Page 16 of The Dating Game

It’s not just that, though. Not really. It’s an unidentifiable quality that she possesses—like an amped up charisma paired with an undercurrent of vulnerability that makes me want to hug her to me.

Which…is ridiculous.

And needs to be shut down. Thankfully that will be easy enough since it’s not as if I’ll be seeing her again anytime soon.

I round the corner into the sanctuary, planning on taking the shortcut across the stage to my own office on the other side, but my footsteps come to a stop as I spot Brooke sitting in the front row of seats. Blindfolded.

Chapter 5

Brooke

“Okay,nowsitdown,”Sydney instructs me. I do as she says even though this has been the weirdest five minutes of my life. As soon as I got to Grace Canyon for our agreed upon lunch date, Sydney demanded that I turn around. Then she flung a blindfold over my eyes and said, “Okay, now before you freak out, this was all Belinda’s idea.”

I really wasn’t sure why the fact that blindfolding me was her coworker’s idea was supposed to make me feel any better, but Sydney answered that for me a second later. “And as an avid romance reader and writer she is an expert in all things meet-cute related.”

“You expect me to meet Will with a blindfold on?” I was understandably skeptical.

“Hear me out,” she said as she tied the knot in place.

“No thanks.” I reached up to try and pull the blindfold down but she swatted my hand away.

“My setup, my rules!” she scolded me. “Now here’s how this is going to go. I am going to walk you to a secure location—”

“A secure location?” I interjected. “Is this a meet-cute or a scene from a spy novel?”

“Shhh! Listen. Timing is of the essence!” she cried. “Now once I get you to this location, I will handcuff you to—”

“Handcuff!” I cried. “Sydney,are you crazy?”

“We’re thinking it would be super cute if he has to rescue you,” Belinda suddenly chimed in, startling me. I didn’t know she was there because I wasblindfolded!

“You two have gone completely mental,” I informed them, once again trying to remove the blindfold and once again getting swatted away. “What is he supposed to be rescuing me from? You two?”

“An abduction,” Belinda replied in a tone that suggested I’d asked a stupid question.

“No way,” I protested, crossing my arms over my chest. “No dang way.”

There was a beat of silence in which I imagined them exchanging looks, then they both burst out laughing.

“Only joking, B,” Sydney sang. “The blindfold is just so the surprise doesn’t get spoiled.”

“What surprise?”

“If I told you it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

Having said that she proceeded to practically frog-march me out of the library and over to wherever I am now.

“Can I take the blindfold off now?” I ask.

“Fine by me,” a male voice replies and my blood runs cold. I reach up with both hands and rip the blindfold off.

“Will,” I squeak. My cheeks are flaming. As anyone’s would if someone found them randomly sitting inside a church sanctuary wearing a blindfold. Because that’s where I am, in the church sanctuary. Sitting right in the front row. With Will staring at me with a bemused expression on his face.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” I cry.

“To be honest, I’m not even sure what it looks like,” he replies, crossing his arms over his chest and studying me thoughtfully. He looks impossibly good in his olive green slacks with a long-sleeved navyblue henley shirt layered over a white shirt. The cuffs of the white shirt are rolled up over the cuffs of his navy shirt and his top two buttons are undone. I liked him in the joggers and long-sleeve t-shirt he wore to skydiving and he looked hot in his jeans and white t-shirt last night, but this whole business casual thing is another winner of a look.

But anyway, back to the blindfold recovery situation.

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