Chapter 2

It could’ve been so much worse. Dimitri would never forget the helplessness swamping him when he’d been pinned to the wall in a dark alley near the bar, the panic as his jeans pooled around his legs. He hadn’t fought, had allowed it to happen, he had led the man on after all. After that he’d enlisted. Mostly because he wanted to get military training, but also—he’d never wanted to feel that helpless again.

Life didn’t always turn out the way you planned.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” The lightness had been sucked out of the room.

The man shrugged. “Maybe you’re right. I’m not into rape. But I’m turned on by big, strong men. Like you.” He winked.

Dimitri stared, and something shifted in his chest, but it didn’t matter, because he wasn’t the man this person was looking for. He was tall and physically strong, his military training never having washed off no matter how many hours he’d spent in the shower, but he wasn’t strong mentally anymore. “We, eh…only have women.”

“Oh.” The man scrunched his face. “All right, it doesn’t matter. Give me a woman. I want a short, plump one with an interesting mind.”

Dimitri breathed in through his nose. “Eh…we don’t…We don’t list appearances, and erm…I don’t think we list whether their minds are interesting or not either. It’s one of those things that differs from person to person, right? What you find interesting.”

Those impossibly blue eyes searched his. “You’re right. How ignorant of me to think what I find interesting is the same thing you find interesting.” He pursed his lips. “What do you find interesting in a woman?”

“I…eh…am not a people person.”

The man barked a laugh. “Me either, hence my coming here for a date. Okay, I don’t care if she’s interesting or not, but please don’t give me one of those who look fit for the catwalk. I want her to be shorter than me, and I like a person who enjoys a good meal. Can I pick her up at six-thirty on the fourteenth? Or maybe we should make it six, so we aren’t late. She needs to be in a dress; it’s a formal dress code.” He scrunched his face again.

“Erm…I think you’ve misunderstood what we do.” They helped people find their true match, or, it was what the flyers claimed. “We don’t set people up with dates. It’s not an escort service.”

The man widened his eyes, took a step back, and looked around. “Where’s your sign? I could’ve sworn I read datesomewhere on it.”

“Look…What’s your name?”

The man neared the counter again. “Elian Hubert.” He grinned and offered Dimitri his hand. Dimitri shook it, mostly because of this man’s odd behavior, and he didn’t know what else to do. Elian had long, slim fingers, not a callus in sight.

“I can write you down for an appointment with one of our matchmakers.”

Elian frowned. “What good would it do? I’m not picky. All I need is a plus one for dinner.”

“We’re here to help you find your true match, your soulmate.”

Elian rolled his eyes. “I don’t have time for a soulmate. I need a date for one night—one. It’s to make me look good.” He popped his hip out and made a swishy motion with his hand.

“I would look better next to a big strong man, but a woman will do. I’m not paying for sex, it’s a dinner date.”

Dimitri blinked, unable to decide if he should be offended or laugh. “This is not a bordello. Men come to us to find a wife or a steady girlfriend. They go through a lot of…screening.” It was a million questions. Dimitri had seen the forms. “And our dating agents find them the best match and thenset them up on a date.”

Elian rolled his eyes again. “Look. Do you want to go on a date with me?”

Dimitri couldn’t breathe. A date?He hadn’t been on a date in years. Hadn’t touched a person other than doctors and nurses in longer than he could remember. He would avoid crowds for as long as he lived. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“I’ll pay you.”

“I’m not a whore.” He kept a stony expression on his face, but part of him was amused by this vibrant creature being willing to pay him to go on a date.

Elian sighed. “I didn’t mean that you’d have to sleep with me.”

“But you want to pay me to dress up nice for you and act as arm candy.” He gestured at himself. “I’m not a pretty man.”

Elian’s eyes widened. “I beg to differ.”

“I’m not dating material.” Dimitri crossed his arms over his chest. He should stop talking.