Page 87 of The One That I Want

I check the label and agree it’s the correct wine, even though I can’t remember the name of the winery on the menu, then once she has poured a splash into my glass, I take a sip.

‘Yummy,’ I say without thinking.

The waiter smiles – I can only imagine what she’s thinking – then pours two generous glasses and leaves.

‘Yumminess being the primary characteristic of a Pinot Grigio,’ I say, and Harrison grins.

‘I like that you can laugh at yourself,’ he says, regarding me closely.

‘I find it’s best to get in first before other people can.’

I have no idea why I said that – it makes me sound like I have low self-esteem, which I don’t.

‘Well, at least you aren’t casually chatting about your penis on a date.’

‘Harrison,’ I say deadpan. ‘I don’t have a penis.’

This kicks us off again and when the laughter dwindles, we both reach for our wine and take a sip.

While our shared laughter has chased away my nerves, I’m left wondering,Now what do we talk about?

23

GRETA

Conversation does eventually start to flow, especially after Harrison tells me his sister put his profile up on a dating app without asking, which led to him being ‘headhunted’ by the Ever After Agency. I hadn’t known that – how they find potential matches – and find it fascinating.

And following the unwritten tit-for-tat rule of conversation, over starters I recount my lunch at Mum and Dad’s when Mum attempted to foist Ian, Dad’s widower friend, on me as a potential partner.

We share another laugh, commiserating with each other about our well-meaning family members. Then we tell each other why we’re still single.

Me: career-focussed and perhaps a little guarded after being cheated on by my only long-term boyfriend. Him: career-focussed and incredibly guarded after a several-year relationship that became routine and unfulfilling for both parties.

‘So, here I am, forty, successful in my career, with a nice flat, good friends, and a solid social life, but firmly a bachelor,’ he says.

‘Did it feel like you simply lifted your head one day and that was the status quo – like it had crept up on you?’ I ask. ‘That’s how it was for me.’

‘Yes, except for the “lifting my head” part – that was just Emily sending me my username and password for Flutter.’

‘I thought Flutter was for thirty-fives and under?’

‘They recently raised the age cap to forty. Lucky me, huh?’

‘Mmm,’ I agree. ‘And you haven’t dated anyone from the app?’ I ask. ‘You mentioned before that I’m the first date you’ve had in a while.’

‘No, I was too… well, scared, I guess. I mean, dating apps?’ He shrugs. ‘Not really my thing.’

This explains why he was still available to date me after weeks of being ‘on hold’ with the agency.

‘And what about meeting me?’ I ask. ‘Not as scary?’

‘Not as scary,’ he admits. ‘The people at the agency were really understanding. When I signed on, they promised I’d only be matched with one woman at a time – and they’d send me her profile and a photo – but that I wouldn’t have to meet her if I didn’t want to.’

And that answers my question about how much he knew about me before our date.

‘What made you agree to meet me?’ I ask.

‘Are you fishing?’ he teases.

---