Chapter 3
Chapter 3
“HE WANTED TO MEASURE you?” Cassie’s face a study in disbelief.
I nodded, my arms crossed. Like Queen Victoria, I was so not amused.
“Bailey, I’m sorry,” Paige said, her hand on my arm. “I had no idea there’d be such crazies at these things.”
“Crazy” was definitely a massive understatement for Reginald Barclay III. The guy was making a sex robot, for goodness’ sake. And he wanted to base its bust measurement on me !
I shuddered at the thought.
“It’s not over, yet. Did you want to give it another try?” Marissa asked. “There are some normal looking guys here. Well, normal-ish.”
I shot her a withering look. “Seriously?”
“I’ll take that as a ‘no,’ then.” Marissa shrunk back from me.
“Sorry, I’m just a little tightly wound.”
“We get it,” Cassie replied. “Don’t we, Marissa?”
Marissa gave a reluctant nod. As I said, speed dating had been her idea. I guess she was more invested in the outcome than the others, especially as I was the last in the pact to find her man.
“I think four dates in one evening is more than enough, especially with the selection here,” I added.
The four of us were standing in the ladies’ room of O’Dowd’s, the speed dating carrying on in the bar without me. Some poor schmuck was waiting at my empty table for a “date” I wouldn’t be returning to any time soon.
“What about that second guy? He was cute. You liked him, right?” Paige was ever the optimist, looking for the silver lining to my speed dating disaster cloud.
I nodded. “Adam.” He’d seemed nice and didn’t appear to be a member of the nut bar squad. I shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I’m a bit put off by the whole thing right now.”
“Give me your card.” Marissa stretched her hand out and waited.
With a resigned sigh, I reached into my purse and pulled out my speed dating card. It had a list of the ten men here tonight. Ten? Wow, I’d only got through four before I’d had to escape. Six more Fake Jamies or Reginald Barclays would probably have killed me.
But according to the rules of our Last First Date pact, one of those men out there was supposed to be my HEA—my happily ever after. And you know what? Speed dating had seemed like a good idea; a smorgasbord of guys to choose from, all in one evening.
Low effort: high yield.
And I’d liked the odds—that was, until I’d met the guys. “Odd” didn’t even begin to describe them.
I let out a sigh. I guess that meant I’d just been on a total of four Last First Dates, for a total of sixteen unpleasant minutes. Well, other than the four with Adam.
I handed the card to Marissa who clicked her pen. “Right, which was the crazy robot guy?”
“Reg Barclay.”
She put a big cross next to his name. “And what about the guy with the long, flicky hair who looked like he was more than a little in love with himself?”
“He called himself ‘Jamie.’”
“Strike him off.” Marissa placed a large cross next to his name.
I smiled. There was actually something quite satisfying about doing this.
“Who was the guy you liked? Was it Adam?”
“That’s him,” Cassie confirmed.
“Tick?” Marissa looked at me, brows raised and pen poised.
I pulled a face. He seemed nice enough, and he was cute, but I just didn’t know anymore.
Man, this dating thing was hard! No wonder I’d avoided it for so long since . . . well, since the last time.
“Come on, Bailey. What have you go to lose?” Paige encouraged.
I looked at my friends’ hopeful faces. They were all watching me, waiting for my response.
I wanted what they had—a partner, someone to spend my life with. Someone to love. I needed to take this leap of faith.
Despite my reservations, I nodded, pressing my lips together.
Paige clapped her hands like an excited seal as Marissa drew a big tick next to Adam’s name.
“Right, all you have to do now is turn this in to the convener and see whether Adam picked you,” Marissa said as she handed me the card.
“Of course he would have picked Bailey. Look at her!” Cassie gestured at me.
“I know, right?” Paige said.
They all nodded like three bobblehead puppies in the back of a car.
I felt a blush bloom in my cheeks. “You guys.”
It was sweet of them to compliment me, but if I had my way, I’d be several inches taller, shave a good few inches off my hips and thighs, and be able to go braless once in a while without being able to store a handful of pencils under there.
But then, I did love my food, and hell would freeze over before I gave that up. I thought of the guy on his “health journey.” Did my love of food put me on a “cake journey?” I sure hoped so. I smiled at the thought.
We hung around in the ladies’ room, waiting for the event to finish. Once we heard the convener announcing it was time to turn in our cards, we exited en force . I avoided eye contact with every man in the room as I made a B-line for the convener’s table, my card held tightly in my hand.
“Thank you,” he said, smiling up at me. “You’ll find out if you have a match shortly.”
I thanked him and returned to the sanctity of my friends, extremely relieved my inaugural speed dating session was now done and dusted. Inaugural and last , that was. Female robot designers and sleazy chefs had completely put me off trying anything like this ever again.
“Here, you may need this.” Cassie handed me a glass of chilled white wine. I thanked her and immediately took a large glug.
“So, have you found the man of your dreams here tonight?” a deep voice said behind me.
I turned to see who it was, hoping—praying—it wasn’t Fake Jamie, here to deliver a new sleazy line while looking down my top.
To my relief, it wasn’t. I looked up into a pair of hazel eyes set into a handsome face, regarding me with gentle teasing.
Ryan Jones.
“Maybe?” I said with a smile, my tummy doing a flip at the sight of him.
He raised his eyebrows in response. “Did he have a good pick-up line? I’ve got some, you know.”
“You do? Like what?”
He licked his lips, readying himself. “Okay, here’s my best one. I hope you know C.P.R., because you just took my breath away.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
His lips curved into an easy smile. “What, you wouldn’t fall for that one?”
I shook my head, laughing. “Um, that would be a ‘no.’”
“Okay, how about this one. Were you in the Scouts? Because you sure have tied my heart into a knot.”
A laugh escaped my lips. “That’s actually not bad, for a totally cheesy line, that is.”
“Thanks.”
“Okay, I think I’ve got one.”
“It had better be good.”
“Oh, it is. Your name must be Google, because you have everything I’m searching for.”
He nodded, grinning. “Not bad, De Luca, not bad.”
I beamed. “Why thank you.”
“I’ve got another.”
“How could you possibly top my Google line?”
“It was good, but not that good. Take this one for a test drive. Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk past you again?”
I put my hand over my heart as I laughed once more, genuinely enjoying myself for the first time tonight. “Tell me you’ve never used one of those.”
He shook his head, his gorgeous hazel eyes dancing. “No way.”
“I’m glad to hear it. What are you doing here, anyway? Been doing the speed dating thing, too?”
“Me? Oh, no.” He shook his head. “I’m just here for the beer. A much better idea.”
I broadened my smile. “Good call.” I raised my glass of wine, and he clinked his beer bottle against it. “Cheers.”
“Cheers. Here’s to not finding The One.”
“Who said I haven’t? He might be in this room right now.”
“Yeah? Maybe he’s that short guy over there, watching you closely. I think he’s taking notes in his little pad.”
Startled, I followed Ryan’s line of sight to see Reg, intermittently studying me, his pencil doing overtime on his notepad.
“Oh, no.” I maneuvered myself so Ryan’s body obscured Reg’s line of vision of me, hoping it would end his little note taking.
“Why is he doing that?” Ryan asked.
I let out a heavy sigh. “He’s building a robot.”
He raised his eyebrows, clearly amused. “He is? What type of . . .?” He looked over at Reg, who had moved himself to get a better view of me. “Oh, I get it. A female robot, right?”
I nodded, shifting closer to Ryan.
“And he wants to base her on you?”
“Yup.”
He moved so he was once again in Reg’s line of site. “Well, I can totally see why.” Ryan’s eyes slid back to me. “If I were a weird scientist guy making a pervy robot, I’d base it on you, too.” A smile teased at the edges of his mouth.
My tummy did a massive flip in response. I had to resist the urge to giggle at the fact that a guy who looked a lot like Thor was currently shielding me from a mad scientist in a crowded bar— and he thought I was attractive.
Really, I couldn’t make this stuff up.
“Err, thanks,” I muttered, heat blooming in my cheeks.
“Want me to have a word?” He nodded at Reg, who had now wormed his way closer, his notepad and pencil still clutched in his hands.
As appealing as it was to have a Norse god defend my honor, I knew I could fight my own battles.
“No, but thanks anyway. Can you hold this for me?” I handed him my glass of wine.
“Sure.”
I stepped out from behind Ryan and made my way past a group of people to Reg. Although I’m only a diminutive five foot four in my heels, I towered over him.
He looked up, what appeared to be a mixture of awe and fear in his eyes.
“Are you still taking notes?” I crossed my arms, glaring at him. My voice was calm, measured. I may still have been blushing from Ryan’s compliment, but I wasn’t the type to take this kind of treatment lying down.
He flipped the cover of his notepad over and clutched it against his puny body, his eyes darting around the room. “It’s just research.”
Before I had the chance to say another word, he ducked around me and zig-zagged through the crowd. I watched, open-mouthed, as he disappeared from sight, obscured by the regular-sized people in the bar.
Well, that was beyond weird.
I returned to Ryan and my glass of wine.
“What did you say to him to make him take off like that?” Ryan asked, shaking his head.
“Nothing much. I just asked him if he was still taking notes on me.”
“Well, you had him running scared, that’s for sure.”
“Yeah, right back to his secret lab.” I let out a laugh.
There was a loud screeching sound as the convener switched on his microphone. “Sorry about that, everyone. Feedback. Right, we have all the cards back and have made some matches!”
The crowd cheered, and I swallowed the nervous frog in my throat.
Had Adam chosen me?
Did I even want him to?
I glanced at Ryan. Of all the men in the room, he was easily the most interesting. And definitely hottest.
And the only one not here for the speed dating.
Just my luck.
“I’m happy to say we’ve had a record number of matches tonight. You guys are awesome!”
More cheering.
“Come on up and see me or Veronica, my lovely assistant over here.” He gestured at a small, plump woman in her early twenties, who gave an embarrassed wave. “We will tell you who your love match is. You get to decide whether you want to give that person your contact details. And then, boys and girls, the rest is up to you. Only, if there are any weddings from tonight’s matches, we do need to invite us.”
There was a ripple of laughter around the pub.
“Do you think mad scientist guy chose you?” Ryan said into my ear. I tried to ignore the way his warm breath tingled my neck.
“He ran off, remember?”
“Oh, yeah. Pity. I could totally see you with him.”
I shot him a quizzical look. “And you only get matched when both people choose each other, and I can assure you I did not chose him.”
“Are you telling me you didn’t want to date that guy?” Ryan was teasing, his eyes wide. “As long as I live, I will never understand women.”
I slapped him playfully on the arm.
“Are you going to see if Adam chose you, too?” Marissa asked, materializing at my side then shooting Ryan a look.
“Who’s Adam?” Ryan asked, his brows raised.
“Well, he could be Bailey’s Last First Date,” Marissa replied.
“You’re in on that dating pact, too?” The expression on Ryan’s face made it clear he didn’t approve.
Of course, I knew the pact to marry the next guy I dated was a little juvenile, but I’d agreed to it. On a windswept beach around a bonfire, no less. Sure, there may have been a glass or two of wine involved, and maybe we did get swept up in the moment. But like the others, I wanted to find him, I wanted to find someone to share my life with.
I needed to own this.
“Yes, actually, Ryan. I am in on that dating pact.” My eyes challenged him to respond.
He studied my face, his own eyes narrowed. I wanted to squirm. “Well, good luck then.” He broke eye contact and took a swig of his beer.
“She doesn’t need luck. It’s fate, big brother. Just like it was for all of us,” Marissa sniffed. She took me by the hand and lead me through the crowd to the convener’s table.
I glanced back at Ryan. He had an impassive look on his face as he watched for a second before looking away once more, taking a fresh swig of his beer.
Marissa and I stood in line, waiting to find out if I would be chosen by the only guy I had on my list—or if I’d be humiliated.
“Don’t go getting any ideas about my brother, okay?” Marissa said.
I swallowed, discomfited she had noticed Ryan and I flirting. Because that’s definitely what it was—flirting. We did it whenever we saw one another. It never led anywhere, but it was fun all the same.
“He’s still getting over Amelia, his ex. You know, she hurt him real bad.”
I nodded. Amelia had dumped Ryan on his sorry butt and then moved onto the next guy fast enough to give her whiplash. When I first met Ryan, he was bitter and angry—despite being very cute.
“Of course. I know about it. He’s not here to look for a date, anyway, so it’s a moot point.”
“Good. He’s a great guy, but broken, totally broken.”
Eventually, we reached Veronica, who handed me a card. “I’m sorry. No match for you tonight.”
I knitted my brows together, examining the card closely as though she could have gotten it wrong.
Adam didn’t pick me?
“Do you think you could check again, please? I’m sure this must have been some kind of mistake,” Marissa said to Veronica, tapping her index finger on the table.
“No mistake,” Veronica replied cheerily. “But we’re here every week. Better luck next time.”
I blinked at her upturned, shining face. The idea of coming back here and doing this all again was about as appealing as being slapped in the face by a large, wet fish.
“Err, thanks,” I muttered as I turned to leave. Mortification crept up my legs and into my belly.
Adam didn’t pick me.
“You know what? He was probably intimidated by you, that’s all. You’re good looking, successful, really sweet.” Marissa slung her arm around my shoulders.
“Yeah, because guys hate women like that.” I tried to keep the sour tone from my voice.
Yup, I failed.
“Oh, honey. We’ll work something out, don’t you worry.” Marissa gave me a squeeze.
Paige came up behind us and slung her arms around our shoulders. “How many dates did you get, Bailey?”
Marissa glared at her as I replied, “None.”
“What?” Paige’s voice was ear-piercingly loud, even in the noisy pub. “How can that be? I mean, look at you.”
I smiled weakly at her.
“There must be some kind of mix up. I know what. Why don’t you go over and talk to him? I can see him over there, standing near Ryan.” Paige nodded at the other side of the bar.
I looked over to see Adam talking with a man, nodding along to what he was saying. His back was to Ryan’s, and I noticed they were both about the same height. I couldn’t help but compare the two men. Ryan was easily the more imposing, better looking of the two, right down to his newly acquired Thor beard.
Strictly speaking, beards weren’t really my thing. On Ryan, it looked good. He looked good.
Kissable, even.
Wait, what? I wanted to kiss Ryan?
Ryan, Marissa’s older brother, the guy who had not that long ago had his heart ripped from his chest and trampled on by his ex?
A guy who made bitter chocolate taste sweet?
I shook my head, dislodging the thought. Sure, we’d flirted a bit, and it was fun, but that was as far as it was likely to go with Ryan and the complicated state of his heart.
Adam looked over in my direction and smiled. I immediately looked away, the sting of his rejection hitting me.
“No, no. I don’t think I’ll go talk to Adam,” I said to Paige.
“Are you sure? I mean, tonight is meant to be your Last First Date. Don’t you want to give it a final shot? The man of your dreams could be in this room.”
I bit my lip as my eyes wandered back to the two men. Only, I wasn’t looking at the guy who was meant to be my date.
I was looking at Ryan—his complicated heart and all.