Love to Hate You: Three's a Crowd

Chapter 7 - Any Takers?

'Personally,' Mattie said, as she sipped on a lemonade and lime because – to Rafe's intense displeasure – she was Tobias's designated driver for the evening. 'I think you should lower your standards. Certainly, your expectations. The sort of people who use speed dating are... well...' she said, glancing over her brother-in-law's body, 'like you.'

'What does that mean?' he asked tersely.

'A little bit... unlucky in love? Perhaps on their last resort?' she teased. He scowled, and she rushed to placate him. 'That was a joke. I just mean that people who are inundated with offers probably don't do speed dating.' She frowned at the gaggle of strangers in the corner of the room. 'It doesn't strike me as the kind of thing you'd do for shits and giggles.' Her frown morphed into a grimace. 'It seems like something you do after a significant run of bad luck,' this last said more to herself, than to him. 'Anyway, what I mean is, you shouldn't expect to hit it off with someone straight away. You shouldn't expect love at first sight. Just...' She paused, wondering what advice she could possibly give to a man who was so unreliable and childish, and everything her husband was not. 'Just give these women a chance. Don't write them off just because there's not an immediate connection. If everyone did that, you wouldn't get any ticks, either.'

'But it's speed dating. There's meant to be an immediate connection!' Tobias grumbled. 'I thought that was the whole point of this!'

'Look,' Mattie told him, placing her palms to his shoulders. 'Just be yourself. Your nicest self. The one who can be kind and patient and who isn't judgemental or aiming too high. You are forty-six and resolutely single. You do have a bad track record and I'm sorry, but you're not an alpha male.'

'Right,' Tobias said, his irritation more than apparent, because Mattie was supposed to be his wingman; she was supposed to boost his ego, and instead, she was bringing him down. 'So, I'm to accept that the women at this thing might be...'

'As left on the shelf as you are, so all's equal.'

'You're a smug married. Did you know that? You're a smug married.'

'Anyone married to Raffey would be smug!' Mattie declared unapologetically. 'Do you know how big his –'

'Shut up!' Tobias hissed, before straightening his shirt and fussing with his hair. 'Do I look okay?'

'You're the most attractive guy here,' she promised, which wasn't saying much, considering she'd already cast some less than flattering aspersions on the crowd of speed daters. 'Just remember,' Mattie finished, in a serious voice. 'You have a lot to offer, but it's not always instantly apparent. The same is probably true for everyone here.'

'Right,' he nodded. 'I can do this. I'm not scared.' And he wasn't, because Tobias was a very confident person. He knew his own worth, even if his self-valuation was over-inflated. The problem he had was knowing his own mind. He didn't know what sort of woman he was attracted to. He'd had lots of girlfriends and flings. All different in their own way. Their only common denominator had been their gender and their failure to go the distance.

He walked over to the barman with the clipboard, was told to start at table six, and set his wine down in front of a woman with flaming red hair.

'Hello,' he said, holding out his hand. 'I'm Tobias.' Mattie winced as she sucked on her straw. She wasn't convinced that a corporate hand-shake was the way to go. A kiss on the cheek was arguably overkill. She'd be inclined to offer a stilted wave of greeting, but wondered if that was childish. I'm probably not a wise choice for a wingman... she mused, as she watched the redhead take Tobias' hand and shake it with a tight smile.