Chapter 12
Twelve
The buzzing cell phone on the table alerted him to someone at the door. Even without looking, Matt knew it was his brother and his girlfriend. Theo had texted him about an hour ago with their ETA.
Closing the book he was reading, Matt stepped back into the house. Like every day this week, the weather was picture perfect. The kind of day you didn’t waste sitting inside, so while he waited for Theo, he’d taken the newest novel he’d picked up and headed outside.
“Couldn’t find a town farther away from civilization?” Theo asked by way of greeting.
“Hey, I tried, but this was the best I could do. If you think you’ll survive, come on in.”
Theo cracked a smile and hugged him. “It’s good to see you. And from what I saw on the drive in Orchard Harbor, it’s a cute little town.”
Matt slapped his brother on the back. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Matt, this is Brianna.” Theo gestured toward the fashionably dressed woman next to him.
Weeks ago, his brother accused him of having a type—something Matt disagreed with.
However, if anyone had a type, it was Theo.
Every woman he remembered his brother dating shared the same physical characteristics.
Hell, the woman standing in front of him even resembled Iris, Theo’s last girlfriend.
He hoped Brianna’s personality wasn’t similar to her as well.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“Thanks for letting us stay with you.” Brianna’s subtle Southern accent told him she might live in California now, but she’d grown up somewhere else.
“Liv won’t be here for at least an hour. So if you want, I’ll show you up to your room so you can unpack, and then we can have a drink outside while we wait for her.”
“Sounds good to me,” Theo said.
Fifteen minutes after Matt left his brother and Brianna upstairs, Theo joined him in the kitchen.
“I still don’t understand why you like it here so much, but I can see why you selected this house. The view is incredible,” Theo said.
Matt set the charcuterie board Liv had put together on the table. “Give the town a chance. It might grow on you.”
His brother falling in love with Orchard Harbor was about as likely as it snowing tomorrow. That didn’t mean he couldn’t warm up to it.
“Yeah, I don’t see that happening.”
“Did Brianna decide she’s had enough of your company for the day?”
Theo picked up a plate. “She’s on the phone with Gina. What are we drinking?”
“I was thinking wine, but I can make you just about anything.” In his opinion, wine complemented the assortment of cheeses and meats. But if Theo wanted a beer or a cocktail, that was fine too.
“Wine sounds good,” Theo replied as he added an assortment of food to a plate. “Is Liv the woman you’ve been photographed with recently?”
He’d held his breath when new photos appeared on CHAT. While Liv claimed she was willing to deal with it after the first time, he’d worried she’d rethink her decision when more showed up five days later.
Thankfully, she hadn’t—at least not yet.
“Yeah.” After selecting a wine, he carried it and three glasses back to the island.
“Is she a native or another confused part-time resident like you?”
“Native? We are talking about a person, not a species of birds. But to answer your question, Liv’s always lived here.”
In case Brianna wanted something else, Matt only filled two wineglasses before following his brother’s lead and making himself a plate.
“Where did you meet, the library?”
A sudden urge to wipe the smile off his brother’s face struck him, but instead of doing it, he frowned and reached for a glass. “You’re not funny. Well, maybe you’re funny looking.”
“Lighten up. It’s a fair question. I didn’t see any clubs when I drove through, and Orchard Harbor doesn’t seem like the kind of place where organizations would hold large events.”
Theo’s comments were understandable, and he wasn’t wrong. Still, they annoyed him.
“Her brother and I have been friends since college.” As far as he could remember, he’d never told Theo about how he’d come to know of Orchard Harbor.
“I didn’t realize you had friends in town.”
“Owen lives in Boston now, but his parents and younger sister still live here.”
Across from him, Theo drummed his fingertips against the granite, a signal that he was thinking. “Was he your college roommate one year?”
Matt nodded as he chewed. “Freshman year. He invited me to have Thanksgiving with his family that year.”
“I wondered how you found this place.”
“Sorry, that took longer than I expected,” Brianna said, entering the room. “Gina gets talkative when she’s excited.”
Before Matt could offer her a drink, she pointed toward the wine bottle. “Can I have a glass?”
Nodding, he filled a glass and handed it to her. “How long are you staying?” His brother had given him an arrival date, but he’d never shared how long they planned to be in town. Since it didn’t matter to him, he hadn’t asked until now.
“Unless you need us gone by a specific date, we thought we’d play it by ear. We both have the week off and don’t need to be anywhere until Adam’s wedding next weekend.”
If Theo and Brianna stayed past Monday, he’d be shocked, but even if they left Sunday morning, it would give him a chance to catch up with his younger brother.
Across from him, Theo rechecked his watch and shook his head.
“Got a hot date or something?” Matt asked.
“Just wanted to know what time it was.”
Matt wasn’t buying it, but if Theo didn’t want to share, he wouldn’t push the issue. Instead, he switched on the baseball game. “What do you think of the Dodgers so far this year?”
“I think they have a good chance of making it to the World Series this season,” Theo answered.
“Yeah, if they can keep Williams and Perry healthy and not repeat last season. Have you made it to many games this year?”
Much like him, Theo was a big baseball fan, and for years, he had had season tickets.
Frowning, Theo shook his head. “Brianna’s not into baseball.”
“Doesn’t mean you can’t go.”
“I’ve been working a lot and would rather spend the weekends with her.”
“Fair enough.” Matt raised his glass to his mouth, but before he took a drink, his cell buzzed, letting him know someone was at the door. “Liv must be here. Do you want anything while I’m inside?”
Since they’d have more space, they’d taken their drinks and snacks up to the rooftop earlier.
“Some more wine would be good.”
He could hear Brianna’s voice as he passed by the guest room. Less than fifteen minutes after they’d gone outside, she received a phone call and came back inside. That had been at least forty minutes ago. Matt couldn’t imagine talking to someone on the phone for so long.
Downstairs, Matt opened the door and once again reminded himself to get Liv a key so she could come and go.
“I would’ve been here sooner, but I stopped home to change,” Liv said as she stepped into the house.
He didn’t need her to tell him that. He could tell. While she didn’t have a uniform in the traditional sense, she always dressed in black pants and a white top when working at the restaurant or catering an event.
“Don’t worry about it. Theo and I have just been catching up.” Slipping his arms around her, Matt pulled her in close and kissed her. “I’m glad you’re back. You’re staying here tonight, right?”
Before Liv answered him, he pressed his mouth against hers again.
Unlike his first kiss, which had been a brief “Hello,” he took his time caressing her lips until she opened for him.
The moment his tongue touched hers, the outside world disappeared.
Liv tasted like iced coffee and something unique to her. And he couldn’t get enough.
Blood pounded in his ears, blocking out everything around them as every cell in his body urged him to take things further. To lead her upstairs, remove her clothes, and pick up where they’d left off that morning before she headed into work.
Thankfully, one of them was still grounded in reality, and Liv pulled away before he could act on the fantasy running through his head.
“Now might be a good time to stop.” Judging by her voice, the kiss had affected her just as much as him.
Matt touched his forehead to hers and took in a deep breath. “Yeah, we should probably go outside before I change my mind and we go to my room.”
“Your brother just got here. It would be rude to do that.”
“He’d understand,” Matt said as he ran his fingers through her hair.
“What about his girlfriend?”
“She’s been in their room on her phone almost the entire time she’s been here. I doubt she would even notice.” Theo hadn’t said it, but Matt knew he was annoyed that Brianna had spent so much time in their room since they arrived.
Liv stepped out of his embrace and took his hand. “C’mon, let’s go.”
“Before we head up, I need to grab another bottle of wine.” Matt allowed her to lead him toward the kitchen. “You never answered me. You are staying here tonight, right?”
She’d spent the night with him six out of the last ten days. When she wasn’t there, his bed felt empty in a way it never had in the past, and his mornings lacked something he couldn’t identify.
“Are you sure you want me to? You have guests.”
“So what? It’s just my brother.” Even if his parents were the ones visiting, he’d want her to stay.
“As long as you’re sure, I’ll stay.”
He wanted more than for her to just stay the night. Matt wanted Liv to move in with him, which was something he’d never considered asking any of his girlfriends to do. But he wasn’t sure she was ready for that. Until he felt more confident of her answer, he’d wait to ask.
Theo was shaking his head at something Brianna had just said when Matt and Liv joined them.
“But —”
His brother nodded in their direction. “Let’s talk about it later, okay?”
Crossing her arms, Brianna huffed. “Fine.”
He didn’t need a crystal ball to know that later, Theo would get an earful and possibly find himself sleeping on the floor.
As he made introductions, Matt poured Liv a glass of wine and refilled his brother’s.