Page 5 of The Dating Pact

“Three.” Quinn showed us her paper.

Indie and I stared at each other. That meant only one and four remained.

Indie opened her piece of paper and held it up to me. “Four.”

That meant…

My unfolded slip of paper confirmed it.

“I can’t go first,” I blurted out. “I imagined dating Chewbacca.”

“Interesting choice,” Quinn said. “Tall, hairy, and… non-vocal.”

Indie blew out the candles and turned the lights back on. “Too late. The goddesses have spoken. You’re first, Ev. We’ll all try our best to help you meet Mr. Right…” She eyed Quinn before continuing, “Mr. Good Enough.”

“Wow. That sounds way less romantic,” Joy said.

“Practical can be romantic,” Quinn said.

Joy raised her eyebrows. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind when it’s your turn.”

“How many dates do I have to go on?” I asked.

“At least three,” Indie said.

That didn’t sound too bad. I could handle three dates.

“Three’s not nearly enough,” Joy protested. “We’re trying to find mates here. How about thirty?”

Yikes. That was way more than I’d anticipated. Especially when I hadn’t dated anyone since Lukas.

“Instead of setting a number, perhaps we should set a time limit,” Quinn said. “If Everly doesn’t like any of the guys, we accept it and move on to Joy. There shouldn’t be any pressure to make this work.”

Yes! Listen to her beautiful logical mind.

“How about two months?” Indie suggested. “That’s doable, and we could spread the dates out.”

I did a quick mental calculation. It was early October, so my turn would be over by early December—approximately one year after Lukas and I broke up. A sourness coated my mouth as that familiar mixture of anger and hurt with a splash of bitterness filled my heart.

Indie’s eyes met mine; she must have realized the timing just as I had.You okay with this?her eyes seemed to ask.

I wasn’t comfortable with the plan, but I didn’t want Lukas to ruin my life any longer. “Let’s find me my Chewbacca.”