Page 42 of When We Were More (Aron Falls #1)

H enry

It’s finally here, the one-year celebration of our relocation to Aron Falls, and the start of the luxury log homes branch of the business.

I’m a bundle of nerves. Seeing Matilda earlier has thrown me off kilter.

Particularly because we haven’t talked. Not really.

We’ve had a few short text conversations, but that’s it.

Hell, I’m not sure she’ll even show up tonight after my dismissiveness earlier.

“What’s wrong with you, brother? You look like someone stole your favorite toy,” Holden teases. He claps me on the shoulder as he and Harrison join me off to the side of the ballroom, where I watch our guests duringcocktail hour.

“Place looks great, everyone seems happy. Well, everyone except you.” Harrison sidles up right next to me.

My brothers and I host one big party together every year—what we celebrate varies.

It’s the only time I ever feel no guilt about spending like the multi-millionaires we are.

We rent out the largest and most elegant party center in town, the one that overlooks the majestic waterfall just inside Aron Falls when you cross over from Meadow Creek.

We invite our employees and their families.

Many of our past clients come as well. Of course, our family and friends are welcome, too.

“Yeah, no. I’m fine.” I don’t mean my tone to be dismissive, but it is. I’m busy. Every time someone walks through the door, I’m checking to see if it’s her—Matilda.

I was an asshole earlier when she asked if I didn’t want her here tonight.

I should have been honest and told her I absolutely wanted her to come.

That I reserved the seat next to me for her.

I know she ended things because she’s afraid of what we’re both feeling.

She won’t admit it, though, and she wouldn’t talk about it.

So, when I told her to come if she wanted, it came from a place of frustration.

“Hey, guys, listen.” Holden’s voice sounds serious, and it gets my attention. When Harrison and I are both focused on him, he gestures to the bar area. I glance over, and Hayden is sitting there, at a high-top table, drinking… alone.

“He’s in a bad place with Charlie leaving. I’ve never seen him this fucked up emotionally before. Even… even when Dad died. I need you both to help me keep an eye on him, check in, texts, calls, whatever you can do without being too obvious.”

“Of course,” Harrison answers.

“Yeah, man. Hell, he seems a mess even from here.” I can’t take my eyes off my brother, and worry for him settles deep in my gut. As if I needed more convincing that love can fuck you up big time. Yet I went ahead and fell anyway.

“Holy shit.” Holden’s tone pulls my attention away from Hayden, and I follow his and Harrison’s gazes to the room entrance. “Damn, she’s hot.”

I push Holden in the shoulder without taking my eyes off Matilda.

She’s nothing short of stunning. While many of the women here are dressed in relatively short and revealing cocktail dresses, Matilda is in a silky, burgundy dress that falls between her ankle and knee.

I think they call it a wrap dress. The way it highlights her curves, and that slit that goes to mid-thigh, nearly knocks me to my knees.

“I mean, he’s not wrong,” Harrison points out.

I ignore him, caught up in watching her from across the room.

She’s looking around, and I hope it’s for me.

My heart is screaming ‘go to her, dumbass,’ but my brain is still pissed, and it doesn’t let me go to her immediately.

Though when she pulls her lower lip between her teeth, I snap out of it.

She appears stressed and nervous. I’m an asshole for making her wait.

I take two steps toward her, then stop. She’s no longer alone. Fucking Jake has gotten to her first.

“Why the fuck is he here again?” I ask my brothers, even though I know the reason.

Harrison doesn’t register that it’s a rhetorical question. “Because he won the apprenticeship spot. Also, did you know he’s your babysitter’s grandson?”

“I’m aware.” My voice comes out as a growl.

He’s still talking to her. I’m growing more irritated by the second.

“You waited, man. What did you think was going to happen? A woman who looks like that, clearly scouring the room for someone, and you stood here.”

“Shut up, Holden. I’m perfectly aware.”

As if things needed to get worse, Jake points to a table where Sally and her sister Ruthie are sitting.

Matilda scans the room one more time, then nods at him.

She walks toward their table, and my heart races.

She’s supposed to sit with me. When Jake unnecessarily puts his hand on the small of her back, any restraint I had disappears.

“Hell no. Not happening.” I head toward their table. When I’m halfway there, the band stops playing, and I feel a tight grip on each shoulder. It stops my progress. I sense it’s one of my brothers without checking. “Let go.”

“No way.” It’s Harrison’s voice. “We’re due on stage to give the welcome speech, and even I know if you go over there all alpha male, it will only make it worse.”

Damnit, he’s right. Yet I can’t take my eyes off the table. Off her.

As if she can sense me staring, Matilda glances up and immediately locks eyes with me.

Neither of us smile, but neither of us looks away either.

Then Jake puts his damn arm around the back of her chair and wraps his hand around her upper arm.

She turns away from me and gives him her attention, but doesn’t remove his hand.

The one I’d very much like to break for touching her.

I don’t recognize myself tonight, but I also can’t stop all these emotions and thoughts.

Harrison tugs on my arm, and I turn and walk to the stage.

Over the next ten minutes, Harrison, Holden, and I give opening remarks, and I force myself not to glance at Matilda during them.

I need to be pleasant for this part of the evening, and I’m pretty sure if I see her with Jake again, smoke will start coming from my ears.

When everyone is seated for dinner, the empty spot next to me, the one where Matilda should be, taunts me. After stealing several glances at her, my emotions settle somewhat. I’ll go over and talk to her after dinner. Otherwise, I’ll be miserable the rest of the night.

I pick up my silverware to eat when one of the serving staff places a plate on the table where Matilda is supposed to be. My hope ramps up—perhaps she’s asked to be moved here—only to be deflated when Kira sits in the seat next to me.

“I’m surprised to see you sitting by yourself, Henry.” She tries too hard to make her voice sound sultry and misses the mark.

“I’m not sitting alone. If you’ve not noticed, there are six other people at the table.

” I only spare her a quick glance before I turn my focus back to my meal, aiming to appear unaffected by her presence.

The opposite is true. I’m majorly affected.

My heart is racing, and my collar is suddenly tight. Not for the expected reasons, though.

Objectively, Kira is beautiful by many men’s standards, but that’s not what’s impacting me right now. I’m anxious that Matilda might see her sitting here and get the wrong idea. Hell, or get the right idea, and pick up on my history with Kira.

Fortunately, Holden is on the opposite side of Kira and has no problem occupying her with conversation. Harrison is on my other side, and I lean toward him.

“What is she doing here?” My voice is hushed, but there’s no hiding the annoyance in it.

“Hey, when you give Mom free rein with the guest list, what do you expect? Kira is her best friend’s daughter.”

“Fine, but switch seats with me.”

A low chuckle escapes him. “Dude, we aren’t in elementary school. I’m not switching seats because you got stuck sitting beside a girl you don’t like. Grow up. If you play, you pay. Don’t get involved with a woman connected to our family next time.”

“I wasn’t involved. We both agreed upon sex with no strings attached. She’s the one who wasn’t happy I stopped it.”

God, I sound like a dickhead. I pause, then down more of my whiskey. Is this how I’ll think of Matilda one day? Worse yet, is this how she’ll think of me? The thought makes my stomach tighten with discomfort.

“So, the same thing you’re doing with Tillie, then?”

Asshole. I’ve not come out and told anyone about my arrangement with Matilda, per the initial rules we set, but he figured it out on his own.

“Shut the fuck up, man. It’s not the same.” My jaw clenches.

“Oh, it’s serious with Tillie then? More than friends?”

I catch on now that he’s baiting me, trying to get me to admit that Matilda is more than just a friend. To say it’s something it’s not. She made it clear there was no room for bending on that.

Then something strikes me. Harrison speaks about Matilda in a way that suggests he knows her other than from that one time they met at the restaurant. I narrow my eyes at him.

Harrison resumes eating. This conversation isn’t over, even if he thinks it is.

“You’ve only met Matilda once, right?”

He takes a leisurely drink of his wine. Kira says my name, trying to get my attention, but I ignore her. It registers that she resorts to touching me, resting her hand on my forearm, but I’m too focused on Harrison to pay it too much attention.

“Right?”

“No.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“I’ve met her several times. Not that it’s any of your business.”

What the hell? Harrison and I rarely get into disagreements, but one is brewing.

I peer across the room at Matilda, and she’s looking at me.

Or maybe at Kira. It’s hard to tell. I follow her gaze as I try to figure it out, and that’s when I notice Kira’s hand is still on my forearm, loosely holding onto it.

I glance back up at Matilda, and this time it’s clear she’s watching me.

She’s frowning, then she turns her head and focuses on Jake.

There’s no question Matilda saw Kira touching me.

I use my free hand to remove Kira’s from my arm and shoot her a dirty glare before turning back to Harrison.

“Quit screwing with me.”

A deep sigh escapes my brother, then he turns his upper body to look at me.

“I’ve met her several times because I’m doing some legal work to help get her business set up. Which, if she wanted you to know, I assume she’d have told you.”

Now I’m irritated. Matilda is letting him be a part of her business venture’s success, but refused to let me help when I tried.

I was asking simple questions to make sure she had all the correct registrations and licenses, and she shut me down.

Said this was hers to do on her own. Well, with Shannon.

“She’s a good person, Henry. So, if you can’t get your head out of your ass and figure out whatever has been going on with you lately, then leave her alone. The woman has been through some pain in her life and doesn’t need more.”

I stare at him, needing a minute to process whatever emotions these are flying around in my head. I’m shocked that my quiet, reserved brother just called me out on my shit, even if he has it backward.

“How do you know she has pain?” It comes out almost a whisper. The concern in my voice is evident.

Harrison’s eyes bore into mine, as if he’s searching for some answer there.

“How do you not know? I recognize it in her eyes, Henry. I’ve seen it staring back at me in the mirror, and I’ve seen it in you.” He shakes his head at me and stands. “I need a drink.”

I sit there, staring at my dinner plate, ignoring the surrounding conversation.

Then, a tap on my shoulder gets my attention, and when I turn to see who it is, Hayden is standing next to me.

I see it now. Pain. The sadness in Hayden’s eyes is exactly what Harrison was talking about.

Only I’ve failed to see it in Matilda, even though I now realize it was there all along.

“C’mon. Let’s go get a drink.”

I stand and follow Hayden to the bar, then right back to the table he was sitting at before.

We don’t talk. We sit with our thoughts.

I realize I’ve been a self-centered prick to a woman who is supposed to be my friend.

Who is much more than that. She needed time to digest everything I confessed to her about my feelings, and I’ve been a brat about it.

So, I’m searching for the answer to what I should do about that at the bottom of a glass.

I’m not sure how much time passes, but our table is littered with empty glasses when Holden walks up.

He shakes his head at me, a disgusted expression on his face.

I glance across the table at Hayden, who’s leaning against the wall next to him, staring into another drink.

Hell, I guess I did fail to keep an eye out for him.

But with three empty drink glasses and two shots in front of me, I’m not surprised.

“I’ve got him now. Go… go wash your face and pull yourself together. You look like a drunk slob, man.”

I stand and walk away. But I don’t go to the restroom to wash my face, like Holden suggested. No, whiskey fuels me, and I head right to Matilda’s table, where Jake is monopolizing her time and conversation.