for dinner in the light when the date had been set and the menu had been forwarded to me, but fuck. How was I supposed to eat when I couldn’t see my hand in front of my own face?

I don’t like this.

“Ah, Mr. Smith,” a suited waiter said when I walked into the restaurant. I frowned before I remembered the name I was going by, Tyler Smith.

The frown faded and I nodded. “That’s me. Just point me in the right direction.”

“That’s okay. Let me show you to your table. Your date hasn’t arrived yet. We’ve received word that she’s running behind.”

“Great,” I muttered as I followed him through the dining area to a pitch-black private room at the back. He took my arm and guided me to a chair, then told me he’d be right back with my drink.

I sat down on what felt like a regular, padded seat at any restaurant in the city, but I found myself wondering what the chair looked like. The table. I felt in front of me and my fingers were met with cloth, and I wondered why. Why bother setting the table when no one is going to be able to see it?

I heard the door open and my heart ricocheted, but then the waiter spoke again. “Your drink, sir. There’s a buzzer right in the center of the table. Press it if you need me. Otherwise, I’ll be back to show your date in once she arrives.”

“Thanks,” I grumbled, wondering how I’d been working for the company for so long and given such little thought to what our clients went through. I knew every inch of every policy and practice behind all this, and yet, I’d have been out of there in a flash if it wouldn’t have made me feel like a coward.