Page 67 of The Match Faker

‘What happened! What’s wrong?’ He squinted.

‘There’s… there’s a sp-spider!’ I shouted, scanning the floor. ‘It was about to go on the mattress!’

‘Wait…’ He frowned, then rubbed his eyes. ‘That’s why you screamed like someone was about to murder you? Because of a spider?’

‘Yes! You know I hate them!’ I trembled, my heart still racing as I imagined its long hairy legs on my bare skin.

‘How big was it?’

‘It was huge!’

‘Bigger than you?’

‘Of course not! But it was, like, the size of my hand. Maybe bigger!’

A smile tugged on Liam’s lips. This wasn’t funny. Arachnophobia was a thing. Lots of people were afraid of spiders.

Once I read about a woman who came home from work and saw a spider. She was so terrified, she ran outside and locked herself in the car until her husband arrived because she was too scared to stay inside alone.

‘Okay.’ He nodded. ‘That does sound scary. Where did you see it?’

‘There.’ I pointed.

Liam stepped forward. I hadn’t noticed before because I was so terrified, but he was topless, with a towel wrapped around his waist.

His back was broad and beautifully sculpted, and Jesus, his arms were so defined it looked like they’d been carved from marble.

He bent down to take a look at the side of the bed and his towel lowered a little so I had the briefest flash of his arse. My pulse raced as I found myself wishing that it’d fall to the floor so I could have a proper look.

What was wrong with me? I was supposed to be focusing on finding where that spider went, not eyeing up Liam’s bottom.

‘I can’t see it. Can you?’

‘No. It could be anywhere! What if it crawls over me in the middle of the night?’ I fanned my face with my hand to try and cool myself down.

This duvet was making me hot, but I couldn’t unwrap it. I was completely naked underneath. I was grateful that in my shock it hadn’t dropped. If Liam had walked in on me naked, forget the spider getting me—I would’ve died of shame.

‘I’m gonna lift up the mattress and have a look, okay?’

I nodded. Liam shook off the sheets, then tipped the mattress on its side. He bent down to study the dark wooden floor beneath it. There was no sign of it anywhere. Shit.

‘I’m sleeping on the sofa,’ I said. ‘I can’t stay in here knowing it’s roaming around, ready to jump on me. I know it sounds stupid. Like you said, I’m a million times bigger than it is, but… I just can’t.’

‘I get it. I was only teasing before. Everyone has things that they’re afraid of. Fear isn’t always rational. Why didn’t you inflate the mattress?’

‘The pump stopped working.’

‘Unless it’s inflated, that’s just as bad as sleeping on the floor. And forget about the sofa. That thing isn’t even comfortable to sit on.’ Liam rubbed his hand across his jaw. ‘Take my bed.’

‘What?’ My eyes bulged. ‘No way. I already feel guilty about disrupting your sleep when you’ve got an early start. I can’t take your bed too.’

‘Unless…’

‘What are you thinking?’

‘Forget it.’ He shook his head.

‘Tell me!’

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