/1/114371/coverbig.jpg?v=124887af6760181d313328d75eac47f3&imageMogr2/format/webp)
et Ho
om the restaurant's back alley hung heavy in the humid air. She just needed a minute. Just
n. Insistent. Impatient
bottom of her lungs, Eileen swiped to answ
ha
ckled, sharp and fast. "Did you get it? The final
s. Of course. That's
work,
ee days. If you refuse the match, we get hit with the fine. Do you have any idea what a quart
. The threat. Eileen could feel the air thinning, the familiar s
t home," she lied, just
dare hang
hung
hone. The official email was there, sitting at the t
tch Result
m. Her finger hovered over the screen, a tremor running up her arm. She pressed her t
ed the e
ond of her old life. Her eyes scanned past the formal jargon, pa
d Spou
son B
just letters. Then her brain caught up, an
utler. A plumber from Ohio. A high school teac
down. Below the name was a summary of his person
and eyes so deep and cold they seemed to see right through the screen. It was him. The man from
ts edge teetering over a puddle of murky water. She snatched it
sn't po
uldn't
of lawyers to find loopholes. They had options. They didn't get paired with girls who
a browser. She typed his name. The search re
Bachelor Takes The Thro
aire Who Can
a death sentence. A glitch of this magnitude, a mistake this public, would ruin her.
fied, her phone rang again.
She answered, her
el
off?" a man's voice a
es
hat you have received your match notification. You are required to appear at the downto
"I think there's been a
d, his tone unwavering. "The system's result
ne wen
urant, the noise and the smells
eaty man named Stan, barked from across the ro
mumbled, the word
million miles away, lost in a storm of panic and disbelief. The clatter of forks, the loud laug
even more suffocating than usual. Bridget and her stepfather, F
en letting her take off her coat
ruth stuck in her throat. How
scanned the screen. For a second, there was silence. Then, a shriek of pu
going to believe this! You a
et's shoulder. He looked at Eileen, but he wasn't seeing his s
ic faces, Eileen's heart di
had just
/1/114371/coverbig.jpg?v=124887af6760181d313328d75eac47f3&imageMogr2/format/webp)