Read Online The Dating Game by Susan Buchanan - Free Book Online

what?’ asked
Debbie impatiently. ‘C’mon, hurry up,’ she tapped her fingers on the table,
mimicking a drum roll.
    ‘All right, all right,’ said Gill, reaching for her bag. 
After some deliberation, she had decided to show Debbie the profiles in the
order she had received them.  Originally she’d thought it would be best to
start with the worst and end with the best, but later decided it might be
useful for them both to view the profiles in the same order.  Gill wanted to assess
Debbie’s reactions to see how closely they matched her own.
    ‘Do me a favour,’ Debbie said, ‘Cover up the photo first.  I
want to get a feel for them, without the photo.’
    ‘Oh, OK. I hadn’t thought of that,’ said Gill, feeling
almost shallow for having greedily devoured their photos first.  But then, she
had been unable to read the profiles, as she had viewed them on her phone and
with her poor eyesight, it simply hadn’t been possible to pick out any words. 
That was her story anyway.
    Gill handed over Charlie’s profile, covering his photo with
a coaster.  Debbie slid the A4 sheet towards her and began reading the text.
    “Forty-four.  That’s good.  Surveyor.  Probably drives a
nice car and has a decent job – likely to be reliable,’ she glanced at Gill
approvingly.  Lowering her eyes back to the page, she read on.  ‘Tall,’ Debbie
waved her hand in the air, giving that attribute a large tick.  ‘Divorced,
though, and he has a daughter.  Not a deal-breaker, but something to
bear in mind?’ she glanced up again at Gill, who remained silent, waiting for
her friend to conclude her assessment and more interested in what Debbie would
say when she saw his photo.  ‘Seems compatible with you, interest-wise.  I say,
unless he’s pig-ugly, he’s a yes.’  With a questioning glint in her eye at
Gill, trying to figure out how her friend felt about Charlie, Debbie withdrew
the coaster, to reveal Charlie’s photo.
    ‘Oh, hello!  He’s bloody gorgeous.  What’s he need to use a
dating agency for?’ Debbie said flabbergasted.
    ‘Ahem,’ said Gill pointedly.
    ‘Well, yes of course, you’re gorgeous too, but I would kick you out of bed.  I wouldn’t kick him out of bed.  In fact, I might tie him
to the bed, so he couldn’t escape!’ confessed Debbie.
    Gill laughed.  ‘He’s not that good-looking.’
    ‘Er, yes, he is,’ said Debbie.
    ‘Well our tastes really must be different then.  Personally
I’d only tie him to the bed if he was Bradley Cooper, Matthew McConaughey or
Hugh Dancy gorgeous.’
    ‘Well he looks a bit like Bradley Cooper, without the facial
hair.  Who’s Hugh Dancy?’
    ‘The boss and Isla Fisher’s boyfriend in Confessions of a
Shopaholic .’
    ‘Ah.  Yes, he is quite tasty.’
    ‘So, if you had to rate Charlie on looks, what would you
give him?’
    Debbie debated this for a minute then said, ‘Eight or nine.’
    ‘OK.  I think seven.’
    ‘Yes, but your marks are always lower than mine.  Seven is
really high for you.’
    ‘True,’ Gill admitted.  ‘OK, here’s the second candidate,’
and again covering up the photo, she turned the sheet of paper containing
Ronald’s details towards Debbie.
    ‘Forty-nine.  Older man, eh?’
    She didn’t know the half of it , thought Gill.
    ‘He lives up in Loch Lomond.  He might have a house
overlooking the loch.  Maybe even his own boat?  Nice place to have lunch in
the summer.’ 
    Gill couldn’t deny that.  In Gill’s opinion, when the
weather was good, there was no country on earth more beautiful than Scotland,
with its diversity of scenery.  The drive up Loch Lomondside was particularly
rewarding.  Pity that good weather came when least expected, without warning, and
lasted all of two minutes. 
    ‘I’m more bothered by the fact that he smokes than by his
three kids.’
    Gill stopped her, ‘OK, I’ll think about that.  Move on.’ 
She had no intention of meeting Ronald, so didn’t want