Chapter Nine
CHAPTER NINE
The Sharkie I’d been drinking almost left me through my nose.
“Josie?” Gabriel asked from the other side of the counter. “You good, honey?”
I patted my chest, then appeased both my friend and the concerned glances from my customers with a wave. “Yes,” I rushed. “Sure. I just got a text from Adalyn.”
“Oh, nice.” Gabriel smiled. “What did she say?”
I glanced down at the notification.
ADALYN: Did you know Dad is coming?
“She…” I trailed off. “Just some random stuff. About the club.”
Gabriel’s brows arched. “That’s exactly what I mean. You were never this guarded and… secretive, Josie. And I’m starting to get a little worried. Not about having to read—or hear—all the details about your life on some gossip page, but about whether this whole thing is starting to get to you.”
I nodded my head slowly, my brain still hung up on that text. “Can you give me a sec?”
My friend huffed out a “Sure,” and I tapped on Adalyn’s message.
JOSIE: What do you mean Andrew’s coming?
ADALYN: He’s on his way to NC. His assistant just emailed.
My knees buckled under my weight for a second, making me stumble against the counter of Josie’s Joint.
“Whoa,” Gabriel called. “Are you okay? What was that? Josie—”
I stopped him with a big, bright smile. “I’m perfect. Just tripped over a milk carton. You know I get clumsy when I’m hungry, and it’s almost lunchtime. Do you want something to eat? I think I’m going to switch on the jumbo sandwich grill. Get us two nice, big sandwiches.”
Gabriel stared at me for a long moment. “Okay?”
“Awesome!” I chirped. “Now just give me a sec.”
His lips popped open, but I was already turning around, phone in hand.
JOSIE: On his way now? As in today? Or on his way as in, maybe soon/eventually?
ADALYN: He’s already boarded the flight and will land at some point this afternoon in Charlotte.
A strange sound escaped me. Or maybe it didn’t. I was almost sure I had stopped breathing. I… Shit. Shoot. Crap. I brought my hand to my forehead, feeling a little faint. Andrew was on his way. To North Carolina. To Green Oak. And I—
I switched chats, purely on automatic. Matthew’s opened. There weren’t any texts. My fingers moved over the keyboard. I didn’t know why or how Matthew could help, but a very specific part of my brain was in charge and it was the one typing away. I hit send.
A new notification popped up. My sister. I switched back to her chat.
ADALYN: Are you okay? Do you want me to call you?
ADALYN: Do you want me to drive up to Green Oak? I can be there in an hour. I’ll stay with you.
JOSIE: No.
Shoot. I’d hit send too fast. It sounded so harsh. I took a deep breath and told myself to chill. This was just Andrew. My father. Coming to my state and my town. I didn’t need to make a big deal out of it.
JOSIE: I’m good, I promise.
JOSIE: It just caught me off guard. I had no idea he was coming.
Just as I typed that, I realized the reason why I probably didn’t. Bobbi’s text. I’d never answered or called her back. Not last night after Matthew walked me home, or this morning. I’d been meaning to, I’d just… put it off a little longer. Last time there’d been an emergency, I’d found out I was a chess piece in some new internet series two strangers were recounting to the country.
JOSIE: I’ll talk to Bobbi.
ADALYN: How about you call Matthew instead? He should be with you right now. Promise me to lean on him when things get heavy with Dad.
There was so much weight behind Adalyn’s text. Unsaid things. Like how we both knew this was the first time Andrew was returning to Green Oak since he’d… conceived me. Since that trip almost three decades ago. We both knew this would be the first time I’d see him in the flesh and not through the screen of my laptop.
My belly felt like it had just filled with wasps.
JOSIE: Already done. I’ll catch you later, okay? Josie’s is packed.
I stared at the screen of my phone, debating whether to call Matthew or leave it at that text I’d sent. I swapped chats. My message had been read. He’d seen it, but he hadn’t answered. That was fine. It was a little jumbly. It contained stuff like exclamation points, question marks, a few words, and an SOS. He probably thought I was being dramatic, and what I felt in my chest probably wasn’t disappointment. Or hurt. It was… concern.
Because Andrew was on his way. To Green Oak.
“Josie?” Gabriel called from behind the counter. “You’ve been standing there for a few minutes, and I’m wondering if I should come get you or just give you more time to sieve through whatever you’re going through. Can you let me know so we avoid having to get Grandpa Moe? His grumpy ass is unbearable lately.”
I squared my shoulders, and when I turned around, it was with a smile. “Wedding drama,” I said as an explanation. I knew from experience that could excuse almost anything. “Adalyn was checking some things for me. Things that have to do with the guest list.”
“I thought you said it was club stuff,” he countered with a frown.
Shit. “Well, I can’t have the entirety of a youth soccer club sitting at my wedding, now, can I?”
“I guess not,” Gabriel commented. His face transformed, and he was suddenly beaming at me. “Wait. Does that mean you guys have a date?”
I thought of Bobbi’s temporary date. December first. I also thought of our new rules. We don’t get married. “Nope,” I quipped. “Oh hey, that’s our Green Warriors coming into the café. You know what that means: after-game smoothies.”
The group of kids in green and black training gear made their way to their usual spot, all but María and Juniper taking a seat at the table. The two kids approached us.
“Hi, Miss Josie!” María quipped. “Hi, Mr. Gabriel!”
“Hi, Dad,” Juniper said, planting a kiss on Gabriel’s cheek. “Hi, Miss Josie.”
I pushed away from the counter, welcoming the distraction. “Hi, girls. I was just texting Adalyn, and she says to give the two of you a hug. She misses you and the team a whole lot.”
María beamed at the mention of my sister. “Oh, I miss her too! I’ll make sure to send her a selfie of me and Pedro Pigscal. And all the photos I have of him with Brandy.” She scrunched her face. “I can’t wait to introduce her and Coach Cam to Pedro.” She pointed at my cup. “Oh. Can I get one of those?”
“That’s going to be a no,” I answered with a laugh. “Way too much caffeine in it. And other… stuff that’s not good for you. You guys need to rehydrate.”
“I’m eleven,” she complained, as Gabriel and I shared a glance. “I’m not a kid anymore. And Dad lets me have a sip of coffee every once in a while.”
I arched my brows.
“Fine,” she relented. “When he’s not looking. It tastes like monkey butt, honestly, so I thought yours would be nicer. Adults are weird.” She shrugged a shoulder. “So how’s Mr. Matthew? You know what I was thinking the other day? That you should get married at the farm! Wouldn’t that be amazing? We could have a petting zoo for the guests. And all the space in the world to dance. Dad keeps all the things from the fairs and markets in the old barn, so we could even hang the Christmas lights. Oh, and use the turkey float from last year’s Thanksgiving parade.”
Gabriel braced an elbow on the counter. “That would be amazing actually. I always wondered why you never tried to get married here in Green Oak.”
Tried to get married, my brain seemed to get hung up on those words.
“I don’t think the petting zoo is a good idea,” Juniper commented, earning a glance from María. “But we could have a tournament.” The two kids beamed at each other. “That way I wouldn’t need to wear a dress.”
The two girls then launched into a debate about whether one could play soccer in a dress, while at a wedding.
I cleared my throat. “How about I get the smoothies going and throw in a chocolate chip cookie for everyone? Deal?”
Both their faces told me we had a deal.
“Perfect,” I concluded. “Give me a min—”
My words were brought to a halt by someone bursting into the coffee shop, shoving the door open so hard that it almost sent the bell atop it flying.
Everyone in Josie’s Joint froze. Silence, thick and heavy, settled around the place.
“Matthew?” I croaked.
My fiancé’s saucer-sized eyes caught on mine.
He didn’t say a word. I didn’t think he could, with how heavy he was breathing.
Concern surged, and my gaze dipped, as if searching for whatever was wrong instead of asking. It was a reflex. Something one does when alert. First inspect, then ask. Look for any signs of bodily harm. Last time someone had burst into Josie’s like that, they’d had a garter snake hanging off their calf.
Only there was no snake.
There was… skin. So much golden, smooth-looking skin. Arms. Big, toned. And… muscles that peeked out of one of those sleeveless tees you saw men working out in, in gym vlogs. I knew those well. And Matthew was standing there, at the entrance of my café, looking like one of the men whose thirst traps I pretended not to save.
I blinked, or maybe I didn’t. I couldn’t be sure. I didn’t think I’d ever been this dazed by a shirt whose sleeves had been ripped off.
“Now I get it,” Gabriel whispered from my side. I turned my wide eyes to him. He was smirking. “I would want to keep that just for myself too.”
A gurgly-sounding scoff left me.
“Good afternoon,” Matthew said, snatching my attention away from the other man… Just in time to catch his arm drawing a wave in the air. Every barely concealed muscle moved. “I apologize for the dramatic entrance. I was in what seems like an obvious rush to see my… Josie. My fiancée, Josie. Who’s standing there, looking beautiful and definitely not in distress or in any kind of life-threatening emergency that would have me sprinting here in slightly inappropriate workout attire, based on the looks on everyone’s faces.” He met my gaze. “Can we have a word, sugar snap ?”
Every head turned in my direction in one single joined motion.
I should have cared. Probably. But it was funny how my brain was very selectively picking apart Matthew’s words and focusing on very specific ones. My Josie. My fiancée, Josie.
Who’s standing there looking beautiful.
Beautiful.
Some measure of heat climbed to my face. And those rounded shoulders he was flashing half the town must have done some damage to my brain cells because all I could think of was that I couldn’t recall what I’d thrown on this morning. Or if I’d done my makeup. I only remembered braiding my hair. I glanced down to check myself. Right. My palazzo pants and silk blouse. My ass looked very nice in these. But I was standing behind the counter so he couldn’t possibly know that. I dragged my attention back to the front, somewhat aware that it was my turn to say something.
“I—”
“So love really makes you silly, huh?” María observed. “Should I tell Mr. Matthew everyone can see his boobies, or will you do that, Miss Josie?”
My eyes widened for a second at the kid’s words. Boobies. It wasn’t very different from the man boobs I’d used to describe his pecs the morning he’d woken up on my couch. But there hadn’t been dozens of people around. Just us. And now everyone’s attention was back on Matthew. On his kinda visible chest as he threw his head back and laughed. Laughed.
I pushed aside how very good his reaction made me feel. How much it warmed my heart that he didn’t care or find offense. “All right, everyone,” I said, clapping my hands. “How about we all stop ogling my fiancé’s pectoral muscles and continue about our business? We have things we’d like to discuss. In private.”
The usual murmur of chatter picked up, but not even half the heads in the sitting area turned away as Matthew crossed the shop to where I was.
Gabriel sent María and Juniper away to rejoin the group of girls, and then leaned his elbows on the counter. His chin rested on his fists. I arched my brows in question. “Oh, I’m not going anywhere.”
“Please?”
He made a show of thinking. “No. I’d rather ask for forgiveness tomorrow. Sorry. You love me enough.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Matthew reached us, coming to a stop beside Gabriel. “Hi, I’m M—”
“Matthew, Josie’s new man. Hi, hello. We missed each other at the game. I’m Gabriel. Your newest best friend.” Gabriel winked. I panicked. “Whatever you need to know about our Josie, you ask me. Any story, detail, or anecdote. No matter how crazy or intrusive. I’m your man. I know all the stuff, like that time she got so drunk she got her house confused with Otto’s and fell asleep in his tub, or when she lost her v—”
I croaked out a loud, squeaky laugh. “Let’s take this into the back room,” I rushed out, walking around the counter. “Matthew? Please. And Gabriel, I’ll see you later.”
My so-called friend sent me a dirty look. And when my eyes turned to my fiancé, he sent me an amused one. I wasn’t amused, but I was standing close enough for my gaze to hopelessly dip down to his arms. Again. Ugh. They were very nice. I whirled on my heels with a silent curse and led my fiancé away, vowing to stop objectifying him.
I stopped at the door we’d been headed for, took one deep inhale, closed my hand around the knob, twisted it open, and shoved Matthew inside.
His back hit one of the shelves I knew stood between three and four feet from the door. “What the…” Matthew started. I shut the door behind me and raised my hand; the one lightbulb above us lit up with a click. Matthew’s frown materialized. He blinked. “Did you bring me into a supply closet?”
Yes.
And it seemed awfully small with Matthew in it.
“So… you wanted to talk?”
Matthew stared at me. For one, two, three, ten seconds. At least. Then he released a long exhale, making some of my hair move. That was how close we were standing. I decided to ignore space and focused on how minty his breath was.
“So there’s no back shop,” he finally said.
“I do have a back supply closet, though,” I countered. “And a nosy friend who is no longer my friend. And very nosy customers. You wanted to have a word. So what is it?”
Matthew’s brows furrowed even more. It wasn’t a scowl, but he still didn’t look satisfied with any of the explaining I’d just done.
“Listen,” I said, shifting on my feet. My hip hit something, a shelf, making me move away. Warmth hit my other side. Matthew’s warmth. “You made a very dramatic entrance into a packed establishment. It threw me off and I did my best to handle the situation. I improvised with the back room comment to give ourselves some privacy. Away from them, and especially Gabriel. To talk. Does it really matter that I don’t have one? Everyone knows that anyway.”
He held his breath for like a second, then huffed out a laugh. “Everyone knows that anyway?” he repeated, and I gave him a nod. “Do you really believe they’ll think you brought me into a dark closet to talk?”
My lips parted with the realization. “Oh.” That was a very good point. I was terribly off my game lately. “We’re engaged,” I whispered loudly. “To be married. So it wouldn’t be that strange for us to, you know, want to sneak out and get each other’s kettle meddled with, if you know what I—”
His finger fell gently on my lips, sending my whole body into shock. “No cute euphemisms for sex, please. I’m trying my goddamn best here, Josie, but I don’t think I’ll be able to stay mad at you if you get all sugary-sweet.”
Shock melted away, giving way to a strange kind of warmth. And as much as I tried to ignore it, it only got worse when Matthew’s hand shuffled to the side, his finger leaving my mouth and his palm settling on the side of my neck. “You’re mad?” I breathed out.
“You sent me an SOS,” Matthew explained, his brow knotting again. The urgency with which he’d stormed in returned to his eyes. “You can’t text me an SOS when there’s no real emergency. Do you have any idea how—” He shook his head. “I ran down here. From the lodge. I thought something was wrong. You wrote I need you.”
The sensation in my stomach skipped, realization rippling. “So that’s why you’re wearing a slutty shirt and slutty sweats?” My voice turned to a whisper. “You were working out? You didn’t leave me on read?”
My heart plunked to the ground at my own words. I hadn’t meant to say that, and hearing it left me a little off-balance. Glass clinked together behind me, and our bodies drew closer together. Mine, to move away from the rack. And Matthew’s, to stabilize me.
“Why are you so surprised?” he asked, the heat coming off him, and the palm still at the base of my neck making me warm.
“I don’t know,” I said, immediately realizing it was a lie. I did know. “I guess I assumed you were done with my dramatics. Most people don’t take an all-caps message from me very seriously. So I assumed you’d… call. Or text. Later.” The breath he let out hit my cheek, and I shivered a little, even when it felt so incredibly hot in the tiny room. “You didn’t need to drop what you were doing and come rescue me. Next time I text an SOS just… maybe put on a hoodie and calmly make your way down to me instead?”
His thumb moved, grazing the underside of my jaw. “You can’t send me an SOS, then, Josie. An SOS means I fucking run.”
My heart skipped a beat. “You’re being very rigid about this,” I told him, and boy, did my voice come out rocky. “It was just a text.”
“I am rigid when it comes to important things,” he conceded. And when he stepped even closer, I could feel more than his breath falling on my skin. I could scent the perspiration on him. The proof of the exertion. I could touch his skin, too. If I dared to. I could see how it felt under my fingertips. Damp? Dry? Sticky? As smooth as it looked? “There are rules for this, Josie. It’s the first thing I taught my little sisters when they started going out. I don’t take this shit lightly, and no one else should either.”
His little sisters. Did he see me as such? Not as a sibling, but as someone whose protection he was responsible for? The thought both chilled and warmed my skin. “Is that why you didn’t hesitate to help me that first night on my porch?” When you didn’t know who I was.
“Oh, I hesitated,” he answered, and I knew he was being sincere. His voice always went down. “Believe me, I was tempted to turn around and run.”
But he didn’t. Because I seemed like I was in trouble, and he had sisters and took SOS texts very seriously. God, he was such a good guy. I wished… we were under different circumstances. Normal ones. Circumstances that would allow us to… to what, Josie?
I shook my head. “If it makes you any less mad, there is an emergency of sorts,” I murmured, my chest suddenly feeling… tender. Soft to the touch. Vulnerable. He’d run down here. Run. For me. “It’s not exactly life-threatening. But it’s almost as bad: Andrew’s coming.”
“Of course he is,” he muttered under his breath. “Is that what Bobbi wanted last night?”
“I wouldn’t know,” I admitted. “I kind of ignored her text. Yesterday was a good day, and I wanted that to last a little longer.”
Matthew’s expression softened, and I didn’t want to read too much into it, but I swore I could see a hint of smugness, as if he was proud of me for making Bobbi wait.
“Adalyn offered to drive to Green Oak,” I added. “To be with me.”
Matthew seemed to consider my words, then he said, “Is she going to?”
“I told her she didn’t have to.” I bit my lip, musing over whether to admit I’d texted him before she offered. “That I had you,” I whispered. “That I’d already called you. And here we are.”
His brows met. In concentration or determination, I couldn’t know, because his thumb brushed my chin next, distracting me and sending a wave of awareness cascading down my body. It was strange that we’d had this conversation with his palm resting on the side of my neck, and my body had eased right into his touch. Now that peace had been broken by the way he was looking down at me. It was broken by the reminder that all that expanse of skin was a hair-thin distance from my hands. I wanted to reach out. And according to our rules, I could. Touching was fine. And I would have, if I was sure that wouldn’t make me a little selfish, or a bad liar. Because me not being affected if I set my palms on his arms right now? It didn’t seem possible.
I flexed my hands at my sides. Then asked, “What are we going to do about this?”
“Can I be honest?” Matthew asked.
I nodded my head, and he let out a little grunt. The sound hit me right in my belly.
“I’m talking real honest,” he insisted, head dipping lower, body coming even closer. My back hit the rack behind me, and he regained the distance. “Blunt. Do you think you can take that, Josie?”
“Yes,” I breathed out.
“If this were my hometown,” he said, words tickling my temple. His hands rose, leaving me and bracing on the rack at my back. “We’d ruffle your hair and come out of this closet pretending I’ve just fucked you against this shelf right here.”
Whoa.
I— My stomach dove right to my feet.
An intense wave of heat climbed up my body before swooshing back down immediately. Images, many of them, bombarded my mind. Of Matthew, hands on the backs of my thighs, rack rattling, me—
A shaky breath exploded out of me. “That seems… unnecessary.”
His chuckle was amused and dark. Sultry. He knew exactly what was crossing my mind. “Depends on who you ask,” he said. “We’re sneaking off, aren’t we? You’re my fiancée. I would want to make use of the opportunity. You said so yourself.”
I had. I really had. I was also envisioning it now. And my body was invested in the specifics. My mouth parted, and his eyes jumped to my lips before leaping back up. “I meant what are we going to do about my father. He’s getting here today. For all we know, he could be waiting outside when we come out.” I shook my head, slowly bringing my thoughts back to the real matter at hand. “I never thought he’d show up so soon.” Or at all, but I didn’t say that.
Matthew leaned back. To have a better look at me if I had to guess. I watched his smile dim but not disappear. “We could still ruffle your hair, and come out of here—”
“Be serious,” I told him with a soft pat to his chest. He snatched my wrist with his hand, and I swallowed at the soft contact of his fingers on my skin.
His voice dropped. “I’m always serious.”
“You’re really not,” I countered. “What are we going to do? He thinks we’re—” My voice cracked. “Organizing a wedding. What if he wants to get really involved. While here? What if he realizes we have no intention of getting married at all? Did you see that planner Bobbi sent us? It’s absolutely terrifying. And it’s filled with links and stuff, and who knows what else. What if Andrew wants us to actually organize a wedding? Now?”
Matthew’s words took a moment to come out, but when he finally spoke, they made my heart speed up. “Then we give him that.”