Page 24 of The Blind Date

“It didn’t go well,” I admitted, only applying a thin layer of the gloss as I wasn’t a fan of the neon pink colour that my mum was obsessed with. “If I'm being honest, it was the worst date I've ever been on."

“It couldn’t have been that bad, could it?” Dad asked, curious and somewhat amused.

"It was worse." I released a dramatic sigh. "I have no idea why you thought Cedric and I would make a good match. You couldn’t have been more wrong if you tried.”

“Oh, why don’t you like him? Cedric is such a gentleman.”

“He certainly wasn’t a gentleman last night.” I snorted and rolled my eyes, returning the horrid shade of lip gloss that I ended up wiping on the back of my hand to remove it. The plain lip balm at the bottom of my purse would have to do instead.

“What do you mean?” Dad frowned, sparing me a worried glance through the rear-view mirror.

Mum gasped and fought against the seatbelt to turn around in her seat to face me.

“Honey? Cedric didn’t do anything to make you feel uncomfortable, did he?”

“What? No, of course, not,” I was quick to deny before they started panicking. “I just meant that he was a huge douche, and we weren’t the least bit compatible. Besides being a dick, he didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Well, I’m glad that Cedric wasn’t inappropriate with you, and I'm sorry it didn't work out with you two." Dad shot me a small smile through the mirror, always the most reasonable and sensible out of the three of us. With Mum and I as the two women in his life, I guess he had no choice but to be. "You’ll meet your guy soon, Saff. I’m sure of it.”

“I think you should give Cedric another chance,” Mum voiced her opinion, stubborn as always. “I don’t know how you don’t see just how perfect you two are for each other. It’s painstakingly obvious to your dad and me.”

"We're far from perfect for each other." I scoffed and shook my head. What was Mum thinking? She has to be joking because Cedric and I couldn’t be worse suited to each other if we tried.

"You both work in the tech sector in an investment bank. You have similar life goals and aspirations,” she began, listing the two points on her fingers. “And that’s just me getting started. You're alike in more ways than you think.”

“Never heard of opposites attract?” I countered, unable to hold back the grin because I knew I had her there.

Oh, how quickly Mum made me regret asking that.

"You two are also a classic case of opposites attract. Your work and career goals are where I draw the line of similarities. Personality-wise, the both of you couldn't be more different if you tried. You're quite serious while he's a bit more carefree. You're both quick-witted and sharp with your tongue, you with the sarcasm and him with the teasing and light-hearted jokes. From the little I've seen, he seems to lean more toward living in the moment while you spend more time thinking ahead and planning for the future. Both are amiable qualities, but you're both not too much in your ways which is great for compatibility. He'll push you to come out of your bubble a bit more, and you'll push him to be a little bit more serious about his future. He’s also a few years older than you which is a good thing because I know you like your men a little older.”

I opened my mouth and closed it, unable to do anything but gape at Mum and her findings.

Just how much time had she spent with Cedric to find out so much about him? Not only that, but she had drawn up a figurative table of similarities and differences between us before drawing a conclusion.

What was next? A pro-con list?

“I hate to admit it, Saff, but I think your mum is right,” Dad said as he pulled the car into the parking spot behind the restaurant.

“I hate to burst your bubble guys, but I don’t plan on seeing Cedric ever again,” I spoke with the utmost confidence, making sure they knew I meant business while leaving no room for argument. "We didn’t get along at all. If I'm being honest, we spent the whole time arguing."

“Was it arguing or just banter?” Mum asked as she stepped out of the car, sending me a pointed look.

"It wasn't banter. I’ve never met a man as infuriating and annoying as Cedric Barlowe. He’s rude, and obnoxious and walks around thinking that he’s better than the rest of us. Trust me when I say he’s the last person I ever want to see again.”

Mum and Dad grinned, sharing private, knowing looks right in front of me.

“Guys!” I groaned, very tempted to stomp my feet in frustration. "Can we please just drop this? There's no way Cedric and I would be able to survive another date, let alone spend the rest of our lives together. The first one was so tragic. Let’s leave it at that.”

“Fine,” Dad agreed as he locked up the car behind us. “Let’s drop the topic.”

"For now,” Mum made sure to add at the end, and despite my earlier insistence, I laughed.

“You look lovely, Mum.” I looped my arm through hers as we started walking around to the entrance of the restaurant. She looked beautiful in a dark purple velvet dress paired with opaque black tights and a little black purse which couldn’t carry more than a single tube of mascara and lip gloss.

Sometimes, Mum was more stylish than me. Like right now.

"Thanks, honey." She smiled at me, a smile which only got bigger when Dad echoed my compliments. “You don’t look as bad as I made out earlier. You look…comfortable.”

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