Chapter 11
MATHEW
“It’s like I said, I needed the night off,” Mathew said quietly as he leaned against his car and waited for River to come back out of her apartment.
“Yeah, yeah. I heard that part, but… and I can’t emphasize this enough… Blink twice if you’ve been kidnapped.”
He might have laughed at Aiden’s antics if he wasn’t so concerned about River. “You can’t see if I’m blinking through the phone.”
“Oh, right. Okay, so what’s your safe word? Say that and I’ll call the cops.”
Mathew rolled his eyes as he pushed off his car and started pacing. “It’s just a night off.”
“You’ve never taken time off unless it was an emergency. If I remember correctly, we even had to threaten you with calling security when you refused to stop working in the days after your dad passed.” At least this time Aiden sounded more concerned than teasing. “And this isn’t an emergency?”
Technically, it was. Though not the same way Aiden probably thought.
River didn’t need Mathew’s presence. He was certain she would have handled everything on her own if he hadn’t been there to witness the phone call.
But he didn’t want her to. Clearly when it came to River, there was more than met the eye.
He had a feeling she wasn’t used to accepting help of any kind, and the fact that she’d allowed his presence for this crisis said something.
Mathew cleared his throat. “No, not an emergency.”
“Umm, your hesitancy says something else.”
“It’s not an emergency. And it’s none of your business. I don’t know why you even bothered asking because you’re not my supervisor.” The second his sharp retort escaped his throat, Mathew flinched. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like it sounded.”
There was an edge to Aiden’s voice despite the words he spoke next. “Don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have pushed so hard. Sometimes I forget that you need your privacy.” He didn’t have to say the words aloud for Mathew to hear what he wasn’t saying. I just wanted to make sure you are okay.
That was who Aiden was.
A good friend.
Blowing out a hard breath, Mathew nodded. “Thanks for checking in with me. I know I can always count on you.” That was why he could tell his friend everything. Well, almost everything.
“Always, man.”
Mathew hung up and stood there quietly for several moments.
No one was as surprised as he was about what he’d just done.
He contemplated calling Aiden again and telling him to forget it.
But before he did, River came outside. He shoved his phone in his pocket and opened the door for River to climb inside.
Then he rounded the car but paused when his phone vibrated in his pocket twice in quick succession.
He tugged it free and found two messages.
Penny: Seriously! Jason just texted me. A day off?
Jason: Sheesh, man, Aiden said it wasn’t an emergency, but dude, WTH!
Okay, maybe it was a good thing Mathew hadn’t told Aiden everything. If his siblings knew he was taking his first day off work in years for a girl, they’d assume there was something more brewing with River.
And nothing was brewing with River.
Even if he was tempted to turn that nothing into something.
He chose to ignore the messages and turn his phone to silent before climbing behind the wheel. River met his eyes with a nervous smile, “Thanks for tagging along.”
“Is it tagging along if I’m driving?” He chuckled as he started the engine.
“I guess you’re right.” She pushed her hands beneath her thighs. “Well, thanks for taking me. I really didn’t want to do this alone.”
“What are friends for?”
“That will be eighteen forty-seven.”
“Wait a minute, I was told it was fifteen hundred.”
The stress in River’s voice pulled at something in Mathew’s chest. He pushed off the wall to walk toward her.
“Yes, ma’am. That’s the bail. But there’s also a fine.” The officer turned a document around for River to look over.
She did, then she closed her eyes and tilted her face to the ceiling. “I’m going to kill her.”
“I beg your pardon?” the officer demanded.
Mathew had his checkbook out of his pocket before River had a chance to say a word. “You said eighteen forty-seven?”
“Mathew! You can’t.”
He stiffened. Why did her saying his name like that grate on him like nails on a chalkboard? Ignoring her, he scrawled out the amount and pushed it forward.
River attempted to snatch the check before the officer grabbed it, but she failed. “Mathew!” she snapped. “You can’t just—”
“River?” A soft voice tore River’s attention to the side of the room where a slight woman stood next to a female officer.
The girl had long dark hair with vibrant red highlights throughout.
Black makeup was smudged around her eyes and streaked down her cheeks as if she’d been crying.
She fidgeted with her hands, wringing them together in front of her.
River must have forgotten her anger with Mathew because she abandoned her argument and strode across the room.
The girl stiffened as River pulled her in for a tight hug.
There were muffled words that Mathew couldn’t hear, and he was only vaguely aware of the receipt he’d been offered.
The girls couldn’t look more different. River’s long, blonde hair and green eyes were a stark contrast to her sister’s dark hair and blue eyes.
But they were close. Why else would River drop everything to come help her?
He couldn’t help but think about his relationships with his own siblings.
It was nice to see someone else so invested in prioritizing family despite the strained situation.
The relief on River’s face quickly shifted to one of disappointment.
Likewise, her sister’s shifted to defensive.
While River’s hands remained on her sister’s upper arms and she spoke in angry hushed tones, her sister made it clear she wasn’t willing to listen.
Mathew could only catch snippets from where he stood.
“…move in with me…”
“…crazy? I’m not moving to…”
“…don’t have a choice…”
Then River’s sister tore away from her. Her eyes clashed with his briefly before she pushed past him and headed out the door. For a moment Mathew wondered if he should go after her, to retrieve her so River wouldn’t have to chase her down.
It was River’s quiet voice at his side that stopped him from doing just that. “That… could have gone better.” Her voice was defeated, tired. She didn’t look up at him when he glanced in her direction. He could sense the strain in her muscles more than see it.
Mathew couldn’t say that he’d ever had to deal with something like this.
His siblings had both been rather easy. They had stable jobs and, for the most part, good heads on their shoulders.
Out of all of them, Penny was the only one with severe trauma, but it made her one of the best therapists in this part of Colorado.
He shifted where he stood, not knowing if River wanted anything from him or if she wanted him to pretend he didn’t witness any of that. There was a fifty-fifty chance that she would push him away if he attempted to help, but that was what his gut had him leaning toward.
“You hungry? Because I’m hungry.”
She snorted.
Biting back a smile, he cocked his head and gazed down at her with veiled amusement. “I think this calls for breakfast.”
Once again, she made a sound that could have been a laugh if she wasn’t so upset with the current situation. “It’s four in the afternoon.”
He folded his arms and turned toward her with mock surprise.
“Have you never had breakfast for dinner? I thought you were the one well-versed in having fun.” Mathew loved the surprise that flickered in her eyes.
A hint of light returned to those green irises, and with it came a stronger ache for something more between them.
The temptation to drape his arm around her shoulders and guide her toward his car was so strong that he actually reached out to her. Before he made a fool of himself, he managed to shift his movement so he could place his hand on the small of her back.
They found a diner near the station, and he ordered them both a stack of waffles along with some other things while she was in the restroom. When she returned, she eyed the dish of ice cream with a cock of her brow. “Breakfast for dinner and dessert before you eat your meal? What a rebel.”
He chuckled and shook his head. Then scooped up some of the ice cream and slathered it atop his waffle before pouring some hot syrup over the top.
She gaped at him. “What are you doing?”
“It’s better than butter. Give it a try.”
And that was how he got River out of her own head. He’d been able to see the worry etched in every line of her face. Practically heard the whirring of her thoughts.
But now?
Seated across from him was the smiling girl who pushed his buttons and got him to smile when all he knew was being serious.
By the time they arrived home, she was chatting about some of her better memories with her sister, Skye. The worry was still there beneath the surface, but it had eased.
He walked her to her apartment door, where she stopped to face him. “I’m guessing you’ll be working tomorrow.”
“Why would you say that?”
River shrugged. “From what I remember, your cousins say you rarely get time off. And it seems like two days off in a row isn’t exactly normal.”
“That’s because it isn’t. Not for me.”
Her brow wrinkled with confusion.
His eyes snagged on some of her golden strands, and he tucked them behind her ear without thinking. “I took tonight off.”
The shock that befell her face would have made him laugh if there wasn’t so much emotion in her eyes. It threw him off, and he wondered for a split second if he shouldn’t have admitted to taking time off.
“You… were supposed to be at work tonight?”
“Yeah, but it’s fine.”
Without warning, River reached up with both hands and captured his face between them. Her shining emerald eyes searched his. “You came with me when you were supposed to be at work.”
He chuckled, reaching for her hands to remove them and assure her once again that he didn’t regret a moment of the day they’d shared together.
A thought that made his chest tight and one he wasn’t ready to examine so closely.
But he didn’t have the chance to utter a single word before her lips crashed into his.
She was warm and soft. Sweet and salty. Everything that he wanted and more than he deserved.
Stunned, Mathew lost his opportunity to wrap his arms around her waist to pull her closer because just as quickly as she’d kissed him, she’d pulled away. River was a blur of motion as she turned toward her door and slipped inside without uttering another word.
Blinking, Mathew stared at the closed door. He could knock. He could demand to know what that kiss was all about, even though he already had a good idea.
A slow smile crept along his face as he shook his head with a chuckle. His body’s reactions had gone into overdrive, and he was just now cataloging all of them.
Heart pounding.
Head buzzing.
Lips tingling.
Chest aching.
Muscles weakening.
No, it wasn’t a heart attack. This was something so much more.
He’d only had hints of these visceral reactions when he’d been with Victoria.
In the beginning, it had been slow and steady.
He’d figured, with time, he’d grow to love her deeply.
He didn’t need the longing and exhilaration he’d begun to feel for River already.
Maybe that was the problem. Maybe what he had with Victoria simply wasn’t enough.
Or maybe it had been, but neither one of them knew how to traverse a new marriage and budding career goals.
Maybe his father’s death had helped him in ways he hadn’t yet realized.
With one last fleeting look at the door, Mathew chuckled once more and headed for his car.
This feeling? It was something he hadn’t experienced in a long time, since long before he’d gotten divorced.
This was true happiness.