Page 47 of Dream On, Liar

“You’re right,” She nodded, her eyes lit up in a way that had my heart bursting. Before I could figure out what the fuck was happening to me, she continued. “Did you also know that you can turn Tequila into diamonds?”

Ignoring the voice that jumped up and screamed in agreement, I shook my head. Purely, because I wanted to make sure nothing would diminish that look of excitement on her face. The one that said she’d just learnt a new fact, because something in her voice was clear as day that she enjoyed doing that.

“Are we talking giant rocks or tiny pebbles?” I instead asked, giving the bartender a nod as he placed our drinks next to us. With her eyes back on her phone, I pulled our drinks closer making sure it was out of any strangers reach. There was no harm in being safer.

“Definitely pebbles,” She replied, her gaze fixed on her screen. “There’s a university in Mexico that found out that when put under high temperature, the tequila’s carbon impurities are completely removed and can result into tiny microscopic pure diamonds or small lab grown ones. Oh my god. How cool!”

“Right?” I agreed, offering the drink to her as she turned off her phone and gave me the attention I’d slowly begun to crave.

Her eyes flickered from me to the drink as she caught her lower lip between her teeth, a smile threatening to break free as she studied me for a beat.

“I hate to break it you but you’ve just wasted £15,” She replied, hesitation evident in her voice…almost like something had broken up the moment we’d shared.

I tilted my head, understanding her words easily. “Because you think I’ve ordered you a Spicy Margarita and you only like them when they’re extra spicy?”

Her mouth dropped, barely pulling my attention to her lips completely before my amused gaze met hers again.

“How did you know?”

Shrugging, I took a sip of my own drink before replying. “Took a calculated shot.”

A smug feeling settled in me as she took her drink, her eyes settled on me as took a sip, and a slow satisfaction rolled in her.

I knew that feeling well.

“What if you were wrong?” She asked then, her body completely turning into mine.

“I wouldn’t have been,” I replied confidently. It was a skill I'd honed over the years. Reading people, knowing when to take a calculated shot and when to hold back, had become second nature. It was the same instinct that made me the fastest bowler the country had seen. “But if I had been, the bartender would’ve been making you another drink.”

I knew I’d said exactly the right thing. The slow swallow that followed, and the spark of desire that flared in her eyes, only fed the arrogance I'd earned over the years. A smug grin tugged at my mouth.

“So,” She started, her eyes flickering between my lips and eyes. “Any particular reason why you carry tequila trivia around you?”

“My older brother told it to me years ago,” I lifted a shoulder. “And it’s been just sitting there in my brain, taking valuable space in my brain, ready for this moment.”

A laugh bubbled out of her, and Fuck.

I’d never believed in fate or anything beyond chance and consequence, but if there was anything capable of making a man question his convictions, it was the sound of her laughter.

I found myself still staring at her long after it had faded, as if something in me refused to look away. And she was looking back just the same, caught in that same strange pull neither of us seemed willing to break.

“So, trivia boy,” She tilted her head. “What’s your name?”

Still trapped in a trance, I replied. “Rihaan.”

“Rihaan,” My name had never sounded better before as she tested it out on her lips, her plum lips pulling up further as though she wanted to share the taste of it—and I was goddamn desperate for it too. Stretching her hand, she offered. “Maeve.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Maeve.” Accepting her outstretched hand, a spark buzzed through me at the contact. Gripping it softly, I pulled her closer before she placed other hand on my sternum.

“One question.”

I raised a brow. “What’s up?”

“What do you do?” A frown settled on my brows, but before I could give a voice to my confusion, she continued. “It’s just that I spotted you with Matt earlier—”

“You know Matt?” I asked, hoping that I’d done my best to hide the thrill that shot up through me at the fact that she’d noticed me first.

Maeve gave me a hesitant nod, her eyes filled with an expectancy. “I met him at one of my brother’s events.”