Page 56 of When The Night Falls

‘Do I?’ I smiled back.

‘Yes.’ His tempting mouth spread into a grin, his hypnotic eyes glimmering above.

‘I’m not sure I do.’

He shook his head and turned his profile to me, still grinning. ‘Well, I spent a whole night getting to know a woman named Sandra. Don’t get me wrong, she was perfectly charming, but there’s something about the real you that I find even more...’ He met my eyes again. ‘Riveting.’

I inhaled sharply. Were we flirting? It certainly felt like it. If we were, I knew we ought to stop, but I just couldn’t help myself.

I pursed my lips, trying to suppress my smile, but it was ineffective. ‘Is that so?’

‘I’m afraid so, yes.’

My face was unbearably hot, and it didn’t help that he kept staring at me, keenly observing my reactions.

‘Well, I’m sorry to say that I’m actually much more boring than Sandra is.’

His smile turned crooked. ‘I’ll be the judge of that.’

I averted my eyes, trying to keep my feelings in check, but it was futile. They ran amok within me, filling my chest with exhilarating sensations.

‘What’s your favourite band, Cara?’ he prompted, and when I looked back, his gaze radiated furtive amusement.

I swallowed, but my throat remained tight. ‘It’s hard to say. I’ve got several, and I can’t choose between them. Though, right now, the band I listen to the most is probably Arctic Monkeys.’

‘Excellent choice.’

‘How about you?’

‘Well, I feel similarly, but Pink Floyd is the band I always return to, so perhaps I should go with them.’

I chuckled. ‘Old-school. Nice. They’re at the top of my list as well.’

‘Really?’

‘Really.’

He looked elated. ‘Then I propose you come over to my place one day. We can listen to old vinyl records together over a glass of wine.’

‘Of course you’d propose that.’

‘Is that a Yes?’

I laughed. ‘It’s a definitive No.’

‘Gutted,’ he joked, though I suspected he was slightly serious.

‘You’re relentless.’ Still smiling, I shook my head and entered my room.

Lingering in the doorway, William scanned the chaos on the floor. ‘I see you’ve abandoned Sandra to become Bob the Builder instead.’

The amount of wit his tongue ceaselessly whipped around was outstanding, and it had a direct line to my sense of humour. Before I knew it, I was laughing my head off. The joke was just so unexpected, and so apposite.

‘William, oh my God.’

‘You’ve got an adorable laugh,’ he said then, and it shut me up at once. Something fluttered in my chest, and I could feel myself blushing yet again.

Smiling, he leaned against the doorpost and studied the neat pile of folded clothes in the corner of my bedroom. Wondering what was so interesting about it, I looked over and realised that his T-shirt was lying at the top.

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