Page 6 of Failure to Match

My teeth sunk into my bottom lip, my breathing growing increasingly unsteady and shallow. I should’ve taken the tequila shot Mitch had offered before I got into the Uber.

“Two.”

I shouldn’t have suggested we do a countdown. It wasn’t helping.

“One.”

I sucked in a breath.

Held it.

Held it… some… more…

The air spilled out of my lungs in an audible rush as I twisted in my chair, looking back at the double-door entrance I’d been led through.

“Odd. They all said he was exactly on time.”

I shrugged out of habit. “It’s only been like fifteen seconds, maybe he?—”

I yelped, my soul launching straight out of my body when I turned back and saw the literal giant looming over the table.

“Shit, sorry! Your arm blocked the camera when you turned. I didn’t see him come in.”

And I hadn’t heard him.

He’d materialized straight out of thin air.

“Hey,” I breathed, blinking up at the broad, scowly tower of a man with my palm pressed to my startled chest. “Sorry. I, uh, didn’t hear you arrive.”

The man’s scowl dug deeper, his pale blue eyes thinning into suspicious icicles. “Who were you talking to?”

His voice was surprisingly deep and smooth. Like smoked English whiskey and honey.

Did we know Jackson Sinclair had a slight British accent? Because it wasn’t in my notes.I’d have remembered.

“Pardon?” I asked dumbly.

“You were speaking to someone when I walked in.”

“Um… there’s no one here.”

Narrower and narrower went his eyes. “I’m aware.”

I cleared my throat, blinking away from the intensity of his glare as I peeled my palm from my chest and discreetly wiped it against my dress. Then I held it out to him.

“I’m Grace,” I said, forcing my lips into an unsteady smile. “Grace Lambton. You must be Jackson Sinclair.”

He scanned my outstretched hand, looking for… I wasn’t sure what, exactly. It was just a hand. When he finally did take it, the corners of his mouth quirked down with obvious displeasure.

It was so blatant and off-putting that I instinctively wanted to pull back. Instead, I gritted my teeth and kept my smile intactas his large, smooth hand wrapped lightly around mine. For less than a second.

Then he slipped a white handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his fingers one by one, as though I’d coated them in grime.

My mouth fell open, my forced smile fading as Alice made a strangled noise in my ear.

“Did he just…”

He did.

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