Page 32 of My Killer Blind Date
‘Well that’s a given. You can’t call yourself a Chicagoan if you haven’t been on the Centennial Wheel. Did you know the first Ferris wheel was in Chicago?’
‘I didn’t know that.’ But it’s just the kind of bizarre little piece of history I love to know.
‘1893 World’s Fair.’
‘Aren’t you Mr Smarty Pants?’
‘Don’t give me too much credit. I got it from that show – Loki.’
‘Hah! I’ve been meaning to watch that!’ I’ve just been a tad busy in the evenings.
Soon, we’re getting in line. The wheel rises above us, lit for the evening in multicolor expanding circles. The noise and music triggers a dormant memory.
‘I did come here once,’ I say suddenly. ‘With my parents. I guess I forgot.’
‘Oh? How old were you?’
‘Six or seven, I think.’
‘Good memory or bad?’
‘Good. I can’t believe I didn’t remember it until now. Mom convinced Dad we had to ride it. He didn’t want to at first. We all went up together. I’ll never forget that feeling, of being just the three of us in a bucket. Like – stuck there, but in a good way, if that makes sense.’
Liam tilts his head. ‘Hmm. Like you were safe because they couldn’t leave you while the ride was going.’
A slow tingle burns its way through me.
‘Uh … yeah.’ In fact, that’s exactly it. ‘They weren’t super adventurous people. Most evenings they’d have the TV on, and it’s like we weren’t really together. Just … alone in the same room. But for fifteen minutes, in the bucket …’
A beat of silence sits between us.
‘They belonged to just you,’ he completes.
I laugh. ‘You’re unnervingly insightful.’
He shrugs. ‘Trick of the trade.’
‘Art collecting?’ I say, trying to ignore my swirling thoughts about how a serial killer would certainly have to be observant, to get away with it …
‘Nah, my day job.’
‘And what is your day job again?’
‘Trust me, it’s boring.’
The first time he said his work stories were boring, I bought it. Now I see how obviously evasive he’s being.
‘I heard it was finance-related?’
He grins. ‘Yeah … it’s one of those jobs that’s too complicated to explain, but it pays the bills.’
OK. A little condescending, but it’s what every guy in finance says, without fail. Still …
‘You could try me. I’m a smart girl.’
‘Oh, I don’t doubt that. But the last girl I explained it to literally blocked my phone number.’ He pauses, but briefly. ‘And remind me, do your parents live near by?’ Liam reaches for my hand, and now I feel ready to let him take it. If I want to go home with him, we have to have some kind of connection.
‘Nah.’ I shift my fingers in his, ignoring the warmth that seems to multiply in my body from that single touch point and making a mental note to come back to the job thing later. ‘They hightailed it to Florida as soon as my dad took early retirement. Their favorite pastime is reminding me how they don’t have to shovel snow any more.’
