She licked her lips. “I am.”
“Wanna get something to eat?”
“I do,” she said, her gaze on his hand holding hers. Then her brain engaged. “No, wait. I can’t. I have a meeting tonight with GGC.”
“GGC?”
“The Good Grief Club.” Her lips twisted. “It’s a club some of my friends from grief counseling started to keep in touch with each other after the counseling ended. I’m meeting with them tonight.” She tipped her head toward the door. “Ava’s a member. And Coop’s Emma. Gage’s Fiona. She came to the grief therapy group with her father when she lost her mother. That’s how we all met. We’ve been together now for several years.”
As if he realized he was still holding her hand, Tag released it and rose to his feet. “Then I won’t keep you any longer. I’ll see you tomorrow night at the steak house in Cedar Park.”
Leslie nodded.
“Do you need me to do anything to shut down the computers?” Tag asked.
“No, thank you.” Leslie leaned across and logged him out of the application. “I’ll take care of everything.” She sighed and met his gaze. “See you tomorrow.”
Tag exited the conference room, leaving Leslie alone.
She was just about to log out of her session of BODS when she remembered the fourth candidate, Joe Fox. Quickly, she entered a message.
Hi Joe,
I just wanted to say how refreshing it is to get to know someone via email before actually meeting in person. It helps to alleviate some of the anxiety of face-to-face introductions with perfect strangers.
I’ll be honest. I really didn’t think I was ready to jump back into the dating pool. You see, I’m a widow…not divorced nor a confirmed bachelorette. I knew what it was like to love someone with my whole heart. I’m afraid anything less will be second best. There, it’s out there. I thought you should know what you’re up against from the beginning. Not every man is willing to start a relationship in which he must live up to the example set by a ghost.
I’m not always sad, and I have learned to find happiness in every day. One thing that makes me happy is helping others. I love to sing whenever I can. I walk at least a couple of miles a day, and I like an occasional glass of wine. I’m just as happy in the country as I am in the city. Snakes, spiders and critters don’t scare me. So, if you love the outdoors, I’m okay with that. If you like sticking with city-life, I’m okay with that as well.
Anyway, I’ve rambled enough. I hope to hear from you. I’ll understand if you don’t respond.
Life is short. Have a beautiful day, filled with sunshine and joy.
* * *
Leslie
Before she could change her mind, she sent the message, logged out and turned off both computers. What was done was done. She was in BODS, and she had to see it through.
* * *
Leslie was five minutes late when she arrived at the coffee shop where the Good Grief Club met. She always looked forward to the bi-monthly meeting with the circle of friends who’d helped her get through one of the darkest times of her life. She hadn’t realized just how long it had taken to enter her profile and Tag’s into the BODS system, and then review hers and Tag’s matches. She’d pushed the speed limit in order to get to the meeting as close to on time as she could.
When she walked through the door Ava, Emma and Fiona clapped and cheered.
Heat filled her cheeks as she closed the distance between them. “What’s all this about?”
Emma grinned. “Ava told us all about it.”
“You’ve come over to the dark side,” Fiona said.
Leslie frowned. “What do you mean, the dark side?”
Ava grinned. “You finally jumped into BODS with both feet.”
“And all I have to say,” Emma said, “is it’s about damn time.”
“That’s right,” Fiona agreed. “It’s about time you waded out into the dating pool. The rest of us did.”
Leslie snorted. “The three of you weren’t in the dating pool for that long.”
Ava hugged her arms around herself and smiled. “Yeah, we weren’t, were we? But that’s the beauty of BODS. Your system got us out of the dating pool so fast we didn’t have to drown in one loser after another.”
“That’s the beauty of the system you designed.” Fiona draped an arm around Leslie’s shoulder and gave her a quick hug.
As Leslie slid into the booth beside Ava, all three of her friends leaned toward her.
“Now, spill,” Emma said.
Leslie hedged. “Why do you want to hear about my day? Emma, you’re getting married in three days. We should be talking about the wedding.”
Emma shook her head. “The wedding is all under control.” She counted off on her fingers. “The dress is ready. Jane’s making the cake. I hired a wedding planner to do everything else. All I have to do is show up and get dressed.” She looked around the table at her bridesmaids. “You guys are ready, aren’t you?”
“I am,” Fiona said.
Leslie said, “I have my dress hanging up, ready to go.”
“I’m ready as well,” Ava said.
Emma turned to Leslie. “So, spill.”
“That’s right,” Fiona said. “We want to know what BODS came up with for you.”
Ava grinned. “And we want to know what it came up with for Tag.”
Emma’s brow twisted. “What’s this about the two of you going into the room together? I thought this was an individual thing.”
“I think Tag felt sorry for me,” Leslie said. “He agreed to help vet my matches on BODS.”
“Matches?” Emma asked. “What do you mean matches?”
“Yeah, right. I only had one,” Fiona said.
Ava frowned. “Me, too.”
Leslie shrugged. “I left some of the answers vague. Maybe that’s why I got more than one match.”
“How many did you get?” Emma wanted to know.
“Four,” Leslie confessed.
“Four?” Ava exclaimed. “That’s a lot.”
“I guess it’s because we’ve gotten a lot more entries into the system,” Leslie said. “And there are a lot more matches to pull from, now.”
“You mean if I’d waited and entered my info today, I might have had three or four different applicants for a date?” Fiona asked.
Leslie shrugged, “Maybe.”
Ava, Emma and Fiona all looked at each other.
“Well, I’m glad it ended up the way it did,” Ava said. “I couldn’t be happier than I am with Sean. And Mica thinks the world of her new daddy.”
Emma snorted. “And I couldn’t have done better than Coop. He’s amazing.” She sighed dramatically. “He had my brothers won over on the first date.”
“What do you mean he won your brothers over on your first date?” Fiona asked. “Your brothers went on your first date with Coop?”
“Kinda,” Emma said. “I had him come out to the ranch and put him through the cowboy gauntlet. I didn’t know he was a rancher himself. I thought he was an accountant, a desk jockey who didn’t know one end of a horse from the other. Not only did he know the animals, he helped us haul hay. And he was very good at it. He impressed my brothers from day one.” She shook her head. “No, it couldn’t have turned out better. And I’m marrying the man I love so much in three days.” She smiled.