Page 87 of Last Date

“The suspense is killing me,” I mumbled.

He laughed. “Sorry. I haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday.”

I grimaced.

He cleared his throat. “Okay, you were right to be suspicious of the Luscious Stems Florist guy.”

Frowning, I said, “That much I know. He attacked me today.”

“Yeah, but I mean, he’s been stalking you. Watching your every move, waiting for a second or third chance to take you out.”

I touched my throat. “Why?”

“He was Allister’s ex.”

My heart stuttered. “Really?”

Nodding, Merrick said, “Yes. Allister broke things off with him a few months ago, but Nick wasn’t one to take no for an answer.”

I frowned. “He didn’t have a mustache.”

“No. He apparently shaved it off. He heard rumors the police were looking for a guy with a black mustache driving a white van.”

“Why did he try to kill me?” I asked breathlessly.

Merrick moved closer. “The minute you accepted Allister’s invitation for Valentine’s Day, you were a mark.”

“Seriously? It was one date.”

“He met Allister on a Valentine’s Day cruise. Apparently the fact Allister asked you out for one was the height of insult. He’d been trying to get Allister back for months, but he finally realized it wasn’t going to happen.”

I felt sick as I studied Merrick’s grim face. “Did he kill Allister?”

“Yes.”

“Jesus.”

“He was trying to get you too. Fortunately, you didn’t drink the champagne because you were being polite. He wanted to kill you both that night.”

I shivered. “I did have champagne though.”

“That was from a different bottle Selena got from the galley.”

“Oh.” I’d considered drinking more champagne that evening because I’d been nervous. But in the end, I’d waited. Knowing I’d come so close to drinking poison made my stomach roll, but I kept my food down somehow.

“You okay?” Merrick asked, putting his hand on my leg.

“I was just thinking how easily I could have drunk the champagne.”

“That’s what he was counting on.”

I frowned. “How did he get the morphine in the champagne?”

“That’s the thing about service people—they come and go without really drawing much attention. Nick was able to get on the boat while delivering flowers, and from there, the rest was pretty easy.”

“How did he get morphine?”

“He says he got it while delivering flowers to various nursing homes in town. I suppose it doesn’t really matter where he got it because he’s admitted to using morphine to kill Allister.”