Page 330

Matt frowned at him. “Sir, is this the part where I’m supposed to ask what the hell you’re talking about?”

William looked up at him, and damned if the man wasn’t grinning wickedly. “Why yes, Matthew, that’s exactly what you’re supposed to do. I’m a drunk old man, worried about his eldest son, and havin’ a talk that I shouldn’t be havin’, so indulge me.”

The reaffirmation that this was probably not a conversation Nick would have liked them to have had Matt hesitating before continuing. They were already too deep to worry about whether Nick would be happy, as they were probably already in unhappy territory. It was the fact that William felt the need to bring it up that made Matt wary, wondering what the hell the older man was getting ready to say.

“Okay,” Matt said slowly, unable to hide his trepidation. “What the hell are you talking about?”

William looked up, his eyes not nearly as cloudy as Matt expected from how drunk the man appeared. In fact, he was startled to see they were the same shade as Nick’s, though far more piercing and knowing.

“You tellin’ me,” William said, leaning forward in his seat, “that you ain’t never noticed one person who just...makes him different?”

“Er, different how?” Matt asked.

“Different. Lighter, freer, happier. Someone who lights him up from the inside just by his bein’ around them.”

Matt laughed. “I mean, you could just ask me if I’ve ever seen him in love with someone.”

“That I could.”

“Then, no.”

“No?”

“No.”

Sure, he’d seen Nick infatuated with a girl and seen him grow close to a couple. But love? No, he’d never seen his friend light up, become easygoing, and truly relax around any of them. The only time he ever saw Nick relaxed was when he was with the team and was completely at ease. No, the only time he’d seen that was when it was just the two of them, without the world intruding and choking Nick with its presence.

William fiddled with the glass, gaze never leaving Matt. “I think ya have.”

“No,” Matt insisted, trying not to show his irritation, “I haven’t. No offense, sir, but I’m his best friend. I’ve known him for a decade and seen him through...just about everything. I’d have noticed if he was in love with someone.”

“Mmm,” William hummed thoughtfully, leaning back with a nod.

Matt didn’t trust it, though, the acceptance on the older man’s part. “It doesn’t sound like you agree with me.”

“Good because I don’t. Just having a moment of thought really, realizin’ something I should’ve thought before.”

“And that is?”

“I guess it’s harder to see a single tree when ya been surrounded by the whole damn forest.”

Matt frowned. “Again, no offense, sir, but that doesn’t make any sense.”

“No?” William asked with an innocent, wide-eyed stare.

Matt opened his mouth to reaffirm that no, it did not, in fact, make sense. His lips parted, his tongue lifted, the tip pressing against the back of his top teeth in preparation for the word. He sucked in a breath, his brow coming down further to deepen his frown of irritation at William’s belligerence.

And froze.

A beat. A moment in time that could have been a few seconds or five minutes.

His eyes widened, erasing the frown. A breath of air escaped him, emptying his lungs. His mouth open, lips parted in disbelief.

The words had sunk in, their meaning understood, but?—

“No,” Matt whispered, unable to shake his head. “No.”

There was no way in heaven, hell, or on Earth that what William was skating around saying was true.