Page 3 of More Than Just Friends

I didn’t even need Sammie to answer that.

Once Johnnie hadn’t replied to my messages after half an hour, I should’ve left. An hour tops. I shouldn’t have sat there like a saddo.

And I definitely should not have started blubbing like a bloody baby.

I blamed my period. The hormones made me extra emotional. If this had happened next week, I would’ve said ‘fuck him’ after twenty minutes and strutted out of that restaurant with my head held high.

Yeah, right.

I could only dream of having that kind of confidence.

‘Oh, hon. I’m sorry. He doesn’t deserve you. You should try Intentional Dating.’

‘Is this another one of your fancy terms?’

‘How did you guess?’ She chuckled. ‘This one is about knowing your relationship values and goals and only dating people who are likely to be compatible.’

‘I want a man who turns up to a dinner date we planned and doesn’t ghost me after we have sex. How’s that?’

‘You can do better,’ Sammie replied. ‘Which was the other reason I was calling.’

‘The other reason?’ I sat up straighter in the sofa, my interest piqued.

‘So, you know Stella and Max are getting married?’

‘Yeah,’ I said, wondering what that had to do with me. Stella was Sammie’s best friend and I assumed they wanted to keep the wedding small, so I wasn’t expecting an invitation. I couldn’t wait to see the pics though.

‘Well, they’re getting hitched at the Love Hotel’s new resort in Santorini.’

‘Nice!’

Talk about a dream destination. It was one of the places on the top of my travel bucket list, but I wasn’t likely to be ticking that off anytime soon considering that my holiday budget was more Southend-on-Sea than Santorini.

‘I know, right? So anyway, originally it was going to be something smallish, but the hotel’s keen to celebrate the fact that a couple they matched are tying the knot and use it as an opportunity to attract more singles to their resorts.’

‘Sammie,’ I jumped in. ‘I don’t know one singleton who wouldn’t give their right arm and probably their left arm too to bag an invite to that place, especially in stunning Santorini, but unless you can get me a 99 per cent friends and family discount, I can’t afford it.’

‘What if I told you that you could?’

‘Wait, what?’ I jumped off the sofa. ‘Seriously? How?’

‘Well, not quite a 99 per cent discount, but a decent one. Like I said, the hotel wants to encourage more people to benefit from their expertise. They know how hard dating is and they’re conscious that at the moment, only people with a certain income level can afford to find love at their resorts. So they’re looking for ways to make it more accessible.’

‘I’m listening.’ I sat back down, eager to hear more.

‘They’d like to invite a selected number of singles from Stella and Max’s network of friends to the wedding as part of an experiment. So you’d fill out a questionnaire that’s less detailed and less costly for them to analyse. Then they’d run it through their database to see if any other existing applicants could be a decent match. If they find someone suitable, they’d invite you to Santorini for one week before the wedding, set you up with your match then send you on some romantic excursions. And if you still get on at the end of the week, they’d be your plus-one for the wedding.’

‘That sounds amazing!’ I shouted, my heart racing with excitement. ‘And it’d be much better than being lumped on the dreaded singles table. How much would it cost though?’

‘All you’d have to do is cover your flights and pay the hotel a grand, which is what the deposit used to be. It’s gone up a lot since then. That’d cover your five-star accommodation, airport transfers, all the excursions, and unlimited food and drink.’

‘Wow. That’s incredible! But what’s the catch?’

‘There’s no catch!’ Sammie said. ‘The match success rate will probably be lower than if you went through the standard application route, because the matchmakers will spend less time analysing the data, which is reflected in the price.’

‘Fair enough.’ I nodded.

‘They’re also charging less because it’s an experiment and you’ll be there for eight days instead of the normal two weeks. But even if the match success rate is lower, it’s still likely to be a lot higher than using the apps. I think it’s a brilliant idea.’