Page 26 of My Killer Blind Date

‘No, of course not!’

‘Why did you?’

Think! Unfortunately, my mind is completely blank.

He leans forward, his gray eyes boring into mine. All of a sudden, the bar feels hot, and I can’t seem to pull away from his magnetic gaze. I have to break this moment or I’m going to do something incredibly stupid. Jury’s out on whether that would be kissing him or spilling out the truth.

‘I … forgot to feed the cat!’ I blurt out.

‘You have a cat?’

A blush creeps up my neck. ‘Friend’s cat! Didn’t want little Fluffers to—’

‘Fluffers?’ He breaks away, fighting back a smile.

‘Yes, Fluffers. I didn’t want her to die while her owner is in, um … the Bahamas. Grand Bahama, to be exact. In case you were curious.’ I must be tomato red at this point. Why am I such a bad liar??

He nods slowly, like he’s trying extra hard to believe me. Can I blame him? Little Fluffers isn’t exactly what I’d call the most convincing alibi. But I cannot let him know the real reason I fled, or he could be the one bolting this time.

‘But yeah, Fluffers has an odd eating schedule.’ I fan myself with a cocktail napkin to cool my cheeks down. ‘If he doesn’t get food at midnight, he starts yowling, and then the neighbors complain and …’ I shake my head like What are you gonna do? ‘He’s a real glutton, that Fluffers, so when I realized how late it was, I had to run, you know?’ I make a whooshing motion with my hand to mimic my speed. ‘I mean, that cat gets hangry – he will destroy the apartment, really just tears it apart, it’s vicious, and talk about an obsession with tuna – that amount of fish that have to be murdered per year just to keep that cat from becoming the devil incarnate—’

I pause to catch my breath, scanning Liam’s face. He’s giving me an odd look. Did I sell it hard enough?

There’s a short, awkward silence.

‘So, Fluffers aside – and he sounds like a great cat, by the way – or was it a she?—’ Liam says, crossing one long leg over the other with a bemused expression on his face, ‘would you or wouldn’t you have gone on a second date with me?’

I didn’t notice that our hands were touching until now, when I sense his finger tracing circles on the back of my hand. Slow, gentle and teasing. Each touch charged with something unspoken. It’s then I realize that I’m holding my breath.

For fuck’s sake! Focus, Margot. This must be how he gets them.

‘I’m going to have to say … no?’

The shadow of what seems like chagrin falls across his face.

‘Yeah,’ he muses, pulling his hand away. ‘Maybe you’re right. Maybe I need to work on … showing my cards. Being a little more open.’

Great. Ball’s back in my court.

‘Trust issues?’

A strangely intense look passes over his face. I’d almost think it was anger, except that his tone is smooth as ever. ‘Or maybe I haven’t met the right person yet.’

‘You think there’s a “right person” out there somewhere?’ Is he about to reveal his selection process? How he chooses the ‘right’ victim?

The tiniest shadow at the corner of his lip promises a smile, but his gaze remains intense, as if he’s taking me in through his eyes and weighing me on his scale of rightness. I haven’t been looked at like that in a long time. Shivers move through me. I can’t tell if it’s fear or desire, and honestly it’s concerning as fuck that suddenly I can’t tell the difference.

Keep your damn head on your shoulders!! I shout at myself internally. This isn’t real, it’s just a game we’re both playing!

‘Yeah,’ he finally says, his eyes still holding my gaze. ‘I guess I do believe the right person is out there somewhere for me.’ A faint smile ghosts over his lips. His eyes briefly dip down, then up, and I can’t blame him, because I saw myself in the tank top, too. Stop enjoying this!

‘What about you?’ he says. ‘Do you believe in soulmates? Destiny? All that?’

‘Fuck no,’ I say with an unguarded laugh, before realizing that was probably not the smartest response. I’m supposed to be ensnaring him, ensuring I get another date, not telling him my actual – and very unromantic – views on the universe.

But he laughs with that same genuine delight I remember from last night. I could get used to hearing that laugh … and being the one that brings it out of him. If he wasn’t a potential serial killer.

‘OK,’ he says. ‘So you don’t think there’s a soulmate for you?’