Page 8 of Certified Heartthrob

“Thanks, Camille.”

He hung up, but never gave me his word he would actually try and make one of these work. That left me feeling uneasy, but even more than that...I couldn’t stop thinking about him or these potential dates. It had my stomach all twisted up in knots...like the time in high school when I didn’t think I stood a chance with my crush, so I set him up with one of my girlfriends instead. At least I could live vicariously through her...

But I didn’t want to live vicariously through Mark Silver’s dates, did I?

4

Mark

Sydney Borday. All I knew about her was that she was gorgeous, based on her profile pics, and that Camille recommended her. Honestly, the only reason I’d accepted the date was to see what kind of woman this Camille Meadows thought I would be a good match with.

I had to hand it to her. She really cared about her job. More than I thought any of the Meadows siblings would. Or maybe she was just bitter about the money they were losing from my scathing reviews. Either way, she intrigued me. And even more intriguing was the prospect of seeing what kind of woman she picked out for me.

As I waited at the bar where Sydney and I had agreed to meet, I considered what Camille had asked me. To give it a fair chance. It had been awhile since I’d been on a real date. Three years to be exact. Back when my ex and I had first started seeing each other. Maybe it was time for me to retest my theory about relationships. If I gave it a fair chance and it still didn’t work out...it only further proved my point, right? And having that gratification in the face of Camille’s stubbornness was appealing.

But the thing was...it didn’t always seem glaringly doomed to fail right away. That was the problem. It wasn’t until you were in the thick of things with someone that the problems started to surface, and by then it was too late. I wasn’t so sure that was a risk I wanted to take.

I was distracted by the woman who slipped onto the barstool next to mine. It took me a minute to recognize her because she was even prettier in person than on her profile. But when she removed her trendy hat from her caramel waves, I realized it was Sydney.

“Oh. Hello. I’m Mark.” I extended my hand.

“Sydney Borday.” She smiled. “Nice to meet you.” Her plump lips spread to reveal an adorably slight gap between her front two teeth. Her voice had a sexy hoarseness to it that was already driving me wild. It might be worth it not to botch the date right off, just to hear her talk some more.

“Thanks for meeting me. Can I get you a drink?”

“Sure.” She nodded. “I was surprised when one of the CEOs reached out to me personally. That’s never happened to me on Heartstring before.”

“Apparently, I’m a real troublesome guy to match.” I grinned.

“And why is that?”

Her brown eyes stared at me expectantly. There it was. My shot to tell her my whole theory on how this was all just one big, futile game. Or...I could give it a fair chance, like Camille asked.

“I’m a little cynical, I guess.” I shrugged.

“I don’t think many people who are single at our age can say they’re not at least a little jaded.”

I laughed. “I may...take it to an extreme.”

“Does that mean you’re an axe murderer?” she teased.

“An axe murderer of the concept of modern relationships, maybe,” I confessed.

“Eh. Modern relationships.” She winced. “They’re not so different from how relationships have always been. We can just afford to be pickier now.”

There was something intoxicating about her. Something that made me not want to debate it too much. She was a beautiful, smart, and witty woman...just trying to get to know me. It saddened me to think I had gotten so bad that I couldn’t ride it out for at least a little while longer.

“Should we go to our table for dinner?” I suggested, and she nodded. “After you.”

An hour later, we had moved on to dessert and cocktails. Sydney didn’t exactly work in marketing, like her profile said. She was a social media influencer, but hated that label. She was interesting and funny. Truthfully, I was having a great time. Camille had, as much as I hated to admit it, done a great job.

“I’ve had a really great time tonight,” Sydney admitted after a while.

“I have, too,” I agreed reluctantly.

“Perhaps we could see each other again? Friday night?”

My smile faded as I sipped my drink, buying myself time. There was no reason to say no. Except my certainty that within a few months or years, one of us would inevitably get burned. I knew I needed to walk away now while I still could, before emotions had a chance to get involved.

---