The Dating Game. Shirley Jump

think I’m in the wrong place,” Mattie said, letting out a nervous little laugh. She choked back the nausea rising in her throat. No, no, no. This was not for her. She had to leave. Now.

      Mattie pivoted away and yanked her backpack out from under the love seat. It caught on the bottom of the cushions before giving way, causing her to stumble a couple of feet.

      David put a hand against her back, saving her from crashing to the floor. For a second she felt as if he’d zapped her with a stun gun. “Steady there. Don’t want to hurt yourself before we’ve even begun.”

      She jerked away from his touch. This was wrong. So wrong. “I’m supposed to be on Survival of the Fittest.” Maybe if she said it enough, it would come true, but the sinking feeling in her chest told her something else.

      Larissa laughed. “I don’t think so. Do you have your letter?”

      Mattie nodded. “Yeah.” She dug in her back pocket, fished it out and handed it to Larissa. Find the mistake, please, Mattie prayed.

      Larissa scanned the single sheet of paper, then looked at Mattie, considering her for a long, long moment. “You’re Matilda Grant?”

      “Yes, I am.” Lord how she hated her given name. Made her sound like a character from Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, not a woman trying to be taken seriously in a rough-and-tumble sport.

      “You’re not…” Larissa paused, put a finger on her chin, then her lips turned up into a smile that Mattie swore looked crafty. “Why, you’re the perfect average Jill.” Larissa put out her arms, as if she expected Mattie to step into the hug. “Welcome to the show, and to your heart’s destiny.”

      At those words everything within Mattie rebelled. She put a hand to her stomach and dashed from the room before Lawford’s newest bachelorette made an unforgettable impression on the Oriental rug.

      Chapter Two

      Mattie stood in the driveway, catching her breath. After a minute she got into her Jeep and turned the key. The engine made a sick “rew-rew” sound but didn’t get any further than that.

      “Come on, baby, not now,” Mattie said. She turned the key again, whispering to the cantankerous ten-year-old vehicle. It didn’t turn over. It just let out a high-pitched moan like a donkey refusing to make that last trek back up the Grand Canyon.

      Clearly, a little Jeep revenge for missing that last tune-up and oil change, since money had been so tight lately. What she wouldn’t do for a Jiffy Lube and a miracle.

      “Damn!” Mattie smacked the steering wheel, but that didn’t do anything more than hurt her palm. She dug in her backpack and found her cell phone. Within a few seconds she was connected with her best friend.

      “Hey, Mattie. Are you surviving okay?” Hillary’s voice traveled across the line, upbeat and positive as always. She could picture Hillary sitting at her desk at the Lawford Insurance Company, blond and fit, zipping through her day with the same enthusiasm she gave all her friends.

      “Yes, but not on the show I thought.” Mattie gave Hillary a quick rundown of what had happened. “Now they want me to stay and be on Love and the Average Jill.”

      “I saw the previews on the news this morning. Looks like a great one.” Hillary laughed. “And they asked you to do it? For real?”

      “Yep. They’ve even got what I assume is a whole room of bachelors waiting for me, too. They said something about fifteen men. Fifteen! I don’t think even Cleopatra had that many at once.”

      “Sounds like fun to me. A bachelorette party made in heaven.” Hillary laughed. “So why aren’t you in there?”

      “Because that’s the last thing I need right now. I’m not interested in falling in love or getting married, especially in front of a bunch of cameras. I’m here to raise money for the Lawford Girls’ Soccer League. That’s why I wanted to go on the Survival Show. I bet this one’s “prize” is true love. I need cash for the league, not a man.”

      “I love your altruistic spirit, Mattie, but you should think of yourself. How long has it been since you went out on a date?”

      “What does that have to do with this?”

      “Uh, excuse me? Did you not just tell me you’re standing in front of a mansion filled with gorgeous men who want to date you?”

      “Yeah, but—”

      “But nothing, girlfriend. If you have any brains at all, which I know you do, you’ll get back in there and get yourself one of the hot guys inside.”

      “Hillary—”

      “Don’t ‘Hillary’ me. You know I’m right. You’ve become a virtual hermit, pouring all your time into those girls’ teams. Now, I know what you’re going to say, so don’t interrupt me. The girls need you and the league needs you. Everybody gets to have you but you.” Hillary let out a sigh. They’d had this argument at least three times in the past six months, with Hillary always trying to get Mattie to go to a bar or a singles club or some other crazy thing that would take her focus away from her job and her girls.

      She wasn’t going to do that. Mattie Grant needed a man about as much as a monkey needed a second tail.

      “Right. That’s why this is a bad idea.”

      “No, that’s why this is a perfect idea! It’s going to be on TV, so you can get plenty of publicity for the league. And if you stick it out, the exposure can help you get the money you need to get it back up and running, plus keep you employed. What’s not to like about it?”

      “The dating part,” Mattie said, toying with the steering wheel of the silent, recalcitrant Jeep. “That’s not what I had in mind when I signed up for Survival of the Fittest. I was supposed to be out in the woods, trying to choose between poisonous and nonpoisonous wild berries, not standing in a mansion choosing a mate with all the forethought of picking a doughnut out of a box.”

      “I’m saying this as your best friend, Mattie. You need a man. A nice one, preferably. And now you have fifteen at your beck and call.” Hillary laughed. “You are the envy of the entire female population of Lawford. So enjoy it while you can.”

      “I’d rather be out building fires and roasting wild game.”

      “If you’re lucky, you’ll get to do a little fire building still.” Hillary laughed again, then said goodbye, with a second admonishment to Mattie to get back in there and get herself a man to go with that money.

      Hillary was right about one thing. It had been a while since Mattie had been on date. That didn’t make her a hermit, just—

      Okay, maybe it did.

      She took in a deep breath and looked again at the mansion. It was only a week. Surely she could last.

      And besides, who said she had to fall in love, anyway?

      David had watched Mattie Grant’s mad dash from the room with sympathy. If he’d had a choice, he wouldn’t be here, either, sacrificing himself on the reality TV altar, all to save his skin.

      Actually, he’d had a choice, more or less. He could have kept his idea—which had seemed so sane at two in the morning when he’d concocted it after watching too many infomercials on how to get rich on hair removal products—to himself. But once he’d shared it with his editor, he’d been left with two choices: get the story or get another job.

      Now he wasn’t going to leave. He had too much at stake to back out.

      “Well,” Larissa said. “I’m sure she’s just a little nervous. She’ll be back.” Though the hostess didn’t sound as sure as her words.

      David hoped Mattie would return. Having the star run out just before the show began would leave it a tad dead in the water. And would totally