Match Me

Chapter 12

Marcus asked me to work a half hour longer so I barely had time to shower and change before my mystery date. Jill tried to tell me about him as I finished up my shift but I held up my hand.

“No. I don’t want to know anything.”

“How are you going to know who to look for?” she asked.

“He’s seen my picture, right?”

She nodded. Since she hadn’t left, I’d put her to work, red-lining tags with sale prices and putting them in the clearance section.

“And since I—I mean, you—are apparently the only honest one on dating sites, I’ll look exactly like my picture on the web site. He can find me.”

“OK.” She paused. “But just in case, he has dark–”

“Shh. I don’t want to know.”

I parked my car and walked toward the restaurant, smoothing the creases in my jeans. I tugged at the waistband a little, trying to adjust it. It was the first time I’d worn them all summer and they felt snug and I wondered if I was gaining weight. And if I was, should I blame it on all the drama in my life or the fact that I suddenly couldn’t go more than an hour without eating a piece of chocolate? Maybe consuming chocolate created new brain cells. I made a mental note to look it up later.

The restaurant was packed. Dozens of people stood in the bar, watching the Twins game on the restaurant’s four big-screen TVs. Most of the tables were full, too. There were a few familiar faces but everyone was engrossed in the game. I tried to find an empty part of the room to focus my gaze on, to try to avoid bringing attention to myself.

“Bonita?” a soft voice asked from behind me.

I spun around. “Excuse me?”

A dark-haired Hispanic man stood inches away from me, a bouquet of red roses in his hands. He held them out to me.

“Los flores de bonita para mi nina bonita,” he said.

I’d taken French in high school. “What?”

“Beautiful flowers for my beautiful girl,” the man said. His eyes roved over me. “You are just as lovely in person as on the computer.”

So this was Rob.

“Roberto,” he said, extending his hand. I reached out to shake and he brought my hand to his lips.

“I’m Bonnie,” I said, pulling my hand away before he could slobber on it. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” His brown eyes burned into me and I squirmed. “I have reserved a table for us.”

I’d been to Champs more times than I could count and I knew one thing: they did not take reservations.

“Follow me.” He reached for my hand and led me to a back corner. That was fine with me. Less chance I’d run into anyone I knew.

The table was covered with a white lace tablecloth. Another bouquet of red roses sat in a vase in the center of the table. A collection of tea light candles surrounded the vase, flickering.

“Did you do this?” I asked, looking at the other tables. All bare wood. No flowers. And definitely no candles.

“Of course.” He smiled and his teeth glowed white in the candlelight. “A little ambiance, no?”

He pulled my chair out and I sank into it.

“And now,” he said, reaching into his pocket. “I wish to give you a gift.”

“A gift?” I asked, my eyes wide with shock. “But you already gave me flowers and we just met…”

“I insist,” Roberto said. He produced a slim white box. “Something beautiful for a beautiful woman.”

I opened it. A gold bracelet with a single charm. A red rose.

I snapped it shut and thrust it back at him. “I can’t accept this. I don’t even know you.”

“It is tradition,” he said. He reached across the table and grabbed my hands. His thumbs stroked my fingers. “A gift of courtship.”

“OK. Wait a minute.” I yanked my hands away and pinched my eyes closed. “Courtship?”

“But, of course.” I opened my eyes and Roberto was staring at me, a perplexed expression on his face.

“We’re on a blind date,” I said. “A first date. Possibly our one and only date. You don’t just hand out gold bracelets to every woman you meet, do you?”

He frowned at me. “Every woman? What do you mean?”

“From the web site. The dating web site.”

“I do not understand.”

“Match Me? The site you were on?”

He shook his head, genuinely confused. “Dating? No. It is a match-making site. Courtship. Matrimony. I have chosen you, mi amor.”

I leaped to my feet. “Matrimony? Like, marriage?”

He nodded.

“Oh my God.” I shook my head. “OK. No. You misunderstood. It is a dating site. Dating. Match me—like, find me a date. Not a…a wife!”

“So, you do not wish to marry me?”

“No.” I shook my head vigorously. “I do not wish to marry you. I don’t wish to marry anyone.”

“Now, that’s not true,” a woman’s voice said from behind me.

I froze.

“Because last week, I’m pretty sure you wanted to marry my husband.”

  ☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Hi :) Thanks for reading the this chapter :) Please enjoy the story and don't forget to leave a comment :)

If you liked the story, you can also read my other works and I am so proud to introduce to you my stories which is "From Fame to Shame" and "How To Follow A Heart".

Hope you like it. :D