Matchmaker - Chapter 9
Sunday
I opened my eyes and blinked. The blonde hair strewn across the pillow next to me slowly came into focus. And for just a second. One stupid second. I thought it was Brooklyn. I reached out to touch her, and then my hand froze an inch away from her face. I felt like I was going to be sick.
I closed my eyes and turned away from…Georgia . I think. After my friends had left the bar last night, I’d gone back over to her. I wasn’t looking for true love. But I didn’t want to go home alone again. A fun night in a hotel with some random chick usually made me feel better.
But not when I mistook her for a ghost the next morning. My heart was beating too fast. I was having trouble catching my breath. I climbed out of bed too quickly, pulling on the sheet, startling her awake.
“Matt?” she said groggily.
Shit.
“Where are you going?” She sat up in bed, hugging the sheets to her chest.
I tried to ignore her as I pulled on my pants and looked for my shirt. There it is. I picked it up off a chair and finished getting dressed.
“Do you want to get breakfast or something?” she asked.
I could barely breathe. The last thing I wanted was to eat brunch and drink mimosas with her.
I was never supposed to even talk to her again.
I’d overslept. I should have been long gone before she woke up.
“I have a meeting.” My voice came out croaky.
I needed to get out of this room. I needed fresh air.
“But it’s Sunday. Can’t you take the day off?”
I grabbed my jacket and got halfway to the door.
“Wow, okay,” she said. “Tanner told me you were a nice guy.”
I cringed. I wasn’t a nice guy. “The room is under my card. Order whatever you want from room service.”
She sighed. “That’s not what I meant, asshole.”
But I didn’t care what she meant. I was already out the door.
The air outside the hotel was chilly, the temperatures feeling more fall-like every day. But the air was hardly fresh.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
I hailed a taxi and slammed the door behind me, blocking out the cold. I hated when my mind played tricks on me. Like fucking with me was some fun, cruel joke.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Dreaming of waking up to Brooklyn was a regular occurrence. But opening up my eyes and actually thinking I saw her?
Breathe in. Breathe out.
“We’re here,” the taxi driver said far too soon.
My heartbeat had evened out and my breathing was almost back to normal. I looked out the window of the cab. Bill was sitting on the front steps. I wished I’d had time to hop in the shower real quick to wash off this morning. And last night. “Sorry I’m late,” I said as I climbed out of the taxi.
“Long night?” Bill asked.
“Something like that.” I pulled out my keys and let him in. I needed a glass of water. And a shower. And maybe some aspirin. I took off my jacket and hung it on one of the hooks in the entrance.
Bill whistled. “Are these new floors?”
“Just refinished.”
“They’re impeccable. And the molding.” He ran his hand along the molding of the archway that led to the kitchen. “This is impressive work.”
“Thanks.” I went into the kitchen and grabbed a glass from one of the brand new kitchen cabinets. “Want something to drink?”
“I’m good.” He tapped his knuckles against the countertop. “Granite?”
I nodded and downed half the glass. It felt like I’d just run for miles instead of panicking in the back seat of a cab. My heart had been racing faster than when I did sprints.
Bill shook his head. “You’re really sure you want to sell the place?” He was staring at the custom stone mantle above the refurbished fireplace. “It’s gonna go quick. So if you’re not sure…”
“I’m sure.”
“Let me just check out the bathrooms.” He walked out of the kitchen, but I didn’t follow him. Bill knew his way around and he knew what he was doing. He didn’t need me breathing down his neck.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to see a text from Tanner.
“Georgia? Good choice. But I checked, and it wasn’t true love. Sorry, man. Maybe next time.”
Rob was right. Sometimes Tanner was really freaking weird. “I know it wasn’t true love,” I texted back. “That’s why I fucked her instead of asking her on a date.”
“Interesting. Well, it was worth a shot.”
I went to slide my phone back into my pocket when another text came through.
“Also, I called Penny and let her know I wasn’t feeling well enough today to hang out. I did the whole fake cough thing to really seal the deal. She believed me. So it’ll just be the two of you.”
That was nice of him to bow out like he’d promised. But I wasn’t really feeling up to anything today. Maybe I should just cancel my plans with Penny too. I pulled up her name on my phone, but my thumb paused. Would hanging out with her make me feel better? Or worse?
Another text from Tanner popped up. “And I have another surprise for you. You’re welcome.”
I waited a few seconds. But of course he wasn’t just going to tell me without me asking. I wasn’t falling for that again. “What exactly am I grateful for?”
“You’ll see. It’s a surprise. But you’ll know it when you see it.”
I shook my head. “Does it make up for the fact that you purposely pissed off James last night?”
“When did I piss him off?”
“When you kept asking him all those questions about Penny.”
“Oh. That. I don’t think he minded.”
James definitely minded. “Just for future reference, when he does that whole thing where he lowers his eyebrows? It means he’s pissed.”
“I don’t think so. It means we’re having an engaging, intellectual conversation.”
About his wife’s happiness?
“Your friends are a hoot.”
A hoot? I would have called him out for using such a weird word. But he said stuff like that all the time. I heard Bill’s feet on the stairs and put my phone back in my pocket.
“Did you do anything to update the room that’s locked upstairs?” Bill asked.
My fingers tightened around my phone. “It’s the same as the other spare bedroom.”
“Do you mind if I take a peek?”
I patted down my pockets, pretending to look for a key. “I think I left the key at the office,” I lied. “But really, it’s almost identical to the other. Even the same crown molding as the master.”
He nodded. “Well, I’ll definitely be able to turn a nice profit on this place for you. Not a problem at all. And what are you looking for next? Besides four bedrooms?”
I didn’t really know. Did I want another fixer upper? Or some empty apartment? None of it sounded great. “I don’t know. I’ll need to think about it.”
“You’ll need to think fast. This is going to be a hot home for a family. I’ll pull some ideas for you in the meantime. Maybe we’ll be able to pinpoint your next investment. Or where you’ll settle down.”
Settling down. I wasn’t sure that was something I was interested in. But I nodded anyway.
“Great. I’ll work on the listing.” He took a peek into the family room. “And we’ll need some stagers asap.”
I didn’t see why there was anything wrong with my furniture. Maybe families preferred less leather and more…throw pillows? I had no idea. “Whatever you think it needs.”
He snapped a few pictures with his phone. “And I’ll get some photographers out here to take pictures once everything is ready.” He pushed an end table two inches to the left and I laughed. “It was blocking the natural flow,” he said.
“Sure.”
Bill chuckled. “I’m not going to pretend I know about interior decorating, but I’d definitely run into this thing all the time if it was at my house.”
He wasn’t wrong. I’d hit my shin on it a few times, but didn’t care enough to move it. I’d needed a place for whatever I was drinking when I was stretched out on the couch. And as far as I was concerned, an end table went by the end of the couch.
“Does all that sound good?” he asked. “I’ll text you the times for the stagers and photographers.”
“Sounds great, Bill.” I shook his hand and watched him leave before heading up the stairs. I needed a shower before I met up with Penny. But instead of heading toward the master, I pulled out the key that was very much in my pocket, and unlocked the door to the third bedroom.
I pushed it open and smelled the calming aroma of paint and sunshine.
The floor was covered in tarp and there was an easel in the center of the room with a half-finished portrait.
Another thing I did when I was missing Brooklyn? I painted her. I stepped into the room and looked at the canvases stacked along the wall. Dozens of them. Everywhere. They almost filled up the whole room.
If I could paint anything else, I would. But I only ever came into this room when I wanted to think about her.
Some days I couldn’t look at pictures of her without falling apart.
Other days? I felt like I couldn’t remember her face.
On those days, I’d come in here and look at old photos.
And sometimes I’d paint her face from them.
It was all I had. An old photo album and some memories.
This room was the main reason I didn’t have anyone over.
Because if any of my friends or family saw this, they’d look at me the way they did after Brooklyn died.
Like I was broken. I hated when people looked at me like that. Even if it was true.
I stared at the painting on the easel. I was best at capturing Brooklyn’s eyes. Sad yet full of warmth. Full of love. For me.
She’d given me paints, brushes, and an easel as an early Christmas present the day before she passed away.
I’d told her I used to love to paint with my aunt.
She’d been worried about how stressed out I was and thought painting would help.
It was the sweetest present I’d ever received.
And I’d promised her I’d use it. I tried my best to keep all my promises to her. Even when they killed me.
But she was right. Painting was a great escape from stress. I wasn’t sure I was ever as calm as I was when I painted. Until grief took over. I’d slept on that tarp. I’d fallen apart on that tarp. This room was the most lived in. Because it held all the memories of her.
I looked down at the photo album opened next to the easel. Brooklyn’s best friend, Kennedy, had given it to me. It was meant to be a present for our wedding. Instead, she’d given it to me on the day of Brooklyn’s funeral. The photos inside were the only pictures of her I had.
It was one thing to stare at my paintings. It was another to see her actual face smiling at the camera. It felt like a knife in my chest. She’d been so happy. We were supposed to be so happy together.
Fuck. I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes and turned away from the image of her. I needed to go pretend everything was fine for the rest of the afternoon. Pretend I wanted to be on some stupid dating app. Pretend that hanging out with Penny was anything like hanging out with Brooklyn.
My phone buzzed as I closed the door behind me. It was another text from Tanner.
“And make sure to wash last night’s failure off. Or your surprise won’t be impressed.”
God no. My surprise was a person? If Tanner was sending over another round of women to my place, I wasn’t freaking answering the door.