The Pollyanna Plan by Talli Roland Page A

d put down our song choice, so we could be prepared. Now, how about “Like a Virgin”? That’ll get people’s attention!’
    Despite her horror, Emma couldn’t help giggling as she pictured herself shouting the lyrics to Madonna’s finest, complete with gyrations. ‘No way!’ she said. ‘No, Alice. Not a chance.’
    ‘Huh.’ Alice looked down at the binder again. ‘Well, you choose, then.’ She handed the song list to Emma. ‘Oh, thank God. Some blokes are finally here.’
    Emma glanced up from the laminated pages as clusters of men trickled through the door. With glum expressions and hunched shoulders, they weren’t exactly London’s finest. But what type of man would you expect to turn up to karaoke dating, anyway? These guys appeared defeated before they even started, darting furtive looks around the room before scuttling off into the nearest empty chair. The whole scenario reminded Emma of secondary school dances, where the boys stayed in small clumps on the side of the dance floor, watching the girls shake their nonexistent booty. Try as she might, Emma couldn’t imagine these men crooning up on stage, but she hoped for Alice’s sake, they’d prove her wrong.
    ‘Hmm.’ Alice’s face fell as she surveyed the unlikely crop of contenders.
    ‘We still have a few minutes before the start time.’ Emma patted her friend’s arm.
    ‘Look at you!’ Alice beamed over. ‘See, you really are becoming like Pollyanna.’
    Emma nodded back, even though privately, she thought the chances of Prince Charming showing up were less than her voice magically resembling Whitney Houston’s.
    ‘And you were right.’ Alice pointed to the entrance, where a large group of men was coming in. ‘Wow! I’ll have one of those, please.’ She leered towards them, and Emma had to admit, they were a cut above the sorry specimens who’d trickled in earlier. In their mid-thirties, the blokes appeared confident and well dressed. By the way they clapped each other on the back and grinned, they seemed as if they’d been friends for ages.
    What on earth would entice men like them to this dive? Then again, Emma reminded herself, she and Alice were here, too, and they were hardly losers. Maybe this karaoke speed-dating thing had something to it, after all. Not that she was looking for a man, of course.
    Alice was almost salivating as she followed the men’s progress across the floor. The other women had glanced up too, honing in on their prey with the same intensity. Alice better have her game face on tonight if she wanted to snare one of them. The competition appeared fierce.
    ‘What song have you chosen?’ Alice asked, but Emma couldn’t respond. Everything inside had frozen as she caught sight of one of the men. He kind of looked like—she squinted, and her heart jumped—oh my God, yes. It was that guy Will from the DIY centre ! What was he doing here? Out of his shop uniform and in a dark jacket, he was even more handsome than Emma remembered. Heat flooded into her cheeks, and she thanked God for the dim light.
    ‘Emma.’ Alice waved a hand in front of her face. ‘Ems! Where have you gone?’ She followed Emma’s gaze. ‘Ah! Wow, definitely worthy of a stare. Pretty hot, huh?’
    Emma felt herself nodding as the desire to crawl under the table swept over her. The whole reason she’d been sort of—emphasis on ‘sort of’—okay with this karaoke thing was because she’d thought no one she knew would see her, and she’d never have to face anyone here again. Spotting someone from the real world, even if it was just a bloke from the home improvement centre, made her feel even more on edge about getting up on stage.
    ‘I know that guy,’ Emma said, her lips moving as if of their own accord. ‘I met him yesterday when I was buying paint.’ Will’s look of concentration when he mixed the colours and how his muscular forearms popped as he opened the tin came to mind, and Emma felt the warm flush spread through the