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His thin, blond eyebrows rose. “Everly. ’Tis a splendid and noble name.” He leapt out of his seat with the grace of… well, an elf, and knelt on one knee before reaching out to take my hand.
What was he doing? Nervous laughter escaped my lips, and I could sense the other participants’ curious gazes, even though they were in the middle of their own dates.
“Lovely Lady Everly, mine eyes doth taketh an interest in thee. Thou art as fair as the rosebud sparkling in morning dew. Thine golden locks doth make mine heart leap merrily. Thou dost taketh my breath away. Thou art a lady of worth to be wooed and won.”
My cheeks burned hotter with each compliment. “Sure. I mean, I appreciate thee and thy kind words.”
“Time!” Johann called out. “Men, please exchange partners.”
Oh, thank goodness. I wasn’t sure how much more of that I could take.
“Fare thee well, I must away. And pray that we shall meeteth again someday hence.” Blond Elf kissed the back of my hand before moving on to Quinn.
Wow. What a way to start the night.
Thankfully, the following dates weren’t quite sounique. One was a fellow teacher, two were college students, a handful were programmers, and one was a banker. Most of the guys seemed perfectly respectable, but introducing myself and going over the same four topics of conversation again and again left me exhausted. When my brother eventually took a seat in front of me, I was grateful to see someone familiar.
“How’s it going, Ben?”
He shrugged and wrote something on a whiteboard before holding it up.
It’s hot in here.
A smile tugged on my lips. “You didn’t have to wear that costume. You could have chosen another one. Or at least take the head off. You’d probably get more dates that way.”
Ben scribbled something else on his whiteboard.
I’m fully committing to the character.
He erased his words and then wrote another message.
I saw the proposal earlier. Will it be a winter wedding in Rivendell?
I laughed. “Probably not. He did the same thing to a handful of other girls.”
Ben gave a Chewbacca moan before scribbling out another message.
Forsooth! Betrayal to the fellowship of the ring.
He erased the words before writing again.
Met anyone you want to go on a date with?
Although I’d had some interesting interactions, there’d been no connection with any of the guys, certainly nothing to compare with how I felt about Wyatt.
“Not really. You?”
Ben shook his head.
“There’s always Quinn. What’s up with you two, anyway? You never get along, but neither of you will tell me why.”
Knowing I was baiting him, I waited for his response, but he simply shrugged.
Weird. My brother usually seized any opportunity to express how much he disliked her.
“And time!” Johann announced. His voice had grown progressively louder after each round, and by this point, he was almost hoarse from all the yelling. “This is your final round. One last chance to meet someone special. And, as some friendly encouragement, I’m asking everyone to pick at least one person as a potential match. Let’s give love a chance!”
Ben stood and headed to the seat across from Quinn.
