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“Never.”
“Nope.”
“Well, I am single, but I thought I’d be doing a segment about flowers, you know, arranging them or maybe tips for making them last longer…”
I trail off as I catch the glance that flies between them.
“Cassie, dear. Just relax, everything is going to be okay.”
I must look as panicked as I feel as she places what I assume to be a reassuring hand on my arm.
“I’m not looking for love,” I protest again, my stomach feeling like a sinkhole. I don’t have time to date, let alone have a boyfriend.
“But you could be looking for love just for today, right? There’s no time like the present to embrace your inner cupid. All you have to do is have a little fun and go on one tiny blind date. After all, it’s Valentine’s Day. Plus,” Samantha adds, leaning in and giving me a wink, “There’s champagne in the green room, if that would help.”
That would help. A lot.
I shake my head. “No one finds love on a blind date the day before Valentine’s Day. Especially not on national TV.”
“You didn’t see our couple from Tuesday, did you? They really hit it off.”
“Good for them, but—”
She glances back at her watch and frowns. “Look, I’ve got to get going. We’re live in seventeen minutes. Not you,” she adds, spotting my jaw drop. “You’re not on until the second half of the seven o’clock hour. But your date will be today, after we introduce the two of you during the segment, of course.”
I take a few steps backward and hold up my hands. “Look, I’m sorry. This is all a misunderstanding. There’s no way I can go on a blind date today. I’m not even looking for a boyfriend, nope. Happily single, that’s what I am.”
Mindy nudges Samantha with an elbow. “Show her his picture. That’ll change her mind.”
Samantha whips to a page deep on her clipboard. Two large photos are at the top, each with what appears to be a dating profile printed underneath.
A stunning blonde with a perfect smile is on the left, but it’s the man on the right who captures my attention. His picturehalts me in my tracks. Piercing eyes, the deepest, vibrant shade of green, like a freshly bloomed ranunculus, meet mine. I swallow and study the rest of his face, sliding down to his lips, curled up at the corners into the faintest hint of a smile.
“Handsome, right?”
Maybe the most handsome man I’ve ever met.Er, seen.We haven’t met yet, although he’s now apparently my blind date this morning.
Suddenly, this whole situation doesn’t seem as horrifying as it did thirty seconds ago.
My shoulder lifts as I ignore my body’s instinctive response, a sensation materializing low in my belly.
“He’s not bad.”
“Good, then I guess I’ll see you in about an hour,” Samantha says with a smile, releasing the pages on her clipboard and rushing off down the hall.
2
Chris
“Looks like you’re ready for your blind date,” Derek, my brother, says, eyeing me through the phone screen.
I’m at theRise and Shinestudio, in a small green room, although the paint would more fittingly be described as hospital white, having been left by an assistant to wait for my segment this morning.
“Why did I agree to this again?”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “It’s about time you had a date. Plus, you owe me big time.”
From my spot on the couch, I pick at a piece of lint on the leg of my trousers.
