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I smile, settle into the chair across from her, and hold out a hand. “I’m Mason.”
“Lovely to meet you, Mason. My name is Haley.”
“Great to meet you, Haley. Have you come to one of these events before?”
“Nope. This is my first time. I’m here with my best friend, actually.”
“Really? Me too.”
“Wow. We already have something in common.” She grins at me in a way that’s meant for me and me alone, then goes back to pretending we don’t know each other. “So. Mason. Tell me about yourself.”
“I’d love to hear about you first, actually.”
“Such a gentleman. Okay, uh, let’s see…I work in a bakery. I unabashedly love Christmas music. And as soon as I can afford to buy a house with a big yard, I’m going to adopt three dogs.”
“Nice. Let me guess. You’re going to give all your dogs human names.”
“Of course. Do you like dogs?”
“Absolutely. I want three myself.”
Haley clicks her tongue. “Wow. We really are a perfect match.”
“Not if we want different dog breeds,” I say. “Then we might end up withsixdogs.”
She laughs. “Hey, as long as you don’t also want six kids…”
“Shoot. Haley, I hate to tell you this, but I kinda do.”
She laughs again, then gives me a quizzical look. “Wait. Are you being serious, Mason?”
“Completely,” I say, keeping my face straight. “Haven’t I ever told you that?”
She squints at me. “You’re lying.”
“Believe me or don’t,” I say, shrugging.
“Be serious, Mason.”
The timer goes off just then, and I start to get up from my chair. “It was great chatting with you, Haley.”
She scoffs at me. She’s still shaking her head at me as I move over to the next table, where a woman with braids is sitting.
“Hi, I’m Jada,” she says, smiling as I sit down.
My conversation with Jada is a pleasant one. But I don’t feel a spark when I’m talking to her, and as the mini-dates continue, it feels like the same thing keeps happening over and over again. As interesting and pretty as a lot of these ladies are, none of them make me want to put a check by their name on my match card.
Worse, I keep finding myself glancing over at Haley, a twinge of jealousy nudging my chest every time I see her talking to another man.
2
HALEY
I guess I got all dolled up for nothing.
No. I shouldn’t think like that. It was fun to have an excuse to get dressed up for once. I’ve owned this dress for ages and haven’t had a reason to wear it until now. Same goes for the heels. And while I kind of can’t wait to get home and wash off my makeup, I have to admit that it’s nice to feel extra feminine for once.
Still, I wish I’d met someone tonight. I didn’t check off a single name on my match card tonight.
