Exposed - Chapter 20
Monday
Brooklyn
“Mommy, Mommy! Coach is here!”
I put my arm over my face, shielding the light coming in through the blinds.
I must have forgotten to close them last night.
Wait. I sat up and stared out the window.
I hadn’t gone to bed. I’d stayed up all night talking to Matt down on the couch.
Had he carried me up here? I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.
Jacob started jumping on the bed. “He brought doughnuts!”
That explained why he was so hyper this morning. I tickled his side and he jumped off the bed. I ran after him.
He squealed as I chased him down the stairs. I reached the landing and was just about to lift him up when my feet froze.
“What is all this?” I asked as I stared at the kitchen island. There were more than a dozen vases filled with yellow roses.
Matt turned around. He was standing in front of several brand new planters. He set the hammer in his hand down. “I thought here would be good. This window is south-facing.”
I just stared at him.
“For your Henry tomatoes.”
For my Henry tomatoes? “You…you built these?” I don’t know why I was surprised. He was obviously handy if he’d restored this house. But he knew the tomatoes were important to me. And he’d made it so I could bring them inside.
“Yeah,” Matt said. “They won’t last much longer outside in the fall.”
I didn’t know what to say.
“Sorry, I let myself in,” he said. “I hope that’s okay.” He walked up to me and reached out to touch me, but stopped.
Because Jacob was staring at us. And I’d told Jacob we were just friends.
“I’m sorry,” he said again, whispering this time. “Should I have called first?”
“Did you carry me upstairs?”
“Yeah, you fell asleep,” he whispered. “I let myself out. But I should have called before letting myself back in…”
“No. I’m not upset. I’m…overwhelmed. I was worried about my Henrys.”
Matt smiled at me.
“And all the roses?”
“Hear me out…”
Jacob tugged on the leg of his jeans. “Coach, I want another.”
“Can do, kiddo.” Matt grabbed a doughnut out of the box on the counter and handed it down to him. The two of them were acting like they’d known each other forever.
If my heart wasn’t already so full, that would have filled it.
Matt turned back to me. “Let’s be honest…
I was going to send you a bouquet every day for as many days as it took for you to agree to walk down the aisle to me.
So I figured I’d skip some time. There’s three dozen bouquets here.
So…we’re more than three weeks into this thing as far as I’m concerned.
We’re dangerously close to a month then, don’t you think?
You’re not going to make me wait a whole month, are you?
Oh, wait. Here.” He grabbed me a doughnut too.
I was smiling so hard it hurt. “You’re very hyper this morning. Have you already had a few of these?”
“Yes,” he said. “But I also stopped by Tanner’s to shower and change and Nigel was brewing some special coffee…” He stopped talking and made a grossed out face.
“Who’s Nigel?”
“Tanner’s assistant. Kind of. And I probably shouldn’t have drunk that coffee.
Don’t ever drink anything Nigel serves you.
He’s very suspicious with beverages. He made the doughnuts too.
I think he overdid it with the sugar a bit.
Wait, there’s something else I need to show you.
” He grabbed a remote off the island and tapped a button.
Music flooded the kitchen. Just as loud as it used to be back at the lake house. He must have installed several speakers.
“And one more thing.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the back door. He opened it and pointed up.
“You strung up the lights?” I didn’t even realize he’d noticed them in a heap the other day.
“Yeah, this was a pretty terrible reveal. I should have waited until it was dark. Are you hot? I’m really hot.” He started pulling on the collar of his t-shirt even though it couldn’t be more than 50 degrees out here.
“You need water.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. I made him sit down as I poured him a glass. “Drink that.”
He downed the whole thing in one gulp.
“Is Nigel a fan of triple shot espressos or something?”
“Maybe,” Matt said and downed another glass. “It’s so hot in here.” He kept pulling on his collar.
“Then take your shirt off.”
“Thank God.” He pulled it off over his head.
There were a lot of things about Matt that seemed the same. But he was more ripped than I remembered. When he wasn’t high on over-caffeinated coffee and over-sugared doughnuts, he was probably working out.
“Me too,” Jacob said and pulled his shirt off.
I laughed. Honestly I was surprised he was even wearing a shirt this morning.
“I need another,” Jacob said and reached up for a third doughnut.
“I think that’s enough doughnuts for both of you.” They were going to go into sugar comas. “We should probably go for a walk or something. Go get your shoes,” I said and lightly nudged Jacob to the door. He needed the nudge or he’d never willingly put on clothes.
Jacob picked up his shoes for just a second before abandoning them to play with his trucks. He zoomed them across the floor making revving noises.
“So you liked it?” Matt asked. “I wanted to bring more of your lake house here. So it would feel like home.” He opened up the fridge to grab more water. He looked so comfortable. Probably because it was his home first.
“I didn’t like it,” I said. I glanced at Jacob to make sure he was still out of earshot.
Matt paused mid-sip.
I grabbed the glass from him. “Matt, I love it,” I whispered. “I love you.”
“I’m never going to grow tired of hearing you say that.”
“Well get used to it. I can’t believe you did all this for me. You’re amazing.”
“I really wish I could kiss you right now.”
I wanted that too. But I had no idea how I’d explain that to Jacob. I’d told Matt last night that he couldn’t spend the night. So instead we’d snuggled on the couch. I’d fallen asleep in his arms. Wasn’t that the same as him spending the night?
Matt looked over his shoulder to make sure Jacob was preoccupied with his trucks. And then he cupped my face in his hand. “I mean…we are three weeks into this thing.” He gestured to the roses.
He was ridiculous. “I forgot that you’re used to always having your way.” I leaned toward him like I was going to kiss him. And switched direction halfway, leaning over to smell the roses.
He groaned. “Dirty move, baby.”
“Shush with that.” I swatted his arm.
He pulled my hand off his forearm and intertwined his fingers with mine.
And we just stood there smiling at each other, holding hands behind the kitchen island. I wasn’t staring at our hands though. I couldn’t keep my eyes off his six-pack abs.
“Are you checking me out?” he asked.
“No. Psh. I was looking at the flowers.” I tried to focus on the vases instead of him. “Thank you. For three weeks’ worth.”
“I’ll keep bringing them until you give me what I want.”
“And what exactly do you want?”
“What I’ve always wanted. You.” He looked over at Jacob and squeezed my hand. “I want to be part of your family, Brooklyn. I want to wake up every morning with you in my arms.”
I wanted that too. But I stayed quiet. I still needed to tell him that I wasn’t sure I could have more kids.
And even if I could get pregnant…I was terrified of having another miscarriage.
Miller said he was happy just the three of us.
I wasn’t sure if Matt would feel the same.
He wanted four kids. We’d talked about it. We’d talked about everything.
I needed to tell him. Because he’d already wasted 16 years on me.
I didn’t want to waste any more of his time if Jacob and I weren’t enough for him.
He deserved the truth. But still, I stayed silent.
It was selfish but I wanted just a little more of him before he realized I couldn’t give him the life he wanted.
I forgot how much love could hurt sometimes.
“There is one more thing,” Matt said.
“How did you have time to do anything else?”
“I may have had some help with this. Are you up for a drive?”
Honestly, I’d go anywhere with him.
***
Matt smiled over at me as he drove. I think he would have been smiling at me either way. But it was definitely bigger because I was wearing his varsity jacket. I’d grabbed it at the last minute. And now that I had it on, I never wanted to take it off.
It was stupid, but when I stared at him staring at me, it felt like no time at all had passed. And that he’d just given me this jacket. That we were still at Empire High together, frozen in time.
I looked into the back seat at Jacob.
“Are we there yet?” Jacob asked.
“Not yet,” Matt said.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Por qué?”
“Because surprises are fun, kiddo.”
“Noooo. I don’t like surprises.”
“Hey,” I said and grabbed his knee. I was the one that didn’t like surprises, not him. After everything that happened with my dad, surprises always freaked me out. But Jacob usually loved them. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t want to go home.”
Normally he’d say he did want to go home. “I don’t understand, sweet boy. Do you want us to go home right now?”
“Noooo.” He shook his head. “Abuelo promised I didn’t have to go back again. Don’t make me. I can’t go home. I want new home.”
Oh. He was talking about that limo ride we’d taken with Tanner. When Tanner brought us back to the lake house. Jacob was so upset he’d sworn he didn’t speak English. I knew he didn’t want to go back there right now. But he would one day.
“Hey,” I said and squeezed his knee. “We’re not going to the lake house. Right, Matt? He’s taking us somewhere else…” my voice trailed off as I looked out the window. Oh my God. I’d been so distracted, I hadn’t seen the familiar turn.
The car rolled to a stop in front of Matt’s house. Well, his parents’ house. It looked exactly the same. Even the creepy gargoyles. But it was hard to be creeped out when his mom and dad were standing there on the front steps laughing.
“Where are we?” Jacob asked.
“My parents’ house,” Matt said. “You’ll like it. My mom just made a fresh batch of hot chocolate. Do you like hot chocolate?”
“Yessie.”
“Do they know?” I asked and turned to Matt.
He shook his head. “I called them this morning and told them I’d be stopping by with a surprise. And that they should have some hot chocolate ready around noon. And to have the gardener rake some piles of leaves.”
I looked out the window at the huge piles of leaves just begging to be jumped in.
“I know you used to jump in the piles with your mom. I thought Jacob might like it too.”
I turned back to him. If he asked me to marry him again right now, I don’t know how I could resist saying yes. “Yeah. He loves it too.” Miller would always rake up piles for us to jump into. Jacob was going to be so happy. “Your parents really don’t know I’m back?”
He shook his head.
I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face. I’d really missed his family. His mom was so sweet. And his father had warmed up to me in the end. I’d been so excited to be part of his family. I opened up the car door and stepped out.
Mrs. Caldwell was laughing at something Mr. Caldwell had just said. But the smile fell from her face when she turned toward me. Her jaw dropped.
“Brooklyn?” Mr. Caldwell said. He took a step forward. But then he froze, like if he moved again, I’d somehow disappear.
“It can’t be,” Mrs. Caldwell said. She put her hand to her chest.
I ran up to them and threw my arms around Mrs. Caldwell. “It’s me. I’m okay.”
She immediately hugged me back, a sob escaping her throat. And I started crying too. Because I’d always loved her hugs. They reminded me of my own mother’s hugs. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed her.
And I felt Mr. Caldwell hug me from the side too.
“How?” Mrs. Caldwell asked. She pulled back and wiped the tears from her face, before grabbing mine and staring at me. “How is this possible?”
“It’s a long story,” Matt said.
Mrs. Caldwell’s hands dropped from my face as she turned toward Matt.
He was holding Jacob. But you could barely tell because Jacob kept ducking under Matt’s arm to hide. “This is Jacob,” he said. “Brooklyn’s son.”
Jacob ducked again.
“Sweet boy, these are Matt’s parents. And you’re going to love them. Just like I do.”
He stopped squirming and looked up at me. “Can I play in the leaves now? And have hot chocolate?”
“Absolutely.” I booped him on his nose and he smiled.
“I want down, Coach,” he said.
Matt put him down on the ground.
I was about to tell Jacob to say hi to Matt’s parents, but he’d already sprinted off. I smiled as he jumped into the biggest pile of leaves.
“I can’t believe you’re alive.” Mrs. Caldwell pulled me back into her arms. “And you have a son? Are you married?”
“She will be soon,” Matt said.
I gave him a sideways glance.
He smiled at me. He knew he was right. I’d say yes soon.