Page 23 of Bridesmaid Undercover
“How? I can’t just pick a guy out at the grocery store and saydate me. Plus, I hear horror stories about online dating and the apps. Like a ton of ghosting.”
She scoffs. “And there are also wonderful stories that come from going that route. It’s a process, Everly. It’s not going to happen overnight.”
“I know, but?—”
“And there are other ways as well. You can join a club, be a part of something bigger, like…a bowling league. Meet someone there.”
“A bowling league?” I ask. “Ember, I’ve maybe bowled once in my life. No one wants me on their team.”
“They might. And maybe there’s a beginner one. Or maybe a bingo club.”
“Bingo?” I nearly shout. “Ember, I’m not looking to date an eighty-year-old man.”
“There might be young men there too. Maybe someone playing bingo with their granny. Now there’s a man to consider, someone who cares so deeply for their grandma that they play bingo on Friday nights.”
“I can guarantee you, there are no young men hanging out at bingo halls.”
“Well, then go to a bar,” she offers. “You’re in San Francisco, not some backwater small town.”
“Ugh, those guys are always wanting to get laid, they don’t want to meet someone for the real reasons, for developing arelationship. They’re looking for a quick fuck and then they’re out.”
“I mean…is that a bad thing?” I can hear the humor in her voice.
“It is when I don’t want that.”
She huffs. “Fine, but those were good ideas.”
“They were not.”
“They would have been if you weren’t so close-minded.”
“Are you really going to tell me that going to a bingo hall to meet someone was a good idea? You’re standing behind that?”
“You know, I don’t have to take this kind of abuse. I’m a nice woman. I have things I could be doing right now, a husband I could be doing?—”
“Okay, okay.” I chuckle. “No need to get into the details. It’ll just color me with jealousy.”
“Fine, I’ll spare you, but just so you know, I have options,” she says. “I don’t have to be on the phone with you.”
“Well, I appreciate you taking time to talk to me, your measly little sister. You’re a true hero.”
“I like to think so,” Ember says. “You know, there is one more option.”
“What’s that? Going to senior aquatics?” I joke.
“Well, going to the gym is an option, but that’s not what I was going to say. We have a built-in matchmaker.”
“Who?” I ask, confused.
“Trevor,” she says.
“Trevor?” I ask flatly. “How on earth is he a built-in matchmaker? I’m pretty sure he couldn’t care less about my love life.”
“Because we can ask him if there’s anyone at his work that he knows is looking for a date. Would you be interested in a blind date?”
“I don’t know,” I say tepidly as my mind drifts to Hardy.
“Are you still caught up on the man?” Embers asks, knowing me all too well.
