“Don’t worry about me,” Ariana said, waving her away. “I’ll do my best.”
“You’re an amazing woman, and I can’t wait to see who BODS comes up with for you.” Leslie smiled and left the room, pulling the door closed behind her with a soft snick.
Ariana frowned. She had forgotten to ask what BODS stood for. She could guess the letters “ODS” were for Online Dating Service, but the B?
She shrugged. Next time she saw Leslie, she’d remember to ask. In the meantime, she had a questionnaire to fill out and her life to change.
After she entered the standard information about her age, height and occupation, she started into her preferences, likes and dislikes. This part was harder than she’d anticipated. At one time in her past, she’d been very structured and had liked keeping tight control on everything in her life. She’d worked at a Fortune 500 company, scheduled meetings, worked with others and kept a regimented work and home life.
Until Sam had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
All through his treatments, she’d tried to maintain control of her world, but found the control slipping, slipping, slipping until Sam had died in her arms. She’d felt like a shadow of herself by the time the funeral was over, and she’d run out of leave. Returning to the corporate world had been a disaster. She hadn’t been able to make it to meetings on time, lost focus on her work and hadn’t wanted to be there. Within a week of her return, she’d handed in her resignation and wallowed in her grief for a couple more weeks, until she’d gone to see her doctor for anti-depression medication.
Her doctor had asked her to consider grief counseling first. That’s when she’d found the Good Grief Club, and met Leslie Lamb, Emma Jacobs, Ava Swan and Fiona McKenzie. They were the ones who’d helped her to regain her balance and encouraged her to learn more about meditation.
Meditation had led her to yoga. Still searching for what she wanted to do with her life, she’d decided to open her own studio to help others find their balance. She’d learned that she couldn’t hold onto the past. She couldn’t control everything around her, and that was okay.
Now, she sat in front of a computer and tried to think of her preferences in a mate, or in her case, a date.
Someone who didn’t take life too seriously. No one comes out of it alive. Someone who lived each day to the fullest like it might be his last. He had to love animals, especially cats, and it would be nice if he was into yoga. Size and shape didn’t matter. Although tall and fit wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Sam had been tall and fit. It hadn’t bought him any extra hours of life. Maybe short and pleasantly plump would be a better choice this time around. A man who liked to eat would be easy to please, and she wanted to learn how to cook.
A guy who didn’t live every second dependent on a schedule. He had to be spontaneous, living in the moment, awake to the world around him, not just a narrow lane of existence. Someone who wasn’t afraid to stop and smell the roses.
Ariana finished her list of preferences. Before she could change her mind, she saved her profile and exited the software program. She stood, stretched, and was about to head out of the room when a huge crash of thunder shook the building.
The clouds she’d seen through the window, building to the west, must have moved in while she’d been filling out her profile and questionnaire.
As she reached for the doorknob, the lights blinked out, followed by another impressive blast of thunder.
Ariana jumped, her heart beating hard in her chest. She waved her hand in front of her where she thought the doorknob should be. Her fingers brushed against the metal. She wrapped her hand around it, yanked open the door and stepped out into the hallway.
Darkness surrounded her. The only light she could see was a faint red glow at the end of the hallway, possibly in the reception area. Maybe a battery powered exit sign…?
Following the glow, she walked down the hallway, her eyes wide, trying to adjust to the lack of light.
The sound of a door swinging open beside her made her turn. A large dark shape emerged from a room and slammed into her.
She bounced against a muscular chest, the force of impact pushing her backward, off balance. Her back hit the wall on the other side of the hall, and her arms flailed but couldn’t help her as she fell hard on her ass.
“Damn!” A deep voice echoed off the walls. “Who’s there? Are you all right? Hell, where are you?” The shadowy figure bent in front of her.
Ariana felt a large hand on her leg, patting its way up her thigh to her arm. When knuckles brushed against her breast, she gasped. “I’m okay.”
He gripped her arm. “Are you sure? I’m sorry. I didn’t see you. Hell, I can’t see a damned thing. What the hell happened to the lights?”
“The lightning?” Ariana offered.
“Let me help you up.” His hand slid down her arm, sending tingling sensations throughout Ariana’s body. When he found her hand, he wrapped his around it and tugged.
She flew to her feet and crashed into the big man’s chest, the air knocked from her lungs. At least that’s what she told herself. Surely it wasn’t the sensation of being held against a muscular man’s body that made it difficult for her to breathe. A strange man, at that.
“I thought I was the only one here,” she said when she could collect enough air in her lungs to pass it over her vocal cords.
“Me, too,” he said. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
She nodded then realized he wouldn’t see her head move. “I’m sure.”
