“He didn’t put his name in when he ran yours through,” Laila revealed.
“See what I mean?” Jess said, seizing on that. “He doesn’t want anything to do with me. That proves it. Let’s just drop this, okay? I don’t want to talk about Will or about the fact that this stupid company of his is a fraud.”
Both of her friends regarded her with dismay. “That’s a little harsh,” Laila said. “Just because Connie’s first date and mine didn’t work doesn’t mean the next ones won’t.”
“You’re going to accept more dates?” Jess asked incredulously.
“Why not?” Laila said. “Nothing’s changed about the reasons we all signed up, right, Connie?”
Connie nodded, though Jess thought her expression looked doubtful.
“I’m game,” Connie said with lackluster enthusiasm.
Laila focused her attention on Jess. “You paid your money. You can’t back out now.”
“Since I haven’t had a single email or phone call, I’m thinking I should demand my money back,” Jess said. “In fact, the next time I see Will, I intend to tell him what I think of this whole ridiculous online dating scheme of his.”
“You have to give it a chance,” Laila insisted. “You don’t want just any old match. It has to be the right one. Give it time.”
“Like you and Will were such a great match,” Jess said sarcastically. “Or Connie and her accountant. Come on, guys, admit this was a mistake. When it comes to this matchmaking stuff, Will is an amateur.”
“I’m not throwing in the towel yet,” Laila replied determinedly. “Neither is Connie, and you promised you were in, too, Jess. Are you going back on your word to us?”
“It’s not as if we’re double-or triple-dating, for goodness’ sakes,” Jess protested. “You two can do whatever you want to do. I’m out.”
“A promise is a promise,” Laila persisted.
Jess sighed and caved. “Okay, fine. I’ll give it a little longer.”
But despite Laila’s optimism and Connie’s reluctant agreement, no one was going to persuade Jess that it wasn’t a big old waste of time and energy.
Will’s client, a single woman who’d despaired of ever finding the right man, arrived for her appointment with a man in tow.
“This is Carl Mason,” Kathy Pierson told Will, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “I hope you don’t mind, but I asked him to sit in on our session today. We met through Lunch by the Bay, and we’re getting married.”
Will saw the blush on her cheeks and the adoration in Carl Mason’s eyes and realized this was exactly what he’d hoped for when he launched the company. Unfortunately, though, he also knew that Kathy had a way of rushing into things without giving them sufficient thought. What if this was one of those occasions? They couldn’t possibly have had more than a handful of dates. He was pretty sure he’d arranged the match less than two weeks ago.
“When something’s right, it’s right,” Carl told him, obviously picking up on Will’s lack of enthusiasm for the news. “I know it must seem fast to you, but the minute I met Kathy, something clicked.”
“I’m happy for you both. I truly am,” Will assured them. “But marriage is a huge step. Shouldn’t you spend a little more time together before you make that kind of commitment?”
Kathy frowned at him. “I’m forty-six years old. I’ve waited my whole life to meet a man like Carl. I’ve already lost my chance to have children, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late for love. You’re the one who’s been telling me that for months now. I’ve finally found it, and I don’t want to wait. We don’t want to wait.”
“You’re both telling me how right this is,” Will said, treading cautiously. “Won’t it be just as right a few weeks from now, or even a few months from now? Then you’ll know for certain.”
“And we’ll have wasted weeks or months of our lives,” Kathy said.
“They won’t be wasted,” Will insisted. “I’m not suggesting you can’t be together during that time, just that you not jump into marriage. You’ll be getting to know each other, making sure that you’re as compatible as you think you are.”
“I don’t understand why you can’t just be happy for us,” Kathy said. “I mean, we’re practically the poster couple for Lunch by the Bay. We’re a success story! You should be gloating about the fact that your computer program made a successful match, not trying to bring us down.”
“I’m not trying to bring you down,” Will assured her. “In fact, if this works out, I’ll be the first to stand up and offer a toast at your wedding. I’m just worried that you’ve put a little too much faith in a computer program and not trusted your own judgment. It takes time to get to know another person. The computer is a tool that can cut that process down somewhat, but it’s not infallible.”
Kathy stood up. “Well, aren’t you Mr. Doom and Gloom all of a sudden. I’d hoped you’d come to the wedding, but I can see that’s a terrible idea. I don’t want any bad vibes ruining the happiest day of my life. Let’s go, Carl.”
Carl followed her to the door. “To be honest, I thought the whole computer thing was a crazy idea, but once I met Kathy, I became a believer. This is going to be okay, Doc. You don’t have to worry about us.”
Will appreciated the effort to reassure him, but he stared after them with a feeling of dread in his stomach. Client confidentiality required that he not tell Carl that Kathy had a long history of lightning-quick enthusiasms that faded all too rapidly. It was one thing to embrace a hobby and drop it practically overnight.
