A perfect match: a love story ?

A perfect match by Annie Nelson

I-All the ingredients of a love story
1- Emily
As the narrator seems to be omniscient we are led to believe that we are well-informed about her feelings . Sheis nervous and surprised because she is not used to being nervous .She is all the more so as Nick is late . She is attracted to this handsome man . While they are having a drink we are clearly toldthat she finds him very attractive . Her first impression was good when they first met and she is not disappointed .She finds him very congenial .

2- Nick
There is much less information about Nick. The narrator only gives us visual elements . We are told that he is slightly disturbed when Emily mentions her “trusty companion” . He frowns at the news and rapidly relaxes when he realizes thatEmily is talking about a cat and not a man .That’s all we know about his feelings and it seems pretty obvious that he feels attracted too .

3- Emily and Nick : a good match ?
At this point, for thereader there is no doubt that they are well suited, a good match .
It may not be love at first sight but they are undoubtedly on the same wavelength . They don’t have to spell things out to eachother . For example Nick says “delicious” meaning that Emily is delicious and she playfully answers in the same way .

A romantic reader may imagine that he/she is witnessing what looks like thebeginning of a love story (announced in the title) . It may seem highly likely that they are about to fall in love and as the saying goes “ they lived happily ever after” .

II- Definitively a perfectmatch
1- Nick’s true face
Nick is a fraud . His real “job” is to dupe women so as to get information and steal them .
He pretends to be an architect but his “partner” (Ted) is in fact his partner incrime . While he eats in a restaurant with his victim, his partner breaks into her house and robs valuable goods .
Women trust him because of his charm and good manners . He deliberately deceives…