Page 14

CHAPTER 14

Matt

I take the long way home from Zoey’s, knowing Gianna is back at my place and will have questions I’m not sure how to answer. Sharing a meal with Zoey in a restaurant just the two of us was nice. I was so relaxed with her, and I thought everything was going well until Melinda showed up and Zoey ran out of there like her ass was on fire. The second she said she was leaving, my stomach dropped. That was the last thing I wanted. I wanted her to stay. I wanted to share a dessert, maybe go for a walk together before I took her home. The more we sat there, the more I wished it was actually a date.

Melinda showing up was a stark reminder of the life I’ve lived of moving from girl to girl, just having fun with no commitments. That’s not something I want with Zoey. I want to see if we could have something real. I enjoy spending time with her, more than I have any other woman I’ve met.

The way she ran out of there has me thinking she doesn’t want any of that. It was as though Melinda was exactly what she was waiting for to get out of there, but then she said she had fun. This woman has me all over the place, and I’ve never been like this before.

When I arrive home, I quietly let myself in in case Gi is asleep. She’s wrapped in a blanket on the couch with a bowl of ice cream and watching a movie. I shouldn’t be surprised. Gi’s always loved her late-night sweets.

She smiles at me and pauses the movie. “So, how was the date?” she asks.

“She cancelled.”

She grabs her phone and checks the time. “So why are you just getting home?”

I grip the back of my neck and take a seat beside her. “Zoey was in the restaurant, too, and her date stood her up, so we ate dinner together.”

Gi’s quiet as she watches me and takes a bite of her ice cream. Silence fills the room, and I feel her mind moving a mile a minute. Unlike Liv, Gi’s always been quiet and lets people stew, hoping that will get them to open up.

I shuffle in my seat, not sure what else to say.

After a few minutes, she takes pity and asks with a grin, “So, how was your date?”

“Not a date,” I say emphatically.

“Did you share a meal together?”

“Yes.”

“Did you enjoy conversation? Laugh?”

I roll my eyes. “A meal and conversation do not make a date, Gi. I’ve done that with Josh and the rest of the guys. Those weren’t dates.”

She nods, taking another bite of her ice cream. “True, but did you ever want anything more from them?”

“No, of course not.”

“Okay, and did you want something more with Zoey?”

I open my mouth to say my usual no, but I close it, because I don’t think I can lie about this anymore. As much as I know I shouldn’t be pining after Zoey Williams and wanting more, I do.

Gi points her spoon at me. “See, date.”

“Not if she doesn’t think it was,” I say, defeat and disappointment filling my voice.

“Do you know what she thought it was? Have you talked to her about it?”

I steal the spoon and take a bite of ice cream. “No, she kind of ran away near the end of the meal and I had to chase her down. I convinced her to let me drive her home, but it wasn’t exactly an ideal end to the night.”

We get into a routine of passing the spoon back and forth.

“Sounds like there was a reason she decided to make a run for it,” Gi says.

“Yeah,” I say, not wanting to go into detail about past trysts with my little sister.

She raises a brow at me, holding the spoon hostage until I give her more.

I sigh. “A girl I know showed up, talked about catching up.”

Gi throws her head back with a laugh, and I shush her.

“Jayden’s asleep in the next room,” I say.

“Sorry.”

We listen for a minute, and when we don’t hear any noises, she continues.

“Men can be so obtuse,” she muses.

“Really?” My tone is both frustrated and annoyed.

“Do you really think if Zoey was just your sister’s best friend, or just your friend, she’d want to bail as soon as a woman, whom you’ve presumably slept with, shows up and starts talking about catching up?” When I say nothing, she shakes her head. “She obviously has some sort of feelings for you. She probably hasn’t figured them all out yet, but she doesn’t see you as just a friend.”

Gianna’s words give me hope. I know I have to approach all of this cautiously, though, because the last thing I want to do is hurt Zoey. She means too much to me for me to be the cause of any hurt she experiences. Zoey is first and foremost Liv’s and my friend.

I need time to think about all of this, so I ask Gi, “How was Jayden tonight?”

She lights up at the question. “He was an absolute doll. My nephew is the cutest little thing! We played for a bit, and he took his bottle well. He was a little fussy when you first left and when I tried to put him down, but he eventually calmed down.”

I’m not surprised about him being a bit fussy. Mom said the same thing when she had him, and it’s probably because I spend so much time with him and if it’s not me, it’s usually Zo.

“You ate?” I ask.

She nods. “Yeah, I stole some of the KD you had in the cupboard.”

Of course she did. The girls could live off KD mac and cheese if Mom let them when we were kids, and not much has changed as they’ve grown up. “You know KD here is so much better than the stuff in the States. It never hit the same when I made it at school.”

I chuckle. “What else did you miss?”

She hums. “Definitely Coke, oh and ketchup chips. Liv shipped me a few coffee crisps once because I was craving them during exams. She threw in some Kinder Surprise eggs, too, not sure how those made it through customs.” She laughs.

“I don’t even make your list,” I joke.

She rolls her eyes at me. “Of course I missed you. I missed everyone. I’m just talking food right now.”

She takes her bowl into the kitchen and loads it in the dishwasher, and I know I should let her get some sleep. I head to my bedroom, stopping to ask, “You sticking around for breakfast?”

She shakes her head. “No, I have plans with Em.”

I nod. “Okay, well, sleep well. Thanks for hanging out with Jayden tonight.”

“Of course. I’m glad I’m home now and can spend more time with my niece and nephew.” She smiles.

“We’re glad you’re home, too.”

I close my bedroom door, stopping beside Jayden’s crib to stare at my perfect little boy bundled in his sleep sack. I want nothing more than to reach in and brush my finger over his cheek, but I don’t because I don't want to wake him. I quietly change and slip into bed, my mind wandering to how to handle things with Zoey.

It’s Sunday, and we have a game today. While I love playing and seeing the guys, I don’t usually look forward to games as much as I am tonight. Zo should be there, and I’m hoping I can pull her aside so we can talk about last night. I want to clear the air, if not to see where this could go, to at least make sure things aren’t awkward with us going forward.

When I get to the rink, she’s not there. I sit and talk with Liv, but my eyes are constantly scanning, waiting for her to turn the corner. I’m the last one not in the dressing room, and I ask Liv, “Where’s Zo?”

She raises a brow quickly before schooling her expression. “She texted and said she couldn’t come today.”

Disappointment fills me.

“The girls and I’ve got Jayden, if you’re going to play.”

“Thanks, guys.”

“Let me see that adorable little munchkin,” Hannah says as reaches into the car seat and tickles his tummy.

I leave them and head into the dressing room to get ready for the game. Conversation is loud around me, but I can’t find it in me to participate. I can’t help but feel like I’m the reason Zoey didn’t come today. This was the last thing I wanted. This is exactly why I’ve always said she was off limits. Not only do I know she’s not one for just a fling, but mixing these kinds of relationships leads to messy situations.

Josh nudges my leg, and I look at him. He gives me an expectant look, and I know I must have missed his question.

“Hmm?”

“Any luck on the house hunting front?”

“Nope. I haven’t looked too much, to be honest. I know I need to. It’s just kinda slipped through the cracks.”

“My realtor said he’d have a bunch of listings to me by end of day tomorrow. I’ll send those over as soon as I have them,” Caleb says.

I nod. “Thanks, man.”

We finish getting ready and head out to the ice. Not seeing Zoey with the girls is weird. I find myself constantly looking for her smile or to see her bouncing Jayden. My head isn’t in the game at all. I end up turning the puck over in the first period, allowing the other team to get on a breakaway. Thankfully, Mac stops it and steers the puck to the corner where we gather it. We win the game by one goal, no thanks to me. I change as quickly as possible and gather Jayden, saying goodbye to Liv before heading home. I need to call Zoey.

Once I get Jayden down, I settle on the couch and pull up Zoey’s contact. I stare at her picture. It’s one of her at Josh and Liv’s wedding last year. She looks absolutely stunning. She’s smiling brightly, her hair is perfectly curled, and her makeup is done in a way that highlights all of her best features. I’ve always known she’s beautiful, but staring at this picture has me realizing that over the last year and a half, I’ve noticed so much more about her. I’ve looked forward to spending time with her. I’d invite her over even if we weren’t trying to find ways to push Josh and Liv together. I wanted her company.

I drop my head back as it hits me all at once. I’ve slowly been falling for Zoey. Every time we’d spend time together, she’d leave me wanting to see her more. She had me falling for her with every interaction.

I finally press the call button and hold the phone to my ear. It rings several times, and just when I think it’s going to go to voicemail, she answers.

“Hello.”

A relieved smile spreads across my face. “Hey, Zo.”

“Hey, Matt.”

Silence fills the line, and I know I have to be the one to break it.

“I missed seeing you tonight.”

I hear the rustling of sheets before she answers. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it.”

“You okay?” I ask.

“Yeah, we just did family dinner tonight.”

I know she’s fairly close to her brothers, and if they all wanted to do dinner, she wouldn’t miss it, but why didn’t she tell me before?

“How was it?”

A little hmph comes through the line. “It was dinner with my five brothers. It was—I don’t know that fun is the word—entertaining for sure.”

I laugh. “I’m not sure how you grew up with five older brothers. I’m not sure I could have handled more siblings beyond Liv and Gi.”

“I guess it helped being the youngest. John and Riley are the closest to my age, Kai, Ezra, and Henry are all quite a bit older, so we didn’t have the same type of relationship. It was a lot more of them taking care of me when I was young, and by the time I was a pre-teen and teenager, they were moving out.”

I nod, even though she can’t see me. “At least you have the support system.”

She makes a noise of frustration. “It would be great if my brothers would see that I’m a grown woman and can take care of myself.”

I weigh my words carefully. On one hand, I can see why her brothers are protective, I’m protective of Olivia and Gianna and always will be, but I can also see how she wants them to acknowledge her accomplishments and that she can take care of herself.

“You know they do it out of love, right? Big brothers just want to support and take care of their younger sisters.”

She scoffs. “So, you’ve told Liv and Gi who they can and cannot date?” she asks.

Jealousy hits me, and I clear my throat to push the feeling down. “No, but I’ve told them when I haven’t particularly liked someone they were dating.” She doesn’t say anything, and the next words leave my mouth without any thought. “Who did they tell you not to date?”

She sighs. “No one. It doesn’t matter. It’s not like it’s going to happen anyway.”

The jealousy grows. She’s over there pinning after some man, and all I want to do is drive over there and kiss her so she stops thinking about him. But I know I need to be a good friend. I need show her that things aren’t weird with us, even if I can't stop thinking about kissing her.

“Why won’t it happen?”

“I’m not his type.” Her answer is short and sure, but I don’t know how she wouldn’t be any man's type. She’s heaven and sin all wrapped in one beautiful package, and I know that without even having touched her. I bite my lip, holding back the groan that wants to leave me as I think about what her moans would sound like if I ran my finger up the inside of her thigh until my finger dusted over her panties.

“How do you know that?” I ask.

She huffs, sounding frustrated. “I just know, Matthew.”

The sound of her saying my full name only makes me harder. I don’t want to push her anymore, so I say, “So, about last night. I wanted to clear the air.”

“We’re all good, Matt. It’s fine,” she says flippantly.

“No, Zo, it’s not fine. You shouldn’t have felt like you needed to leave when Melinda showed up. I should have made sure you knew I wanted to finish our meal and spend time with you. It never even once occurred to me to leave with Melinda. I wanted to stay. With you.”

“Thank you.” Her voice comes out soft, and I wish I was with her right now to wrap my arms around her and pull in tight.

“No person should make you feel like you need to leave like you did last night. I’m sorry, Zo.”

“It’s fine, Matt. I accept your apology.” She yawns before she says, “I should head to bed so I can meet you at the rink tomorrow morning.”

Knowing she’s still going to be there tomorrow makes excitement radiate through me.

“Sleep well, Zo. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She yawns again. “You, too.”