It’s the kind of scene straight from a romance film.
A couple catch each other’s glances through busy crowds and instantly fall in love.
But when Sam Ward locked eyes with a handsome stranger as they reached for the last box of doughnuts, things didn’t quite go to plan.
The single mum, 41, rebuffed his advances and they went on their way. Now perhaps realising that their meeting was written in the stars, Sam has begun a desperate quest to find her potential soulmate.
She has put up a huge sign in her garden admitting “I’M A DONUT” and started a quest to find him.
Sam was left kicking herself after knocking back the man she met when they both reached for the last box of doughnuts in her local Sainsbury’s.
She offered him the baked treats – but he said he would only accept if she agreed to go for coffee with him.
Shy Sam declined but as soon as the mysterious stranger was out of sight she realised she had missed a great opportunity.
So she put up a huge sign outside her home in Spalding, Lincs., reading: “I AM A DONUT PLEASE COME BACK AND SEE ME, SAM.”
Sam said she had been surprised by the stranger’s bold approach but is now ready “to get to know each other better.”
She said: “I told him that they [the doughnuts] had all gone but said he could have mine because I shouldn’t be eating them anyway.
“I was trying to get him to take them but he didn’t want to, but then he said he would if he could take me for coffee.
“It took me by surprise so I said no. I just want him to get back in touch so we can get to know each other better.”
Sam, a single mum, and her suitor first met in Sainsbury’s five weeks ago after he spotted doughnuts in her trolley and asked her where he could find more.
The red and white sign in her garden has so far attracted lots of attention from neighbours – but not the mysterious stranger who didn’t even leave his name.
Sam said: “He seems really lovely and I am now kicking myself.
“He now knows where I live. I just want him to come to see me so we can start again.”