Again, I’m saved the need to respond by Leslie shouting, “And now a gift from my dear friend Vivi! And not just one, but two presents.”

“Overachiever much?” I whisper.

Medusa ignores my jab as our hosts unwrap her gifts. The first is a Polaroid camera identical to the one her daughter has, but in light blue instead of pink.

“This is amazing!” Leslie shrieks in delight. “I want to take pictures of everyone tonight—thanks, Vivi.” The bride-to-be pulls out a few more items from the first box: a carrying case, an album, and two packs of film.

In the meantime, Garrett raises his half of the gift for the crowd to see, revealing a personalized hearts Connect Four game engraved with Garrett and Leslie’s first names in the middle.

The gifts are cute. Not that I’d ever tell Medusa that.

“Well,” Medusa says. “As fun as it’s been to get to know you better, I think I’ll go.”

“Please don’t let me deter you.”

She grimaces. “See you at the office.” Then she pauses and, with an evil little smirk, adds, “Or at the dating agency, assuming you’re not too afraid of rejection.”

“Oh, please, if I signed up I’d be matched up in no time, and definitely before you.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure, Mr. Soppy. I could wager to the contrary.”

“You want to make the bet real?”

“What do you mean?”

“We both sign up to the agency, and if I find my match first, you give me the corner office.” The offer tumbles out of my mouth before I’ve had the time to consider its soundness.

She studies me intently for a few seconds. “And if I win?”

I shrug. “What do you want?”

Medusa narrows her eyes at me. “You move out of the building and I never see you again.”

It’d be foolish of me to accept. It took me forever to find this office and I should remind myself how desperate I was by the end… But the smug way this woman is looking at me is just too much for me to handle. My common sense goes out the window, and suddenly all I want to do is beat her.

“Deal,” I say. “Winner takes it all.”

Medusa smiles sweetly. “I’d start packing up boxes if I were you.” She raises her flute at me in a mock cheers motion. After taking a sip of bubbly, she adds, “It’s a bet.”

Six

Lucas

“Welcome to Listen to Your Heart, Mr. Keller,” the receptionist at the dating agency—a nice brunette in her late twenties—greets me after I give her my name. “We spoke over the phone earlier, right?”

“Yeah,” I confirm. The first thing I did this morning when I arrived at the office was to call the agency and set up an appointment, before I could change my mind.