Matchmaker - Chapter 39
Friday
I couldn’t pull my eyes away from Kennedy’s smiling face.
“So he did it butt naked,” Rob said.
Kennedy started laughing again. “No.” You could barely hear the word through her laughter. “You didn’t.” She put her hand on my knee.
All night long she’d been doing things like that. Grabbing my arm. Touching my thigh. I wasn’t even sure she realized she was doing it. It was like her body just gravitated to mine.
I smiled at her. “They dared me to. Of course I did.”
“You could have gotten arrested,” she said. “Who runs butt naked into a convenience store for a bottle of water?”
“One lesson you learn in college is that while breaking the law you should break said law naked,” Rob said. “It’s a lot easier to slip away from an officer when he’s trying not to touch your junk.”
Kennedy shook her head. “I didn’t learn that lesson in college.”
“Oh, well it’s different for girls,” I said. “I think police officers like when women are naked. They’ll probably grab you even faster.”
“There are girl officers too, you know,” Kennedy said.
“Which I’m sure aren’t all straight,” Rob said.
Kennedy laughed. “Well surely there were some gay officers that would have loved to grab your junk.”
“Fair point,” Rob said. “I’m sure there are plenty of men that would like to feel me up. It’s just a general principle that usually works.”
Kennedy shook her head. “You’re all ridiculous.”
“Only Rob is ridiculous,” said Tanner. “And I have a much less ridiculous topic to discuss with you. Do you believe in true love?”
“Who, me?” Kennedy asked.
“Yes, you.”
She eyed me for a second but then looked back at Tanner. “It depends on what your definition of true love is.”
“Soulmates. Two people that are perfect together.” Tanner smiled. “Destined to be together, even if it takes them a while to figure it out.”
Kennedy’s cheeks flushed. “Yeah, maybe.” She locked eyes with me for a second, but quickly looked away. “It’s certainly a nice idea.”
“It’s more than an idea. Let’s take you and Matt for example. You were friends when you were teenagers. Who’s to say you aren’t destined to be more?”
“We’re still just friends,” Kennedy said with a half-hearted laugh. “Right, buddy?” She elbowed me in the side.
It took all my restraint not to pull her onto my lap and kiss her. “Right.” For now.
All my friends stared at us.
“But time changes people,” Tanner said. “It certainly changes circumstances.”
What was Tanner doing? Trying to scare her away? I was already doing that well enough thanks to Poppy. I was about to change the subject, but Kennedy started talking again.
“Well, what about you, Tanner?” she asked. “Do you believe in true love?”
“Of course I do.”
“So have you found it?”
Tanner leaned back in his chair. “No. Not yet.”
I knew that wasn’t the whole story. He’d had it and lost it like me.
“Rumor has it that Penny’s pretty good at matchmaking,” Kennedy said. “Maybe you should ask her for help.”
Tanner lowered his eyebrows. “Maybe someday. But not right now.”
“Trust me,” James said. “Penny’s not a very good matchmaker. Her intentions are good, but her setup ideas have been a little out there recently.”
My dick that was almost set on fire could vouch for that.
Kennedy laughed. “It must be hard though, Tanner. Everyone around you falling in love while you’re still single.” She cleared her throat. “I mean, you and Matt. The both of you are single.”
Smooth one, Kennedy. At least it seemed like she believed we were only friends just as much as I believed it. Which was not at all.
“Yeah,” Tanner said. “Let’s just say I’m a little…cursed in the love department. At least for now. Besides, I’m focusing on growing my empire.”
I laughed. “Pretty sure you’ve grown that quite enough.”
Tanner shrugged. “If I ever want to retire, I’m going to need a lot more.”
Everyone just stared at him.
He cleared his throat. “I mean, with the average person living so much longer these days and everything. It’s just wise.”
I was pretty sure Tanner could shut his whole business down tomorrow and still have enough money to send his great, great, great grandchildren to an Ivy League school.
“What exactly are you planning on doing during your retirement?” Mason asked. “Randomly buying million-dollar corporations and immediately shutting them down so you never see a dollar of a return? Because that’s literally the only way you could blow through so much money.”
Rob laughed. “Or are you just worried that Matt’s so bad at his job of handling your finances that you have to be extra careful?”
“I’m great at my job,” I said and threw a pillow at him.
Rob caught it and stuck his tongue out at me.
“Actually, I have to admit it,” James said. “You are great at it, Matt. My portfolio is insane. And it’s insane that I just said that sentence out loud. When did we get so old?”
“Speak for yourself,” Kennedy said. “Matt, Rob, and I are practically still teenagers. Sorry, Tanner, I have no idea how old you are.”
“Older than I look,” he said.
“Hmm.” Kennedy scrunched her mouth to the side as she stared at him. “Let me guess…37?”
Tanner laughed.
“He’s just messing with you, Kennedy,” Rob said. “Tanner’s younger than all of us. He’s only 28. Which is why it’s extra annoying that he calls me Young Robert.”
“Maybe if you acted a little more mature, Young Robert…”
Rob pelted the pillow at Tanner’s head.
Tanner caught it in his hand before it collided with his face.
“Seriously,” Kennedy said. “Why don’t the two of you get along? You have the same sense of humor…”
“As Robert?” Tanner asked. “We’ve been over this. Never.”
“Never,” Rob said.
Kennedy laughed. “You two literally just agreed on something.”
“Never,” Rob and Tanner both said at the same time and then glared at each other.
“Well, I certainly won’t be using that word again,” Tanner said.
“Just say nunca,” I said.
Kennedy smiled up at me.
“Anyone want another drink?” Tanner asked. “Kennedy, will you come help me?” He wandered into the kitchen before she had a chance to respond.
“I feel like I’ve been summoned,” Kennedy whispered to me.
“Just ignore him.”
She smiled. “It’s important for your friends to like me.” Her face flushed again. “I mean, just so that we can all be friends. I’ll be right back.” She followed Tanner into the kitchen.
What the hell was he going to say to her?
James and Rob’s phones started buzzing at the same time.
They looked at each other and sighed.
“Probably something with the kids,” James said. “I gotta take this.”
“Me too,” Rob said.
They both answered their phones and wandered out of the room.
“So…” Mason said as he stared at me. “Does Kennedy have anything to do with your good mood last night?”
“You heard her,” I said. “We’re just friends.”
“Huh.”
I laughed. “What?”
“Nothing.” He folded his arms in front of his chest. “It’s just that the two of you were pretty close years ago. I always wondered if maybe there was something more there.”
There hadn’t been before. She was just the only person who understood what I was going through. But now? It was actually exactly like Tanner had said. People changed. Circumstances changed. I was wondering if he had been talking more to me than he was to Kennedy. “Can you keep a secret?” I asked.
“Probably not.”
I shook my head. It didn’t matter. I was pretty sure it was all over my face. And I’d already told my mom. I was surprised she hadn’t called Mason yet with the good news. “I think I’m falling for her.”
Mason didn’t say anything for a long moment. “Can you keep a secret?”
“Better than you can because Bee won’t be bugging me about it.”
He laughed. “I always thought you and Kennedy might get together. I was hoping you would, actually. She gets it.”
She did. I think there was a part of me that always realized that. And now that she was finally here? All I wanted was to be close to her.
“And she’s a cool girl,” Mason said. “I’ve always gotten along well with her. I think Bee would like her too.”
“Yeah. I think she would.” I shook my head. “Wait, that’s your secret? That you’ve been secretly wanting me and Kennedy to get together all these years?”
“No. My secret is that you should fall a little faster. Because my kid’s going to want a best friend. And he’s going to be younger than all James and Rob’s kids, so I need you to step up.”
“Bee’s pregnant?”
He laughed. “Not yet. But we’re going to start trying.”
“That’s awesome.” A few weeks ago, this would have been the worst news ever. But it didn’t feel like bad news tonight. Because I wasn’t stuck anymore. I knew what I wanted. I smiled as I heard Kennedy’s laughter filter into the great room. I wanted her. “Wait, but you said ‘he’?”
“Yeah, I’m planning on having all boys.”
“I don’t think that’s something that you can just decide.”
“Just watch and learn. I’m much too masculine to have a girl.” He raised his beer bottle.
“That’s definitely not how it works.”
“We’ll see.”
Despite Mason’s flawed logic, I was going to be an uncle. A real one. Not that Scarlett, Liam, Sophie, and RJ didn’t count. But this was a big deal. “That’s going to be you soon then,” I said and gestured over to James and Rob who were most likely talking to their wives.
“What do you think is wrong?” he asked.
“I’m guessing someone has a tummy ache.”
“Hmm…maybe. But I’m thinking Liam pulled Sophie’s hair again.”
I laughed. “The audacity of that little baby to pull pigtails.”
Mason shook his head. “Want to bet on it? Loser drinks all those shots,” he said.
I looked over to see Kennedy and Tanner walking back into the room. They were each carrying a few shots in their hands.
I had a feeling tonight was about to get significantly more interesting. “Deal,” I said to Mason.