Page 1 of Fierce-Matt (Fierce Matchmaking #19)

“What the hell?” Matt Kelly said, standing at the bar. His eyes surveyed the room at his brother Ben’s wedding.

The place was overloaded, not just with friends and family but also a ton of coworkers from Fierce, where his brother was the head brewmaster.

But his eyes locked in on the blonde hair of a woman dancing with some dude he didn’t know.

His beer was placed down, he picked it up, tossed cash on the bar for the tip, then strutted toward his brother.

He pivoted and detoured to his sister when he saw Ben surrounded by friends. She’d have the answers he wanted.

“Hey,” Phoebe said. “How come you’re marching around looking annoyed? I thought you’d be on the floor dancing or at least schmoozing with everyone.”

She had him pegged when it came to social gatherings.

“I will,” he said. He nodded his head toward the woman in his view. “Is that Anya?”

Matt knew damn well it was, but learned to hold his cards close to his chest now.

“It is,” Phoebe said. “I’m surprised you recognized her. I had no idea she’d be here.”

“She looks the same to me,” he said, putting his beer to his lips.

Shoulder length hair that was normally straight but had some wave to it. High cheekbones on porcelain skin. Her eyes were light blue. Almost as clear as the spring sky. They’d haunted him for years.

No one ever made his heart pound like his sister’s childhood best friend.

He’d tried but failed many times to feel the same for someone else.

“I guess,” Phoebe said. “She sounds good too. It was so nice to see her. I haven’t talked to her in almost a decade.”

“What?” he asked, confused. “You haven’t?”

He thought they were close. The only reason he never asked was because he didn’t need his sister riding his ass over his behavior anymore.

He’d messed up one too many times when it came to Anya by being an annoying older brother. The last thing he wanted was the girl of his dreams to stop coming over to visit his sister.

That happened when everyone graduated high school anyway.

“No,” Phoebe said. “I went away to college, she stayed here. We just lost track of each other.”

He frowned and took another sip of his beer, his eyes scanning for her again.

Ding, ding, ding. There she was. Some asshole’s hand was on her back as she was spun on the floor to fast-playing music.

The dude was looking at her as if she was the love of his life.

Fuck that.

His expression remained neutral. “Have you talked to her today?” He heard a snort and looked at his sister’s boyfriend sitting at the table. Elias Carlisle. “What?”

“Nothing,” Elias said, not doing a great job hiding his smirk.

“What’s going on?” Phoebe asked, her eyebrows coming together.

Matt shrugged. “I’m only asking you a question.

What’s going on with you?” Shit. There was no way out of this unless he turned it into a joke that he was famous for.

“Could be Anya thinks you’re snobby now running that satellite office of yours and coming here with you-know-who on your arm.

” His eyes exaggeratedly fixed on Phoebe’s boyfriend.

Elias Carlisle was the brother to billionaire West Carlisle. Elias owned Fifth Kid Brewing and was currently working with Fierce on a beer collaboration.

“Don’t be a jerk,” Phoebe said, laughing and bumping her elbow into her brother’s. “But we know you can’t be any other way. And not everyone knows Elias’s name here.”

“You’re only fooling yourself,” Matt said. “Back to Anya.”

“I’m not sure what your deal is. You two never got along. She couldn’t stand you half the time when we were kids.”

He swallowed the vomit that threatened to climb up his throat hearing those words. What an idiot he’d been back then.

If only he could go back in time and change something. Anything.

He stayed as cool as the ice he’d once dumped on his sister’s back when she was lying by the pool.

“She was your best friend. We aren’t kids.

I haven’t seen her in years. I was only curious.

I don’t know everyone here and Ben wouldn’t have invited her, so she must be with that guy on Ben’s side of the invites. ”

“I didn’t catch the guy’s name,” Phoebe said. “He works with Ben. But Anya works at Fierce too. She’s a part-time bartender in the tasting room.”

“Oh,” he said. Guess he was out of touch on more than one level.

“Phoebe!”

His sister was called away by Eve, Ben’s new wife, and that left Matt standing by the table Elias was at. Rather than leave his sister’s boyfriend alone, he pulled out a chair and sat.

“You’re not obvious at all,” Elias said. His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

“What?” he asked.

“Your interest in Phoebe’s friend. I’m surprised she didn’t catch on, but she’s distracted today with the wedding.”

“No interest there other than curiosity,” he said, putting his drink to his lips again and looking around the reception.

“I’ve got a lot more siblings than you,” Elias said, leaning back in his chair. “And can easily see when one is skirting the truth.”

“Lawyers always skirt the truth.” He smirked. “You know that with Phoebe. What is it you call it? Redirecting.”

Elias laughed. “Guess it runs in the family.”

His sister returned so he took his beer and strode back to the head table.

He was about to talk to Ben now that the group of people thinned out around the bride and groom when the music switched to a slow song.

Since he’d been watching Anya, he immediately noticed the dude she’d been fast dancing with pull her into his arms.

He set his beer down without thought, some of the liquid sloshing out over the aggressive movement, and changed direction to the dance floor.

“Just cutting in,” he said. Matt nudged the guy out of the way and put his hand in Anya’s, then held on tight so she couldn’t walk away.

There was more shock than disdain on Anya’s face. He’d take that any day after what his sister just told him.

“I figured you’d come talk to me and should have known it’d be done in a rude manner.”

Shit. He’d done it again.

There was no way out of this other than play it up.

Matt smiled. “Why change what you were used to with me?”

“Why indeed?” she asked, laughing. The smile didn’t reach her eyes. Though they were still clear as day, they were also ice cold.

His hand holding hers loosened his grip, the other on the hip of her black dress was slightly resting there and not firm enough to keep her in place. He didn’t need to come off as an animal.

There was heat in his palms from where they were touching her body and that only reiterated the attraction was strong as ever.

Her dress was fitted to her body like a glove, sleeveless, and stopping at her knees.

Sexy black open-toed pumps on her feet. Bright red polish on her finger and toenails.

“I must say seeing you here surprised me.”

Anya laughed, the sexy sound shooting currents through his blood. The same sound her laughter had when she was younger, only there was a husky mature quality to it now.

“I’m not worthy enough to attend a Kelly wedding?” she asked, her eyebrow lifted in a challenge.

“You’re more than worthy,” he said, turning her a little so they weren’t just standing there in each other’s arms.

He had some smooth dance moves but was lucky to get his feet to shift with the way his brain was disconnected from his body in her presence.

“Then why?”

“I haven’t heard your name in years,” he admitted. “Then to see you here caused some curiosity. Nothing more than that.”

Her head tilted, the smile still on her glossy lips.

She looked as if she believed him. She tended to believe a lot of what people said.

He’d always thought she was na?ve and all he wanted to do back then was protect her.

Too bad he went about it the wrong way.

“You tortured me when we were younger,” she said sweetly. The blunt blade of the knife cut deep, but anyone watching them wouldn’t know unless they were close enough to hear the words. “Why would you care if you heard my name?”

He sucked air in through his nose as if he was going to gather all the oxygen in the room. “The stupidity of youth.” It was the best he could come up with.

She closed one of those ice-blue eyes at him. “I’m not so sure I believe it.” Her forced smile was still on her face.

“It’s the truth.” He was getting desperate. This wasn’t the same woman he remembered who always returned to his home and gave him another chance to make her laugh. He’d pushed those boundaries, like he did with everything in life back then.

“You’ve never been stupid, Matt,” she said. She leaned up to get near his face, her voice dropping. It was as if she wanted closer contact and he was foolish enough to fall for it. “But you were always a dick to me. Some things are hard to forget.”

She left him standing there like a mic drop while she strutted away to find her date with a welcoming smile on her face that he wished had been directed to him instead.

He was an asshole to her and he’d never get a chance to make it up.

She’d grown up and matured. That delivery wasn’t at all what he expected of someone who’d run and shrieked when he played one too many practical jokes on his sister and her friends.

This time the joke was on him.