Page 23 of The Playboy’s Playbook

Chapter Nineteen

MATT

I ’ve never been big on cuddling, but I want Laila to invade my space. Her legs are tangled in mine, head on my chest, and arm outstretched over my stomach. At some point after our bath, Laila must have gotten Nola because the small puppy is perched above my head, the panda bear toy long forgotten.

I look over at the time and see that it’s nearly five in the morning. I have to be at work today by eight. As much as I want to stay here with Laila, I have to leave now to make it to Meadowbrook on time or Luke will kill me, bring me back to life to finish the construction, and then kill me again.

I try my best not to wake Laila as I creep out of her bed and try to find my clothes. I don’t bother with my shirt since Laila’s in it and damn does she look good in my clothes. As I put on my boxers and jeans, I stare at the beautiful woman before me.

As much as I feel relieved that she trusted me enough to be her first, I can’t help but feel guilty for taking that for myself when I haven’t been honest with her.

I probably slept for a total of three hours last night, the guilt eating at me for not telling her about my jail sentence and charges.

The fear of losing her creeps up my spine every time I try to bring it up.

I lean down and press a kiss to her head before making my way out of her room. Nola hops down from the bed and follows me, going to the backdoor.

I let her out before stopping by Ms. Gina’s home office to grab paper to leave Laila a note. I let Nola back inside and fill her food bowl, kissing her tiny head before I put her in her kennel.

“Be good for your mom, Nola,” I whisper as I grab my keys from the counter.

I place the note near the flower vases before I leave, making sure to lock the door before I close it.

As soon as I step into my truck and its engine roars to life, my phone starts ringing and Luke’s name appears on the screen.

“Yes, Dad?” I ask.

“I hate you,” Luke huffs.

I let out a belly laugh and continue driving out of the neighborhood to merge onto the bypass to get back to my place for a quick shower before heading into work.

“To what do I owe this hatred, Lucas?”

“Eh, nothing in particular that I can note. I just hate you.”

I chuckle. “I stayed with Laila last night.”

Luke shuffles in the background and I hear a door close before he answers. “How’d it go? How was the lovely night out at Hugo’s?”

“We actually didn’t stay at Hugo’s,” I say, preparing for the inevitable boost to his already big ego.

“What? You were so adamant about that restaurant and you didn’t stay?” he asks.

I sigh because I know after what I tell him, he’s going to give me an earful. “We ended up at Waffle House.”

“You fucker! I told you to take her there from the start, but did you want to listen to me? No.”

“I’m sorry for wanting to treat my girlfriend to a nice evening out on our first date,” I huff.

“Woah,” Luke says, surprise evident in his voice. “Girlfriend? It’s that serious, buddy?”

I smile before answering his question. “Well, we haven’t really talked about being official, but she’s my everything, man. And I know it’s only been a month and she’s leaving at the end of the summer, but I don’t want to lose her. I can’t lose her.”

“Woah,” Luke states.

“I told her about my sobriety last night. She felt guilty because she offered me a drink when I went to be with her on Memorial Day.”

Luke sighs. “She didn’t know, Matty.”

“I know, I know. I told her the same thing and that she shouldn’t be so hard on herself about it. It felt good getting that off of my chest.”

“I’m proud of you for that, Matty.” Luke doesn’t smile often, but even without seeing my best friend’s face, I can tell that he has a small smile on his face.

“I still haven’t told her about my time in jail.” As I say those words, I feel the burden on my shoulders all over again.

“Matty,” Luke sighs, his disappointment clear as the sky. “You’ve gotta tell her. The longer you keep this from her, the worse her reaction will be.”

“What if she leaves me?” I question, voicing my fear out loud for the first time.

“She’s too far gone for you just like you are for her.”

“I’ll tell her,” I say, not a trace of confidence in my voice.

“Matty,” Luke says sternly, his fatherly instincts kicking in.

“I promise. I’m going to tell Laila everything.”