Page 58 of The Blind Date

“Pass.” I shook my head.

“But I didn’t even get to the good part,” he complained.

"If he actively chooses to go hiking, then he's not the right man for me. Let’s move on to the next one.”

"I'm next," Horatio grinned, looking rather confident. "His name is Ashley, and he works at the Starbucks near our apartment. I'm not sure how old he is, but he looks around our age. Maybe a year or two younger. Anyway, he's always super friendly and has a great memory. He always gets my order right and never charges me when I ask for extra syrup."

“I’m going to have to pass on that one as well,” I snickered.

“Why?” Horatio asked, sounding offended.

"It sounds like you're the one that has a crush on him, so I'm not going to cross that line," I laughed, even more so when Victor turned to playfully narrow his eyes at his fiancé. "Who's got the last one? Let me hear all about him."

Toby went next. “His name is Raj. Lainey and I play tennis with him every fortnight. He works for himself. Stocks and cryptocurrencies, or something like that. He's been doing it since college and probably earns more money than all of us combined."

“He doesn’t sound too bad,” I hummed, my interest far more piqued than all the others. “Are there any red flags I need to know about?”

“Just one,” Toby said in a small voice, almost as if he didn’t want me to hear him.

And just like that, my barriers were up, and I was back to being sceptical.

“Tell me,” I demanded to know.

“He may technically be married.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I frowned, narrowing my eyes at him. “How can someone be single and technically married at the same time?”

“He’s been separated from his wife for two years.”

“Do you mean separated or divorced?”

“Separated,” he clarified. “He mentioned once that he doesn’t want to get divorced because they don’t have a prenup, and he’ll lose everything. I don’t know the specifics, but I’m sure there’s a lot at stake.”

"Yeah, I'm going to pass on Raj," I scoffed. "Believe it or not, I actually want to get married one day, and as long as Raj is married, he won't be able to marry anyone else." I shook my head, a firm no. "That's all three, right? Howard, Ashley, and Raj?" I asked, counting the three new weirdos off my fingers. At least this way, I didn't need to waste three separate evenings with these men to know that things wouldn’t work out.

"I know a guy you might be interested in," Liam piped up, surprising me, and reached for his phone. I didn’t even know that he was paying attention to the conversation. He normally didn’t. “I know he's not on the list, but I think you might like him. We worked together briefly when we were graduates, but then I moved elsewhere. He's a great guy and works in tech. I think I still have his number somewhere."

"Before you try to set us up, is there anything I need to know about him? Any red flags you should mention now before I go on a date with him and discover them myself?" I asked, wishing I had asked my parents the same question before allowing them to set me up with nearly a dozen men. Well, nine men and one woman.

"He got divorced a couple of years ago," Liam murmured nonchalantly, still scrolling through his contacts.

Cedric immediately flashed into my mind, but I was quick to push the thought of him from my mind. The chances that Liam was talking about Cedric were incredibly slim, so there was no point worrying about it. Not when I had tried to avoid thinking about him all day. Emphasis ontried.

“His name isn’t Cedric by any chance, is it?” I dared to ask, almost afraid.

"Yes." Liam nodded, turning his head up to send me a strange look. "Cedric Barlowe. Why? Do you know him?"

"He was the one I went out with on Friday," I admitted in a small voice.

"Wow. What a small world!" Sophia giggled from beside Liam. "You know, Saff, I've met Cedric once when I was out with Liam, and he's a pretty nice guy. Good looking. Kind of nerdy like you. I think the two of you would be a good match."

“Why don’t you give him a second chance, Saff?” Victor asked me.

“Nope,” I flat-out denied. “Cedric Barlowe is going to be a hard pass.”

Even though I was technically telling the truth–that Cedric and I couldn't be a worse match for each other–it felt like I was lying.

“Well, we’ve ticked everyone off our list,” Desmond sighed dejectedly, erasing those names off the notes in his phone. “But don’t worry, Saff. We’ll find your dream guy before you know it.”

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