Page 28 of The One That I Want

She grins. ‘That’s my job.’

‘Right. I hadn’t thought of that.’

‘It’s also why I had you complete the client questionnaire. No sense in setting you up with wildly unsuitable men if you’re expected to explore the depths of modern dating, right?’

‘Oh, good point,’ I reply, realising she’s just addressed my biggest suspicion about her methods. ‘Even so, I’m not sure I remember how to do this. I haven’t properly dated since, well…’

‘Before the pandemic?’

‘Waybefore the pandemic. Back then, I was listening to “Reputation” on repeat.’ I don’t mention that my favourite song from that album was ‘King of My Heart’, a song about being better off alone.

Poppy’s eyes narrow and she shakes her head slightly.

‘Taylor Swift,’ I add to clarify.

‘Ahh.’

‘Not a Swiftie, then?’ I ask.

‘One of the few people on the planet who isn’t.’

‘I won’t hold it against you.’

She smiles. ‘Good. Now, now back to you,’ she says, restoring me to the hotseat. ‘Are you ready to meet your first match?’

I take a bracing breath. ‘Why not?’

She reaches into her enormous handbag – a Lorenzo, like her heels – and takes out a folder. ‘This,’ she says, opening it and spinning it around so the contents face me, ‘is Harrison.’

Harrison is a broad-shouldered, handsome man with thick, brown hair, russet-brown eyes, and the type of stubble that looks ruggedly sexy but probably requires constant grooming. The summary at the top of his biography states that he’s forty, has never married, has no children, and loves to travel. He also teaches music at an inner-London school – a job he’s passionate about – and is a part-time voice actor.

And the clincher, a direct quote from the man himself:

I genuinely want to find someone who’ll be my best friend, my lover, and my partner.

He may just be the perfect man (on paper at least). Perhaps Poppy’s right – thiscouldbe fun.

8

GRETA

‘Yum-eee,’ says Tiggy, ogling the photo of Harrison. ‘He’s a dish. If you don’t like him, can I have him?’

I snatch it from her. ‘He’s a person, not a handbag. I’m not lending him out. Besides, you’re already dating someone.’

‘Not exclusively. And it’s some-ones.’

I ignore her, my eyes perusing Harrison’s face and lingering on his bottom lip, which is much fuller than the top one. Tiggy’s right – heisa dish. Poppy’s advice comes to mind, about having fun with all this.

‘Well, he’s proper fit, he is – Mountain Maaan,’ she says, adopting a deep, booming voice.

‘Mountain Man?’ I ask.

Tiggy shrugs. ‘I don’t know – he looks like he chops down trees for fun. He does seem perfect for you – at least according to this.’ She’s not wrong; it’s the exact thought I had earlier. ‘So,again, no more complaining about this assignment.’

She stabs her straw into her G&T, making the ice clink against the sides, then sucks the rest of it noisily through the straw.

‘Please don’t say that. You’re the only person who knows about it besides Anjali. And you’re my bestie. Who else am I supposed to talk to?’

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