Matchmaker - Chapter 28 #2
“Fine. Come to my practice today. The hitwoman has been to a few of my games and practices. We’re hoping she shows up again.”
“Done. See you later,” he hung up the phone just as I pulled up to Tanners’ apartment building.
Tanner was going to be pissed about worrying him last night, sure. But he was going to be more upset about Rob joining our secret mission tonight. And completely devastated when I said Rob was my best friend in front of him. Fuck .
I slowly made my way inside and onto the elevator. Why wasn’t I allowed to have two best friends? Honestly, I had four. Because Mason and James were up there too. Crap, I had to apologize to James too. I’d promised Penny.
The doors dinged open and I crossed the footbridge, avoiding looking down at the moving tarp. Really, what the hell was in that water? The door was unlocked so I let myself in. Despite the fact that the sun had risen, the apartment was pitch black. And I had no idea where the light switches were.
I kept my hand on the wall and tried to make my way into the great room.
Seriously, how was it so dark? Did he have blackout curtains in his main living area?
And if so…why? I found the corner of the wall and knew I was turning into the great room.
But I didn’t have to guess where I was for long, because a light turned on in the middle of the room.
Tanner was sitting in an antique wingback chair that I’m pretty sure hadn’t been in the great room last night.
The small lamp lit up him and only him. He calmly folded his newspaper and set it on the end table that also hadn’t been there before.
It was like he’d set up this whole little scene just to make a point.
“Do you have any idea what time it is, Matthew?”
Oh no. Whenever he used my full name I knew he was mad. Kind of like how he always called Rob Robert. This wasn’t good. “Like, 7:30.”
“7:30. In the morning! I expected you home by midnight, young man. Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been? I’ve been up all night waiting for you.”
“I’m sorry…”
“You’re sorry? I thought you were dead in a ditch!”
“Tanner, I really am sorry. But I didn’t know I had a curfew.”
“Of course you have a curfew! How else am I supposed to know if you’re alive?” His voice cracked.
Tanner didn’t look that angry. He looked more…
sad. And I wondered if this had anything to do with him losing his girlfriend when he was young.
He’d never told me much about her. But had she not come home one night?
Is that what this was about? “I’m okay, Tanner,” I said.
“I just lost track of time. I really am sorry.”
“Just don’t do it again, man.”
“I won’t.” I didn’t want to see him look this upset again. I had a feeling that if Tanner suddenly started crying, I’d start crying too. And no one wanted that.
He nodded. “Where were you?”
“I spent the night with an old friend.” Wow, that sounded way more sexual than I meant for it to. “A friend from high school. Kennedy. Actually, she was Brooklyn’s best friend. But we were friends too. I’m pretty sure I’ve told you about her before.”
“Did you sleep with her?” Tanner asked.
“No.” I guess he thought it was as inappropriate as I was worried it was.
“Are you going to?”
Oh. He wasn’t concerned about the fact that it was immoral to sleep with Kennedy. He was just concerned because he loved to meet all the women I slept with ahead of time. Because he was Tanner. “Um.” I didn’t know how to answer his question. Because I didn’t know the answer.
“Are you going to sleep with her?” Tanner asked again.
I sat down on the sofa across from his makeshift worried-dad scene. “I mean, we’re friends.” It would be wrong, right? To sleep with Kennedy? To even want to? I ran my hand down my face. Fuck. Did I want to? I smiled, picturing her in her adorable pajamas.
“Penny’s your friend and you want to sleep with her.”
“Yeah, but I think Penny and I are better off as just friends.”
“I guess your dinner to seduce her went poorly?” Tanner asked.
I nodded. “She brotherized me.”
Tanner laughed. “Brotherized? What is that?”
“When someone friend zone’s you in a brother way. It’s even worse than a friend zone.”
“Ouch. So you haven’t secured the camera then?”
“No, I got it.”
Tanner just stared at me. “So where is it? Wait, don’t tell me.” He stood up and started examining my shirt.
“I meant I will have it. Rob’s bringing it by practice.”
Tanner let go of the collar of my shirt. “But he can’t come. It’s a best friend’s secret mission.”
“He’s my best friend too.”
Tanner lowered his eyebrows. “Best friend isn’t plural.”
Seriously, Tanner and Rob might as well be twins. How could they not see that they had the same sense of humor? And the same obsession with singular and plural nouns? Why did they hate each other so much? It was ridiculous. “He didn’t give me a choice,” I said.
“Stubborn little ass. Well, that’s fine. We’ll get his camera and tell him to get lost.”
“Why can’t the two of you just get along?”
“Because there’s only room for one of us in this town. And I’m not leaving. I love it here.” He sat back down.
“Then why haven’t you properly moved in yet?”
“I have.”
I gestured to the sheet that was covering what I thought was a tree.
“Oh that?” He laughed. “Nigel already has so much to dust. It’s just easier this way. Speaking of Nigel, he was worried sick too. You owe him an apology as well.”
“I’ll do that when I see him. But right now I need to go home and change before work.” I stood up.
“No need, Nigel brought all your things.”
“All my things?”
Tanner pointed to the couch I’d been sitting on.
I turned to look at the very familiar couch. “Is this my couch?”
“Yes. Nigel has a good eye for these things. As he put it, ‘a leather couch has no business being in photos to sell a family home.’ He let Bill know you’d need a few more things for the staging.”
“So my clothes…”
“All in your room here.”
Okay. “Well, I should probably go change.”
“I’ll be waiting. We can take my car to work. I’ll just have my driver drop you off first.”
I knew Tanner was trying to keep me safe.
But I couldn’t be in his sight all the time.
I left Tanner in the great room and wandered down the hall to the room I’d stayed in the other night.
I swear the room seemed bigger. And everything but my couch was in it.
Really, how did this room not look more cramped?
I opened up the closet to see all my suits, perfectly organized by color. Just the way they had been at my house.
“Mr. Caldwell,” Nigel said.
I jumped. “Nigel, please stop sneaking up on me like that.”
“Sorry, Mr. Caldwell. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve removed everything from your home and brought it here.”
I looked around. Actually there was one noticeable thing missing. All my paintings of Brooklyn. Probably because the room was locked.
It was like Nigel could read my mind. “Well, everything but the paintings, sir. They weren’t my taste.”
I looked over at him. Not his taste? Maybe he was just jealous that I’d been painting Brooklyn’s face and not his.
If anyone else had seen them, I would have been embarrassed.
Or worried they would think I was crazy.
But Nigel was staring at me like he always did.
And it didn’t seem like he thought I was weird or crazy.
There was only love in his eyes. A little too much love.
But still love. Or was that just the look of a man hoping to get a dick pic?
I cleared my throat. “Nigel, I’m going to need a minute.”
“Of course.” He stepped into the corner of the room and just stared at me.
“In private, Nigel.”
“Of course, Mr. Caldwell. I’ll be right outside the door when you need me. Don’t worry about calling for me. I’ll be back in exactly in one minute.” He bowed and left me alone.
I sighed and sat down on the edge of my bed.
Yes, my bed. I guess I lived with Tanner now.
And Nigel. That was a lot to take in. And I should have been thinking about that and the secret mission tonight with the hitwoman.
But for some reason my mind was fixated on Kennedy.
And the way she’d smiled when she chucked her slipper at my face.
And the way she laughed. And the way she didn’t judge me when I cried.
I put my face in my hands. I shouldn’t have been thinking about her at all. So why couldn’t I get her out of my head?
I heard the door open and knew Nigel was staring at me. But I didn’t even care. It was better than him staring at me while I was naked again.