Apparently, that was the bar for my love life: anything less terrifying than my nightmares was reason to cheer.
Not that I was tempted to cheer about Leo, Tanner, or Jeff. I didn’t know a thing about them, and the mere thought of going on a date withanyonewas more likely to make me vomit than anything.
“Here, lemme help you.” Grant’s hand covered mine on the mouse, and a zing went straight up my arm and into my chest as he navigated to Leo’s name and clicked.
I shook off his hand. “Thank you. I’m capable of operating a mouse.”
“Are you? It looked likeyou’dfrozen, and the suspense was killing me. Aren’t you ready to see Bachelor Number 1?”
I most certainly wasn’t. But I was even less ready to admit that to Grant.
My emotions were jumbled, and I couldn’t tell if I was more afraid that my matches would be awful or that one of them might actually be great. It had been a long time since I’d let myself contemplate being with someone.
Leo’s profile loaded, and my brows went up. So did Grant’s.
He was what many people might call…blessed.
Large, blue eyes, thick blond hair, tan skin that accentuated the white of his teeth, and a physique that made you wonder how much DNA he shared with Captain America.
“Huh,” Grant said.
“What?”
He shrugged. “Just not quite who I’d pictured you being matched with.”
I looked at Leo again. To be totally honest, he wasn’t what I’d have anticipated, either. But who was I to question the data?
“Director of Strategic Partnerships,” Grant read. He covered my hand again and clicked on one of the alternate photos Leo had provided. He was standing on the top of a peak overlooking a forest of pines, wearing a tank top and shorts. “He’s definitely strategically partnered with steroids.”
I threw off his hand again and shot him an annoyed look. “You’re making assumptions without data.”
“Or,” Grant said, “I’m drawing on experience and common sense. Let’s see Bachelor Number 2.”
I could’ve done with a bit more snooping around Leo’s profile, but I was equally interested in the other matches, so before Grant could commandeer my mouse hand again, I navigated to Tanner’s profile.
He was a brunette with slightly mussed hair and a wide, genuine smile. He looked young.
“Didn’t know Matchify supported cradle-robbing,” Grant said, voicing my thoughts.
“He’s 27,” I defended. “I’m 30.”
“He looks 18.”
“But he’s not. He probably takes really good care of his skin.”
“Or he just finished high school, realized how hard it is to earn money, and is looking for a sugar mama. Or a cougar.”
I jabbed him with an elbow. It met with a pack of solid abdominals that even Leo wouldn’t have sneered at. “Do you always assume the worst of people?”
“Definitely. It’s my job.”
“I thought your job was to keep an open mind.”
“Open to all the things most people don’t want to believe about their fellow humans.”
“Jeez,you’reinspiring.”
“Thanks,” he said with a big grin.
