Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

BLAKE

It's been two days since Molly and I talked. Two full days. I haven't heard her coming and going next door, she won't speak to me at the mixers, and if I get too close to her—which appears to be anywhere near fifty feet—she runs in the opposite direction.

So instead of enjoying myself with her and helping to steady her when she trips—which she does all the time—I've chatted up as many of the singles as I can. Krista's finally taken the hint that I'm not interested in dating her, and she's started to ignore me with a vigorous sort of anger. I overheard her tell another woman not to waste her time with me because I was nothing but an emotionally unavailable tease. That couldn't be farther from the truth, but as I haven't been telling the truth here, I can see how she might not see it that way.

Instead of going down to breakfast this morning and facing whatever drama is destined to occur, I hide out in my room and order room service. After that, I call the office and ask for Gillian.

"I'm sorry, she's in a meeting," her secretary tells me.

"Please ask her to call me as soon as she can," I say before hanging up .

I really don't want to be here anymore. I feel like I've gotten enough information to write about this event without having to see it through until the bitter end, and believe me, at the rate I'm going, the end will definitely be bitter.

While I wait for my food to arrive, I open my laptop and get back to work.

If you have any desire to maintain your sanity, you should not sign up for a dating getaway at the Elk Lake Lodge. This process has been humbling and borderline humiliating. It is not for the faint of heart. The truth is that you probably stand a better chance of meeting your future life partner at a bar, a dog park, or a red-eye flight to Antarctica. At least in those places you'll be able to trust that you're actually attracted to someone and you're not just trying to beat a competitor to the punch. Because let's face it, this is a competition. It's a contest that will have winners and losers, and I do not like the odds of success.

I take a break to think about last night's encounter with a woman Trina introduced me to. Her name was Harlow, and she's a flight attendant. She travels a lot, but she's based in Chicago. I have no idea why the Midwestern Matchmaker thought we'd hit it off unless she assumed the only person who wouldn't mind dating me was one who didn't have to see me very often. I sense that Trina is not my biggest fan.

Harlow and I didn't have a chance to talk for long before two other men, whom she'd previously been getting to know, joined us. They nearly came to blows over who was going to walk Harlow to supper. That was my cue to skedaddle.

I did talk to Thor, and I asked him what was going on between him and Molly. He assured me that nothing was going on, and when I asked why, he said, "It's obvious that you have a thing for her, Blake. I didn't want to get in the way of that." I thought I'd been better about hiding my feelings. Also, I'm surprised Thor would be so cool about letting Molly go. If I was in this for real, I would be way more aggressive than that.

"I don't have a thing for her," I told him. He merely rolled his eyes and said it was also clear that Molly also has a thing for me, which is why he didn't waste his time pursuing her. I've been thinking about that since last night.

Molly does give off the vibes that she's attracted to me. And while it's true that I'm also interested, I've been ordered not to tell anyone why I'm here. Therefore, I can't ask Molly out for real without breaking the terms of my assignment. My first assignment, and if I'm not careful, maybe my last.

There's a noise in the hallway which I assume is my breakfast. Getting off the bed, I quickly cross the room and open the door. But it's not my food, it's Molly. Her eyes pop open so wide when she sees me, I'm afraid she's going to run again. "Molly," I say.

Her gaze shifts nervously from the left to the right before she replies, "Blake."

"How are you?" I ask. She's wearing leggings and an oversized sweater. She looks so cuddly, I want to take her into my arms and hold her.

"I'm fine." She doesn't say anything else.

"I miss talking to you," I tell her.

She shrugs her shoulders like she couldn't care less.

"Are you on your way to the dining room?" I ask.

"Maybe."

I spot a waiter walking down the hall in our direction. He's pushing a cart that I hope is carrying my breakfast. I was so hungry this morning I ordered three different things. I figured if I had to be here against my will, the least the newspaper could do is make sure my stomach is happy. It may seem petty, but I want to make them pay in some way, other than just my paycheck.

Stopping at my door, the waiter announces, "I have your family's food."

Molly's eyes narrow like she's decided that means I have company. "Your family, huh? "

"Would you like to come in and join us?" I ask her.

Unable to resist the temptation, she pushes me to the side before storming into my inner sanctum. While she looks around for whoever she thinks is there, I sign the check and walk the waiter out.

When I come back into the room, Molly is bent over at the waist looking under the bed. "There's no one there," I tell her.

She stands up so quickly she nearly tips over. Leaning into the mattress, she asks, "Is she in the bathroom?"

"I'm the only one here."

"So, she's already left?" She says this like I didn't show my fake date a good enough time to warrant her staying.

"I'm all alone, Molly."

Staring at the food cart, she charges, "You're eating french toast, an omelet, and oatmeal all by yourself?"

"Everything sounded so good this morning, I couldn't decide what I wanted." Her stomach growls with such intensity I ask, "Would you like to join me? You can have whatever you want."

"I shouldn't …" she says petulantly.

"I won't take it as a compliment," I assure her. "I'll just assume you're so hungry you don't want to wait another forty-five minutes that going to the dining room would entail." Her stomach rumbles again as if she couldn't possibly make it that long.

"Fine," she says, before crossing the room and sitting down at the table by the window. "But I get the french toast."

Pushing the cart toward her, I agree. "That's okay with me." Then I ask, "Would you like me to make you a cup of coffee?"

She shakes her head while reaching out to take my glass of orange juice off the tray. "I'll just drink this." I love how sassy she is. I really have missed talking to her.

Sitting down across from her, I ask, "Have you been enjoying yourself?"

She looks up from her plate sheepishly. "I guess."

"Have you met any nice men? "

"I've been talking to Kyle a little bit."

"I hope you told him to hit the bricks," I tell her.

"I'm not taking him back, but it's nice to spend time with someone who knows me. Someone who's interested in me." That jab meets its target—me.

"I'm interested in you, Molly."

She nearly spits out her orange juice. "As a friend."

I barely resist the temptation to tell her what's going on in my head. "I have an interesting story for you."

I don't elaborate quickly enough because she drops her fork and commands, "Go on."

"My mom and dad used to be best friends."

"You mean they aren't anymore?"

"I mean," I tell her, "my mom dated my dad's roommate in college. They were together for a full year until one day Mom realized she didn't like talking to her boyfriend nearly as much as she enjoyed talking to my dad."

"Oh?"

Nodding my head, I tell her, "Yup. Mom told Jake that she wanted the two of them to go away for a weekend so they could really get to know each other."

Molly is intrigued. "What happened?"

"They went to the Wisconsin Dells and spent two days and two nights."

"And?"

"When they returned, they were no longer a couple."

"Wow, okay. Why are you telling me this?"

I open one of the cloth napkins and situate it on my lap, before saying, "I'm telling you this so that you understand how seriously I take friendship."

Molly blushes charmingly. "Are you saying that you're always friends with someone before you date them?"

"Not always, no." Her eyes begin to water, and she blinks rapidly to keep excess moisture from leaking out. She's breaking my heart. "I'm saying that friendship is very important to me. Friendship can always lead to something more, and if it does then that something more would be very special. Don't you think?"

She opens her mouth like she's going to answer, but then she simultaneously picks up her fork and knocks the glass of orange juice over. Molly jumps up and lets out a shout as the cold liquid rolls down the table onto her legs.

In the past, I would have never thought this to be the case, but it turns out my perfect woman might just be a world class klutz.