Page 18 of The Blind Date

“I think we got off on the wrong foot. How about we start from the beginning?” Cedric asked with a hopeful expression the moment Logan left. “What do you say about giving this date another shot?”

I was tempted to say no, and he knew it. When he sent me a pointed look, I sighed and resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

“Hi, my name is Saffron Remington,” I introduced myself, even going as far as to reach across the table with an outstretched hand.

I wouldn’t have stuck around if our food hadn’t just arrived.

“And I’m Cedric Barlowe.” He accepted my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "It's nice to meet you, Saffron. Your parents have told me a lot about you."

“I wish I could say the same about you.”

“Let’s start with something simple. Do you have a middle name?”

“Cyprus.”

"Cyprus?" Cedric asked, more surprised than most people were when they learnt of my middle name. "My middle name is Honolulu. I wonder if you have your middle name for the same reason I do mine.”

I didn't believe him at first, but the longer I stared at him, the more I realised he wasn't joking. Not this time, at least.

“I’ll admit it if you admit it.”

“That sounds like a fair deal,” he murmured under his breath, holding three fingers up to count us down.

“Cyprus because that’s where my parents conceived me,” I said at the same time as him, “Honolulu because that’s where my parents conceived me.”

“The place of conception is the worst middle name parents could give their child!”

“Finally, something I can agree with,” he chuckled, and we raised our glasses in cheers. "Saffron is kind of a nice name. If you ignore the fact that you're named after a spice.”

And he was back!

I should have known better to think Cedric would stay pleasant for too long.

“I’ll have you know that I’m named after the most expensive spice.” I looked at him pointedly. “And you're one to talk. You're named after the character Robert Pattinson plays in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire."

The corner of his lips twitched, looking as if he was fighting off yet another insufferable smirk. “I don’t think my parents have ever watched any Harry Potter movies, let alone that specific one.”

“Of course, you would say that.”

“You’re quite the character, you know?” Cedric chuckled.

"I believe you've already said something along those lines." My nose crinkled at the bridge. "And I could very well say the same about you, Cedric Barlowe."

Surprisingly, we were able to keep the arguing down to a minimum as we ate our meals. A thin-cut slice of steak with asparagus and spicy chimichurri sauce for me, and the same for Cedric but with a black bean and sesame sauce and a side of curly fries.

“What kind of work are you in?” Cedric asked, neatly placing his knife and fork down to wipe the corner of his mouth with a napkin.

"My mum hasn't spilt those secrets yet?" I asked, quirking a quizzical brow his way.

He shrugged. “She mentioned tech but didn't seem all that convinced.”

“Tech is probably the only sector my parents aren't interested in." I helped myself to the last piece of steak on my plate, purposely leaving a few stalks of asparagus as they were far from my favourite vegetable. Now, if they were stems of broccoli, they would have been devoured by now. "I work as a Software Engineer at M. L. Keaney."

“Ah, the competition?” Cedric chuckled and rubbed his hands together, seemingly excited.

“You work at an investment bank, too?” I asked, surprised.

I don’t know why I was so surprised. With all the confidence and self-assurance that oozed from him, he seemed like the model candidate for a haughty investment banker.

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