Ding!

The incessant alert from my phone woke me. Groggily, I stared at the time before sliding my screen upwards to open the phone. Five-thirty A.M. stared back at me, and I rubbed my eyes hoping it was wrong. It was 5:31 A.M. when I looked again. A groan rumbled from my throat, but before I’d set my phone back on the nightstand, it chimed again. 

You have a response from…the banner on the Home screen displayed in triplicate. 

My free hand swiped across my face, pausing only long enough to rub my eyes. I really hadn’t thought the whole thing through. I never imagined anyone would want to secure a date this early in the morning. I set my phone on silent and put it back on the nightstand before I slid under the covers. I was determined to get more sleep. Those alerts could wait another thirty minutes or so. Much to my dismay, curiosity had other plans for me. 

I closed my eyes for all of maybe five minutes before I sat up and grabbed my phone. Sleep wasn’t going to happen as long as my mind swirled with so many possibilities. With a swipe, my phone opened, and I stared at an inbox full of strangers’ requests. It would take most of the morning to sort through those messages, and I had to leave for work at some point.

“Thank you for responding. The dinner party is scheduled for Sunday evening. I understand if you’re already booked. Sincerely,  Harris,” I read to Sadie, my orange-striped ball of fluff. “This guy, Sadie…”

She meowed in response and nuzzled her head against my palm. 

“I’m free Sunday, and I would be honored to be your dinner date,” I typed. “Is this a casual dinner with friends, or something more formal? Asking so I know how to dress to impress them.”

I hit send and scrolled to the next message. No. Click. No. Click. No. Exasperated, I closed my laptop. Every single email after Harris’ was another date for the coming week. If I’d known how popular my ad would be, I would have reconsidered placing it. I had no idea so many needy single men existed. 

I glanced at my phone. An hour had passed since I’d gotten up. It was time to get ready for work. Work—you’d think there’d be plenty of single men at the stock exchange, but I’d learned the hard way. Most of them had wives they didn’t want to go home to, and I’d already made that mistake. I knew I would have to answer for that sin when I got to heaven. I can’t even honestly say I wouldn’t have had the affair even if I’d known he was married before it started. 

He-who-shall-not-be-named (Jed) made all the right moves, said all the right things, and never wore his wedding band. I swooned—hard. I was ready to give up my house and my last name to be with him forever minus a day. Thank goodness God intervened before it was too late. Somehow, I happened to be in the same grocery store at the same time he went shopping with his wife and their two kids. Homewrecker was now my new shame, and I fled the store before he saw me. I never told him I’d seen him with his family. I just made excuses when he’d ask to see me or tried to cozy up in the office. I should probably rectify that too, but it was still a bitter pill to swallow. 

Someday I’d do it. Maybe. 

As a result, I didn’t trust myself with love anymore. I didn’t want to fall in love; I didn’t need to fall in love. That was my story, and I was sticking to it.

Then why are you accepting dates from these strangers?

The Holy Spirit’s whisper was so soft, I barely heard it. Guilt washed over me again. Was I lying to myself?

Penning dangerously delightful romance

A die-hard Alice in Wonderland fan, Brie Maddox always thought Alice and the Hatter had great chemistry. Add the Red Queen’s delicious wickedness to the mix, and she was bound to become a romance author. As a resident of Mad River, Ohio she often hopes to spot her own white rabbit and quite often needs to be retrieved from the rabbit holes of Facebook she constantly falls into.

When she isn’t writing, she’s reading, babying a very spoiled dog and a cat, and dreaming of a world of unbirthdays and regular tea parties.

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