Chapter 11
Eleven
Matt grabbed his ringing cell phone after he flipped the omelet in the pan. There weren’t many things he cooked well, but he made a damn good omelet.
“Hey, Adam,” he greeted after putting the device on speaker so he could finish preparing breakfast. “What’s up?”
“Other than avoiding calls from my mother, not much.”
He didn’t blame his cousin. Although he’d always known his aunt and uncle weren’t the warmest people in the world, he still couldn’t believe how they’d reacted when they found out Evie and Adam were engaged.
“Have you and Evie decided on a wedding date yet?”
When Adam asked Matt to be his best man, he shared that they planned to get married sometime in July, but he hadn’t been sure of the exact date or location.
“That’s one of the reasons I’m calling. The last Saturday in July. We decided to get married on the beach.”
Assuming she wasn’t working that weekend, it sounded like he and Liv would be going away sooner rather than later.
“I’ll be there.”
“Should we add a plus-one to your invitation?”
“Let me check with Liv, and I’ll get back to you.”
“I’m assuming that’s the woman you were photographed eating ice cream with yesterday.”
Not again. People needed to learn to mind their own damn business.
“Yeah. I did some pictures with fans, but I didn’t realize anyone took any of Liv and me.”
Except for a few brief times, such as when they’d gotten ice cream, they’d been alone much of their time at Smugglers’ Cove.
He’d hoped that meant no one snapped any photos of them together like the day he’d spent with Evie.
While he knew it was bound to happen eventually, he wanted to keep their relationship off the radar for as long as possible.
Exposure on social media added stress to any relationship, but it could be devastating to a new one.
“Where did you see the pictures?” Not that it mattered, but Matt was curious.
“Evie saw them. They’re trending on CHAT.”
Social media was both the greatest and worst invention.
“Thanks for the heads-up.” At least Liv was still asleep, and he could break the news to her before she found them herself. Although, he wasn’t looking forward to the conversation.
Matt wasn’t stupid. Even though she hadn’t said it, he knew she’d been reluctant to go anywhere in public with him because she was worried about pictures of them on social media.
He’d hoped that if they started going places together where large crowds were unlikely, she’d see that while it might happen, it wasn’t an everyday occurrence.
It was just bad luck that it happened during their outing yesterday.
“How did you meet her? Aren’t you in Maine?”
“I am.” Matt grabbed the toast and added two slices to each plate. “Actually, we’ve known each other for years. Her brother was my college roommate and the reason I first came to Orchard Harbor.”
“Interesting.”
There was no mistaking the curiosity in Adam’s voice, and Matt understood the reason for it. The last time he’d dated a woman who wasn’t either a model or an actress had been in college.
“How does her brother feel about you two being together?”
“I’m not sure he knows.” At least, Matt hadn’t told him. As far as he was concerned, it wasn’t any of Owen’s business. And if Liv had told her brother, she hadn’t mentioned it to him.
“Well, if he didn’t before, he probably will soon.
Assuming you two are still friends, you might want to call him before he finds out thanks to CHAT,” Adam replied.
“If any of my friends were involved with Tory, I would’ve wanted to find out from them, not a picture on social media.
And depending on the friend, I would’ve had an issue with them being together. ”
“I’ve met some of your friends, and I would’ve had an issue if they dated Tory too,” he said as he put the dirty pan in the dishwasher. His cousin Tory was more like a sister.
“I wouldn’t talk. Your friends aren’t all saints either. Since we’re on the topic, have you talked to Carter?”
Besides Liv, Adam and his fiancée were the only people he’d discussed the band’s issues with.
“No, but Jordan called me a couple of weeks ago.” He expected another call from the guy soon.
Ever since Matt told them he was done, Jordan called him every few weeks and pleaded his case.
Before now, he’d never realized just how stubborn Jordan could be.
“Do you mind if I call you back later? I just finished cooking breakfast for us, and I’d like to eat it before it gets cold. ”
After promising to call Adam back once he knew if Liv was coming with him to the wedding, Matt added two coffees to the tray and headed upstairs.
Usually, the first thing he did in the morning was open the curtains.
Today, he’d left them closed when he left the room.
The floor-to-ceiling windows provided a breathtaking view and filled the room with natural light.
This morning, though, he’d wanted to keep the light from waking up the sleeping woman so that he could surprise her with breakfast. It had been a while since he’d woken up with a woman in his bed.
And while their relationship might be new, the sight of Liv there felt right, as if it was where she’d always belonged.
After setting the tray down on a table, he sat on the edge of the bed and brushed his fingertips across her cheek.
When she remained asleep, he repeated the action, only this time using his lips.
In response, she rolled over onto her back and opened her eyes.
Judging by her expression, it took her a moment to remember where she was.
“Morning,” Liv said as she moved into a sitting position and tucked her hair behind her ears. “Have you been up long?”
“Long enough to make breakfast. I hope you’re hungry.”
“You cooked us breakfast?”
“Last night I promised you breakfast in bed. Did you think I wouldn’t deliver?” Matt stood and retrieved the tray he’d carried up.
“I just thought it would be a bagel or a muffin with some fruit. Not this.” She gestured toward the tray he put on the bed. “You even remembered to put milk in my coffee.”
He’d seen her drink coffee enough to know she liked extra milk and two spoons of sugar, unless she was drinking iced coffee. If that was the case, she added four.
“And two sugars,” he said, handing her the cup.
“I’m impressed.” She took a sip before picking up a fork and cutting into her omelet.
Following her lead, Matt reached for his coffee first. He’d enjoyed a cup while cooking, but one was never enough in the morning.
“My cousin called this morning. He’s getting married the last weekend in July. If you’re not working, I’d love it if you’d come with me.”
An emotion he couldn’t identify crossed her face before she glanced down at her plate and cleared her throat. “I, uh, don’t know if we have something booked that weekend. If I had my phone, I could check.”
“Tell me where you left it, and I’ll go grab it.” He hadn’t paid attention to where she’d put her things when they came inside last night.
“It’s on the counter in the kitchen.”
Leaning forward, he kissed her before heading downstairs.
The sound of an oven timer and the instrumental opening to “Loving You” came from the device the moment he handed over the phone.
“Someone’s popular this morning,” Matt said, grabbing a slice of toast.
“It’s my brother. He’s probably coming up this weekend and wondering if I’m around to paint,” Liv said before answering the call.
Damn. He should’ve told her about the pictures circulating on social media as soon as he came upstairs.
While it could be a coincidence that Owen was calling now, Matt’s gut told him Liv’s brother had seen the photos and was calling with questions.
“Hey, Owen. What’s up?”
“You tell me.”
Okay, that wasn’t the response she’d expected.
“How long have you and Matt been together?”
Liv choked on the coffee she’d just swallowed, and across from her, Matt cringed.
“For a few weeks,” she said once she could speak again.
“And when did you plan on telling me?”
It wasn’t that she didn’t want Owen to know, but since she’d assumed Matt viewed their relationship as a temporary diversion while in town, she’d seen no reason to tell her brother or anyone else.
Usually, she could gauge Owen’s mood. Right now, she couldn’t tell if he was angry or annoyed. Liv momentarily considered making something up. But if he was furious, saying she’d planned to tell him the next time he visited wouldn’t help.
“I don’t know. Maybe….” Liv paused as she fully processed her brother’s question.
The only person she’d told about Matt was Emma.
And while Emma and Owen were more than acquaintances, they didn’t speak unless they happened to run into each other.
Even if they did communicate regularly, Emma never would’ve told Owen that Liv was involved with someone.
“Hold on a minute. How do you know about us?” she asked.
Across from her, Matt raked a hand through his hair and frowned.
“You’re really asking me that? Half the world knows, Liv. Pictures of you together are trending on CHAT.”
Closing her eyes, Liv rested her head against the headboard.
“There are pictures of us on CHAT?” Her brother wouldn’t lie, but wouldn’t she have noticed if someone had been taking pictures of them yesterday?
“Yeah, someone posted three. I don’t know if there are any on other sites.”
Crap. She’d known this would likely happen if they went somewhere together.
However, she hadn’t expected it to happen the first time they went somewhere public.
Although she didn’t know why. From a logical standpoint, it wouldn’t matter if it was their first time out in public or their one hundred and first.
Her phone alerted her to another text message, reminding her she’d received one right before she answered the phone.
“Can I call you back later?”
“Yeah, of course.”
She knew before she even checked that at least one of her recent messages was from Emma. She wouldn’t be surprised if she also had some from Phoebe.
Liv found five missed text messages. As she’d expected, she had one from Emma and two from Phoebe. The last two were from college friends.
Since it was the oldest, she started with Emma’s message.
Emma: In case you didn’t know, the cat’s out of the bag.
Liv: I know. Just talked to Owen.
After sending her reply, she moved on to the next message.
“Owen called because of the pictures?” Matt asked.
Nodding, she read the next text.
Phoebe: When were you going to tell me you were seeing Matt Sherbrooke?
Liv: Soon.
“You know about the photos on CHAT?” she asked.
“Yeah, my cousin told me. I was going to tell you, but Owen called before I got the chance.”
“Have you seen them?”
Matt shook his head.
Before she second-guessed her decision, Liv opened the app on her phone. Sure enough, pictures of her and Matt popped up on the screen.
They weren’t kidding.
Her brother and her friends had told her photos were trending on the site, but still, she hadn’t been 100 percent prepared to see them.
“Why would someone take a picture of us eating ice cream?” Didn’t people have better things to do?
“People do weird things.”
Even as she scrolled down to the comments, she recognized it was probably a bad idea.
“I’ve had people take pictures of me leaving the grocery store,” Matt said.
Although she’d expected some less-than-kind comments, she didn’t find any—at least not yet. Instead, the comments consisted of people wondering who she was and commenting on Matt’s looks.
“I know you avoided going out in public with me because you were worried this would happen.” Matt’s statement pulled her attention away from the comments.
She’d never told him that because she thought he’d find it a silly concern.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
Reaching over, he took her hand. “I don’t know. But I hoped no one would notice us yesterday, and when you saw people wouldn’t bother us everywhere we went, you’d get more comfortable going places with me.”
Her phone alerted her to another text message, and she groaned.
“Unfortunately, things didn’t go as I planned.”
Liv didn’t blame him. “It’s not your fault.”
“Are you okay with this?” His eyes reflected the worry and concern in his voice. “It doesn’t happen every time I leave the house,” he continued before she could answer. “I know it might seem that way, but photos of us won’t show up on social media every day.”
She’d never thought much about it, but Matt’s statement made sense. “I know.”
He squeezed her hand. “That doesn’t answer my question, Liv. Are you okay with this? Because it will happen again.”
Before last night, she would’ve said no.
A short summer fling wasn’t worth public scrutiny.
Now, though, she knew he wasn’t spending time with her as a way to pass the time while in town.
While there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t eventually go their separate ways, she was willing to face the keyboard warriors on social media to see where things between her and Matt went.
Leaning closer, she pressed her palm against his cheek and smiled. “I’m not thrilled about it. But for you, I’m willing to deal with it.”