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“Welcome to your Summer of Love Vacation, hosted by theForever YoursMatchmaking Agency. I am Thelma Ward, CEO, and this is my assistant, Sarah Jane.” She waved a hand toward the young woman beside her, who was scribbling in her notepad and took no notice of her introduction. Thelma continued, “This week, you will enjoy a variety of events and activities designed to introduce you to other eligible singles in your age group. You will have dedicated time for fun and working together, enabling you to form bonds of friendship and kindling the spark of romance. Use this week to discover yourself as well as find that special someone that fate has chosen to be your soulmate.”
Thelma stopped to take a drink of water from herForever Yourswater bottle, smearing her fuchsia lipstick in the process. She petted Liza Minnelli’s head absentmindedly.
“There will be four events, beginning with Speed Dating this afternoon. Tomorrow is Beachcomb Bingo, Friday will be Pottery Making, and Saturday will be Swing Dancing.”
“You may have noticed that each of you has been provided with aLookbook. These contain our daily schedule as well as basic identifying information for everyone here. Write your name on the inside cover. Be sure to bring yourLookbookwith you to each event. Following the activity, you will have time to make notes about the people you met. You will also rate them in the areas of Appearance and Personality with a number between one and ten, one being the lowest and ten being the highest. After the final event, you will all turn in your Lookbooks to me. Sarah Jane and I will crunch the numbers on Sunday. We will email you your top three matches and their contact information by 9:00 pm that evening, thereby concludingForever Yoursservices. Be sure to let us know if any of the relationships you begin here lead to marriage–if so, drop us a line and be sure to include a photo. We love to showcase our successful matches on our website. Questions?”
An attractive man who reminded Jackson of Bradley Cooper spoke up. “I don’t think everyone here is in this book. I didn’t see that girl anywhere,” and he motioned towards Callie, who he was sitting directly behind.
“Oh, right,” Thelma said. “Sorry folks, she joined our group too late to be in theLookbook. You can write her in at the end. Her name is Callie.”
Jackson could see several of the men quickly making notes in their books.
“Anything else? Good. Then in a moment, we will begin Speed Dating. Sarah Jane, the doors!” Thelma flung her free arm towards the double doors to the adjoining banquet hall on the right. Sarah Jane ran over and tugged them open, revealing a more dimly lit space where small tables with two chairs each had been placed in a large circle.
“In a moment, I would like all the women to follow me and choose a table. Once they are seated, men, you may enter and sit at any table. When I ring this bell…bell, Sarah Jane!” Thelma paused briefly while Sarah Jane hustled into the other room and returned with a large bell that she handed to Thelma, who promptly rang it for effect, “you will begin conversing. I will ring this bell at five-minute intervals thenceforth, at which time the men will get up and move to the table on their right. At the end of the next two hours, you will have been introduced to each of your potential matches. When the event is over, you are welcome to find a spot in either room in which to make your notes and assign your ratings.”
Thelma stroked Liza Minnelli’s fur before handing her to Sarah Jane as she walked to the entrance of the speed dating room. “Ladies, right this way.”
Chapter Six
CALLIE
Callie realized that her hands were sweating as she gripped herLookbookand company swag and joined the other women, jostling each other as they herded through the doorway to select their preferred tables in the adjoining room. Callie found an empty table and sat down, crossing her legs. She noticed that most of the other women were more dressed up than she was, but she hadn’t had time after her chores at the inn to do anything but quickly run a brush through her hair and apply lip gloss before running out the door.
Once the women were seated, Thelma announced that the men were to enter the room and select a table to begin their first speed-date. Callie found herself face to face with a man who looked amazingly like Bradley Cooper. She felt her heat level ratchet up several more degrees and hoped she wasn’t noticeably perspiring. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jackson enter the room among the last of the men and take a seat across from a plump brunette in a low-cut blouse who promptly angled herself closer to him.
Thelma and Sarah Jane followed the last of the men into the convention hall, and upon Thelma’s nod, Sarah Jane swiftly shut and latched the doors, sending a gust of air across Callie’s table. The room stilled as all eyes turned to Thelma, who held the bell up reverently and turned in a small circle so everyone had a chance to view it. “Ladies and gentlemen, when I ring this bell, speed-dating will officially begin. Remember, you only have five minutes with each person tonight, so I encourage you to be creative with your conversation topics to guarantee a lasting impression. Now, on the count of three, one-two-three!” The bell clanged loudly.
The Bradley-double smiled, and Callie wondered if he’d had his teeth professionally whitened. “I’m Doug,” he said, giving her hand a firm shake. “And I already know your name is Callie from Thelma’s announcement a few minutes ago.”
Callie groaned. “Nothing like being called out in front of a group of people to ease a person’s nerves.”
“Oh, you don’t need to be nervous,” Doug said, “I’m sure all the guys here will want to date you. You’re quite beautiful, you know.”
Callie felt a mix of embarrassment and pleasure at the compliment. “Thank you. I haven’t dated in a while, though, so I’m woefully out of practice. Have you ever done speed-dating before?”
“Sure, a couple of times,” Doug said. “Once, I ended up meeting a woman and lived with her for a couple of years before we realized we weren’t right for each other.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Callie said.
Doug shrugged. “It was tough, but I’m sure it was the right decision. That was about a year ago, so I feel I’ve moved on.”
“That’s good,” nodded Callie, feeling like she should say something about her romantic history but didn’t want to reveal anything too personal. Doug must have sensed her discomfort and quickly changed the topic. “Well, Thelma asked us to think outside the box here, so tell me, do you prefer cats or dogs?”
Callie smiled. “Boy, that’s a hard one. I’ve never had any pets before but have always wanted one. My father thought they would cause too much mess.”
“Wow, that’s too bad,” countered Doug. “Me, I love German shepherds. Luckily, I get to work with them sometimes, being on the force in St. Petersburg. It’s amazing how they can detect contraband so easily by their sense of smell.”
The bell clanged, signaling it was time for the men to rotate tables. Callie couldn’t help but be impressed by Doug’s career choice as an officer of the law. “It was nice meeting you,” she said with sincerity, as a man with a shaved head sporting tattoos down both arms claimed the chair Doug had emptied.
“Hey, babe, you like tats?”
Callie inwardly rolled her eyes. After five minutes of strained conversation that felt like twenty, the bell clanged again. Callie discovered that her dates were seeming to fade into each other as everyone asked and answered the same basic set of questions: “Where are you from? What type of work do you do? What hobbies do you enjoy?”
As she surreptitiously glanced at her watch after talking to a man who had the personality of a robot, she looked up to see Jackson sitting down across from her.
“Hey,” he said quietly, looking into her eyes. “How are you doing?”
