Page 30 of Spies without a Face
“I’ll get you checked in and get your packets.” Gianna returned a minute later with an envelope for each of us. “Good luck!” She then took the microphone and explained to the audience how the night would go.
We’d each go to a table with our designed number for the duration of a song. When it ended, we’d move on to the next. At the end of the rounds, we’d note who we were interested in seeing again. Seemed easy enough.
My first round was with Otis, who was slim and had blond hair and a pointy chin. He was friendly and easy to talk to, but there were no sparks between us. Once the Pat Benatar song ended, we wished each other a good night and moved on.
Eddie Money’s “Take Me Home Tonight” played next. I turned to find Gianna and gave her an eye roll. Could they be any more obvious with the song? She smiled and turned back to the microphone, reminding us to move on.
I sat across from a vampire, who was handsome and suave. He might have been fun to tangle with for a night, save for any blood drinking, which was not my thing. But I wasn’t interested enough to note his name at the end of the night.
As I moved through the tables, I relaxed somewhat. I glanced over to see how Cassandra was doing. She was a few tables over, chatting away with a guy. They appeared to be hitting it off. Good for her. Maybe one of us would get lucky tonight after all.
That’s when I saw him. What in all the combustible cauldrons was he doing here?
I gritted my teeth through the next song, barely keeping the conversation going as my gaze darted over to him.
What the hell was going on?
The song ended. When Blondie’s “One Way or Another” began, I moved to the next table. He sat opposite me.
I leaned forward and asked, “What are you doing here?”
He blinked and then appeared amused. “I should be asking you the same thing.”
“Ha.” I snorted. Then I narrowed my gaze. “Are you stalking me?”
CHAPTER12
AUSTIN
Iblinked at Pandora and leaned back with surprise.
When I saw her here at speed dating night, my bear’s jubilance almost spurred me to break-dance. She looked even more beautiful tonight wearing that black dress with silver. There was something about her vibe, that dark and mysterious allure, that drew me in, despite my bear’s insistence on the mate connection. I always had a thing for that look and had a crush on Morticia Addams and Elvira.
“Stalking you?” I muttered with disbelief.
“Yes.” Pandora didn’t seem as happy to see me. In fact, she stared at me with downright suspicion.
Still stunned, I shook my head. “Why would you jump to that conclusion?”
She leaned back in her chair. “It’s not the first time I’ve run into you out in public, but this time, we’re not even in Salem. In fact, we’re a good distance away.”
“True. But that doesn’t mean I’m following you around.”
Yes, follow mate,my bear urged.She smells good.
Not the time, I warned, although she did indeed smell amazing. Her scent with a hint of jasmine did strange things to me.
She didn’t look convinced and crossed her arms. “Don’t you think it’s more than a coincidence that we’re both here for speed dating night.”
“Yes.” The way she searched my face as if probing for the truth was disarming. “Why are you looking at me that way?”
“What way?”
“Like I had something to do this.”
She arched her brows. “Didn’t you?”
“No, of course not.” I motioned around us. “You live next door to me. If I wanted to see you, I’d walk right over.”
