Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Winnie had never been so humiliated in her life. Not only had Matthew caught her saying he was difficult to work with, but there was also no way he hadn’t heard Sarah proclaiming that Winnie said he was attractive. Hot , to be exact.
How was she ever going to live this down?
Before she could even muster up an apology, an excuse—heck, even a word would’ve been better than her silence—Matthew moved to stand behind her, his torso shifting into view on her personal screen before he bent down so their faces appeared side-by-side.
Each of her family members waved in silence on the screen.
“Ah, there he is,” Mom said, her voice barely audible. “The man behind the voice.”
“You can turn up the volume now,” Matthew said quietly in Winnie’s ear.
Her skin prickled, and she jumped forward to the volume control, if only to try to dissuade her ever-present blush and the effect his proximity had on her.
“Winnie,” Dad said first, “aren’t you going to introduce us?”
She blinked. “Oh, yeah. This is Matthew Wintour, Mr. Wintour’s son. Matthew, this is my family. ”
Matthew leaned closer, resting his left hand on the table next to the laptop as his face drew level with hers. She’d been close to guys before this. She’d kissed guys closer than this. So why did it feel as if she was a new teenager, being attracted to a boy for the first time?
“Hello, everyone,” Matthew greeted, his voice close to her ear. “Lovely to meet you all.”
Nothing good was going to come from this. She just knew it. Matthew was far too comfortable appearing in front of a bunch of strangers. It was almost as if he was trying to make her uncomfortable.
She should have turned the dang computer off the second he’d appeared. She’d just been so flustered, her brain entirely addled.
“Nice to meet you,” came the response from each of her family members.
“I love your accent!” Sarah said with an easy smile.
“Oh, thank you,” Matthew responded. “But I can’t take credit for it. My parents gave it to me.”
Winnie’s family laughed again, and Matthew responded with a grin. She hadn’t seen him smile in more than a week. She’d truly sucked the life out of him, so what was bringing him back now?
“So you’re Arthur’s son,” Dad said, his eyes calculating. “I don’t know if he’s told you, but he and I have been good friends for a long time.”
“Yes, sir,” Matthew responded. “He’s told me how much your friendship has meant to him over the years.”
His cologne drifted under Winnie’s nose. She parted her lips to breathe through her mouth instead, then shifted a degree to the right to create more distance between them.
“So you’re the one who rescued my Winnie?” Mom asked next.
Matthew shrugged with a modest chuckle. As he did so, his shoulder brushed against Winnie’s, sending shoots of warmth across her skin.
“I suppose I am,” he replied, apparently unaffected by their touch.
Winnie shifted in her seat again. “It wasn’t really a rescue,” she said, hoping to maintain some shred of dignity with her family. “I could’ve gotten out of the mud eventually.”
“Not in those heels,” Matthew retorted.
Her family laughed, and Winnie peered at him in the screen. She could’ve sworn he was looking directly at her, the small smile on his lips driving her crazy.
She hadn’t seen the two of them like that before, side-by-side, a smile on Matthew’s face and a forced smile on hers. It was like staring at one of those moving Harry Potter portraits, but way more engaging. Way more…appealing.
Harry Potter portraits. Matthew would certainly appreciate that reference, wouldn’t he?
“So are you one of the jousters there, then?’ Spencer asked, interrupting Winnie’s thoughts.
“Yes, I am,” Matthew responded.
In her ear, so close to her senses, his deep voice was far richer, his accent far more delicious, than she’d ever realized.
“Must be quite the easy gig, playing dress-up for a living,” Spencer continued.
Winnie caught sight of her brother’s smirk, followed by Scott’s stifled laugh, and she frowned. She may have squashed all of Matthew’s hopes and dreams a few days ago, but she wouldn’t allow her own family to make fun of him for those dreams.
To her surprise, however, Matthew didn’t need defending. In fact, he hardly even looked offended.
“I don’t know,” he began, pulling in his lips with a shake of his head. “Putting on that armor, riding horses, receiving so much attention from all the ladies. It’s more difficult than you can imagine.”
Sarah laughed aloud, and even Spencer cracked an impressed smile, as if to say, “Touché.”
Before another word could be spoken, Dad chimed in next, ending all laughter. “So, Matthew, Winnie was just going to tell us all about the changes she’s been making. How are the others taking it?”
Ugh. Winnie would rather go back to Spencer’s taunting.
“They’re taking it very well,” Matthew responded.
That was an outright lie. Had he said so for her sake?
Matthew leaned forward again, this time, his shoulder fully resting on hers. “Although,” he continued, “between you and me, Mr. Knox, no one would dare cross her if they didn’t agree with her changes.”
Her family laughed, but Winnie hardly heard, too focused on the tingles rushing across her skin and the warmth spreading from his body to hers.
She’d known about the connection and energy between them from the beginning, but this lingering heat and that smile on his features had stirred something in her heart she wasn’t ready to accept. The two had fought nearly non-stop since day one, and now, with his smiles, teasing, and touch, it felt like there was something more.
But there was nothing more. They were nothing more. Nothing but coworkers.
“Well, look,” Matthew said, their shoulders still pressed together, “I’d love to stay and chat, but I’m sure Winnie would like to get back to speaking with her family alone. It was such a pleasure to meet you all.”
Her family said goodbye in scattered harmony, and he waved his hand in departure as he sidled behind Winnie. Cold air pressed against her shoulder at his absence.
Her parents and siblings picked up their conversation again, but Winnie wasn’t listening, focusing instead on Matthew as he reached the door and faced her.
“See you later, Miss Knox,” he said with a knowing look, then he was gone, leaving Winnie behind to acknowledge the fact that he’d just gained the upper hand in their professional relationship.
And she dreaded to see what would become of it.