Page 11 of Only Lovers in the Building

Lily had no idea what he was getting at. “Fussy dads?”

“No,” he said. “My dad is a mechanic. Not fussy at all.”

“Lucky you.”

“We haven’t spoken in years.”

“Oh. Sorry to hear that.”

“It’s nothing,” he said, although his tone hinted otherwise. “We’re both Caribbean.”

She eyed him skeptically. “Are we?”

“My parents are from Martinique. I grew up there.”

“Really? Here I thought you were raised in a Parisian sidewalk café.”

Noah smirked. “Because of my je ne sais quoi?”

“Exactly.”

“I work in fashion,” he explained. “Although, I did move to Paris when I was fifteen.”

“How did you end up here?” she asked.

“When you’re lost, all paths lead to Miami.”

He had a point there. “We’ve so much in common. Are we soulmates, you think?”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Noah said. “How about kindred spirits?”

“I’ll take that.” Lily sat back on her chair’s bright yellow cushions and fired up her e-reader. “When I need a soulmate, I read a book.”

“And how’s that going?” Noah asked. “Have they kissed yet?”

“They’ve done more than that.”

The Sweetest Lie was an instant New York Times bestseller and, by all accounts, the romance of the summer. Exes Max and Emma reunite at a mutual friend’s wedding in Malibu. For reasons Lily had yet to discover, Emma resents Max for the way things ended.

“Details, please,” Noah said.

Lily tossed the e-reader aside. “I’m more interested in your love story. Come on. How did the date go?”

“He was an hour late.”

“He showed up?” So much for her catfish theory.

“Yes, but something is off with him.”

“Bad vibe?”

“Not exactly.”

“Go on! Tell me more.”

“Not without a drink,” he said. “Meet you on the rooftop later?”

She thought it over. If she agreed to meet with Noah for drinks, she’d encounter Ben. He’d fix her a martini, and she’d want to kiss him. Again. Although, she could run into him outside her door in the morning. He’d make her coffee, and she’d want to kiss him. So really, she risked nothing by meeting Noah later this evening.