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big earphones and their eyes were always pointed directly
at the camera. It was easy to forget about them, almost.
I had a momentary freeze when I thought of my family and hometown watching me on television. After a
minute of freezing I talked myself out of stage fright and decided to be cool. I was here for a reason. I had to
ignore the cameras and go with the flow.
I saw another girl enter from the long corridor I used earlier. She was a stunning blonde bombshell. Her
hair was golden yellow and she had large exotic eyes. I felt my stomach churn a bit in jealousy. She was beautiful
and walked like a jungle cat in her black strappy high heels. Her outfit was dark and clingy and there wasn’t much
to it.
Is it possible to dislike someone after seeing them for three seconds?
I was glad she was number twenty-four. I decided to stop staring daggers at the exotic-eyed blonde and
turned to look at Janette, who was quietly at my side.
“I don’t like her.” Janette said, in a whisper. I laughed and nodded.
“There is nothing to dislike, you never know, maybe she is really sweet.” I said sarcastically.
“She looks like a boyfriend stealer to me.” Janette stated, convincingly. “She likes to kill kittens as a hobby,
I am sure of it.”
I laughed again, noting Janette has a dark sense of humor that I liked. I tried to think of something witty to
say when the last girl entered the room. It quieted down as everyone did the math and began to gather in the main
room. The contestants on the terrace joined everyone near the biggest stone fireplace. The camera men sprung
into action and obviously, by cue, turned the cameras toward the corridor.
I held my breath for a few seconds until I saw Anthony walk in. I realized I was grinning like a fool but
could not stop myself. Behind him was the show’s host, Randall Bartholomew. He had reddish brown hair and a
handsome square jaw line. One dimple showed off whenever he would smile for the camera. He also had a very
visible wedding band that announced ‘OFF LIMITS’ to anyone with odd ideas. Randall walked past Anthony and
spoke to the crowd.
“Welcome ladies to Soulmate . We hope you are having a pleasant evening. Anthony is thrilled to meet all
of you and over the next few days will get a chance to spend at least one hour with each woman here individually.
We have a few different ways for you to spend time with Anthony. There will be sign up sheets available in the
dining room.
At some point this evening, Anthony may give out a special broach that announces his intent for the first
evening date with one of you lovely ladies. The woman who receives this broach is the one who made a special
impression on Anthony when they met earlier. He wants the first dinner date to be with this lucky lady. She will
still get her one hour session within the next four days but she will be the very first full date if she decides to stay
on Soulmate .” Randall finished his long speech and talked to a few women who had questions.
I always loved watching this part of the show. My mother and I would try and pick through the girls after
they were introduced to the guy and see who had sparks and who didn’t. Which one would he pick for the first
date? When it was a woman with twenty-five men to choose from it was so much easier. Girls wore their
emotions on their sleeves. Now being a participant I could not help but wonder who Anthony would choose. Would I get the broach? I felt our greeting was a bit special. I thought I had seen something in his eyes that had been
more than a friendly “hello.”
I listened to Randall continue to talk about the sign up sheets for the hour session that Anthony was going
to get with each woman over the next four days. I wanted to sign up for a lunch or afternoon event. I tried to pay
attention but had the oddest sensation. I let my eyes wander over to Anthony and he was staring directly at me!
I met his gaze and he smirked a little.
‘I caught you.’ I told