ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOT
MATTHEW
I sauntered into the barbeque restaurant like I owned the place. I didn’t, but my future sister-in-law did, so… semantics . When I headed right toward the bar to see my girl, I stopped dead in my tracks. Bells wasn’t there. Anna was working instead.
Pulling out my phone, I glanced at it, thinking I might have the day wrong. It was a Thursday. Bells always worked Thursdays. She worked pretty much every day, with the exception of Mondays, when the restaurant was closed.
“Surprise, surprise. If it isn’t Matthew O’Grady, former hockey superstar,” Anna announced to the handful of people sitting at the bar.
“Anna.” I said her name in the most disappointed tone that I could muster, even though she’d always been nice enough to me in the past.
“Sit. Let me make you something. Even though I know you’re not here to see me.” The tone of her voice let me know that she found joy in my momentary misery.
I sat. Begrudgingly. “I don’t want anything, but thanks anyway.”
She looked surprised.
People hadn’t worked out the fact that I’d only drunk at the saloon because Bells was working there. And I figured she’d kick my ass out of the place if I sat there and stared at her all night without ordering anything. That was how I always ended up drinking too much. Basically, I was a lightweight. A two-drink drunk.
When I had played hockey professionally, I had treated my body like it was a temple and rarely, if ever, drank any alcohol. When I did partake, it was usually to celebrate a win, and even then, I’d drink far less than the rest of my teammates. Those guys drank vodka like water—something I’d never been able to stomach.
The idea of Bells being at the only bar on this side of town alone, much less closing it up late at night, never sat right with me. Sugar Mountain had always been a safe place, but bad things still happened in places people thought were safe.
So, I would drink a few too many.
And eventually, I’d get too buzzed to drive, and I’d have to call my brother. It became a routine, but only because making sure Bells was safe and okay had become my routine. I didn’t have to do that anymore now that she worked at the restaurant. I’d made sure to ask Addi about the closing routine and if Bells would ever be alone late at night. She’d reassured me that working here would be nothing like the saloon, and my anxiety settled. I believed her.
Speak of the devil… Addi suddenly appeared at my side, her dark hair pulled up into a tight ponytail. “Matthew.” She said my name like she knew something I didn’t as I hopped out of the barstool and faced her.
“Where is she?” I asked.
Addison grinned. We both knew exactly who I was talking about. Addi’s lips pursed together, and she stood there like she was deciding whether or not to tell me.
“Addi,” I growled.
“Fine. But you won’t like the answer.” She shook her head, and my anxiety crept right back in.
I raised both hands in the air and waited for her to fill me in.
“She’s on a lunch date,” she said.
My knees buckled, and my breath caught in my throat.
That was not on my bingo card. At fucking all. Who the hell would Bells be out with, if it wasn’t me?
“A lunch break or a lunch date ?” I asked because maybe I’d heard her all wrong.
“I said what I said,” Addi answered, and I knew I hadn’t heard her wrong at all.
“A date? With who?” My tone was defensive and jealous, and I clearly didn’t care who overheard.
“He’s not local. He’s a fireman from Whisper Falls.”
“Don’t forget to tell him how hot that man is,” Anna added from somewhere behind me, and Addi laughed.
They were pushing my buttons. Getting me all kinds of worked up.
And it. Is. Working.
“Thanks, Anna,” I growled as I turned to face her.
“Happy to help,” she responded with a smile before the sound of glass breaking filled the air. “Crap. Sorry, Addison.”
“She do that a lot?” I asked, my tone still annoyed.
“Every shift, apparently,” Addi answered, the look on her face none too happy.
“That sucks,” I said. “Are you going to tell me how Bells met some dude from Wimpy Falls?”
“Whisper Falls,” Addi corrected me.
I threw up my hands because I couldn’t give two shits what his town was called, as long as he went back to it and stayed there.
“And he’s a fireman?” I spat out his occupation like it was something that repulsed me, even though it in no way did.
That was some hard-as-hell work, but we all knew the stereotypes. Firemen were pretty boys who loved to look at themselves in mirrors—that was why the ones on their fire trucks were so big.
“Yep.”
“How many dates have they been on? How long has this been going on?” I asked, wondering if that was why Bells had pushed me away.
Had she recently started seeing someone?
“You’d have to ask her those questions,” Addi said.
I blew out an annoyed breath as I ran my hand down my face.
“Sure thing. Tell me where she is, and I’ll go ask.” I shrugged.
Addi shook her head. “You will do nothing of the sort. She’s allowed to date, you know?”
“Of course I know.” I narrowed my eyes, wondering if Addi was done lecturing me or not.
“Do you?”
“Yes, Addi. I know Bells is allowed to date. But I don’t have to like it,” I admitted.
By now, everyone in my family knew that I was interested in Bells as more than a friend, so there was no point in my trying to deny it.
“She deserves to have some fun. Don’t you think?”
No , my instincts responded.
“Where’d they go?” The question was out before I could stop it, my mind racing with the possibilities. There weren’t a lot of date-worthy options in Sugar Mountain.
Addi refused to answer me, but I noticed her eyes flick in a specific direction, and before she could hide it, I turned around and knew exactly where she’d been looking.
“You’re joking. The diner? They’re literally across the street from us right now?”
“I never said that.” Her voice shook a little, so I knew I’d figured it out. “Go home, Matthew. I’ll tell her you were looking for her.”
“Not a chance.” I laughed before turning around, heading out the door, and jogging straight across the street. I hadn’t even looked both ways before I crossed the street, so I was lucky as hell I didn’t get hit by a car.
When I pushed open the diner door, Mrs. Baker said hello and offered me a seat.
“Just looking for someone, Mrs. B,” I said, and she pressed her lips together before pointing toward the back.
Did everyone in this town know I was obsessed with this woman?
That was when I spotted them. Her back was toward me, but I’d know her anywhere. I rushed toward their booth and watched as the guy frowned, like he was about to knock me out or something, before his expression changed completely.
“I know you,” he said as soon as I reached them. “Matthew O’Grady. Best forward in the league.”
“Dear God. What are you doing here?” Bells asked, her tone nowhere near as impressed with me as her date seemed to be.
“Heard you were on a date,” I snapped.
I couldn’t help it. I was possessive. Jealous. Angry. Out of my fucking mind. If anyone was taking Bells out on a date, it should have been me. She’d told me we needed to take things slow and be friends first, but fuck this.
The firefighter threw his hands in the air. “Hey, I didn’t know she was spoken for, man.”
“I’m not,” Bells said. “You think I’d go out with you if I had a boyfriend?”
He looked between us, his eyes darting back and forth. “Actually, no, I don’t. But maybe I should go.”
“Yes, you should go,” I said at the same time that Bells said, “No, you shouldn’t.”
He laughed, but made no move to leave.
The dude actually reached out his hand toward me. “I’m West. Nice to meet you.”
I stared at his hand for far too long, but decided to shake it anyway. “Matthew. Can’t say the same.”
West laughed at the same time Bells grumbled and rolled her eyes.
“Bells,” I pleaded, “what are you doing?”
“I was eating French fries and having a great time before you came along,” she said nonchalantly before she popped another fry into her mouth.
“You’re killing me,” I admitted, and West looked like he felt sorry for me. “You say no to dating me, but you’ll go out with some stranger from Whimper Falls?”
“Whisper,” they both corrected me at the same time.
How fucking cute.
“West is nice. And a fireman. Did you know that?” She looked all doe-eyed, and I wanted to scream.
I must have looked like I was going to combust or something because West finally fucking pushed out of the booth and stood. Thankfully, he wasn’t as tall as I was, or I might have really come undone. The guy was extremely good-looking.
“I’m sorry, Bella. I think you’re a great woman, but I’m a big fan of this guy.” He pointed right at me, and maybe he wasn’t so bad after all. “And I think he might really like you. If Matthew O’Grady crashed my date and looked at me the way he’s looking at you right now, I’d give him a shot or at least hear him out.”
That shit made me laugh.
Bells was not laughing.
West gave her a small smile and clapped me on the back before walking away and hopefully going back to the town he had come from.
I slid into his empty seat.
“What is actually wrong with you?” Bells asked, her hazel eyes filled with fury. “One too many hockey hits to the head?”
“What are you talking about?” I reared back. “I didn’t get hit in the head.”
“You sure as heck act like it. You can’t just walk in here, ruin my date, and make the guy leave.”
“I didn’t make him leave. He did that all on his own,” I said before reaching over toward her plate and pulling off a fry.
“You’re so frustrating,” she practically shouted before sucking in a long breath.
“Just tell me you’re not sleeping with him.” I closed my eyes to rid myself of the vision of his hands on her body.
“Sleeping with him?”
Her tone was off, but she’d said the words far too slow and concise for my liking.
“Yeah. Tell me you’re not,” I pushed. “Is that why you keep telling me no? Because of this guy? How long have you been dating him?”
“You’re such an idiot.” She started to move out of the booth, and I reached for her arm, stopping her.
“I am. When it comes to you, Bells, I am an idiot. Can’t you see that? Thinking about you with someone who isn’t me makes me want to rip my brain out of my skull so I can’t have those thoughts anymore.”
She leaned over the booth, her eyes narrowed with irritation. “We’re not dating. This was the first time we went out.”
“So, you didn’t sleep with him then?” I knew my voice sounded relieved, even though I had no right.
“I’ve never slept with anyone, you asshole.”
Her eyes widened with her admission, and I swore I made an audible sound as I sucked in a surprised breath. I felt like I’d been slapped across the face with the force of her words.
“What did you just say?”
“You heard me,” she whispered, and I knew she was pissed at herself for what she’d just told me.
“I heard you, but there’s no possible way that’s true.”
Bells is a virgin?
“I have to go.” She got away from me and practically sprinted out of the front door.
Unlucky for her, I saw exactly where she was headed.