Page 6 of The Bleeding Hearts Club

“Ha, yeah, and she is currently wishing she were dead. So please, fuck off with your happy bullshit. I think my stomach is trying to come out of my nose. I really don’t want to listen to your attempts at flirting. Now is not the time.”

He’s silent for a moment. I turn my head towards him, but he’s just staring down at me with a smirk.

“What?” I snap.

“So you have noticed my flirting.” His brow raises, a dimple in his cheek deepening. My gaze hardens. “And you said ‘now’, so that means I can flirt later.” Theo stands there looking smug.

“Theo?”

“Yeah.”

“Shut up.”

He just laughs, patting me on the back, which I quickly shrug off. He just laughs harder.

Despite his terrible timing, the guy wasn’t wrong. It is a beautiful day, and maybe if I was a little more accustomed to boats this wouldn’t be so bad. This sun is warm and the sea spray is cool against my skin. However, I am still counting down the seconds until I’m off this torture device.

The flight to Miami was kind of nice. We spoke a little more throughout the three hour ride. Okay, I lied. Theo talked more during the trip. I listened…sort of.

I just really don’t know how to take this guy. He’s nice. He’s goofy. A little funny, but it’s completely unintentional. The comedy comes mostly from his ability to make regular things super fucking awkward, but its cute? I don’t know.

Honestly, I don’t even know why I’m here, on this boat, going to this weird island, for a “find love” event, at some fancy schmancy resort. Like what the hell is happening. Too many words in that sentence are not even in the realm of interest to me.

I don’t want to “find love”. The sun kind of hates me. I apparently don’t do boats. And I definitely, under normal circumstances, would not be staying in this giant ass hotel I’m currently staring at.

Imagine one of those hotels you see on Trip Advisor that has you like, “One day…”, and it looks like a building in New York. Thirty stories, and like a quarter-mile long, with a theme park inside, and it’s within three zip codes? Yeah. Just like that. Not in my tax bracket.

“Oh, wow,” I mutter.

“I know.”

We glance at each other as the others around us begin talking in excitement. I wasn’t expecting something this extraordinary. Lou never said anything about it being like this. It’s enormous. The sand on the beach is so white it practically glows in the sun. The whole island radiates that tropical luxury vibe from postcards and commercials that you always think is either super photoshopped or staged, but this is real. And I’m here.

The ferry pulls up to a dock along the beach where people began getting their bags to leave but I’m still standing in shock.

“Come on, Mina. Let’s go before the others see the good stuff first.” Theo nudges me slightly.

“Good stuff? This isn’t the best part?” I ask in disbelief.

He just shakes his head, motioning for me to follow him. I roll my eyes at him and follow regardless.

Bossy. Telling me what to do.

The group of beachy “matchmaker” goers crowd around the end of the dock as a woman walks toward us.

She’s tall, dressed in an extremely expensive looking suit. I don’t feel it is appropriate attire for all the sand and saltwater, but what do I know? It’s a light tan, and deepens the tawny brown of her flawless skin. She looks as wildly amazing as the resort. Like reality has a photoshop filter covering my eyes.

“Hello, everyone. Welcome to Lugosi Bay!” Cheers erupt from the crowd, including Theo who is knocking into me obnoxiously. He whoops and hollers with everyone else in their chorus of joy and excitement. I scowl.

“My name is Amara. I am a senior manager for Cupid Corporations, and I was the developer of The Bleeding Hearts Club event, the first of its kind. This week we have perfectly curated a selection of activities and smaller daily events to allow each of you a chance to meet with potential matches that have been chosen based on the information in your questionnaires and applications.

“Now, while we here at Cupid Corporations pride ourselves on our abilities to vet any potential matches, it is natural for individuals such as yourselves to find that someone may not work well for you, and that is perfectly acceptable and valid. We want you to have the best experience possible.

“At the end of the week, you will be given a list of individuals you worked with in your daily activities or events.

“On Thursday night, you will be asked to choose one person from your list to have a final day with. What you do is completely up to you and your match. The final match will be based on those who choose each other, and if those do not match, by the next highest rank on your list.

“We are here for you. We are here to guide you and to advise in any way we can. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact the event coordinator. Their number and contact information is in each of your rooms. Now, if you follow me to the main lobby, we shall get you into your rooms, and prepare for tonight’s dinner.”