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‘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?’