Page 8 of Kissing Games
She frowned at him.
‘The flag,’ Charlie continued. ‘It’s on the outside of your bag.’
She narrowed her eyes and nodded.
This was taking a weird turn. ‘Colombia is a beautiful country.’
‘Have you ever been?’
‘A few times, yes.’
‘Uh-huh, and what were you doing there?’
There was a nanosecond before Charlie replied, ‘Management consulting. In an office. With paper.’Stop talking!
‘No, you weren’t,’ she replied. ‘You’re lying.’
Charlie looked up from the bag. Her eyes were huge and fathomless.
‘I have very few skills in life, but one is to know if someone is telling the truth.’
Charlie swallowed.
The corners of her mouth lifted. ‘You’re good, but you’re notthatgood.’
‘I have that skill, too,’ he countered. If she could bluff, he could bluff right back. ‘Cats or dogs?’
‘What?’
‘Which do you prefer, cats or dogs?’
‘Cats.’
‘No, you don’t. Ice cream. Chocolate or vanilla?’
‘Vanilla.’
Charlie shook his head. ‘You’re a chocolate fudge sundae girl all the way. With extra sprinkles.’ He watched her with a smile. ‘Your pupils just dilated. I know I’m right.’ He finished the final stitch, bit the end of the thread, then turned the bag the right way around.
‘You had a fifty-fifty chance of being right.’
‘Do you want me to fix the flag?’
‘What?’
‘The stitching is coming loose. I might as well as fix it now.’
She looked at her watch. It was small and unremarkable. ‘Yes, thank you. I still have time.’
Charlie threaded a smaller needle and set to work. ‘Where are you flying to?’
‘Colombia.’
‘No, you’re not.’
She harrumphed in response and looked closer at his tiny stitches. ‘Who taught you to sew?’
‘A bloke called Shawn.’
